Queen movie claims our brother Paul tried to seduce Freddie Mercury, stop him playing Live Aid and finally betrayed him – but it’s all a LIE. Family of Bohemian Rhapsody’s ‘bad manager’ hit out at ‘hurtful’ blockbuster
- Queen manager Paul Prenter is portrayed as the villain who broke up the rock band in the Oscar-winning biopic Bohemian Rhapsody
- But Paul’s family exclusively tell MailOnline that the film’s portrayal of the late band manager, who died of AIDS in 1991, couldn’t be further from the truth
- Paul’s brother shared never-before-seen photos with MailOnline of Paul, Freddie and the band to prove his brother was always supportive of Queen and didn’t have a ‘nasty bone in his body’
- In the film, Paul is portrayed as a ‘snake’ who seduces lead singer Freddie Mercury at the time and tries to prevent Queen from performing at charity concert Live Aid
- But the family are adamant that Freddie and Paul were not lovers, and only inseparable best friends who were shunned by the rest of the band
- Guitarist Brian May and the other members ‘resented how close Paul and Freddie were,’ the family say
- The most hurtful part of the film, they reveal, is the depiction that Paul’s father would ‘rather see him dead’ than let him be gay
- Paul was openly gay since age 16 and the Prenters say their parents were supportive throughout, caring for him until his AIDS death
- His brothers, goddaughter, close friends and former workmates all describe the movie as ‘hurtful’, ‘cowardly’ and ‘untrue’
The family of Freddie Mercury’s personal assistant Paul Prenter has spoken of their anger that the Oscar-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody has portrayed him as a villain who broke up the rock band Queen.
Record company executive Prenter is played as a ‘snake’ who seduces the flamboyant lead singer, turns him against his band-mates and tries to prevent Mercury’s blockbuster performance at the charity concert Live Aid.
The Queen-biopic movie, which won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor at the Oscars, claims Prenter’s father ‘would rather see him dead’ than let him be gay and suggested he died a lonely death from AIDS after selling his soul to the press.
But the film, which is set to break $1.3billion box office receipts and was masterminded by Queen guitarist Brian May, has been condemned as ‘hurtful’, ‘cowardly’ and untrue by the people that knew Paul Prenter best – his brothers, his god-daughter, his close friends and his former workmates.
Queen manager Paul Prenter (right) is portrayed as the villain in the Oscar-winning biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. His family tell MailOnline the other band members resented his friendship with lead singer Freddie Mercury (left)
Paul’s brothers, his goddaughter, close friends and former workmates all describe the movie as ‘hurtful’, ‘cowardly’ and ‘untrue. Paul is pictured right, with look-a-like actor Allen Leech portraying him in a clip from the movie (left)
The family say guitarist Brian May (left) masterminded the whole movie to make himself, drummer Roger Taylor (right) and bassist John Deacon (not pictured)look good and say they remember May as ‘rather arrogant’. The band members are pictured at the Oscars with Rami Malek (center), who took home the Best Actor award for portraying Freddie Mercury
Paul was openly gay since age 16 and the Prenters say their parents were supportive throughout, caring for him until his AIDS death in 1991, but say Freddie (right) was the one with issues regarding his sexuality
‘The only person who had an issue with being gay was Freddie,’ says Paul’s sister-in-law. The pair are pictured together on a tour airplane in 1982
‘The film [Bohemian Rhapsody] was like a Disney movie with all these good characters and then one villain in the shape of Paul,’ his brother Gerard Prenter told MailOnline.
‘They would never have dared to do it had Paul been alive. It is a cowardly way of going about things.
‘They set out to destroy his name knowing he is dead and can’t answer back.
Stephen said both Freddie and Paul were ‘queens’ and would go to gay clubs together where they would chase masculine men, but they ‘definitely weren’t into each other’. Freddie is pictured on Paul’s back on stage at a show in Holland
‘Brian May said they spent 10 years making this film so they could get it right. He must have meant right for the image of Brian May and the rest of the band.’
