Once again the sun shone in Montreux for the 5th annual Freddie Mercury’s Montreux Memorial Day. Fans from all points of the globe arrived for this meeting of old friends and with the prospect to make new ones. Italy was largely represented, with people from as far a field as Argentina, Japan, and North America and closer to home, Russia, Norway, Hungary and Czech Republic. Montreux was happy to welcome back friends from the UK, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, and Holland. The show started with a gathering at Freddie’s statue. Jo the saxo was there and played a selection of Queen arrangements in his inimitable way, bringing a tear to some faces with his plaintive sound. Everyone made progress to the NED, a music club not far from Montreux station, where everybody was in for a great evening. First on stage in the smaller hall was ‘Queen Unplugged Project’ from Hungary. They gave the spellbound audience a real treat, mixing some of the old songs, newer ones and of course Tavaszi Szel, which Freddie sang in the Nep Stadium in Budapest. Many of the crowd, who had come mainly for the Italian band MerQury, were totally won over with the amazing arrangements that the Hungarians produced. There was a great buzz going around the venue after they had finished! They were followed by MerQury, from Italy, who gave the fans a Queen show, created specially for Montreux, in the time honoured tradition, with costumes, lights and high notes. No-one came away from the evening disappointed!

Saturday dawned bright and warm. Any mist hanging over the mountains across the lake very quickly evaporated and the stage was set for a full morning and afternoon. It started, with boat trips at 9am for those fans interested in seeing ‘Duckingham Palace” and boat house photographed for the cover of Queen’s ‘Made In Heaven’ album, and Freddie’s apartment in Territet, then continued in the banqueting room of the Excelsior Hotel, not far from the apartment Freddie acquired during the last couple of years of his life. Part one was Peter Freestone presenting much previously unheard material from the pre-Barcelona session Freddie, Montserrat and Mike Moran had at Garden Lodge, after Montserrat’s concert at the Royal Opera House. Many of the audience were near tears with laughter and sadness by the end of this hour and a half. This was followed by a break for lunch, and then it was the turn of Greg Brooks, Queen’s official archivist. He presented a selection of Freddie rarities which some people had heard from the Freddie ‘big box’. These were made special by the way Greg talked about how these items were discovered, and how they were mixed and were put together for the set. Altogether a very interesting time for discovering parts of Freddie many people didn’t know about. Afterwards there was a chance for the participants to gather in the garden of the hotel and discuss the previous few hours over a couple of drinks, seeing the view that Freddie saw from his home a few metres away.

In the evening there was a small parting of ways. Originally montreuxmusic had planned to have a concert with the German band Mayqueen. Out of the blue it was announced that Elton John would be performing in Vevey, a town a few kilometres from Montreux. What was to be done? To go to a show of a great friend of Freddie’s, or a performance with Mayqueen? It was decided that it would not be fair to Mayqueen if many people went to the Elton show and left only a few people to see them. This caused a lot of thought and discussion, the end result was a package for the weekend with Elton John and one without.

For the trip to Vevey, the participants took the ferry across part of Lake Leman. For many it was the first time they had been on one of these boats. Norbert arranged for the captain to swing close to the boat house featured on the Made in Heaven album which raised the spirit of the wind blown passengers. There was not one face that wasn’t smiling! The Elton show was 2 hours 20 minutes of non stop music. The first 5 songs were from the new album, and then it was hit after hit until the end. Elton was his usual bubbly self, talking occasionally to the crowd in French, and there was a nice moment when he sang ‘I’m Still Standing’ to remember when he sang that song for Freddie in Munich in the 80s, at the time Freddie had his whole leg in plaster of Paris after straining the ligaments in his knee!!!

It was a bitter sweet parting of ways at the statue on the Sunday morning. Many were sad that they would not see new or old friends for another year. For some these few days seemed to be a week, but for all it was all too short a time together. For many they recounted their happy moments during the gathering and it was good to see laughter around the statue of Freddie, with his garland of yellow dahlias and surrounded by yellow flowers of many varieties.

Many thanks to Rita and Norbert for arranging yet another full weekend! Till next year………
Peter Freestone

Memorial Day 2007 :

Friday september 7th, 2007 :

Saturday september 8th, 2007 :