There can be many distractions when musicians are trying to create music, a demanding partner, drugs and band egos are all fairly common issues.
One of the least likely problems, is a recording session being ruined by an unruly pet chimp.
This is exactly what happened when Queen’s singer Freddie Mercury tried to collaborate with Michael Jackson.
Jacko insisted that the chimp should be present at all the recording sessions, which lead to Mercury quitting the proposed collaboration.
The unfinished song by Jackson and Freddie was titled ‘There Must Be More to Life Than This’. The song was written by Mercury in 1981 but was never completed. On a visit to Jackson’s home studio in Los Angeles, Freddie recorded the track with Jacko singing the song.
He released his own version of the song in 1985, and the version featuring the King of Pop will be available to hear for the first time on the band’s new album Queen Forever. The compilation features some classic tracks, new songs and some revamped tunes.
The story of the troubled recording session was revealed by showbiz writer David Wigg in his new book.
“‘Freddie got very angry because Michael made Bubbles sit between them and would turn to the chimp between takes and ask, ‘Don’t you think that was lovely?’ Or, ‘Do you think we should do that again?’ After a few days of this, Freddie just exploded … ‘I’m not performing with a f***ing chimp sitting next to me each night.'”
“He phoned his manager and told him to ‘Get me out of this zoo. Freddie then flew back to London, leaving the track musically unfinished.”
