Swiss & Italian Lakeside Memorials to Rock Stars: Songs by Freddie Mercury, Boy George, Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Armchair travel to a Swiss Lake in Switzerland, Lake Geneva, and travel back in time to the heyday of Queen, Boy George and Emerson Lake and Palmer.

Cover of Queen's last album showing Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux, Switzerland, and the Duck House where he often stayed.

In my earlier post I wrote about the Duck House which you can rent to stay in (before and after Coronavirus lockdowns which are in place now in April 2020) near the Montreux statue of Freddie Mercury in  Switzerland.

Emerson Lake and Palmer also stayed there. So did Boy George. Let's do a quick recap of their music from the nineteen seventies onwards.

I started wondering what were the hit songs of three famous musical acts which stayed there, Freddie Mercury, Boy George, and Emerson Lake & Palmer.

Freddie Mercury
Songs by Freddie Mercury and Queen include Bohemian Rhapsody and We Are The Champions.

Boy George
His songs include Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, and the grammatically correct, If I were you.



Emerson Lake and Palmer
The names were the surnames of the band members. On youtube you can watch them playing one of their greatest hits, Fanfare For the Common Man. Sounds familiar?  You will also find that under American Aaron Copland. When I typed it I could not remember whether the song was for or of. I checked back and it is alliterative (same initial letters), Fanfare For.

The band's rendition starts with heavy drumming and a close up of the drummer Carl Palmer.

The singer, songwriter was Lake.
Wiki sums it up:
Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist and record producer. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP).

Their other songs include I Believe In Father Christmas, C'est La Vie and Show Me The Way To Go Home. From The Beginning was a big hit in the USA.

Lake performing in Landudno, Wales

The Best of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, issued in 1994, included In the Beginning, Jerusalem, Fanfare for the Common Man, Lucky Man, and I believe in Father Christmas.
Lake died in 2016, from pancreatic Cancer.

Marble Plaque engraved for Greg Lake next to Castello Canevaro in Zoagli, Genoa, Italy.
Date	18 June 2018
Source	by my phone
Author	Demetrio99

I know some people used to prefer non wiki websites. But other websites I looked at say in front of the link 'not secure'. I have given the wiki links because they are prefixed by the padlock sign.

Finally, listen to the Swiss national anthem.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Psalm

Bohemian Rhapsody
Biographical drama about Freddie Mercury and his band, Queen. Film made in 2018.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson,_Lake_%26_Palmer_discography
See previous posts on Freddie Mercury

Intrumental of Fanfare For the common Man on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2zurZig4L8

Song Lucky Man by Emerson Lake and Palmer on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t-xorsgd8w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFrHKoD1GE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_of_Emerson,_Lake_%26_Palmer

BBC readable roudup and obituary of Lake entitled 'Greg Lake Crimson and ELP Star dies aged 69
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38251936

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Lake

Swiss National Anthem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-bxVdkLo-Y

Author, Author! About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. (Not related to the actress.) See books and profiles on Lulu.com and Amazon, such as Wedding Speeches & Toasts, Quick Quotations, Who Said What When. Also watch videos on YouTube.

Freddie Mercury's Duck House Where Visitors Can Stay

Freddie Mercury, like people in previous years moved from the polluted city to the lakes and mountains which provided mental and physical relief from stress. He lived on an off in Switzerland where he and his group recorded their music in a recording studio they owned nearby.

The place where he lived, Duck House, with was photographed and placed adjacent to the ivew of his statue on the waterfront on the covers of two versions of his music issued to the public, his last album.


Album showing the Duck house and Freddie Mercury statue.

Others who stayed here were boy George and Emerson Lake and Palmer.

Freddie Mercury
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_George

USA
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame

SWITZERLAND
Montreux
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux

Châtelard Castle - also in the Montreux region.

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Switzerland
https://www.region-du-leman.ch/en/P32803/duck-house-freddie-mercury-vacation-home
wiki emerson lake and palmer music
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson,_Lake_%26_Palmer_discography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Emerson,_Lake_%26_Palmer_songs

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. (Not related to the actress.) See books and profiles on Lulu.com and  Amazon, such as Wedding Speeches & Toasts, Quick Quotations, Who Said What When. Also watch videos on YouTube.

Quiz: Stay where Freddie Mercury and Boy George Stayed in Switzerland - Maybe Next Year?

Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux, Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. Fans leave flowers.

I was just check on some facts about my earlier posts on Freddie Mercury. I had a comment that the Freddy Mercury statue in Montreux Switzerland is on Lake Geneva, not Lake Leman. I looked it up and found that Lake Leman is the French name for Lake Geneva. I clarified that in the original post.

As I hunted through verious websites which mentioned the statue, I found a 5 bedroom property you can rent which Freddie Mercuty stayed in several times, and so did other well known musicians such as Boy George.

Boy George in a colourful hat

Boy George Colourful Costume

The place where Freddie Mercury and Boy George stayed is called The Duck House. I see no ducks. But it imagine at one time either wild or domesticated ducks were there. If you find out let me know.

Many more musicians and famous people have stayed in Montreux. Composer Tchaikovsky, singer Joan Sutherland, David Bowie, the Shah of Persia, to name only a few. (More on the Wiki article on Montreux.)

Also in the area: see photogenic Chateau de Chillon on the waterfront. And another chateau.

Châtelard Castle, Montreux, Switzerland.

As I write this on 'unlucky' April 13 2020, nobody in the world is travelling or planning far ahead. At least one can make a mental note to see and photograph Freddie Mercury's statue if we ever get to Montreux.

Freddie Mercury's Montreux Memorial Day is the first weekend in September.


Freddie Mercury statue at sunset in Montreux, Switzerland.

Quiz
1 Which country has a Freddie Mercury Memorial day?
England. Switzerland. USA.
2 What is the name of the place where Freddie Mercury stayed?
Duck House. Duck Castle. Goose House. Pigeon House. Boathouse. Goose Bumps.
3 What was Freddie Mercury's band called?
Queen. King. Prince. Princess. Pea.
4 What is Boy George's Band called?
Culture Club. No Culture Club. The Georgies. Georgie Girls. George's Boy Band.
5 Name one of two castles or chateaux in Montreux
Chillon. Windsor. Mercury.
6 Where is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Switzerland. UK. USA.
7 Which month is Freddie Mercury Memorial Day?
January. July. August. September.
8 Where are Freddie Mercury statues? (See other posts.)
Switzerland UK USA
9 What is the name of the film about Freddy Mercury
Bohemian Rhapsody. The Queen. Freddie in Montreux.
10 Where can I see a plaque to Freddie? (See previous post about Freddie.)
Feltham, London, England. Feltham, London, Canada. Montreux, Switzerland.


Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland. Ohio, USA. On the Lake Erie waterfront and beside the Science Center.

Useful Websites
Freddie Mercury
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_George

USA
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame

SWITZERLAND
Montreux
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux

Châtelard Castle

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Switzerland
https://www.region-du-leman.ch/en/P32803/duck-house-freddie-mercury-vacation-home

General
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Rhapsody_(film)

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See previous posts on Freddie Mercury. See later post on The Duck House. Please share links to your favourite posts.