Sir Cliff Richard, Stormzy, and football anthems are among the tracks in contention for securing the coveted Christmas number one single, according to the Official Charts Company.The top spot during the festive period is always hotly contested, with this year’s race set to kick off on December 16 – with the news to be announced on December 23 on The Official Chart On Radio 1 With Jack Saunders.

YouTuber LadBaby, real name Mark Hoyle, and his wife Roxanne, known as LadBaby Mum, made chart history last year after landing the Christmas number one for a fourth consecutive year, becoming the first musician to do so in the 70 years of the Official Christmas Chart.

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Their novelty track, Sausage Rolls For Everyone, featured Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John and helped raise funds for The Trussell Trust food banks.

The social media stars have not announced a new release as of yet, but if they return to defend their title and succeed, they will set another record as the act with the most Christmas number one singles in chart history.

However, they will face tough competition if they enter the race with the number of new releases from global music superstars and a host of festive classics.

Sir Cliff could be in with a chance of securing his fourth festive chart-topper with Heart Of Christmas, the lead single from his newly released album Christmas With Cliff.

Grime star Stormzy could also be in contention with his track Firebabe from his new record This Is What I Mean, as well as Sam Smith’s new original festive tune Night Before Christmas.

Sing along with us to the new Three Lions (It’s Coming Home For Christmas) lyric video

Watch here: https://t.co/Zl25PhHrJj pic.twitter.com/NYynznxOyO

— Lightning Seeds (@Lightning_Seeds) November 25, 2022

American superstar Taylor Swift, who has her single Anti-Hero on track for a fifth consecutive week at the top of the charts, could also be in with a chance as she releases an acoustic version of Anti-Hero.

David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and rock band The Lightning Seeds have also returned with a reimagining of their Three Lions hit which earned them four number ones since releasing it in 1996.

Their latest song Three Lions (It’s Coming Home For Christmas) references the Lionesses’ win at the Women’s Euro 2022 this summer and the World Cup in Qatar.

There have also been other re-releases of popular hits sung at football matches including from Liverpool band The Farm who are putting out a 12” remix color vinyl single of their 1990 hit All Together Now and Sweet Caroline by boxer Tyson Fury which might scale the charts.

DJ Joel Corry’s football song Lionheart (Come On England), which features English singer-songwriter Tom Grennan, has been moving up the Official Singles Chart for the past four weeks.

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Former England footballer Peter Crouch has also teamed up with Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts for their album Crouchy Conducts The Classics in aid of LGBT+ charity Stonewall which could see one of their hits make it to the top.

Meanwhile, Isle of Wight singer Liam Hodge has also released his World Cup For Christmas single.

The Half Timers, who are donating 100% of its profits to FareShareUK, for football anthem Coming Home For Christmas are also getting some traction, the charts company said.

The Official Charts Company said Becky Hill’s Only You, Tik Tok stars JVKE golden hour, Meghan Trainor’s Made You Look, Ravi Adelekan And Friends’ A Million Dreams, The Vamps’ Seat At The Table and George Ezra’s Come On Home For Christmas, among others, could also be in contention.

It could also be a return for festive classics like Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You and Wham!’s Last Christmas.

The Official Christmas Number 1 race 2022 kicks off on December 16 and ends on December 22.

The Official Christmas Number One will be revealed on the Official Chart On Radio 1 With Jack Saunders is on BBC Radio 1 on December 23 from 4pm.

Call The Midwife’s Helen George is set to star in a new UK tour of the acclaimed musical The King and I next year.Set in 1860s Bangkok, the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tells the story of the unconventional relationship which develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.

George, who is best known for playing Trixie Franklin on the BBC drama, will portray Leonowens in the new run which will play at 14 theatres in the UK so far.

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The touring production will be brought to the stage by a team led by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher and will feature a company of more than 50 performers and a full-scale orchestra.

On joining the forthcoming production, George said: “Theatre is my first love, and I am so excited to be returning to the stage for this beautiful, majestic production of The King and I.

“I was blown away when I saw Bartlett Sher’s staging of this wonderful show, so I can’t wait to work with him and the rest of the creative team to bring this timeless story back to the stage next year.

“Anna is such a strong, passionate and determined character, and I’m going to relish bringing her to life every night, as well as giving audiences all over the UK the chance to see this peerless Broadway and West End musical right on their doorstep.”

Having trained at the Royal Academy of Music and the Birmingham School of Acting, George’s musical theatre credits include Company, Love Never Dies and The Woman In White.

The King and I has previously had a critically acclaimed Broadway run, a strong season at the London Palladium and a successful UK and International tour.

The 2023 UK tour will kick off at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, Kent, on February 4 with performances at venues in cities including London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Glasgow.

Helen George will portray Anna Leonowens in the new run which will travel across 14 theatres in the UK (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

Further casting and more UK cities and details of an international tour are due to be announced soon.

The musical is based on Margaret Landon’s 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam, which was derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s.

The show first premiered on Broadway in 1951 and has had many productions since.

It was also adapted into a film in 1946 and once again in 1956, which was later nominated for nine Oscars, winning five, and starred Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.

