Paul McCartney Once Called Freddie Mercury the 'Strongest Queen Member' — Here's Why

Paul McCartney named the strongest member of Queen after speaking highly of the band over the past years.

Queen and The Beatles remain the most influential bands in history, with their surviving members continuing their groups' legacy after losing their members. Even McCartney knew Queen's greatest asset, saying Freddie Mercury was the band's strongest feature.

"Freddie always had a good voice," McCartney said in the 1987 documentary Queen: Magic Years, Volume One - A Visual Anthology. "That's always been the anchor of that group I think and Brian good guitar player as well you know they've had musical skill."

He added, "I think you can tell when a band's got musical skill. But I think there's a say, the first thing you heard with Queen was Freddie's voice. And it's the same as it was then. It's a very strong voice. A very distinctive voice. And you recognize that this guy knows what he's doing."

Queen began in 1968, years after Brian May and Tim Staffell started a five-piece rock band when they were in high school. They eventually called the group Smile when they welcomed Roger Taylor on board.

Speaking with Esquire, Staffell recalled when he left Smile and how his departure gave way to Mercury to fill the position.

"Freddie joining the band was very natural, as he was really good friends with the band members before I left and simply dovetailed in. I just said to them, 'Look guys, I've already gone for some auditions,' and I said, 'I'm not happy with this anymore and I don't think it's gonna work out.' How wrong could you be?" he continued.

The Beatles and Queen developed a connection, especially through their songs "Hey Jude" and "Bohemian Rhapsody," which reportedly featured the same piano, according to Rolling Stone.

The bands, however, never got the chance to collaborate as The Beatles disbanded in 1970. On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed in front of the Dakota Apartments in New York City.

On the other hand, Queen's frontman passed away on November 24, 1991, after suffering from bronchial pneumonia caused by his AIDS diagnosis. Mercury felt the symptoms of HIV/AIDS in 1982 but kept his battle private until a day before his death.

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Queen, Freddie Mercury