NEW YORK, April 30 — Freddie Mercury ended a promising studio session with Michael Jackson after the King of Pop brought a pet llama into the recording room.
The bizarre moment became the last straw for Mercury, who was working with Jackson on a series of potential duets in 1983, bassist Jo Burt told the New York Post.
“I think the last straw was when Michael brought his pet llama into the studio,” said Burt, who worked on Mercury’s solo debut Mr. Bad Guy.
Mercury immediately called Queen’s manager Jim “Miami” Beach for help, saying, “Miami, dear, can you get over here? You’ve got to get me out of here, I’m recording with a llama,” as Beach recalled in the 2012 documentary Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender.
The unlikely collaboration had brought two musical legends together, as Mercury took a break from Queen and Jackson was fresh off the success of Thriller.
They recorded three songs — “Victory,” “State of Shock,” and “There Must Be More to Life Than This” — at Jackson’s home studio in Encino, California.
Freddie Mercury embarked on his solo album after the incident. — AFP pic
Despite early excitement, none of the tracks were completed in time for Mercury’s solo album Mr. Bad Guy, released 40 years ago on April 29, 1985.
Mercury would later release a solo version of “There Must Be More to Life Than This,” while Jackson recorded “State of Shock” with Mick Jagger for Victory by The Jacksons.
According to producer Reinhold Mack, Mr. Bad Guy gave Mercury the rare freedom to create without compromise, away from the usual pressures of Queen’s group dynamic.
“He just did something he liked from the bottom of his heart … what he wanted it to be,” Mack said, praising Mercury’s unfiltered creative control.