Freddie Mercury’s Hilarious Fallout with Michael Jackson over a Llama

Freddie Mercury refused to work with Michael Jackson after a llama invaded their recording studio, leading to a comedic fallout between the two music legends. Mercury was so put off by the unexpected pet that he called his manager to rescue him from the bizarre situation. The collaboration ended prematurely, leaving one track recorded and many laughs shared over the whole incident.

In a twist straight out of a musical drama, it turns out Freddie Mercury had a major fallout with none other than Michael Jackson, and it all stems from a rather unexpected studio visitor. Yes, you heard that right! The legendary Queen frontman reportedly refused to continue their collaborative efforts and it’s not quite what you’d expect. A pet llama, of all things, disrupted the creative flow, leading to a hilarious yet awkward impasse in the recording sessions.

Back in the golden era of the ’80s, when queens ruled rock and pop was king, Mercury took a break from his iconic band to work on some solo tunes. It was then he found himself sharing a studio with the one and only Michael Jackson—freshly powered by the staggering success of Thriller. It seemed like a match made in musical heaven, or at least that’s what everyone thought. But hey, dreams can be dashed pretty quickly, just like a high note gone wrong.

According to Jo Burt, a session musician who worked on Mercury’s solo venture, things got tense pretty fast. The breaking point? Yes, you guessed it—Jackson’s pet llama crashing the party. Apparently, Mercury was so taken aback by the llama wandering around in the studio that he had to call one of his team members just to escape the situation! Talk about a real-life musical zoo!

In a twist of fate, their planned duets were essentially shelved after less than warm interactions in the studio at the time. Can you imagine? Mercury, the dazzling rock star, and Jackson, the King of Pop, unable to harmonise thanks to a llama and a monkey! The sessions kicked off in 1983, right after Mercury released his solo album Mr. Bad Guy and not long before Queen exploded back onto the scene with their iconic Live Aid performance.

Despite the chaos, there was a silver lining in all this madness. They did manage to lay down the track “There Must Be More to Life Than This”—a tune that made it onto Mercury’s 1985 album. But the collaboration was short-lived, and let’s just say studio animals became well-known for their destructive behaviour that day. Who knew one could be ambushed creatively by a furry friend?

Burt made a cheeky remark about that fateful llama incident: “I think the last straw was when Michael brought his pet llama into the studio. I think Freddie sort of took umbrage to that.” Meanwhile, Jim ‘Miami’ Beach, Mercury’s manager, recalls receiving a rather flustered call: “Mercury rang me and said, ‘Miami, dear, can you get over here? You’ve got to get me out of here, I’m recording with a llama.'” Talk about a rock star emergency!

In a related side story that came up amid this discussion, there’s also the charming tale of Jackson’s pet chimp, Bubbles, who was apparently another ‘guest’ in the studio. One commenter on the r/Music subreddit mentioned that business got particularly chaotic with Bubbles sitting between them, leaving Mercury to declare his limits, saying he wasn’t going to perform with a chimp. The sheer absurdity would leave anyone chuckling, yet it shows how creative juices can get weirdly stifled by unexpected distractions.

This whole saga, highlighted by the amusing behaviour of animals, ended up ruining what could have been an epic collaboration—highlighting how sometimes you really can’t write this stuff. Mercury’s genius retreated, leaving behind an unfinished track and a lot of chuckles at what could have been.

In summary, Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson’s collaboration fell apart due to some unusual studio antics, mainly dictated by Jackson’s pets. The llamas and chimps turned what should have been a legendary duet into a comedy of errors, resulting in Mercury’s escape and an unfinished track. Both musical icons now share this curious note in their histories—sometimes animals really do get in the way of artistic genius!

Original Source: www.express.co.uk