Editing Queen (band) (section)

===1988–1992: ''The Miracle'', ''Innuendo'' and Mercury's final years===
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In October 1986, two months after his final concert, Mercury, on his return to London from holiday, was confronted by a tabloid frenzy at [[Heathrow Airport]] with the British newspapers the ''[[News of the World]]'' and ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' reporting he had his blood tested for HIV/AIDS at a [[Harley Street]] clinic, but Mercury was quoted as saying he was "perfectly fit and healthy".<ref name="Goldsmith"/> Fans noticed his increasingly gaunt appearance in 1988, with Mercury insisting he was merely "exhausted" and too busy to provide interviews; he was now 42 years old and had been involved in music for nearly two decades.<ref>''VH1 Legends: Queen''-Viacom International, VH1, 1997.</ref> He had in fact been diagnosed as HIV positive in 1987, but did not make his illness public, with only his inner circle of colleagues and friends aware of his condition.<ref name="BrianQuoteFreddie"/>

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| caption1 = Queen recorded six studio albums at [[Mountain Studios]] in Montreux, Switzerland from 1978 to 1995, with Mercury making his final recording here in June 1991.
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| caption2 = The tribute wall in the studio. The free tour, [[Queen: The Studio Experience]], was opened in December 2013, with fans asked for a donation to the [[Mercury Phoenix Trust]] charity.<ref name="Montreux studio"/>
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After working on various solo projects during 1988 (including Mercury's collaboration with [[Montserrat Caballé]], ''[[Barcelona (Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé album)|Barcelona]]''), the band released ''[[The Miracle (album)|The Miracle]]'' in 1989. The album continued the direction of ''A Kind of Magic'', using a pop-rock sound mixed with a few heavy numbers. It spawned the hit singles "[[I Want It All (Queen song)|I Want It All]]"—which became an anti-apartheid anthem in South Africa—"[[Scandal (song)|Scandal]]", and "[[The Miracle (song)|The Miracle]]".<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=The Platinum Collection |title-link=The Platinum Collection (Queen album) |others=Queen |year=2000 |first=Jim |last=Jenkins |author2=Smith, Jacky |author3=Davis, Andy |author4=Symes, Phil |page=12 |type=CD booklet |publisher=[[Parlophone]] |id=7243 5 29883 2 7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/r15983|title=Queen; The Miracle|website=AllMusic|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101055559/http://www.allmusic.com/album/r15983|archive-date=1 January 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''The Miracle'' also began a change in direction of Queen's songwriting philosophy. Beforehand, nearly all songs had been written by and credited to a single member. With ''The Miracle'', their songwriting became more collaborative, and they vowed to credit the final product only to Queen as a group.{{sfn|Purvis|2006|p=67}}