His goddaughter Blathanaid said: ‘Freddie Mercury would be disgusted at the movie. Freddie and Paul were so, so close.
‘The title of villain does not represent Paul at all. It’s disgusting. Paul is dead now, he can’t defend himself.
‘He was a brother, he was a son, he was an uncle, he was a god-father. He was something to so many people.’
His eldest brother Ray added: ‘Paul didn’t have a nasty bone in his body. He was a very gentle and kind guy. The film has blackened Paul’s name.’
The hit-movie charts the journey of rock music phenomenon Queen from failing college band to becoming the 1985 Live Aid concert headline act, focusing on the struggle of front-man Freddie Mercury with his bisexuality.
The film introduces Paul Prenter as a confident gay man who seduces Mercury, manipulates him into turning against his band-mates and leads him to a self-destructive world of promiscuous sex and illicit drug-taking.
But Prenter’s younger brother Stephen, who lived with him in London during the height of Queen’s success, says the notion that Paul seduced Freddie is ‘ludicrous’.
Stephen recalls Mercury occasionally coming over to Prenter’s small apartment in Brook Green, Hammersmith to hang out and said they would go out together to gay nightclubs like Heaven and Copacabana, later Club 180.
‘It’s ludicrous, Paul and Freddie were best friends, that is it,’ he explains.
‘They went everywhere together, they went to gay clubs together, Freddie would come to the flat to hang out but most of the time Paul would go to Freddie’s place, they were both queens, they liked to chase after masculine men, that was their type, they definitely weren’t into each other.
‘If they weren’t out together Freddie called the house almost every night and they’d talk for hours, every time I answered the phone it was Freddie.
‘I heard Paul’s side of the conversation and they would gossip about the band about men in their lives, they would laugh, but they were never lovers.
‘I can say 100% categorically Freddie and my brother were not involved sexually in any context, any one who knew them knew that.’
Paul (back, second from the left) and Freddie’s close bond became ‘problematic’ because he worked for Queen and not just Freddie, his brother Stephen says. ‘He worked with Freddie too much and the rest of the band thought they were being neglected, that Paul was not taking care of their needs,’ Stephen says
His brother Stephen says Paul and Freddie were ‘inseparable’ and his brother would travel all over the world with the band on tour, but says the rest of Queen rarely socialized together. Pictured on tour in Argentina in 1981
This never-before-seen photo of (from left to right) Paul Prenter, John Deacon, Roger Taylor and Freddie Mercury, was exclusively provided to MailOnline by Paul’s brother Stephen to show him in a positive light, unlike that of the movie
Roger Taylor and Freddie Mercury (right) are pictured backstage in 1982 on tour in Japan, with Paul (left) close by. His brother Stephen said Queen rarely socialized together after a concert or studio recording, which was different than the ‘family’ depicted in the movie
Stephen recalls Prenter taking him to Elton John’s birthday party on board HMS Belfast which is moored on the River Thames in central London.
‘It was great, I was 19 and there was a free bar. Freddie called Elton by his gay nickname Sharon.
‘I remember being invited to a lot of parties during that time and I met a lot of stars, the likes of Rod Stewart, Annie Lennox, Diana Ross. I was also backstage at a lot of Queen concerts.’
For Paul’s family the most hurtful scene in the movie is when Prenter’s character, played by actor Allen Leech, announces; ‘My father would rather see me dead than let me be who I am.’
Stephen, 59, a casino worker who lives in Las Vegas, said this was wrong.
He said Paul was openly gay and their parents had known of his sexual preference for years and never had a problem with it.
‘My parents knew about Paul being gay since he was 16, so for a long time,’ he explains.
‘He’d come back on holidays with his boyfriends and stay at my parent’s house in Dublin with his partners staying in the same bedroom.
