A few weeks ago, my dad brought me something from Istanbul that evoked a lot of memories. It is the album that instantly made me a Queen fan and opened the door to every other musical interest of mine. Let’s go back to 1995 and talk about the last studio album that Queen ever released.
I am, of course, referring to Made In Heaven. Ironically, Queen’s last album was my first from them. I was just 10 years old when I got it. My dad had received The Freddie Mercury Album, a compilation of some of Freddie’s solo works, as a gift from a colleague. I was already an introverted kid who was looking for any excuse to discover new music. I didn’t realize it then, but Freddie’s Living On My Own, Let’s Turn It On, The Great Pretender, and Foolin’ Around were perfect gateways to what was to come. I loved the music and this man sounded amazing on vocals! Who was he?
The Freddie Mercury Album (1992)
I soon learned more about Freddie Mercury and Queen. This was before the Internet was widely used. We certainly didn’t have it at home yet. I couldn’t look him up to read more or sample some of Queen’s music. It was a discovery that had to be spread over time. Also, I was a kid operating on weekly allowances. Where was I to even start? That answer came from an unexpected source; a documentary parents caught and recorded for me on a Turkish private TV channel that doesn’t even exist anymore. It was past my bed time but they wanted me to see parts of it the next day. For those who don’t know, I was born and raised in Turkey before moving to the US. In the ‘90s, we had this channel called HBB. I don’t remember much about it, but I vividly remember the documentary my parents taped on a blank VHS for me because they knew I wanted to learn more about Freddie.
They had only managed to record the tail end of the documentary, so to this day I have no idea what the beginning was like. But I remember there was a presenter. She introduced a video clip, told a brief story about it, and then they would show the video she had talked about. They must have caught it from 1989 onwards, because the documentary for me started with “The Invisible Man”, “I Want It All”, and “Scandal”. I also saw videos from the Innuendo days. All this before I had even owned The Miracle or Innuendo. But then the host talked about Freddie’s death in 1991. I knew he had passed, but watching those images set to “You Take My Breath Away,” a song I was hearing for the first time, truly broke my heart. How could this incredible musician be gone? But just as I was feeling like everything was lost, the presenter started talking about a new Queen album. New? How?
There is already a lot of material available on how the remaining members of Queen came up with the songs on Made In Heaven. There are some new tracks. These are songs where Freddie just did the vocals to a click track and the guys did the music later. Then there are some earlier Queen demos that got re-worked to be put on here. Finally, there are some material from Freddie’s solo album that got new versions as Queen songs. The title track, for example, is originally from Freddie’s Mr. Bad Guy album. So, not everything is new, per se, but everything got reworked, everything got a new life, and we definitely got a new Queen album. I was catching this documentary right when Queen was releasing this gift to the whole world. Here was our chance to listen to new Queen music in a full-length studio album context for one last time.
I wanted that CD. I didn’t own any CDs at the time, or anything else that stored full-length albums. Though I later co-opted the Freddie Mercury compilation CD, it didn’t belong to me at the time. So, my first CD was going to be Queen’s Made In Heaven. I asked my mom if I could get my pocket money earlier in the week to buy the album. She ended up buying it for me. She could tell I was moved by the documentary, and I was at the cusp of making a big musical discovery.
So within a few days of watching this documentary, I was holding this CD in my hands. I still have it! It’s in its original package too. What a great memory to have and what a great discovery it led to!
My “Made In Heaven” CD. I used to have the booklet open in front of me all the time to read the lyrics.
I have no idea what happened to that VHS tape my parents recorded. I checked YouTube but I couldn’t find anything about it. Still, I’m grateful to the people who worked at that private TV channel for getting the word out to the Turkish public about Freddie Mercury, Queen, and their new release. And a big shout out to my parents who recognized an interest early on and decided to tape it. Where would we be without people who introduce us or give us the tools to make our own discoveries?
Made In Heaven is a phenomenal release. I didn’t intend to do a full review, so I’ll leave that for another day, but it’s a record that captures Queen’s essence beautifully. Every song is a different story. And it covers a huge timeline if you know your Queen history. If you haven’t heard it, give it a listen. Brian, Roger, and John dedicated this album to the “immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury”. It doesn’t get any more meaningful than that. I will never let go of the musical journey this band set me on. I engage with music in my own way, and it has been the best fuel whenever I’ve needed to keep moving forward.
When stormy weather comes around
It was made in heaven
When sunny skies break through behind the clouds
I wish it could last forever
