Freddie Mercury’s birthday celebrated by Brian May and Roger Taylor

Freddie Mercury was undoubtedly one of rock’s biggest icons after over 20 years as Queen’s singer. Tragically his life was cut short at the age of just 45, when he died following a battle with AIDS on November 24, 1991.

After completing 1995’s Made In Heaven with Freddie’s posthumous vocals, Queen bassist John Deacon retired from the music industry two years later.

Nevertheless, Brian May and Roger Taylor have kept the singer’s legacy alive, first with a collaboration with Paul Rodgers and now Adam Lambert.

Both active Queen band members regularly post on social media and pay tribute to the late star. And what with today being Freddie’s 76th birthday, the 75 and 73 year olds have celebrated their friend on this special day.

Brian previously told Express.co.uk: “All I know is, he’s okay about it. If he wasn’t okay, we would know. That’s the arrangement we have. No matter what kind of decision it is, artistic or business-wise, money-wise, management-wise, we always run things past John. If we do hear back he’ll have some strong opinion and we’ll take notice. So he’s very much part of the team, he’s just a quiet part of the team – which in a sense, he always was, to be honest. He’s quiet until that moment that he really speaks up and then you have to listen.”

Asked if the retired star often communicates back with a disagreement, the Queen guitarist admitted he does every now and then.

Brian added: “Occasionally, yeah, occasionally because it’s a very tightly knit family, the Queen family. And that includes Freddie’s estate; we’re still very much bound up the four of us and that can’t really change.”