‘So there was never any issue, the only person who had an issue with being gay was Freddie. Freddie never once in his life admitted to being gay, it was an open secret but never once did he say, ‘I’m gay’, whereas Paul was very open about it.
‘So to bring the Irish Catholic parents thing into the movie is nonsense.’
His other brother Gerard, 71, a retired pay-roll manager from Sheffield, agreed with this assessment.
He told MailOnline: ‘They have just reached lazily for the stereotype of what a Catholic father from Belfast might be without any regard for the truth.
‘Paul had boyfriends when he started DJ-ing. He never lived in fear of our father. ‘Both he and my mother were middle class and very liberal minded, really good parents.
‘He ended up burying his son after he died of AIDS so for the makers of the film to portray the family like that is a disgrace.’
And eldest brother Ray Prenter, 75, a retired head-teacher from Waterford, Ireland, said: ‘My parents had total empathy for Paul when they found out he had AIDS. There was no rancor about what he had been doing or how he had become ill.’
His daughter Blathanaid, 32, who was also Paul’s God-daughter, added: ‘The film’s portrayal of how the family regarded Paul’s sexuality could not be more untrue.
‘It’s hurtful because they are speaking about our grand-dad and it’s completely false.’
Paul convinced the band to get back together for Live Aid (pictured performing at the charity concert in 1985), according to the family, which is represented in the film as the polar opposite
In the film (pictured), Paul tried to keep Queen from playing Live Aid and the band finally reunited for the concert once Freddie (Rami Malek) fired him
Paul’s brother Gerard says it’s ‘ludicrous’ to even imply that Paul was against [Queen]’, when he was ‘instrumental’ in the band’s success. Paul is pictured in Los Angeles with Freddie (center) and Michael Jackson (left)
Gerard says Paul (right) worked for the band for ‘years and years and got little from them’, but remained close to Freddie (left) and supported one another, ‘unlike the rest of the band’. Drummer Roger Taylor is pictured center
Paul’s brother Gerard said there were ‘tensions in the band’. ‘The truth is that Freddie (right) was the boss. He wanted to go and do solo stuff. To pretend that Paul (left, standing) was the instigator is simply wrong’
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Far from abandoning their son, Prenter’s mother Eileen and father Bill cared for their dying son after he was diagnosed with AIDS in the mid 1980s.
He had moved back to Ireland following his break-up with Queen in 1987 and spent his final days at their home in Glenageary, outside Dublin, when he was allowed out of the hospital.
‘Eileen was always up at St Michael’s Hospital looking after her Paul,’ a neighbour told MailOnline.
‘They had ”gold discs” mounted on the walls and limousines would come and pick them up from the house.
‘An old lady across the road thought it was the Queen of England who had sent the cars. But really it was Freddie Mercury.’
Interviews with Prenter’s childhood contemporaries, friends and work-mates at Downtown Radio, have also revealed that Paul did little to hide his sexuality.
Veteran Downtown Radio Station DJ Trevor ‘Big T’ Campbell said: ‘Paul Prenter was very flamboyant. He was very camp. He had the walk, he had the accent and he used to swear, oh my God!
‘I can picture him wearing a bright, green, three-piece suit with the collars out. But he was really good at his job.’
Former Downtown Radio Station DJ Michael ‘Hendi’ Henderson added: ‘He was so camp that people used to ask; ”is he putting that on?”’
‘He was a little bit like [Radio 2 DJ] Kenny Everett. But it never bothered us. If you’ve worked in show-business, you get to know gay people.’
The third son of a successful Belfast Catholic bookmaker, Paul Prenter stood out from the crowd from an early age.
His love of music and friendship with record label mogul John Reid led him to work with soul legends Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder as their assistant while based in London.
But the launch of Northern Ireland’s first commercial radio station, Downtown Radio, in 1976, brought Prenter back to the province where he worked as promotions manager and hosted his own evening shows including ‘Soul Train’.
