Brian May claims AIDS cost Freddie Mercury most of his foot

Brian May claims Freddie Mercury lost most of his foot during his battle with AIDS.

The Queen frontman died in 1991 from AIDS-related pneumonia and guitarist Brian, 69, revealed that Freddie – who was 45 when he passed away – suffered terribly with the disease.

Speaking to The Sunday Times Magazine, he said: "The problem was actually his foot – and, tragically there was very little left of it.

"Once, he showed it to us at dinner. And he said: ‘Oh Brian, I’m sorry I’ve upset you by showing you that’. And I said, ‘I’m not upset, Freddie, except to realize that you have to put up with so much terrible pain’."

Brian also revealed that when Freddie revealed he had AIDS, he told his bandmates it was not something he wanted to discuss.

He said: "Of course, we all knew [he had AIDS], but we didn’t want to. He said: ‘You probably gather that I’m dealing with this thing and I don’t want to talk about it and I don’t want our lives to change, but that’s the situation.’ And then he would move on."

And Freddie only revealed his illness to the public in a statement just 24 hours before he passed away.

He said: "Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS.

"I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me.

"However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease."