Queen and Culture Club remember Freddie Mercury on anniversary of his death

By Ellie Iorizzo, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter

Queen guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and Culture Club have paid tribute to Freddie Mercury on the 31st anniversary of the singer’s death.

The flamboyant and charismatic frontman of Queen died aged 45 on November 24 1991, after suffering with bronchial pneumonia resulting from Aids.

The writer and performer of much-loved anthems including We Are The Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody revealed he was HIV positive the day before his death.

Veteran rocker May, who was a founding member of British rock band Queen, shared a photograph of Mercury captioning it: “Love ya Freddie. Bri.”

The band, which consisted of lead singer Mercury, guitarist May, drummer Taylor, and bassist John Deacon, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

On Instagram, Taylor shared an image of him posing alongside Mercury in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1974.

He captioned it: “Memories.”

Meanwhile, pop group Culture Club shared an image of frontman Boy George and Mercury backstage at the Fashion Aid event at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 5 1985.

With a red heart included, the image was captioned: “Remembering the great Freddie Mercury.”

Boy George became the fourth celebrity to leave I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! on Tuesday after 18 days in the Australian jungle with campmates including rugby star Mike Tindall and Lioness Jill Scott.

In October, Queen released a lost song featuring their late band member for the first time in more than eight years.

Face It Alone was originally recorded during the rock band’s 1988 sessions for their album The Miracle, but remained among those that did not make the final cut.

It was later rediscovered when the band’s production and archive team returned to the sessions to work on the upcoming reissue of the album.