Years after Freddy Mercury sang about his desire to ride his bicycle, the late Queen frontman finally discovered his preferred mode of transportation – hopping on the shoulders of giants… more specifically, Darth Vader and Superman.
Throughout Queen’s The Game tour in late 1979 and early 1980, Mercury, already a pop culture icon in his own right, turned to several of his zeitgeisty peers to help amp up his performance, regularly receiving piggyback rides from the Star Wars and DC icons during Queen shows, a moment famously caught on camera by several photographers, including Tom Callins.
— The Bitter Mass (@BitterMass) April 13, 2023
“It was during the encore, and it was during ‘We Will Rock You,’” and he came out sitting on Darth’s shoulders,” the noted music photographer recalled of his now-iconic snap of Mercury during a 2015 sit-down with A.V. Club.
“I guess it was a shtick he did that tour because I’ve seen other photos of other shows. But I just happened to be at the right angle at the right place in front of the stage to get the shot,” he continued.
But as anyone who has ever even turned on a computer can attest, Mercury is far from the only musician at the center of a viral photograph.
From Lady Gaga’s famed “Paparazzi” performance at the 2009 VMAs to a young Bruno Mars gawking at Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz long before “Nothin’ On You” dominated the charts, here are some of Twitter’s most beloved photographs of iconic artists.
What’s the best photograph in music history ? pic.twitter.com/wfJZr7ymSo
— Reverend&TheMakers (@Reverend_Makers) April 13, 2023
https://t.co/pnM3bcjOBq pic.twitter.com/rsVVbBAUz0
— meg (@megmeyer) April 18, 2023
prince rollerskating in the most prince way https://t.co/xL5a6pI1bi pic.twitter.com/htPLUXSjEe
— Jill Krajewski (@JillKrajewski) April 18, 2023
Florence Welch doing THAT https://t.co/8XcwuGxz0q pic.twitter.com/qeNsTgrpMl
— армянин с прической как у шер (@nasty_gin) April 18, 2023
still my favourite photo ever https://t.co/EqlVvQTTQi pic.twitter.com/tsDplMMAsP
— swan (@theswandrowned) April 18, 2023
I have no opinion on what is "the best" but I do love this photo https://t.co/qcWCBpzuNF pic.twitter.com/UT6D6rgStl
— RVRules (@RVRules2) April 18, 2023
Easy https://t.co/tLIjxH8Byj pic.twitter.com/lTISNv0LO3
— Uranus Knockwood (@indaclubpenguin) April 19, 2023
Kylie Minogue at Michael Hutchence’s funeral https://t.co/RODfgvj14D pic.twitter.com/5RHvYDP76b
— someone left the cake out in the rain (@bjorksunibrow) April 19, 2023
The death grips x Robert Pattinson x Beyoncé combo is up there too https://t.co/AkPsYoNDpV pic.twitter.com/eXjs0RS92L
— powerviolence vampyress ⚧️ (@jamieviolence) April 19, 2023
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