Vocal tracks recorded during Queen frontman Freddie Mercury's Barcelona sessions have become the hub of a rousing new track produced by Irish composer Stuart Leathem, "Little Freddie Goes to School." Having passed away from AIDS in 1991, the late, regal frontman's vocals were the right choice to be featured on the charity single for World AIDS day, which occurred on December 1.
"Little Freddie" launches with the looming sound of drums paired with an eerie sitar before Esther Trousdale's vocals kick in. Although Queen's glam and majestic feel is hardly represented on the entrancing track, Leathem structures the song to compliment Mercury's vocals before he and Trousdale team up for an enthralling harmony towards the song's end.
The rare Mercury vocals come from the "Bohemian Rhapsody" singer's "The Golden Boy" and "When This Old Tired Body Wants to Sing," both included on Mercury's broad box set, The Solo Collection. The latter having originally appeared on 1988's Barcelona, which fused Mercury's voice with the talents of Catalan soprano, Montserrat Caballé, Rolling Stone notes.
The single comes in the wake of Tuesday's World AIDS day in order to help raise awareness about the disease. All monetary proceeds from "Little Freddie Goes to School" will go straight to HIV/AIDS charity Mercury Phoenix Trust, named after the iconic vocalist, Entertainment Weekly notes. The forgotten vocals trail three previously unheard Queen tracks which came about on Queen Forever. The compilation album reintroduced a special collaboration with Michael Jackson, "There Must Be More to Life Than This."
In other Freddie Mercury news, the long-planned biopic about the singer has trudged on with Anthony McCarten, from The Theory of Everything. Although there isn't a confirmed lead star since the departure of Sacha Baron Cohen, Spectre actor Ben Whishaw is currently heading the pack in prospects. Cohen left the film after "creative differences" arose between he and the surviving members of Queen.
