Queen's Brian May Contemplated Suicide After Freddie Mercury's Death

Even though Brian May knew Freddie Mercury would ultimately succumb to AIDS, the Queen guitarist recently revealed that he was suicidal after the singer's 1991 death. In an interview with UK's Daily Mail (via Gibson), May revealed that the impact of Mercury's death was compounded by the loss of his father, who died around the same time.

"The band finished, so there was a terrible feeling of loss -- the band was my family," May said. "We lost Freddie and my dad died at almost the same time. I didn't want to live. I'd lost myself completely. I coasted along and got by somehow, but I couldn't get myself into gear. So I had to go into this place where I was isolated and removed from my life. Gradually, the suicidal feelings went away."

The "place" May is referring to was an Arizona clinic that he checked into to battle his depression. The legendary axeman also revealed that Mercury -- who would have celebrated his 65th birthday on Sept. 5 -- ultimately decided to give up fighting the disease.

"Freddie loved life," May said. "He lived it to the full. And towards the end, when he realised it was no longer fun, he decided to come off medication. He was suffering and sadly there was no way out."

We're glad you pulled through, Brian.

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