In the glittery galaxy of 1980s pop, few collisions were more electric—or bizarre—than the moment Queen’s flamboyant frontman Freddie Mercury and the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, attempted to record together. The year was 1983. The dream: chart-topping duets that would unite rock opera with dance floor grooves. The reality? A llama named Louie.
Yes, a llama.
According to insiders and long-whispered lore, Mercury and Jackson got as far as laying down early demos for three tracks: “Victory,” “State of Shock,” and “There Must Be More to Life Than This.” Fans can only imagine what could’ve been. But their short-lived collaboration came to a screeching halt when Jackson, in peak Neverland eccentricity mode, decided to bring his pet llama Louie into the studio.
Freddie—never one to blend into the background—was reportedly taken aback. In fact, he noped out of the session entirely. Not one for animal interference in his artistry, Mercury left the scene, leaving behind both a few vocal takes and a cloud of confusion.
It’s all very on-brand for both legends. Jackson was famously known for his menagerie of exotic animals (including Bubbles the chimp), while Mercury demanded a different kind of wild in his sessions—glamour, precision, and just the right amount of chaos.
Though rough cuts of their duet attempts have circulated on bootlegs and snippets have popped up in documentaries, the tracks were never officially released. “State of Shock” eventually found its way to the airwaves as a Jackson/Jagger duet, while “There Must Be More to Life Than This” later appeared as a Mercury solo effort and, decades later, in a Queen version featuring Michael’s vocals.
So, why didn’t this musical powerhouse last? Blame it on Louie the llama, folks. In the battle of pop versus rock royalty, it was the llama who reigned supreme.
