Producer Reinhold Mack Says Working with Queen Was ‘Basically an Accident.’ Then Freddie Mercury Became His Son’s Godfather (Exclusive)
Producer Reinhold Mack Says Working with Queen Was ‘Basically an Accident.’ Then Freddie Mercury Became His Son’s Godfather (Exclusive)
Angela AndaloroSun, September 6, 2026 at 9:59 PM UTC
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Reinhold Mack (left), Freddie MercuryCredit: Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty; Christian Rose/Roger Viollet via Getty -
Music producer Reinhold Mack was working at Musicland Studios when he came upon an opportunity to work with Queen
Mack, now 77, went on to work with the band on three albums and became close friends with frontman Freddie Mercury in the process
Mack is auctioning off some mementos from his time with Queen, just weeks after what would have been Mercury’s 80th birthday
Reinhold Mack’s chance encounter with Queen left him with a close friend in Freddie Mercury.
The legendary producer was first introduced to Queen while working at Musicland Studios, where Queen recorded some of their most iconic music. Mack hit it off with Mercury right away and, decades later, he opens up to PEOPLE about their relationship as he prepares to part with mementos of the friendship in Propstore’s $4 million Music Live Auction, taking place Oct. 1 to Oct. 2.
Recalling how they first met, Mack admits, “Working with Queen was basically an accident.”
“I was working with Gary Moore in Los Angeles at the time, and I had a phone call asking if I could come to Munich to work with a band, no names being said there, and I asked around and somebody mentioned that might be Queen, so I figured let’s do that,” he explains.
So, he flew to Germany — and the rest is history. Mack’s early work with the band led to the creation of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and was the beginning of a genuine friendship between him and Mercury. In fact, the frontman spent time with Mack and his family from time to time in Munich.
Yamaha C3 grand piano Freddie Mercury played at Musicland Studios in MunichCredit: Propstore
“I think what worked out really, really great is that our relationship turned into a friendship,” he shares. “He took our family as his family. At that time in the ‘80s, he could walk around in Munich and nobody would recognize him, and he went out with my wife going shopping, buying things, buying silverware, buying tracksuits and table tennis tables for my kids.”
“And he was a really good table tennis player and just came around to my kid’s birthday,” he adds.
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Mack’s youngest son, whom he affectionately calls “little Freddie,” was born as the band worked on their 1982 album, Hot Space. Mack remembers his wife joking around with the band as they worked on their album at Musicland Studios, which notably took them a “really long time” to make.
“My wife said, ‘It’s probably easier to conceive and give birth to a child than you guys getting an album done.’ And in that time, she conceived and gave birth to little Freddie, who is his godson,” Mack shares, noting that Mercury, who died in November 1991, kept in close touch with the family and always thought of them, particularly of little Freddie.
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‘My Love Is Dangerous’ lyrics, handwritten by Freddie MercuryCredit: Propstore
Mack has contributed over 80 items for the auction, including the actual Yamaha C3 grand piano Mercury played extensively at Musicland Studios. The piano will be the standout lot in Propstore’s $4 million Music Live Auction, taking place Oct. 1 to Oct. 2, with a pre-sale estimate of $264,000 to $528,000.
Played extensively by Mercury while composing and recording at Musicland Studios, the piano was used during the making of The Game, Hot Space and The Works and is associated with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Leonard Cohen, Donna Summer and Bryan Ferry also played the piano at the studio.
The piano headlines a collection from Mack that also includes the AKG C414 EB microphone used to record Mercury’s vocals at Musicland, including during “One Vision”; Mercury’s handwritten working lyrics for “My Love Is Dangerous” and “Let’s Turn It On”; and a teddy bear Mercury gifted to the Mack family.
The auction registration is now open, and the full catalog is available.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
