Freddie Mercury´s musical tastes was very varied. He once cited the unlikely combination Jimi Hendrix and Liza Minelli as his two main influences.

Although Freddie´s favourite singer was Areatha Franklin (especially the songs Natural Woman and You´ve got a friend) He also enjoyed disco music very much. A group that he really disliked was The Clash. Of course he was a great lover of opera. Pavarotti and Montserrat Caballe were his favourites. When Freddie Mercury appeared on Spanish TV in 1986, he astounded the journalist by admitting that he was a huge fan of Caballe. He was in Barcelona because he wanted to meet her. Nine months later Freddie met Montserrat in Barcelona. He had at the time, recorded two songs, especially written to suit her voice.

He played them and they agreed to record an album together. That collaboration resulted in the wonderful album, Barcelona. Montserrat had asked him to write a song for her hometown Barcelona. It was released in April 1987. The song was then adopted by the Spanish Olympic Committee as the theme for the Olympics in Barcelona 1992.

Freddie said to the press: "It may have seemed rather ridiculous, when you think of us two together. But the fact remains that we have something between us musically and so really, it doesn´t matter what we look like or which backgrounds we are from. The end of the product is the proof".

Their album really proved that Freddie was able to sing anything from rock to opera, as his voice was truly amazing. The music press was also surprised, some even called Freddie a genius.

Freddie Mercury was the first well-known rockstar to record an album with an opera singer. In an interview from Spain, Montserrat spoke about Freddie´s talent, kindness and generosity. She said:

" I think Freddie wanted to try and encourage more young people to appreciate opera and that was something he was able to do, because he had so many fans out there".

She also remembered: "He always used to say that my voice was like crystal champagne and he used to send me boxes of expensive champagne to prove his words were true. he was so generous. He must have spent a fortune on champagne for me".

"In the time we spent together he was a real gentleman and always very kind to me. We developed a great friendship through our mutual love of music".