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“I’m Going Slightly Mad“ is a Queen song, written by Freddie Mercury. It is the second track on the 1991 album Innuendo. Although the lyrics and the accompanying music video appear to project the song as humorous and light-hearted, it is believed that the dark quirky humor, the eerie keyboards, and the unsettling instrumentation all reflect gloomier undertones, inspired by AIDS-induced dementia. Actress Cleo Rocos has confirmed this notion, stating that Mercury had explained to her and mutual friend Kenny Everett that the song documents the tragic mental decline he suffered during the final years of his life. The single cover was inspired by a Grandville illustration (as are the others from the album). Video The accompanying video is one of Queen’s most famous, along with “Bohemian Rhapsody“ and “I Want to Break Free“. The video - like all other Innuendo videos directed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions - features the band dressed and acting in very absurd ways, including but not limited to guitarist Brian May dressed as a penguin, drummer Roger Taylor wearing a tea kettle on his head and riding a tricycle while Mercury sneaks up on him and is chasing him, a man in a gorilla suit, who was later revealed to be Elton John, bassist John Deacon as a jester, and Mercury wearing a bunch of bananas as a wig (corresponding with the line “I think I’m a banana tree“). I’m Going Slightly Mad is the last Queen video to feature significant creative input from Mercury. Although he was already very ill at the time, Mercury is very mobile and expressive in the video. This was not the case in “These Are the Days of Our Lives“, the last video of Mercury ever shot, where he hardly moves around at all. The video is shot in black and white, and its light effects, and the absurd character Mercury creates, complete with heavy makeup and a wig, all help to camouflage his very frail condition at the time.
