Freddie Mercury Would Probably Have Stopped Touring by 80, Roger Taylor Says

Freddie Mercury might have told Queen to stop touring by the time he reached 80, according to his former bandmate Roger Taylor. “I have a feeling Freddie probably would have said: ‘I think that’s enough now, darling!’” Taylor joked in an interview with the German Press Agency.

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I have a feeling Freddie probably would have said: ‘I think that’s enough now, darling!’

Taylor said he could not know for certain, but believed Mercury would not have toured at that age. He also suggested Mercury might have chosen an entirely different path because he was always highly inventive.

Mercury would have turned 80 on Sept. 5. Fans and musicians around the world are marking the occasion with events this weekend, including a Freddie Mercury gala in Montreux, where a statue is dedicated to the singer. Taylor said he would raise a glass to his former bandmate.

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He was my best friend and a great human being.

Mercury died in 1991 from pneumonia caused by an AIDS-related illness. Taylor said he was glad the world continued to remember him. “He was my best friend and a great human being,” Taylor said. “We all loved him very much. We miss him so much now that he is gone.”

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We all loved him very much. We miss him so much now that he is gone.

Taylor said Mercury remains part of his life and that of Queen guitarist Brian May. When the two musicians meet, he said, they sometimes imagine Mercury sitting nearby and wonder what he would think or say. Taylor, who will release his new solo album “Violence Insane In A Beautiful World” on Sept. 18, added that no current performer could match Mercury. “There is nobody today who could hold a candle to him,” he said, saying artists such as Mercury and David Bowie would never be forgotten.

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There is nobody today who could hold a candle to him.