In the pantheon of music history, few pairings spark as much fervent speculation as the one that almost was: a collaborative album between Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, and Freddie Mercury, the iconic frontman of Queen. In 1983, at the height of their respective powers—Jackson following Thriller and Mercury commanding Queen’s global dominance—the two legends met in Jackson’s home studio in Encino, California. What emerged from these sessions are the ultimate “what if” duets, whose completion was famously derailed by a bizarre and quintessential Michael Jackson eccentricity: a pet llama.
The Unfinished Duets of 1983
The collaboration was born out of mutual admiration, with Jackson reported having been a huge fan of Queen’s work. The pair laid down demos for three unique tracks: “There Must Be More to Life Than This” (Written by Mercury), “State of Shock” (Intended for The Jacksons’ Victory album), and “Victory.” The clash of their creative universes was immediately palpable. Mercury was known for his spontaneous, high-energy approach, while Jackson was already developing the meticulous perfectionism and insularity that would define his later career.
The Llama That Ended the Dream
The collaboration ended suddenly, not over creative differences alone, but over Jackson’s unusual studio habits. The account that has become music legend was corroborated by Jim “Miami” Beach, Queen’s manager, and other sources. Beach recalled receiving a frantic phone call from Mercury from Jackson’s home, where the Queen singer was completely exasperated by one of Jackson’s exotic pets. “Mercury rang me and said, ‘Miami, dear, can you get over here? You’ve got to get me out of here, I’m recording with a llama!'” Jackson had reported insisting on bringing his pet llama, Louie, into the studio during the recording sessions. The Queen frontman, already struggling with the cultural and personality differences—including reports that Jackson was unhappy with Mercury’s recreational drug use—found the constant presence of the animal to be the final straw. Mercury quickly returned to London, and the full collaborative album, a potential sonic landmark of the 1980s, was abandoned.
Data and The Scraps That Survived
The unfinished duets quickly became legendary “lost tapes,” only to reappear years later in other forms. “State of Shock,” originally meant for Mercury, was completed by Jackson as a duet with Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, and became a major commercial hit on The Jacksons’ 1984 album Victory . “There Must Be More to Life Than This” was recorded solo by Mercury for his 1985 album, Mr. Bad Guy . However, the original duet with Jackson was eventually released posthumously in 2014, remixed by producer William Orbit for Queen’s compilation album, Queen Forever , finally allowing fans a glimpse of the two titans sharing a microphone. The third track, “Victory,” remains unreleased. The story of the llama remains the most famous musical “what if” of the 20th century—a perfect collaboration stopped not by ego or scheduling, but by the absurd collision of two utterly eccentric kings of their respective genres.