Gay Lifestyle from 365Gay.com

For The Love Of Freddie Mercury

by Duane Wells

(Los Angeles) With hits like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Killer Queen," "Somebody to Love," "We Are The Champions," "Don't Stop Me Now," and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," a voice whose power knew no bounds and a flair for flamboyant stage performances, Freddie Mercury was without question one of rock n’ roll’s greatest all-time talents.

Even now, years after his death, Mercury and the music he created as the frontman of rock super group Queen continues to inspire as evidenced by the massive ongoing sales of band’s DVDs and albums and the 2002 musical We Will Rock You, which was based on the music of Mercury and Queen, and continues to light up London’s West End to this day. Needless to say, only true art has that kind of lasting effect.

Udi Behr’s hip, jaw-dropping new LOVE – Made in Heaven: The Freddie Mercury Collection is proof-positive that true genius like Freddie Mercury’s is like a fountain that never ceases to flow.

Inspired by the life and work of the late gay icon, Behr’s latest high-end jewelry collection incorporates rings, bracelets and necklaces for women and men designed to harness the passion behind Freddie Mercury’s music.

Each piece in LOVE – Made in Heaven: The Freddie Mercury Collection is emblazoned with the word LOVE, with the letter “O” executed in a glittering, patented double trillion with diamonds or semi-precious stones. Additionally all of the pieces in the collection feature the exclusive “Made in Heaven” signature – a tribute to one of Mercury’s most memorable solo tracks which later became the title of Queen’s posthumous album with Freddie, released in 1995.

In a recent phone conversation about the line Behr told me that he spent months absorbing everything he could about Freddie Mercury in order to infuse the collection with the magic behind the man.

“Freddie Mercury was a man of extremes,” says Behr.

“As Freddie said, ‘I have this hard, macho shell, which I project on stage, but there's a much softer side too, which melts like butter.’ The buttered side of Freddie was all about love. As I searched for inspiration to capture Freddie’s spirit in this collection, it became clear to me that love was the core of his life and work. If you think about it, at heart, all his songs are love ballads. This collection takes his universal message of love and translates it into beautiful, iconic jewelry.”

Standouts among Behr’s newest line include a leather cuff bracelet featuring a silver plate with LOVE engraved in sleek black enamel, a silver pendant diamond necklace with 18k gold accents and LOVE engraved in a bold red enamel, and a silver ring band also emblazoned with the word LOVE engraved in vibrant red enamel

LOVE – Made in Heaven: The Freddie Mercury Collection is available exclusively at www.loveandpride.com, with prices ranging from $200 to $20,000. As with all Love and Pride purchases 10% of net proceeds from the sale of the collection will be donated to non-profit organizations that support gay and lesbian equality, including Lambda Legal, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), and the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Something tells me that if Freddie were alive today he’d like that charitable bit very much. After all with his signature song “We Are The Champions” he, perhaps unwittingly, gave the LGBT community one of its best fighting anthems ever.