Eighteen months later he returned to London to work with John Reid who had signed up the revolutionary rock band Queen – and became lead singer Freddie Mercury’s personal assistant.
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Because the rest of the group had families or their own interests, Paul and Freddie’s relationship blossomed as they traveled the world together, according to Stephen. They are pictured in 1981 on tour in Argentina
The band met with President of Argentina Roberto Eduardo Viola (right), with Paul and their lawyer Jim Beach present, all pictured together in this photo
Queen had a large road crew, pictured together on tour with the band, and though Paul was their manage, he had little money when he was fighting AIDS later in life
In the film, the band joke that Paul and Freddie are beginning to look alike with their short hair and dark mustaches, which can be seen in this never-before-seen photo of the band
Brother Stephen says Paul and Freddie became inseparable and Prenter would travel all over the world with the band on tour, never leaving their side.
But he says Queen rarely socialized together after a concert or studio recording.
Paul’s younger brother Stephen Prenter lived with him in London during the height of Queen’s success and is adamant that unlike the film, Paul and Freddie never had a sexual relationship
‘They’d finish in the studio and then go four different directions, they didn’t socialize,’ recalls Stephen.
‘Freddie was gay, him and Paul would go to gay clubs. Roger Taylor was a heavy drinker he’d go out drinking, John Deacon was a married man he’d go back to his wife and Brian May did his own thing.’
Stephen says this cemented Paul and Freddie’s friendship further.
But he says their close bond did become problematic for Prenter because he worked for Queen not Freddie Mercury.
‘He worked with Freddie too much and the rest of the band thought they were being neglected, that Paul was not taking care of their needs,’ recalls Stephen.
Unlike the graphic picture painted in the film in which Prenter bewitches the Queen front-man, his family and friends are confident that while Freddie Mercury and Paul were extremely close, they were never lovers.
After seeing their relationship in action first hand, Prenter’s brother Stephen couldn’t be more adamant on this point.
‘Freddie was gay, simple. My brother did not make Freddie gay and Freddie was taking drugs long before he met my brother,’ he says.
‘So the idea Paul corrupted Freddie is nonsense, Freddie was not a man to be led.’
A close friend of Prenter agrees and described the film as homophobic.
Belfast City Councillor Jeffrey Dudgeon told MailOnline: ‘I knew Paul when he was about 18. He was rich and that was unusual.
‘The band basically thought Paul turned Freddie gay and that was a bad thing because that turned Freddie into somebody separate from them.
‘But the truth of the matter was Freddie was gay himself and that was it really.
‘I’ve seen the film and I thought it was a bit sleekit [deceitful, slimy] the way Prenter was used as an evil character. The film is anti-gay.’
His brother Stephen says the filmmakers tries to bring the ‘Irish Catholic parents thing’ into the movie by portraying their parents as not accepting their gay son. Paul is pictured as a young boy during his Communion, left, and Confirmation, right, and though he grew up Catholic, his brother calls the angle ‘nonsense’
The family say the most hurtful part of the film is the depiction that Paul’s father Bill (right, with mother Eileen) would ‘rather see him dead’ than let him be gay
Paul’s goddaughter and niece Blathanaid Prenter (left) and oldest brother Ray (right) say Freddie would be ‘disgusted’ at the movie and that Paul didn’t have a ‘nasty bone in his body’
Paul lived with his parents in this home in Glenageary, near Dublin, Ireland, until his 1991 death. He had little money from the band, bit his parents took care of him as he fought AIDS
Prenter’s brother Gerard added: ‘They even hint that Freddie was into women before he met Paul. But Freddie was gay through and through.’
While brother Ray added: ‘Paul was Freddie’s go-for, his right-hand man.
‘He escorted him to all these raves, these parties, but Paul and Freddie were not a couple.’
Gerard’s wife Mary said: ‘Freddie and Paul were never lovers.
