On 24 November 1991, Freddie Mercury died. I heard the news at East Midlands Airport, about to fly on the early morning plane to a science conference in Paris. I’d been here before, the day John Lennon died – a sense you had lost someone close, and feeling hollow. When I got to the hotel I was astounded to see that much of its operation had come to a halt, and everyone was down in the lounge watching the Freddy tributes on TV. Many people were sobbing. When I got to my room I flicked through the French Channels and most had a Queen video on them! I re-joined the conference crowd in the bar and it was Freddie all night, and throughout the stay. France was in mourning. The abiding memory was a stuck-on-repeat performance of “The Show Must Go On” which even today brings back that week in Paris (see movie below). A favourite pic of Freddy from before the days I followed them was when he lived in Liverpool at Dovedale Towers, Penny Lane (see pic). What can you say, Freddy was a helluva talent.