Eurovision discovers what went on behind the scenes of Rose d'Or winning Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender (originally aired on BBC One television). They talk to Joss Crowley, producer at Eagle Rock Productions, about his involvement and what is needed to make an award-winning arts documentary. 

Crowley became involved in the project when the director, Rhys Thomas, decided to expand the documentary from just the making of the Barcelona album to focussing on Freddie Mercury as a person and a solo musician, outside of the super group Queen.

“We were very keen to try something different from the traditional ‘cradle to grave’ rock documentary by using a thematic approach to the narrative. Why not let the archive and interviews speak for themselves and go without any formal narration over the top? Rhys realised immediately that the documentary has two audiences: the real fans and the wider group who only know Freddie as the flamboyant showman and we want both audiences to learn more about him.”

Editor Christopher Bird was also an important part of the mix. He had worked with Thomas on a previous Queen project, Days Of Our Lives, when they realised how much of the story was left to be told and how nearly all of it revolved around Freddie.

According to Crowley, Freddie Mercury and Queen’s long term manager, Jim Beach, was also completely behind the project, and in fact necessary to accessing the amazing library of archival footage: “His team of archivists has maintained the best archives of any artist I have come across. In addition to the widely seen video clips and interviews with Freddie, he opened up a treasure trove of film archive including all the original 16mm or 35mm
rushes and outtakes from music videos, concerts, and Freddie’s famous 39^th birthday party in Munich.”

Freddie never gave many interviews but happily permitted his last grand birthday party held in Munich in 1985 to be filmed. Crowley recalls, “This had often been used in the past to show how ‘wild and crazy’ he was, but when put into context with what else was happening in his life and the world at the time, it was clear that he realised that things were changing and that the celebration of irresponsibility and decadence was ending.  When we reviewed the footage, it was incredibly sobering to note how many people at that party had since died of AIDS-related illnesses.”

In 1987, Freddie embraced his love of opera and wrote and recorded a single and an album, Barcelona, with operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé. The single reached number eight in the UK singles chart and became Freddie’s biggest solo hit, An interview with Caballé where she talks about Mercury's struggle with AIDS turns into one particularly touching scene. She recalls that Freddie was afraid to kiss her or get his glass of champagne mixed up with hers.

Crowley says that the film differs from others in that it shows more than "Freddie saying more than just a single funny line before switching to to concert footage." Through the film, the viewer taps into the human side of Freddy Mercury, the guy who didn't wallow or complain about his health, the man who took on some tough internal questions and tried to keep part of himself hidden. 

“The information is vital of course, but in the course of making this documentary, I’ve learned that it’s less about the story itself and more about how you tell it,” Crowley reflects. Currently working on a film about iconic rockers Deep Purple, he considers what led Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender to win the Rose d’Or: “You need three elements to succeed: a terrific team of creatives (director, editor, producer), access to excellent archive material and the unstinting support of your production company.”