Queen wouldn’t have been the same without Freddie Mercury, but there was a time when Brian May had doubts about his inclusion in the band. During an appearance on The Red Special Guitar Podcast, May recalled the early days with Mercury, describing how his energetic and flamboyant behavior initially caused some concern. “When we first worked with him, it was a little unnerving because he did a lot of running around the place and screaming his head off. So we thought, ‘Is this going to work?’” May admitted that not everyone was immediately taken with Mercury, finding him abrasive yet undeniably interesting and entertaining.
Despite these initial reservations, Mercury’s dedication to his craft quickly became apparent. May recounted how Mercury’s perfectionism in the studio played a crucial role in his development as a singer. “As soon as Freddie heard his voice coming back, he went, ‘Oh, I don’t like it. I’m gonna do that again.’ And he would go back and back and back, until he got it the way he wanted it.” This relentless pursuit of excellence pushed Mercury to continuously improve, always seeking new textures and greater emotional depth in his performances.
May highlighted how the members of Queen would provide feedback and encouragement to each other during recording sessions. “Every time one of us was in the studio, the rest of us were in the control room. So a lot of the time, I’m sitting… and Freddie’s doing a vocal, and he goes, ‘How’s that?’ And I go, ‘Well, we kinda like that bit but we didn’t like…’ So we helped him to build what works.”
[Source: Classic Hits Today]