‘They were incredibly close and supportive to one another unlike the rest of the band.
‘May had a degree, was rather arrogant and thought himself superior.
‘He and the rest of the band resented how close Paul and Freddie were.’
Gerard added it was wrong to suggest that Paul tried to manipulate Freddie.
He said: ‘Look, there were tensions in the band. The truth is that Freddie was the boss. He wanted to go and do solo stuff. To pretend that Paul was the instigator is simply wrong.
‘Now neither of them are here they are trying to re-write history.’
Bohemian Rhapsody reaches its climax with Queen’s and Freddie Mercury’s spectacular closing-performance at the 1985 Live Aid at Wembley Stadium.
The film claims Prenter tried to prevent Freddie Mercury from taking part in the charity fundraising concert which resulted in the breakdown of his relationship with Queen.
It then shows Prenter revealing all of Freddie’s sexual secrets in a kiss-and-tell interview.
But Paul’s family claim he was instrumental in getting Queen back together for what was possibly their most famous performance of all time – the Live Aid show.
And the film failed to mention Queen’s boycott-busting music tour to Apartheid-era South Africa in 1984, with a string of paid performances at Sun City.
His goddaughter Blathanaid told MailOnline; ‘Paul was instrumental in Queen appearing at Live Aid. The band had split up and Freddie had gone off to work on a solo career.
This clip from the film shows Paul’s character (played by Allen Leech) seducing Freddie (Rami Malek) and ‘turning him gay’. Paul’s family say Freddie was always gays and the pair were nothing more than best friends
A veteran radio DJ from Paul’s hometown of Belfast said Paul was ‘very flamboyant’ and ‘had the walk and used to swear’, doing little to hide his sexuality
‘Paul convinced the four of them to get back together for Live Aid. But what was represented in the film was the polar opposite.
‘In the movie Paul was not present at the Live Aid concert, he has gone before then. Why?
Gerard said: ‘It’s just ludicrous. They even imply that Paul was against them [Queen] doing it [Live Aid]. Nothing could be further from the truth.
‘The truth is Paul didn’t split from Queen until the year after Live Aid.
‘The film is all about burnishing the image of the mediocrities that are left behind.
‘Do they mention the band breaking the boycott of Apartheid South Africa when they played in Sun City?
‘They did that purely for money when most groups with any integrity were boycotting the place.
‘People despised them for that but it doesn’t get a mention.’
Prenter’s family acknowledge the hurt that Paul caused by the explosive interview about Freddie Mercury’s sex-life to The Sun newspaper in 1987, for which he was paid £32,000 or $41,600 – the modern equivalent of £90,000 or $117,000.
But they claim he was disgruntled over how he was fired by the band and needed the money to pay for his treatment for AIDS.
Bohemian Rhapsody, which won five Academy Awards, portrayed Paul as a ‘snake’ who broke up the rock band and tried to distance Freddie from the rest of the band members
‘Paul was very bitter,’ Ray Prenter told MailOnline. ‘They let him down and he was hurt. They were very mean.
‘He worked for them for years and years and he got very little from them.
‘That was when he decided he had to get a few bob for his own treatment.
‘So that is why he went with the papers.’
Mary Prenter said: ‘He shouldn’t have done it. But the way the film portray that is all wrong too.’
Stephen vividly remembers Paul’s dilemma over selling his story.
He said his brother’s time with Queen had not made him wealthy, and he had also blown a lot of his money on a cocaine addiction.
‘He was dying of Aids and he had no money. He said to me, ”what do you think?” ‘I said, ”it’s up to you”. Then I remember when he did it, he said, ‘do you think that did the right thing?’ I said, ”you’ve got to do what you got to do.” I had no problem with it.’
Gerard added: ‘The truth is that Paul was no saint, but he was a kind and generous person and not the villain the film makes him out to be.’
Brian May, Queen and 20th Century Fox, which distributed the film Bohemian Rhapsody declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.
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