nor have ever seen their films, but know of them through their deaths. Were they great actors? Would they have gone on to be super stars? Or would they have faded into the 'B' movie morass.

Would Hendrix have survived the 60's-70's era that suited his music so well? Would Elvis have survived into the 80's? Their corps of fans would say 'Yes' unequivocally, but the reality would probably have been far different. Elvis' records still sell, but what future would he have had with the growing dominance of the Music Video and the desire to see young bodies being greater then the desire to hear music.

So why did Freddie survive? Why does his music still dominate generations? Why did Freddie achieve immortality in his short life, brought tragically to an end? Like Achilles, or Oedipus, or any classic Greek tragic hero, Freddie's death was a tragedy in its truest sense. In Freddie we see the hero who sees his end, yet can do nothing, for whatever reason, to halt the slide that will

lead to his death. Remember, that a tragedy is not a person being killed while young, nor is it thousands of people dying. Those events are certainly tragic, but lack the necessary application of fate that makes them a tragedy. Freddie knew what would happen yet kept going on his path to self-destruction, and, like the classic hero, when it did happen; he did not bemoan his fate but accepted it and enabled others to grow from his death.

Freddie is, in all classic senses, a hero. He fought against the world and the strictures of his culture to achieve his goal: a goal he never lost sight of no matter what the temptation, trial or tribulation placed before him. He strode the Earth far beyond the reach of mere mortals and held the World in the palm of his hand. When performing, he dominated all those who saw and heard him, changing each of them, changing everyone who came into contact with him. He was worshipped and adored by millions across the globe, and millions more knew of him. Then, at the height of his glory, the fate that is reserved for heroes came upon him and he died. Yet lives still: an immortal.