The influence of Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis on Queen's repertoire A multimodal analysis of two of Queen's albums: A Night At The Opera and Innuendo

The present study conducts a comparative multimodal analysis of two albums by Queen group. The aim is to identify whether and how Freddie Mercury’s HIV diagnosis was relevant in Queen’s repertoire. The two albums taken into consideration are A Night At The Opera, released in 1975, and Innuendo, released in 1991. The analysis of the lyrics contained in the two albums is conducted using Machin’s (2010) model, which focuses on the semiotic choices in lyrics and what they represent regarding the artist’s identity, values and action discourse. The music videos are then analysed using Baldry and Thibault’s (2006) model for multimodal texts. Preliminary results reveal that Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis was mostly relevant from the point of view of audience reception. Indeed, even if the song's authors never meant to create the album Innuendo as a goodbye album regarding Freddie Mercury's career, inevitably the tracks contained in it took on a deeper meaning that reflects the audience and the band's concerns about the frontman's condition.