Bryan Adams picks out historic Belfast gig as one of the highlights of his career: ‘The fans are unrivalled'
Canadian rocker Bryan Adams has revealed a Belfast concert more than 30 years is one of the highlights of his career.
After the 1991 release of (Everything I Do) I Do It For You from the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which was number one in the UK charts for 16 weeks, he played Dundonald Ice Bowl in October of that year — and it's forever in his memory.
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak review – a champion of eccentric hobbies and people power
Victoria Melody jokes that she joined a historical reenactment society as a response to getting divorced. It seems a plausible explanation. Why else would someone do something so eccentric? Dressing up in period costume and driving to the fields to relive ancient battles is one of those pastimes, like train spotting, metal detecting and attending fan conventions, we like to imagine as an oddball pursuit. But there is more going on here than a straight celebration of everyday British quirkiness. True, Melody has form in this area: she became a beauty queen to see what it was like for her pet to be entered in a dog show and spent a year living with pigeon fanciers. That is as well as the time she trained as a funeral director when she thought her dad was dying. As a self-styled anthropologist with a 'passion for other people's passions', she has a genuine love of peculiar hobbies. Her eyes light up when she describes the lengths her new friends go to in the name of historical accuracy. But in Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak, she demonstrates an interest that goes beyond the whimsical. For this is a story, directed by Mark Thomas, less about history buffs dressing up in old costumes and eating authentic stew, and more about people resisting authority and taking control of their environment. Having muddled up the musketeers of the English civil war with her memory of watching Dogtanian, she is fascinated to find a conflict between not only royalists and parliamentarians, but also radical groupings such as the Levellers, Ranters and, in particular, the Diggers. The belief of this dissident group in equality and access to common land strikes a chord with Melody as she works as an artist-in-residence on the deprived Whitehawk estate in Brighton. What if the land variously threatened by developers and neglected by the council could be reclaimed by those who lived there? What if it could be achieved through a massive – if not exactly accurate – historical reenactment? Her retelling of the tale, wide-eyed and ever delighted, is a joyful testament to people power and a heartening parable about the possibility of collective action. At Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, until 24 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews
Metro
10 hours ago
- Metro
Freddie Mercury's closest friend Mary Austin casts doubt on secret child claims
Freddie Mercury's ex-partner and long-time close friend Mary Austin has broken her silence on claims he had a secret child. The Queen legend died in November 1991, aged 45, having publicly shared that he had AIDS shortly before. Having once stated that he was bisexual, Mercury was known to have relationships with both men and women throughout his life, one of whom was Austin. They enjoyed a long-term romance in the early 70s, having met through guitarist Sir Brian May. While they got engaged in 1973, they ultimately split but remained good pals until Mercury's death, with him once calling her his 'only friend'. Mercury, who met Autin when he was 23 and he was 19, said in 1985: 'All my lovers ask me why they couldn't replace Mary, but it's impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary, and I don't want anybody else. We believe in each other; that's enough for me.' Fast forward to March 2025, and a woman came forward alleging the Bohemian Rhapsody hitmaker was her father after he had a brief fling with a friend's wife. Born in 1976, she speaks out for the first time in her new book, titled Love, Freddie and written by biographer Lesley-Ann Jones, claiming Mercury was 'devoted' to her. Up until now, it's believed only Mercury's Queen bandmates, parents, sister, and former partner, Austin, knew about the child's identity. Now 48, working in medicine and with kids of her own, she is referred to only as B. However, in her new interview, ex-fiancée Austin has poured cold water on the allegations, insisting she did not know of B's existence. Talking to The Times, Austin, who inherited much of Mercury's estate, said she would be 'astonished' if the claims were proven to be true. 'Freddie had a glorious openness, and I cannot imagine he would have wanted to, or been able to, keep such a joyful event a secret, either from me or other people closest to him,' Austin said. She also responded to the 17 handwritten diary entries that Mercury allegedly gave to his daughter shortly before his death, which B says she was trusted with as 'his only child and his next of kin'. In a letter to Jones for her book, B says: 'Mary Austin—the wonderful woman who was to all intents and purposes his wife until death parted them—knew absolutely everything about him, including all his undisclosed secrets.' But Austin herself denies such a thing. The 74-year-old added: 'The truth is that I am simply not the guardian of such a secret. 