FREDDIE MERCURY

As Guitarist

Rumour has it that Freddie learnt to play guitar because he wanted to write songs, and he didn't have a piano at home at the time. Tim Staffell showed him some chords and Freddie soon acquired a Telecaster (which may or may not be the same one he'd use on stage many years later). By the time he formed Queen he could play well, but was never confident about his own abilities so he left the guitar duties to Brian and John.

Mercury confirmed having composed both Ogre Battle and Crazy Little Thing on guitar, yet it's highly possible that he did other songs as well, like Liar, Great King Rat, Jesus, Stone Cold Crazy or Mad the Swine. The only confirmed recording he played guitar on was Crazy Little Thing Called Love, although it's never been denied that he could have participated somewhere else (which still doesn't mean he necessarily did).

Freddie's technique was, as in the piano, with great sense of rhythm, and - at least for Crazy - he played with his fingers, not with plectra. He didn't have any preferred equipment ("I like guitars, but I'm not into guitar or piano brand names. I'm just into whatever pleases the ear from wherever I can get the sound"), and while on stage he employed a twelve-string Ovation (from 1979 to 1982) and a Fender Telecaster (1984-1986), at home he'd got a Martin and in the studio he randomly picked what to use.

Other guitar models which have been associated with Mercury are the Stratocaster and an f-hole Hofner (which he apparently gave to Kenny Everett). In the Headlong video he's seen with Brian's Egmond JG 105/0.

And here you can see him "half-playing" the one and only Red Special: