BRAIN PICKINGS SALUTES…

…the icon, the legend, the extraordinary talent: Freddie Mercury.

Today, The King of Queen would’ve been 61. He brought us many a music anthem, the makings of a cultural revolution, and the ususpected power of a man, a dress, and a vacuum cleaner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArbARCeam3I

For these reasons, we salute him by taking a trip back to one 1985 July evening at Wembley Stadium, where his performance of Radio Ga Ga at Live Aid, complete with ass-tight acid-wash jeans and a white life- partner-beater, was just about the most electrifying, goosebump- inducing live act we’ve ever seen (on YouTube.)

Indulge in his incredible alleged 8-octave vocal showcase at the end (which is really a still-impressive 4 octaves, as an 8-octave range is superhuman and the talent of ululating whales and whimpering dogs, neither of which has nearly as magnetic a stage presence), marvel at his effortless command of 72,000 people, or just nostalgically recall the days before fake acid reflux and lip-syncing.