The last moment of Freddie Mercury can be heard on Made In Heaven, Queen’s fifteenth studio album, released in 1995 – the sessions took place at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland in the first half of 1991. Freddie was aware at the time that the tide was already against him that led him to persuade his bandmates to work with him whenever he was strong enough.
He was very conscious that his time was limited and he knows that he wouldn’t live to hear the material they were working on. Freddie changed the approach during sessions, instead of recording the final vocals for the tracks at the end, he does them early in the process.
The last confirmed vocal recording session of Freddie was on May 22, 1991, and it was the song called, ‘Mother Love’. In the documentary Queen – Champions Of The World co-producer David Richards shared the studio track sheet confirming that Freddie recorded a vocal for the track on May 22, 1991, and Roger Taylor confirmed it that it was indeed his last session in a 2002 interview for Rhythm magazine, while Brian May made reference regarding it in several interviews. In a 1995 Queen documentary made by BBC Radio 1 in the UK, Brian May recalled that Freddie was too weak to walk around the studio, and hence he recorded his vocal in the control room, seated. Sadly enough, Freddie was unable to finish the track so Brian took the last verse and sung it.
Freddie Mercury’s last moment on the song, ‘Mother Love’ would have been remarkable if he was fully fit to sing, but in that condition, he was determined to make great quality music, right to the very end.
Keep going to the video below and listen to ‘Mother Love’: