The singer who provided many of the vocals for the late rock icon Freddie Mercury in the new biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a Christian.
Over the weekend, the film, which chronicles Mercury’s harrowing yet tragic personal story alongside the legendary rock band Queen, shot to the top of the box office, in part due to the incredible music throughout the entire movie.
But the vocalist behind the spellbinding performances, Marc Martel, never graces the screen.
In an interview with Noise 11, Martel, who has been covering many of Queen’s songs for years and is the former lead singer for the Christian rock band Downhere, said the film studio hired him to “do some of the singing in the movie and give the audience an immersive experience and not be able to tell where the singing is coming from.”
Guess what! I just saw #BohemianRhapsody! What a rush to finally see Freddie and the band's story told in such a beautiful way, after so many years in the making. Honored to have played a part in this massive production! Go see it!!! pic.twitter.com/bYoTldlwqS
— Marc Martel (@marcmartel) November 3, 2018
“I got to go to Abbey Road for a few weeks and do some recording there,” he said. “It was the first time for me to see behind the curtain in the music industry. It was really fascinating fun and a very memorable experience.”
Martel, in a separate conversation with Beliefnet, said the last 10 years of his career “have been a preparation for me to be able to handle this,” adding he couldn’t have done it without his faith.
“I don’t think I could’ve handled this 10 years ago,” he explained. “God’s moving in this, very obviously.”
It should be noted, of course, the main soundtrack for the movie is Queen’s original performances and Mercury’s vocals, though the studio blended in the voices of Martel and actor Rami Malek, who plays Mercury in the movie, to make the sound more seamless.
So far, “Bohemian Rhapsody” has earned $51 million domestically. The production budget was $52 million.