'I've never known of any child, or of any diaries. If Freddie had indeed had a child without me knowing anything about it, that would be astonishing to me.' Austin says that, if the We Will Rock You star did have a daughter, it would have brought him 'tremendous joy', as well as to his parents and 'everybody who cared about him'. While she believes that Mercury's parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, would have 'embraced her with all the love in their hearts', she 'does not remember Freddie ever speaking about creating a family.' Her comments admittedly come as a 'surprise' to author Jones, who responded to The Times by claiming she approached Austin for an interview 'countless times over many years, but she never once responded'. 'Mary was not party to a secret that Freddie had a child? I do not suggest that she was. Nor do I suggest that she was aware of or was passed any diaries,' Jones says. She proceeds to reiterate B's statement that Austin 'knew everything about [Mercury]' but specifies that the rocker's alleged daughter has not divulged which 'undisclosed secrets' Austin may have been privy to. More Trending Austin's interview, which she felt compelled to give due to the secret child claims gaining traction, follows B taking a paternity test to prove her identity. Taking to X, hitting out at allegations B is lying, writer Jones said: 'To those 'demanding' to see proof of a DNA test, otherwise they won't believe it – please rest assured that the requisite verification was obtained, legal teams have been involved, but that such measures are private & not shared publicly. Thank you'. She implored critics to 'wait and see' if they are doubting the legitimacy of Mercury's diary entries, after B denied wanting money or fame after coming forward. 'His true story, told in his own words, is incredible,' said Jones. 'I love him all the more for it. You will too.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- The Guardian
New book claims to reveal details of Freddie Mercury's secret daughter
His performances defined an era, and his life story has been dissected in tell-all books as well as on the big screen. But now further revelations may open up an unknown chapter in the life of Freddie Mercury. The question of whether or not Mercury had a secret daughter, whom he told no one about and would now be 48-years-old, has divided fans and the closest people in his life. A forthcoming book by Lesley-Ann Jones tells of a woman known only as B, who claims that the woman is in fact the Queen frontman's daughter – conceived during a fling with the wife of a close friend in 1976. 'Freddie Mercury was and is my father,' she states. 'We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life. He adored me and was devoted to me.' Little is known about B other than her age and the fact she is a medical professional working in Europe. She claims Mercury entrusted her with 17 journals that cover the final years of his life, which Jones says are 'the closest thing to a Freddie Mercury autobiography that the world will ever know'. But the claims, which first emerged in May and were apparently common knowledge in Mercury's inner circle, have been met with mounting pushback from some people who knew the singer best. When asked about B, the Queen guitarist Brian May said he wanted to remain 'neutral'. However, his wife, the former EastEnders star Anita Dobson, dismissed the claims as 'fake news'. Mary Austin, a close friend of the singer, also doubted whether Mercury would have kept the fact he had a daughter secret from his inner circle. 'Freddie had a glorious openness, and I cannot imagine he would have wanted to, or been able to, keep such a joyful event a secret, either from me or other people closest to him,' Austin told the Sunday Times. Austin inherited about half of an estimated £9m estate that Mercury left after being diagnosed with Aids in 1987. He died aged 45 of bronchial pneumonia in 1991. Mercury had relationships with men and women (including Austin) and described himself as bisexual. 'The truth is that I am simply not the guardian of such a secret,' said Austin. 'I've never known of any child, or of any diaries. If Freddie had indeed had a child without me knowing anything about it, that would be astonishing to me.' The woman referred to as B responded by saying she was 'devastated' by Austin's comments. Jones – whose book Love, Freddie will be published next month – defended the validity of the claims when they first emerged, saying that a DNA test had been conducted that supports the version of events presented in her new book. She also pointed to the lack of a vocal rejection of the claims by the remaining members of Queen as further evidence that the details in her book are true. 'What I would say is that the real inner circle – the other members of Queen and Freddie's sister – would have denied this if they could, weeks ago, when the story broke,' she said. 'They cannot because, as Freddie's daughter says, they know that it is true.' Jones, who has written a series of books about music's biggest names, has been talking up more revelations found in Love, Freddie – claiming she has been 'crafting a narrative that will overturn everything we thought we knew about him and his legacy'.