In 1990, Queen ended their contract with Capitol and signed with [[Hollywood Records]]; through the deal, [[Disney Music Group|Disney]] acquired the North American distribution rights to Queen's catalogue for $10&nbsp;million, and remains the group's music catalogue owner and distributor in the US and Canada; the band retained ownership of the global rights through the UK-based Queen Productions [[Private company limited by shares|Ltd.]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Queen Signs With Disney, Raising Hope For CD Releases|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/09/13/queen-signs-with-disney-raising-hope-for-cd-releases/|access-date=17 July 2014|work=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Los Angeles Daily News|date=13 September 1990|archive-date=17 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317172326/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-09-13/features/9003160958_1_queen-catalog-reissues-international-cd-exchange|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Wilker|first1=Deborah|title=Queen Must Decide On Replacing Freddie Mercury|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/05/07/queen-must-decide-on-replacing-freddie-mercury/|access-date=17 July 2014|work=Sun-Sentinel|date=7 May 1992|archive-date=17 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317172331/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-05-07/features/9202100472_1_roxy-meade-queen-freddie-mercury|url-status=live}}</ref> In February that year, Mercury made what would prove to be his final public appearance when he joined the rest of Queen onstage at the [[Dominion Theatre]] in London to collect the [[Brit Awards|Brit Award]] for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/brit_awards/freddy.htm|title=The Highs and Lows of the Brit Awards|publisher=BBC|access-date=28 September 2014|date=2 December 1999|archive-date=1 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301010136/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/brit_awards/freddy.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Their fourteenth studio album, ''[[Innuendo (album)|Innuendo]]'', was released in early 1991 with "[[Innuendo (song)|Innuendo]]" and other charting singles released later in the year. The music video for "[[The Show Must Go On (Queen song)|The Show Must Go On]]" featured archive footage of Queen's performances between 1981 and 1989, and along with the manner of the song's lyrics, fuelled reports that Mercury was dying.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/queen/ |title=Queen Online " History " Discography |publisher=Queenonline.com |access-date=7 November 2010 |archive-date=26 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826182522/http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/Queen/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Donald A. Guarisco|url= https://allmusic.com/song/the-show-must-go-on-t2359477|title=The Show Must Go On – Queen|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904084457/http://allmusic.com/song/the-show-must-go-on-t2359477|archive-date=4 September 2011|website=AllMusic|access-date=23 May 2011}}</ref> Mercury was increasingly ill and could barely walk when the band recorded "The Show Must Go On" in 1990. Because of this, May had concerns about whether he was physically capable of singing it, but May recalled that he "completely killed it".<ref name="RollingStoneSingers" /> The rest of the band were ready to record when Mercury felt able to come into the studio, for an hour or two at a time. May says of Mercury: "He just kept saying. 'Write me more. Write me stuff. I want to just sing this and do it and when I am gone you can finish it off.' He had no fear, really."<ref name="Montreux studio" /> The band's second-greatest hits compilation, ''[[Greatest Hits II (Queen album)|Greatest Hits II]]'', followed in October 1991; it is the [[List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom|tenth best-selling album]] in the UK,<ref name="bpialbums">{{cite web|url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/top%2040%20albums.pdf|publisher=BPI|title=Top 40 Best Selling Albums 28 July 1956 – 14 June 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122135241/http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/top%2040%20albums.pdf|archive-date=22 November 2009}}</ref> the [[List of best-selling albums in Germany#By Units|seventh best-selling album in Germany]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musikindustrie.de/fileadmin/piclib/presse/Dokumente_zum_Download/Gold_Platin_Hoechstverleihungen_Stand_100621.pdf|title=Highest Gold Platinum certifications as of 2008|access-date=3 July 2020|publisher=International Federation of the Phonographic Industry|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104050205/http://www.musikindustrie.de/fileadmin/piclib/presse/Dokumente_zum_Download/Gold_Platin_Hoechstverleihungen_Stand_100621.pdf|archive-date=4 January 2011}}</ref> is certified Diamond in France where it is one of the [[List of best-selling albums in France#List of the 20 best-selling albums of all-time in France by sales|best-selling albums]],<ref>{{cite news |title=French album certifications – Queen – Greatest Hits Vol. 2 |url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Album_Certification_Liste.php |publisher=InfoDisc |quote=''Select'' QUEEN and click OK. |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414091613/http://www.infodisc.fr/Album_Certification_Liste.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and has sold 16&nbsp;million copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5hpn |title=Queen Greatest Hits I and II Review |publisher=BBC |access-date=13 February 2018 |archive-date=13 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213211602/https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5hpn/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-vol-2-r299806|title=Queen; Greatest Hits, Vol. 2|website=AllMusic|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007050544/http://allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-vol-2-r299806|archive-date=7 October 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Wembley Stadium Twin Towers.jpg|thumb|left|Following Mercury's death on 24 November 1991, [[The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert|his tribute concert]] was held at the original [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] in London on 20 April 1992, the same venue where Queen performed at Live Aid in July 1985]]
On 23 November 1991, in a prepared statement made on his deathbed, Mercury confirmed that he had AIDS.<ref name="Bret_1996_179">{{Cite book |author=Bret, David |year=1996 |title=Living on the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story |location=London |publisher=Robson Books |isbn=1-86105-256-1|page=179 }}</ref> Within 24 hours of the statement, he [[Death of Freddie Mercury|died]] of [[Bronchopneumonia|bronchial pneumonia]], which was brought on as a complication of the disease.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/24/newsid_2546000/2546945.stm|title=1991: Giant of rock dies|publisher=BBC|access-date=28 September 2014|date=24 November 1991|archive-date=30 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730110726/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/24/newsid_2546000/2546945.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> His funeral service on 27 November in [[Kensal Green]], West London was private, and held in accordance with the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] religious faith of his family.<ref name="FreddieFuneral">{{cite web|title=Freddie, I'll Love You Always |url=http://mr-mercury.co.uk/nov_28_91_mirror_freddie.htm |work=The Mirror |date=28 November 1991 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012022809/http://mr-mercury.co.uk/nov_28_91_mirror_freddie.htm |archive-date=12 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mr-mercury.co.uk/sun_28_11_91.htm |title=Elton's Sad Farewell |publisher=Mr-mercury.co.uk |access-date=28 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012022621/http://mr-mercury.co.uk/sun_28_11_91.htm |archive-date=12 October 2014}}</ref>

