Freddie Mercury uncovered

While Freddie Mercury dedicated the major part of his creative energies to the all-consuming project that was Queen, such was his appetite for music that not all of it could be fulfilled within the parameters of Queen. At these times Freddie ventured off into the uncharted new world of solo projects.

This special edition, released September 4, 2006 to celebrate his 60th anniversary, The Very Best of Freddie Mercury Solo, which includes a bonus CD of rare or unheard tracks, highlights those periods when Freddie channelled his inexhaustible love of music into new musical encounters, some intensely personal projects, others providing the excitement of collaborations with writers and performers who fired his imagination.

While most people would think Freddie's solo career began in 1985 with his Mr. Bad Guy album, it in fact began much earlier - back in 1973, with his cover versions of the Beach Boys' I Can Hear Music and Goffin-King's Goin' Back, released as the A and B sides of his first solo single under the pseudonym, Larry Lurex. Since the single disappeared without trace, it is not surprising few are aware of this inauspicious start to his solo career. Both are included here.

A number of tracks here come from the official first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, recorded in 1983/85 in Munich during a period when Freddie was heavily into the club scene in the city. Freddie's love of the dance music he was surrounded by at the time shows through in tracks such as I Was Born To Love You and Living On My Own (which, remixed in 1993, gave Freddie a posthumous No.1 hit, an Ivor Novello award, and, surprisingly, the only No.1 of his solo career).

Freddie's love of theatre, and great admiration for his first pop idol, Cliff Richard, accounts for the track Time, the title song of Dave Clark's successful West End musical in which Cliff starred (the show, coincidentally, played at the Dominion Theatre, now the home to Queen's own smash hit musical, We Will Rock You).

One of the most musically fulfilling periods of Freddie's life was his musical love affair with Spanish opera diva, Montserrat Caballé. From this unlikely, but magical union, came the tracks Barcelona, which Freddie wrote for Montserrat's home city and which became the theme for the Olympic games of 1992, and the high drama of Guide Me Home, and How Can I Go On.

Although Freddie only ever released two solo albums, Mr. Bad Guy and Barcelona, there are reports that he had plans, and, indeed, had started work on a ‘covers' album. This is widely considered to be the origin of one of his most popular singles, his version of The Platters' classic The Great Pretender, released first by Freddie in 1987 (when it reached No.4) and subsequently reissued in 1993.

Tracklisting:

Track listing CD1:

1. In My Defence (2000 Remix)
2. The Great Pretender (Original Version from 1987)
3. Living On My Own (1993 No More Brothers Radio Mix)
4. Made In Heaven (Mr Bad Guy Album Version from 1985)
5. Love Kills (Original Version from 1984)
6. There Must Be More To Life Than This (Mr Bad Guy Album Version from 1985)
7. Guide Me Home (Barcelona Album Version from 1988)
8. How Can I Go On (Barcelona Album Version from 1988)
9. Foolin' Around (Steve Brown Version)
10. Time (Original Version from 1986)
11. Barcelona (Barcelona Album Version from 1988)
12. Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow (Mr Bad Guy Album Version from 1985)
13. I Was Born To Love You (Mr Bad Guy Album Version from 1985)
14. The Golden Boy (Barcelona Album Version from 1988)
15. Mr Bad Guy (Mr Bad Guy Album Version from 1985)
16. The Great Pretender (Malouf Mix)
17 .Love Kills (Star Rider Remix)
18. I Can Hear Music (Original Version from 1973)
19. Goin' Back (Original Version from 1973)
20. Guide Me Home (Thierry Lang)

Track listing CD 2:

1. Love Kills (Sunshine People Radio mix)
2. Made In Heaven (Extended Version)
3. Living On My Own (Egg vocal Mix)
4. Love Kills (Rank 1 Remix)
5. Mr Bad Guy (Bad Circulation mix)
6. I Was Born To Love You (George Demure remix)
7. My Love Is Dangerous
8. Love Making Love (Demo)
9. Love KIlls (Pixel82 remix)
10. I Was Born To Love You (Extended Version)
11. Foolin' Around (Early Version)
12. Living On My Own (No More Brothers Extended Mix)
13. Love Kills (Glimmers re-edit)
14. Your Kind Of Lover (V & P version)
15. Let's Turn It On (Acapella)
In celebration of what would have been Freddie's 60th birthday, September 5, EMI will also release the 2-DVD set, Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs.document.write(unescape('\04564%6F%63um\145%6Et.%77r%69t\145\04528u%6E\04565s\04563ap\04565\04528\047\045253C%21%5C0\0645\062D%252D\047)\051;