Elton John Recalls How Freddie Mercury Would Cheekily Tease Him With Nickname In His Book

Dec 02, 2019 by apost team

Freddie Mercury's friendship to Elton John has been well documented over the years, but a recent interview with the latter reveals the two actually had nicknames for one another. 

In October, John opened himself up to a variety of questions from celebrities, covering everything from his inspiration when writing music, to his favorite holiday companions, to which Spice Girl he would be. One question, however, hit close to home, with the executive director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids Peter Sands asking the singer about his faveorite memory with Mercury.

“The world lost an incredible artist to HIV when Freddie Mercury died. Can you share your favorite memory of him?” reads Peter Sand’s question in the Guardian article.

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John replied by describing a lighthearted exchange the two musical legends shared at Live Aid. According to his account, John complimented Mercury on his performance at the concert, to which Mercury teasingly replied saying his hat looked “awful.”

“Freddie, nobody should go on after you – you were magnificent,” John recalled telling his friend.

“You’re absolutely right, darling, we were – we killed them.” Mercury told John. “You, on the other hand, dear – you looked like the [sic] Queen Mother when you were on stage. Where did you get that absolutely awful hat?”

John went on to say that even towards the end, Mercury never lost his sense of humor. 

“He was hilarious,” he remembered fondly. “Even when he was dying, he was exactly the same. He was lying in bed, too weak to stand, losing his sight, going: “Have you heard Mrs Bowie’s new album, darling? What does she think she’s doing?” I always had the best time with him.”

In his book, John revealed Mercury had a Christmas gift delivered to him weeks after his death, which had him “crying like a child.” 

“On Christmas day, I learnt that Freddie had left me one final testament to his selflessness,” he wrote. “I was moping about when a friend showed up at my door and handed me something wrapped in a pillowcase.”

“I opened it up, and inside was a painting by one of my favorite artists, the British painter Henry Scott Tuke,” John revealed.

The gift was accompanied by a special note that read, “Dear Sharon, I thought you’d like this. Love Melina. Happy Christmas.”

According to the 72-year-old, the two buddies had drag-nicknames for each other: John’s was Sharon Cavendish, after Kay Cavendish, a keyboard artist from the 1950s while Mercury’s was Melina, after the late Greek actress and politician Melina Mercouri. 

Do you and your best friend also have special nicknames for each other? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this heartwarming story along to your friends and family.