Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson developed a close friendship during the 80 ‘s but the Queen singer couldn’t understand one particular eccentricity.
The pair used to work on songs together at Jackson’s home studio in Encino, California but Freddie was left scratching his head over the sleeping arrangements.
Speaking to Metro, Freddie’s personal assistant, Peter ‘Phoebe’ Freestone recalled what it was like at those sessions.
He acted as PA to the singer for 12 years, until the performer died in 1991.
Peter said: “You accept people how they are. For example, with Michael Jackson, Freddie and I went to his house to record for eight hours one day.
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“This was back in 1983, and Freddie and Michael collaborated on three different tracks at that point .
“But Michael didn’t treat me any differently than he treated Freddie. It was just the way people are.
“Michael and I played video games for half an hour while Freddie was outside smoking.”
It was when they were in Jackson’s house that Freddie would become incredulous at how the Thriller singer would sleep at night.
Despite being a multi- million dollar mansion, Jackson didn’t have an actual bed but just a mattress on the floor.
This was something Freddie found incredulous and would rip into Jackson for not having a more traditional bedroom set up.
Peter recalled: “Freddie just could not keep his mouth shut because right in the middle of the floor, was this big mattress made up as a bed.
“Freddie said, ‘You’ve got money why don’t you buy a bed?’ And Michael just said, ‘I feel so much better when I’m closer to the Earth’. Freddie said, ‘Well how much closer does not having a bed make you? We’re upstairs. ”
Speaking about how they approached recording together, Peter revealed: “Each of them were just giving out everything they could to create something and to be present at that sort of thing is amazing.
“The same the same happened with David Bowie with Under Pressure for Queen.
” To be present when you have… it’s almost like electricity. Then you feel tension in the air and there’s that o-zone smell. It’s almost like that. “
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