Brian May Confirms Freddie Mercury Saw ‘Wayne’s World’ ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Scene Before His Death
You know, I'm man enough to admit that some stories bring a tear to my eye, especially when they involve someone finding a moment of pure joy shortly before they pass away.
I wasn't expecting to come across such a story today, but it snuck up on me during the latest episode of Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart. In case you're not familiar, Gad's show reunites the casts of iconic films, mostly from the 80's, via video call to not only give us a wholesome distraction from the pandemic, but to benefit charities for first responders and food assistance.
The season 2 premiere was uploaded to YouTube Monday, December 7, and featured the cast and some of the crew of one of the early 90's most iconic films, 1992's 'Wayne's World' starring Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Tia Carrere, and Rob Lowe, just to name a few of the famous faces involved.
Despite some sound quality issues, it was a pretty excellent episode, but one moment in particular really got a grip on my heart.
About half an hour in, Gad introduced surprise guests Brian May and Roger Tayler of Queen.
In case you're reading this and have somehow never seen Wayne's World, there's a legendary scene in which Wayne and Garth are cruising in the "Mirthmobile" with a carload of friends when Wayne pops in a Queen cassette and plays Bohemian Rhapsody. The gang sings along to pretty much the entire song, and all headbang when the heavy part kicks in.
Check it out.
I was barely in elementary school when the movie came out, and that scene was permanently tattooed on my psyche. It turned me and my entire generation on to Queen, and made Bohemian Rhapsody a song you were required to know and be able to burst into at any moment.
What makes it extra special for me now is learning that Queen's amazing original singer, Freddie Mercury, not only saw the scene shortly before passing away due to complications from AIDS, but that he gave it his seal of approval.
During the reunion episode, Brian May confirmed that Mike Myers gave him a tape of the scene to share with Freddie.
"You, Mike, did get me the tape, the video tape, it was a VHS or something I think, and I took it 'round to Freddie not long before he went and showed it to him because, you know, you said you want to have the approval," May said. "He loved it. He just laughed and laughed. He was very weak, but he just smiled and laughed, and said, 'Yeah, how wonderful is that?'."
"He'd been known to say, look you know, 'I suppose I have to die before we get America back'", May continued, "But you guys did it. You, you got us back to a new American public, and Freddie was very aware of that, so you should know, you know, that he got totally into it, and he went to the next place knowing what had happened and enjoying it."
An emotional Mike Myers responded, "I didn't know that. I didn't know that. That's...I...I can't even, my little Toronto head can't handle that, but that's fantastic."
I'm right there with you, Mike. I admit I got a little misty-eyed hearing Brian's story, and it does my heart good to know that despite his tragically dying far too soon, Freddie got to give his seal of approval to a scene that would bring untold joy to countless people for generations by sharing his music and the raw energy and passion fans old and new have for it.
Check out the full episode below, and if you have a little extra to give, consider donating to the First Responders Children's Foundation at 1strcf.org.
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