How Freddie Mercury Refused to Allow HIV to Derail His Art

25 years ago Queen released ‘Innuendo,’ a return to form that held a powerful secret

For Queen, 1991 began rather auspiciously. At the time, the band was marking its 20th anniversary in a career that saw many of its peers from the 1970s arena-rock era come and go. Queen had also signed a new U.S. deal with the emerging Disney-owned Hollywood Records that not only included the release of the band’s upcoming album but also the reissue of its back catalogue. Having already conquered the rest of the world, Queen seemed poised for a comeback in America, where the band’s popularity flagged during most of the 1980s, after the triumphs of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”

But the hoopla was tempered by a much more serious matter that only the band and those close to them knew: Queen’s irrepressible singer Freddie Mercury was ailing after testing HIV-positive sometime in the late 80s. Fiercely keeping his illness a secret from the media and the public, Mercury pressed ahead in making as much music as possible while he was still alive. The result was Innuendo, Queen’s 14th…