An animated film version featuring the voice of Miranda Richardson was released in 1999 and another period drama adaptation starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-fat was also released the same year.

More information can be found at the King And I musical website

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Some rare banknotes held by NatWest are being auctioned to help raise funds for food banks.The auctions will feature notes from the Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, the historic National Bank of Scotland and the Bank of England.

The banknotes include a never-circulated Royal Bank of Scotland £50 polymer note with the serial number AA888888, featuring social reformer Flora Stevenson and Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh.

Some of the more historic notes date back over 100 years to the First World War and include a Bank of England 10 shilling note from 1919, NatWest said.

The first of three auctions is being held on November 29 2022.

Subsequent auctions will be held on December 16 this year and January 19 2023.

It is estimated that the auctions could raise more than £400,000.

The proceeds will be donated to the Trussell Trust, whose network of food bank centers supports people across the UK.

NatWest also offers customers the opportunity to donate to a range of charities including the Trussell Trust, through its MyRewards scheme.

Richard Talbot, head of cash and self-service at NatWest, said: “We have been a long-term supporter of the Trussell Trust and we are glad to be building further upon that support to help those most in need with the current cost of living crisis.”

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: “We are very grateful to the team at NatWest for their incredible support.

“As we enter the winter period, more people are likely to need a food bank’s help and food banks across our network face providing over 7,000 food parcels to people in crisis every day throughout December.

“But ultimately, no one in the UK should need a food bank – all of us should have enough money for the essentials like food, clothing and heating.

“The support of NatWest will help food banks within our network continue to provide the lifeline of emergency support for local people in crisis, while we work in the long term to end the need for food banks, for good.”

Arnas Savickas, head of banknotes Europe/US at Spink, which is auctioning the banknotes, said: “We are proud to know that the money raised will be tremendously beneficial to those in need.”

All auctions will be held at Spink’s headquarters in Southampton Row in central London.

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap will open on Broadway for the first time after 70 years on the London stage.The world’s longest-running play was first staged in London in 1952 and has never been performed in New York, but is now set to open there in 2023.

It will be a co-production between the The Mousetrap UK’s producer Adam Spiegel and Tony-award winner Kevin McCollum, whose credits include Broadway productions of British hit shows The Play That Goes Wrong and Six.

McCollum said: “I am thrilled that Agatha Christie’s beloved murder mystery that changed popular theatre and has been a landmark attraction for US visitors to London’s West End for the past 70 years will now be coming to Broadway.

“I’m excited for the huge Christie fan-base in North America, and for the acting company in New York who will join the esteemed ranks of The Mousetrap alumni.”

Spiegel said: “There can be no better way to mark today’s milestone in The Mousetrap’s illustrious run, than to look ahead to a production in New York.

“I feel after the longest out of town try-out in history, The Mousetrap is finally ready to transfer to Broadway.”

In celebration of the anniversary, Private Eye writer and cartoonist Nick Newman has created a carton commemorating 70 years since the show first opened in London.

The Mousetrap has been performed 28,915 times in the city, according to the producers of the production.

It is against Christie’s wishes for the play to be performed on Broadway, according to the Times, though the specific reason why is lost to history.

Unseen footage of The Young Ones is to be released for the first time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the classic British sitcom.The TV show first aired on BBC Two in 1982 and ran until 1984, bringing with it the energy and irreverence of the new alternative comedy movement.

It followed the comedic adventures and dysfunctional relationships of four misfit, house-sharing students at Scumbag College.

Starring Adrian Edmondson as punk medical student Vyvyan “Vyv” Basterd, Rik Mayall as anarchist revolutionary Rick, Nigel Planer as hippy Neil Pye, Christopher Ryan as Mike “the cool person” and Alexei Sayle as their landlord Jerzei, it helped make the actors household names.

It became known for its comic caricature, slapstick, infantile humor, rants and surreal jokes set against Thatcher’s Britain.

Mayall also co-wrote the show alongside Ben Elton and Lise Mayer, with Paul Jackson and Geoff Posner as directors.

To mark 40 years since its launch, The Young Ones: Complete Collection will be released on Blu-ray on November 28 with a host of bonus features.

Among the special additions are never seen before deleted scenes, 10 new commentaries from the cast and crew and rediscovered clips from the cutting room floor.

An extensive photo gallery featuring the original music score and unpublished images from the production team also feature in the anniversary package among other extras.

The Young Ones: 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition Boxset will be available on the November 28.

Three rare white reindeer are preparing to tour the UK to spread festive cheer in the run-up to Christmas.The calves are part of the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd, described as the UK’s only free-ranging reindeer herd, which is around 150 strong.

Born in the summer, the trio named Vanilla, Mr. Whippy, and 99 are ready to join the rest of the herd as they make Christmas visits around the country.

The first reindeer were brought over from Swedish Lapland in 1952 by Mikel Utsi and his wife Ethel Lindgren as an experiment and have grazed the land ever since.

Tilly Smith, the owner of the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre, said: “The Cairngorms is ideal for the reindeer.

“We’re centrally positioned within the Highlands, which means we have a more continental climate.

