Google pays tribute to Freddie Mercury with animated doodle

Google’s latest doodle pays tribute to legendary Queen front man Freddie Mercury. The animated and playful doodle merges technology and art in celebration of Mercury’s 65th birthday.

The animated video, crafted into the logo on Google’s search page, shows the latest step in the evolution of doodles, which started as rudimentary clip art. The video features an animated Mercury moving through different locations, to the sounds of Queen’s 1978 hit “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

“It has a lot of fun, goofy stuff to celebrate what an incredible song writer, fashion icon, and musical innovator he was. Freddy Mercury was an awesome performer, an ambitious creator and pioneered really audacious concept records. We just love him; we’ve been blasting Queen for the last couple of months and it is always joyful,” said Google’s doodle team creative lead Ryan Germick.

In June, Google stunned the web with its interactive tribute to guitarist Les Paul. This time around, the search giant decided to honour Queen’s lead vocalist, who battled HIV for years before dying on November 24th, 1991 at the age of 45.

The internet giant invited fellow band member Brian May to guest post on its blog to mark the day.

To create with Freddie was always stimulating to the max. He was daring, always sensing a way to get outside the box. Sometimes he was too far out … and he’d usually be the first to realise it. With a conspiratorial smile he would say “Oh … did I lose it, dears?!” But usually there was sense in his nonsense—art in his madness. It was liberating. I think he encouraged us all in his way, to believe in our own madness, and the collective mad power of the group Queen.

Germick refers to Google’s doodles as “a way to humanise the website. This is an opportunity to express to users that we are here, we are people, and we like the things you like.”

The doodle went live around the world on 5 September, but out of respect for Labour Day, Google says it will go live in the United States on 6 September.

The full animated video can be viewed below.