Saving Mercury

Chapter 1: Surprise Visit

October 1990

I sat in the living room of my London flat, my eyes focused on a copy of The Sun, my ears caught in the song currently playing on the radio. It sounded so familiar-

"I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now!"

Ah, Queen. I had grown up listening to their music. My father, Jonathan Burke, had worked with the lighting at their concerts, so I owned all of their records as a teenager. I even had the opportunity to attend one of their concerts at Wembley Stadium in 1986. That was when I had the opportunity of a lifetime- to meet Queen.

At 22, I was a young medical student at Oxford. After the stunning concert, my father took me backstage and introduced me to none other than Brian May, John Deacon, Freddie Mercury, and Roger Taylor. I got along well with them right from the start, even though I was usually a very shy young woman. I had an especially good time talking with the drummer, Roger Meddows Taylor.

I guess you could say that from then on, they were my friends. My father's connections with the band allowed us to keep in contact. When the band wasn't recording or touring, Roger would sometimes invite me to hang out with them. Although I was close to all of them, I felt a special connection with Rog.

As time went by, I became busy with my new job as a doctor. Mid-1987 was the last time I saw any of them. Of course, I wrote letters and called up Roger on the telephone occasionally, but more important was my occupation. I spent the next 3 years focused on researching diseases, particularly the AIDS epidemic that was spreading throughout the Third World and among hemophiliacs and gay men. My life was very busy.

"Meow!" Smoky, my fluffy gray Persian cat, jumped onto the coffee table. The radio was now playing a slow, sad love song. Ugh! I got up and turned it off, uninterested. Just as I was about to sit down in my armchair, I heard a loud knock on the door. Turning the knob gently, I opened it. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Roger on the other end of the door.

"Oh God, it's been so long..." The words barely escaped my mouth.

"Ella," he said, "I needed to see you. I really should have told you this sooner. It's important."

I couldn't speak. All I could do was ogle at Roger. He had changed so much over the past 3 years, yet he was so familiar. His most striking feature had always been his big blue eyes, which looked like pools of water- clear and perfect. His lips were not smiling like they usually did- I knew this was serious.

"Come sit down, Roggie." I gestured towards my leather sofa, where Smoky had already curled up next to a blanket. Roger followed me to the sofa and we both sat down together. My eyes studied him. I gazed at his blond hair, which was beginning to gray at age 41. He let out a huge sigh- something he never did.

It felt like forever between that sigh and the words he said next, yet I was still not prepared for what he was going to say.

"Ella- Freddie has AIDS."