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was re-released as a single shortly after Mercury's death, with "[[These Are the Days of Our Lives]]" as the double A-side. The [[These Are the Days of Our Lives#Music video|music video]] for the latter contains Mercury's final scenes in front of the camera. Ron Hart of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote, "the conga-driven synth ballad "These Are the Days of Our Lives" is ''Innuendo''{{'s}} most significant single, given that its video marked the last time his fans were able to see the singer alive."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Remembering Queen's Last Masterpiece, 'Innuendo' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/queens-innuendo-remembering-freddie-mercurys-last-masterpiece-223856/ |access-date=20 November 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330175736/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/queens-innuendo-remembering-freddie-mercurys-last-masterpiece-223856/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The video was recorded on 30 May 1991 (which proved to be Mercury's final work with Queen).<ref>{{cite news |last=Sherwin |first=Adam |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/final-freddie-mercury-performance-discovered-2290788.html |title=Final Freddie Mercury performance discovered |work=The Independent |date=30 May 2011 |location=London |access-date=10 September 2017 |archive-date=30 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930125248/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/final-freddie-mercury-performance-discovered-2290788.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The single went to [[List of number-one singles (UK)|number one]] in the UK, remaining there for five weeks—the only recording to top the Christmas chart twice and the only one to be number one in four different years (1975, 1976, 1991, and 1992).<ref>{{cite news |title=Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody voted the Nation's Favourite Number 1 Single |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/queen-s-bohemian-rhapsody-voted-the-nation-s-favourite-number-1-single__2258/ |access-date=20 November 2019 |work=Official Charts Company |archive-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528120734/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/queen-s-bohemian-rhapsody-voted-the-nation-s-favourite-number-1-single__2258/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Initial proceeds from the single—approximately £1,000,000—were donated to the [[Terrence Higgins Trust]], an AIDS charity.<ref name="Avert - History of HIV & AIDS in the UK">{{Cite web|title=History of HIV & AIDS in the UK (1981–1995)|date=21 July 2015|publisher=Avert|url=http://www.avert.org/uk-aids-history.htm|access-date=14 February 2007|archive-date=28 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828151743/http://www.avert.org/uk-aids-history.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Queen's popularity was stimulated in North America when "Bohemian Rhapsody" was featured in the 1992 comedy film ''[[Wayne's World (film)|Wayne's World]]''.<ref name="Billboard1992"/> Its inclusion helped the song reach number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for five weeks in 1992 (including its 1976 chart run, it remained in the Hot 100 for a combined 41 weeks),<ref name="Billboard1992"/> and won the band an [[MTV Award]] at the [[1992 MTV Video Music Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1992/mtvvmas.htm|title=1992 MTV Video Music Awards|publisher=Rockonthenet.com|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141932/http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1992/mtvvmas.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The compilation album ''[[Classic Queen]]'' also reached number four on the ''Billboard'' 200, and is certified three times platinum in the US.<ref name=RIAAC/><ref name="Billboard1992"/> ''Wayne's World'' footage was used to make a new music video for "Bohemian Rhapsody", with which the band and management were delighted.<ref>''Made in Heaven'' video documentary "Champions of the World".</ref>

On 20 April 1992, [[The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert]] was held at London's [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] to a crowd of 72,000.<ref name="definitive3">{{Cite book|last=Jackson|first=Laura|year=2002|page=3|title=Queen: The Definitive Biography|place=London|publisher=Piatkus|isbn=978-0-7499-2317-4}}</ref> Performers, including [[Def Leppard]], [[Robert Plant]], [[Tony Iommi]], [[Roger Daltrey]], [[Guns N' Roses]], [[Elton John]], [[David Bowie]], [[George Michael]], [[Annie Lennox]], [[Seal (musician)|Seal]], [[Extreme (band)|Extreme]], and [[Metallica]] performed various Queen songs along with the three remaining Queen members (and [[Spike Edney]].) The concert is listed in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as "The largest rock star [[benefit concert]]",<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Folkard|first1=Claire|last2=Vidal|first2=Oriol|year=2004|title=Guinness World Records 2005}}</ref> as it was televised to over 1.2&nbsp;billion viewers worldwide,<ref name="hotshotdigital"/> and raised over £20,000,000 for AIDS charities.<ref name="Avert - History of HIV & AIDS in the UK"/>