Freddie Mercury would have turned 78 todayBeyond his music, the legendary artist left us with great anecdotes like this one, in which he demonstrated his great self-confidence.
In an excerpt from his autobiography, ‘(R)evolution: The Autobiography’ (via Loudersound), Singer Gary Newman explains how Queen’s frontman Mercury ordered a McDonald’s burger delivered to him – in a limousine – at one of the poshest sushi restaurants in all of TokyoIt all started when Numan, at a bit of a low point in his career, decided to go to the capital of Japan and, at one point, buy a ticket to go see the British.
“What I didn’t realize was that I had been quite successful in Japan.“says Numan, who was approached by several fans shortly after entering the venue. “S“I had only been successful in the UK for a year or so… it had never occurred to me that fame could be a problem there. In the end, Queen’s team had to rescue me and take me backstage. I met up with the band and explained what had happened, so they took me in.”.
After the concert, the members of the legendary English band invited Numan to dinner at one of the poshest sushi restaurants in all of Tokyo. The problem, however, was that the singer did not have very refined tastes, being more of a fan of ketchup than soy sauce and wasabi.
“After a while, Freddie Mercury came over and said, ‘Hey, you’re not eating anything. What’s wrong with you?’ So I said, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m just amazed to be here, I’m a huge Queen fan.’ So he asked me what I’d like to eat and I said, ‘McDonald’s… but don’t worry, I’ll get a burger later.’‘”.
“15 minutes passed and suddenly a limousine appeared at the door of the restaurant and… the driver came out with a McDonalds scoop! Freddie had spoken to the owner of the restaurant, bribed him with some yen and there I was, eating a McDonalds meal in one of the poshest restaurants in Tokyo next to Queen. I was impressed, they were really lovely and humble people.”.
Numan also explains that this was not the first time he was able to speak with the members of Queen, as they had spoken to him when he was only 16 years old, during a concert in 1970.
“Other bands would always run to their limos and ignore everyone”states, “But Queen were different. They invited everyone into their dressing rooms, talked to them and signed everything they were asked for. It was a lesson in how to treat those who support you. I have always tried to emulate that attitude whenever I could.”.
