Legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and Elton John had been close friends for years. Elton was one of the few people Freddie allowed into his close circle during his final days before he lost his battle against AIDS in 1991. The Rocketman singer has described the agony of watching his friend deteriorate before his eyes as the cruel illness ravaged his body.
Despite keeping his illness a secret, Freddie still wanted to spend time with his friend during his last days. But Elton could only spend limited time at the Queen frontman's bedside because he found what was happening to him so upsetting. In his memoir, Elton wrote: "He was too frail to get out of bed, he was losing his sight, his body was covered in Kaposi's sarcoma lesions, and yet he was still definitely Freddie, gossiping away, completely outrageous.
I couldn’t work out whether he didn’t realise how close to death he was or if he knew perfectly well but was determined not to let what was happening to him stop him being himself." But Elton was determined the Bohemian Rhapsody star would feel loved as his health declined against the disease. Freddie had been one of the superstars who Elton credits with saving his life at the height of his drug problems.
Freddie begged him to go into rehab as his cocaine addiction spiralled out of control as he struggled to cope with his global fame. And Freddie was also determined to protect his loved ones and fans from his devastating diagnosis until shortly before his death. .