Matt Lucas on Freddie Mercury
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2019
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Matt Lucas champions Freddie Mercury of the band, Queen.
To what extent can a troubled childhood contribute to an adult's need to perform?
Farrokh Bulsara was born in Zanzibar, sent to school in India, and fled revolution in Zanzibar to Feltham, Middlesex, aged 18. His family were Parsees and Freddie, as he became better known, was brought up as a Zoroastrian. He also became one of the greatest singer songwriters in British rock history.
Matt Lucas - of Little Britain, Shooting Stars and Doctor Who - was entranced by Freddie from an early age.
In this revealing, funny tribute, Matt explains how Freddie inspired him to perform, and unveils his Montserrat Caballe impression on the world. Lesley-Ann Jones knew the band as a 'young scumbag journalist' and provides an eyewitness account of watching Freddie from the wings.
Matt and presenter Matthew Parris are joined by the author of Bohemian Rhapsody, Lesley-Ann Jones, to dissect a legend.
Producer: Miles Warde
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2019.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, it's Doleepa, and I'm at your service. |
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| 0:08.8 | Do a leap interviews, Tim Cook. |
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| 0:26.0 | Julie, at your service, listen to all episodes on BBC Sales. on. Aye o'o! |
| 0:44.0 | Ao! |
| 0:45.0 | Ao! |
| 0:47.0 | Ao! |
| 0:48.0 | Aa-da-doo! |
| 0:50.0 | Picture the scene. |
| 0:53.2 | Wembley Stadium 13th of July 1985. |
| 0:56.7 | A man with a mustache dressed in a white vest and stonewashed jeans, |
| 1:01.2 | strolls to the front of the crowd and starts to sing and the crowd sings back. Ein, no, no, no, de no, de no, deo. |
| 1:14.0 | Tiro, Tiro, |
| 1:16.0 | all right. |
| 1:19.0 | Freddie Mercury singing at Live Aid in 1985. So who was Freddie? |
| 1:27.0 | Joining me to discuss his life is the journalist and author of Freddie's biography, |
| 1:32.2 | Bohemian Rhapsody, Leslie Anne Jones, and also with me his |
| 1:36.4 | nominator Matt Lucas, a man who needs no introduction to fans of Little Britain shooting |
... |
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