Freddie Mercury sounded like a "powerful bleating sheep" in the initial days of his singing career, according to Roger Taylor.
Taylor said he and guitarist Brian May had doubts about allowing the flamboyant star to join their band Smile, which was a nascent version of Queen, as his vocal abilities were limited, Contactmusic reported.
Taylor said that although Mercury's singing was not that great, he was a product of his own enormous energy, a tribute to the idea that if you believe in something hard enough you can make it happen.
He said that the late singer, who had a unique way of interacting with his audience, was besotted with Hendrix, and wanted to be a similar kind of figure.
