There can be no two ways about this one. Even though I'm not a huge fan of either Freddie or Queen, there's no denying that they had a massive impact on the pop scene, pop culture and the world around them.The first time I became aware of Freddie Mercury was when he did a duet called "Barcelona" with opera singer Montserrat Cabelle. The main reason I became aware of this was because my mother, a classical singer and music teacher, nearly had apoplexy about this collaboration. That was 1988, and at the age of 13, I honestly couldn't decide who squawked more. ;-)
Nevertheless, the song was a huge hit, got a lot of airplay, and the video got a lot of time on the TV. It was the official song of the Olympic Games that year, and indelibly printed the image of a young, virile Freddie on my mind.
