Never-before-seen photos of Queen creating the groundbreaking free music video I Want To Break show the incredible bond between the band members.
Candid images – all taken by a veteran photographer Simon Fowler – shows the pure joy and fun of the group during the now legendary recording of the promo.
The video stunned music fans when it was released and featured the rockers dressing up as housewives in a suburban home.
In one of the newly revealed photos, the band is shown hysterical, with one crew member wiping away tears of laughter as Freddie Mercury walks behind an pregnant John Deacon.
Freddie appears to be posing as a hairdresser as John chuckles in his chair, while Brian May beams along a back wall as they stare in the mirror at their new look.
Later, Brian can be seen holding his curlers as he stares into the distance as he is captured on film.
In one of the archive photos, Roger Taylor also appears to be enjoying himself, pouting in his schoolgirl outfit.
Photographer Simon, who took photographs of the group throughout their career, opened up his archives so MailOnline could publish some of the incredible photos.
The band laughs backstage as they get ready to shoot the video promo
Roger Taylor in costume pouts as his photo is taken on the set of I Want To Break Free in 1984
He said he had no idea of the video’s theme before coming to Limehouse Studios in London to shoot the photos.
Simon recalled, “On Break Free I had no idea what it would be. I showed up and saw them and thought, “Wow, what’s going on?”.
‘It was clearly a pastiche of Coronation Street. I remember the day when everyone was just laughing.
“It was so much fun that I was surprised they actually made a video.
‘They didn’t worry about doing anything unusual, they just did it.
“They were just messing around between takes. I remember a funny moment when they were trying on the stuff and asked each other “what do you think of this wig?”.
“That was the great thing about it, you’ve got Freddie with his big old ‘tache, giving it his all. ‘It was without a doubt the best shoot I have done.
‘Every time I think about it I have to laugh. The day just went so quickly because everyone was having such a good time; he whizzed by.
Simon revealed that the band preferred to be photographed all together for their promo photos
Brian May looks like he woke up from a deep sleep with the curlers in these photos from Simon
‘When you got there I didn’t know the story and the PR told me and I thought ‘that sounds great’.
“I went backstage and the first thing I saw was that they had all their work done.”
Simon had previously photographed the band after receiving a phone call during the recording of their Hot Space album.
That record gave rise to the anthem Under Pressure and at first the photographer admits that he had no idea who he was going to photograph.
He recalled: ‘I got a call out of the blue to do a job and initially thought they had said Cream at the time, which I don’t think could be right.
‘You used to get millions of phone calls. I didn’t realize it was Queen until later and I was told I would only get ten minutes with them and it turned into three hours. It was for the Hot Space album.
“I think we got on quite well, I didn’t expect much time at all and it was great.
‘Roger even let me tap a little during the recording. I like to think I’m on Hot Space somewhere. It kind of just went from there.”
The band liked his work, so he was invited back and ended up doing numerous shoots with them.
John Deacon – whose character in the video was miserable – laughs in a moment of peace
Freddie Mercury poses on set, leaning on a cupboard as he looks off to the side of the room
But he considers his work on I Want to Break Free to be one of the most exciting jobs of his career.
He admitted: “I knew when I got called up for it that it was going to be interesting.
‘They didn’t want to cut back on the videos, they were big productions. If CGI was there, I’m sure they would.
‘When you were on set you had to have eyes in the back of your head on some of the bigger productions, where there were cranes and things going around.
‘When we went to lunch, Brian was talking to me in the catering van. He was still in the outfit with the curlers.
‘I remember thinking ‘that’s Brian May opposite me’. It was so surreal. “At the end of the day we saw the cut and it just looked great.
‘I remember John taking a nap during the day, which he would have needed because the reality is they would have been there very early.
‘They were pioneers with videos, really. Queen was so unique in whatever they did. Brian with the sound and guitar. I enjoyed every minute
Experienced music photographer Simon Fowler is selling prints in aid of the Mercury Phoenix Trust
“Freddie was a trooper to the end. One of the things people don’t notice about Queen photos is that you can often never pick them out of the lineup
‘It wasn’t often that all four of them left together for photos.
“I think that’s because they were a band, but they were also great good friends.
“They all had each other’s backs, none of them considered themselves the star – they were all equals.”
The behind-the-scenes photos were put back in the spotlight as Simon put together Fine Art Prints of Freddie, Brian, Roger and John from The Miracle shoot.
They are being sold to help the fight against HIV and AIDS, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.
Simon added: “I loved doing this and just giving something back and helping a really good cause.
‘I was very happy with the response and hope it can continue to help people.’
Prints of Freddie, Brian, Roger and John from The Miracle shoot can be found here