On September 5, Queen fans around the world will be celebrating what would have been Freddie Mercury’s 80th birthday. Marking the milestone, his ex-fiancée and lifelong friend, Mary Austin, to whom he left a large amount of his estate, is publishing a book this week called A Life in Lyrics, featuring Freddie’s unseen personal archives.
Now in a new piece for The Times, she has shared a firsthand account of first meeting Freddie, where they clashed in a debate, but Brian May was on her side. The tense exchange took place at a house in Barnes, south London in 1969. Mary had been dating the guitarist after meeting at a performance of the band Yes.
Mary was invited over by Brian to join a group of friends going to a nearby pub, and she met Freddie and Roger in the sitting room beforehand. The future rock singer “stood with one arm resting on the mantelpiece to the decisive way he spoke, radiated confidence and conviction.” Freddie had recently joined Brian and Roger’s band, Smile, and they were discussing a new name for the group. The late singer suggested Queen. But the guitarist and drummer had other ideas.
Mary couldn’t remember Roger’s suggestion, but Brian’s was Build Your Own Boat. She recalled: “The debate continued and then, quite unexpectedly, Freddie looked over and asked what I thought. Taken aback by being suddenly drawn into the conversation, I agreed with Brian’s suggestion of Build Your Own Boat. Freddie smiled but said nothing. I have since wondered whether it was some sort of test; if so, I suspect I did not fare particularly well.” Of course, in the end, Freddie didn’t just win the band name debate, he also won the girl (after asking permission from Brian), who would briefly be his fiancée and lifelong friend.
Read Mary Austin’s full piece in The Times here.
