Freddie Mercury sponge cake with the notes from Mercury's song "Barcelona". The bill, which included 232 broken glasses, was presented to Queen's manager, Jim Beach. In October 1986, the British press reported that Mercury had his blood tested for HIV/AIDS at a Harley Street clinic. A reporter for "The Sun", Hugh Whittow, questioned Mercury about the story at Heathrow Airport as he was returning from a trip to Japan. Mercury denied he had the disease. According to his partner Jim Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in late April 1987. Around that time, Mercury claimed in an interview to have tested negative
Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender by the BBC, the programme included "Freddie Mercury Goes Solo" and an extended interview with Montserrat Caballé. In May 2013 the documentary won the Rose d'Or for Best Arts Documentary, and in November 2013 won the International Emmy for Best Arts Documentary. Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender is an Emmy/Rose d'Or award winning 2012 feature-length documentary about Queen singer Freddie Mercury and his attempt to forge a solo career. The documentary premiered on BBC One in edited form as part of the Imagine series, and later the Director's Cut was shown on BBC Four. It