![CIRCUS: Would you like Dali to do your costumes and makeup?]( "CIRCUS: Would you like Dali to do your costumes and makeup?")
CIRCUS: Would you like Dali to do your costumes and makeup?
MERCURY: Not really. I like him for different reasons. We have Zandra Rhodes do our costumes.
CIRCUS: Would you like to be the first man on the cover of Vogue?
MERCURY: That would be great. You never know how true that might be, actually. We're working on it.
CIRCUS: Would you like to date Liza Minnelli?
MERCURY: Oh, no. I would like to talk to her, yes.
CIRCUS: What do you think she would tell you?
MERCURY: I would just like to meet her after a performance and take it from there. I don't know what she would say to me, or what I would say to her.
CIRCUS: You're both very much into clothes. You could talk about that. Didn't you once sell antique clothes?
MERCURY: Yes, some of my best clothes are from that period. They're the clothes I like best. I don't like manufactured clothes.
CIRCUS: Was it actually a business?
MERCURY: Yes, I got in touch with a friend... I normally like clothes anyway, and when Queen was semi-professional I thought I would do something at the same time, and I got an opportunity to get a small boutique in Kensington Market.
CIRCUS: Is there one designer you like most?
MERCURY: I have a tailor who makes my trousers and a friend who makes shoe. Ages ago I used to go to Ossie Clark, along with Zandra Rhodes.
CIRCUS: I find shoes to be the hardest part of the wardrobe to find.
MERCURY: London is full of shoe shops. You can have them made to order. Just go in with your design.
CIRCUS: How large is your closet?
MERCURY: Pretty large. I've got a sort of huge apartment in Kensington and I have a huge corridor that's just full of my wardrobe. I could start a shop in there.
CIRCUS: Where would you advise Queen fans to buy their clothes?
MERCURY: It really depends, there are so many places. There's a place called Essences, that's a very good place. They seem to get very good quality stuff, but still old, 1920's stuff. If they have the money I'd ask them to go to Zandra Rhodes, because she's got a place where she works and you can buy them off the rail. They're quite beautiful.
CIRCUS: Do you think clothes make the man?
MERCURY: It depends upon what kind of person you are. For what we do, clothes are very important, and if you know where to get them it helps.
CIRCUS: Do you spend a lot of time in front of the mirror?
MERCURY: If I have time, yes. I'm a very vain person and, yeah, I do.
CIRCUS: Do you ever think about the mirror while you're in front of it, what effect your image has upon it?
MERCURY: No, I don't go that deep into it. I have other things to think about. I have quite a few at home, different shapes and sizes, but I don't think there's any kind of chemical reaction.
CIRCUS: Could you compare yourself to another human being?
MERCURY: No way. I think I'm totally original. I'm sure there are many people who see themselves in me, but that's to them. I'm me, basically, and that's how I like to be.
CIRCUS: What brand of nail polish do you use?
MERCURY: I used to use Biba. That's another nice shop people can go to. It's really a beautiful shop done up well. When fans come over here, that ought to be the first place they go. I used to use Biba black nail polish, but I changed. I got Minor's now. Black seems to be the colour for me.
CIRCUS: I'd like to know what you think about these people: Jimi Hendrix, Liza Minnelli, Led Zeppelin...
MERCURY: Jimi Hendrix is very important. He's my idol. He sort of epitomizes, from his presentation onstage, the whole works of a rock star. There's no way you can compare him. You either have the magic or you don't. There's no way you can work up to it. There's nobody who can take his place. Liza, in terms of sheer talent, just oozes with it. She has sheer energy and stamina, which she gets across the stage, and the way she delivers herself to the public is a good influence. There is a lot to learn from her. Led Zeppelin is the greatest. Robert Plant is one of the most original vocalists of our time. As a rock band they deserve the kind of success they're getting.
CIRCUS: How about your fans, the Linneys family?
MERCURY: They're great. They come over to our shows, write letters, send presents, got to know us. We seem to attract quite a few families. The daughters like us and bring their families. It's great. Brian gets on with the Linneys daughter.
CIRCUS: The electric light?
MERCURY: Very important to our act. We've got quite a light show that we carry around. We've taken a lot of time out to work with them. Lights enhance all our songs differently.
CIRCUS: Which queen in a deck of cards do you identify with most?
MERCURY: The Queen of Spades. I get the feeling it's more like me. It's very arrogant and I'm arrogant. I also think the Queen of Spades is more vain than the other ones.
CIRCUS: What are your favourite sports?
MERCURY: I like ping pong and I like athletics, swimming, hockey.
CIRCUS: Have you ever met a plaster-caster?
MERCURY: No, what is it?
CIRCUS: In the late sixties there were two girls who were famous for making plaster casts of famous rock stars' erections. Cynthia Plaster-caster is the most famous of them.
MERCURY: Is she still around?
CIRCUS: I think she retired at the end of the "summer of love".
MERCURY: Too bad I never heard of her. How many did she do?
CIRCUS: I don't know, maybe thirty or forty. She had quite an exhibit.
MERCURY: I'd like to meet her when I'm in town.
CIRCUS: I don't know how you would go about that. How do you invest your money?
MERCURY: At the moment I don't got any. I spend it as soon as I get it, on a house, clothes, paintings. I love going to restaurants and spending money on good food.
CIRCUS: What do you do with your left hand that you don't do with your right?
MERCURY: Oh, umm, I play better piano with my right hand than I do with my left. There's more things I don't do with my left hand than I do with my right. I'll tell you one thing, I only wear nail polish on my left hand. It's the only hand I'll wear black nail polish on. I only need it on one hand.
CIRCUS: Do you think your figure has been an important part of your success?
MERCURY: It helped. We have a very strong image that we get across in our music. It's important, the way you look, the way you play...