“We’re more likely to have cold, snowy, Arctic-like conditions which provide the best vegetation. Our mountains, although vast and impressive, are also gentle which suits the reindeer as they aren’t the most nimble.”

Mark Tate, chief executive of VisitCairngorms, said: “The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd is a firm favorite among our winter visitors, and it’s easy to see why.

“They are beautiful, calming animals and add to the magical winter wonderland feel that really does make winter come to life in the Cairngorms National Park.

“Tilly and her team have done a wonderful job nurturing the herd over the years, and it’s thanks to the really special environment we have here in the Cairngorms that they’ve thrived and grown.”

The King has praised David Hockney’s “galoshes” and revealed he cannot wait for the artist’s next project as he celebrated leading figures from the world of politics, science and the arts.King Charles gathered members of the prestigious Order of Merit for their annual Buckingham Palace lunch and welcomed an array of pioneers from broadcaster Sir David Attenborough to world wide web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

After a service at the Chapel Royal, where six new members of the order were formally appointed, the King hosted a pre-lunch drinks reception and complemented Hockney on his yellow Crocs, worn with a flamboyant suit.

The artist, who used a wheelchair, insisted on standing when he met the King, and Charles looked down at his feet and said with a smile, “Those yellow galoshes…beautifully chosen.”

Hockney is set to launch an immersive experience which will give visitors the opportunity to engage with audio and visual elements to follow a journey through his art.

The show, created by the 85-year-old Bradford-born artist, will launch early next year at Lightroom, a new four-story venue in King’s Cross, London.

Charles turned to renowned architect Lord Foster and said, “I can’t wait to see what he does next”.

Also appointed to the order is geneticist and cell biologist Sir Paul Nurse, awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine and now chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute.

Television presenter and author Baroness Floella Benjamin was among the six new Order of Merit members chosen by the late Queen in early September and appointed by the King earlier this month.

She spoke with pride about being the first woman with her heritage to be appointed to the Order: “I just feel absolutely thrilled to know that one of Her late Majesty’s final wishes was to have such a diverse list, and to be the first black woman from the Caribbean to be included in the Order.”

Baroness Benjamin said the Queen’s decision would send a message to future generations, “Come, if Floella can do it, you can do it.”

The Trinidad-born peer first came to prominence as a presenter on the popular BBC children’s program Play School.

She has gone on to write more than 30 books with her memoir Coming To England now studied in schools; she served as Chancellor of the University of Exeter for 10 years and as Chair of the Windrush Commemoration Committee, helped organize the National Windrush Monument unveiled at Waterloo Station.

In 2010 she entered the House of Lords, where she speaks on diversity, equality, and children’s issues.

The Order of Merit was created in 1902 by Edward VII to honor leaders in the arts, sciences, culture, and military, and appointments are in the Sovereign’s personal gift.

Members are limited to 24 individuals, and 22 were able to attend the lunch, including ex-prime minister of Australia John Howard and playwright Sir Thomas Stoppard.

Sir David Attenborough said of the Order of Merit: “It is a mysterious thing but it works. It is a great honor because it is such a variety of people from such a cross-section of society.

“Membership of this group isn’t selected by wealth, nor is it selected by aristocracy.”

The Duke of Cornwall has made his first official visit to the county since taking on his new role – meeting staff, volunteers, and young people involved in a community environmental project.Prince William visited the Newquay Orchard, which offers environmental education, employability training, and community events.

The project was founded eight years ago by Luke Berkeley in the north Cornish town on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.

The orchard currently works with over 120 volunteers each week, who take stewardship of the land, and as well as growing a range of fruit and vegetables there is a community cafe that sells much of the produce.

The Duke was shown around the site by Mr. Berkeley and met staff, volunteers, children, and young people during an hour-long visit.

He was taken on a tour of the workshops, shown around ‘An Lowarth’ – Cornish for ‘garden’ – and walked through polytunnels containing produce.

The Duke also met staff working in the educational area where people are trained in cooking, gardening, and other practical skills.

Mr. Berkeley, who is chief executive of the orchard, said he was “really, really proud” William had chosen the project as his first official engagement in Cornwall in his new role.

“We had a visit from The King a couple of months ago, and we feel enormously privileged to be thought of in this way,” Mr. Berkeley said.

“We have had a lot of support from the Duchy, which we are very thankful for. The King has always been very supportive, and clearly, without him, we would not be here.

“William was very interested in hearing about the work we do and is passionate about young people, the environment, and mental health.”

He added: “It really was a lovely visit, and William spent the time to speak with people who have supported the project and those that engage with the work we do here.

“The reaction he got from people – the enjoyment and the smiles – will stay with me for a long time.”

While in Cornwall, the Duke visited Duchy offices to meet staff as he takes forward the stewardship of the estate.

William became the heir apparent and became known as the Prince of Wales, after the death of his grandmother and the accession of his father, Charles, to become the King.

William also inherited the title Duke of Cornwall and is now the Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge.

His wife is now known as the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.

Michelle Dockery and Nicholas Pinnock will star in an upcoming BBC drama that explores the beginnings of ska and two-tone music.Dockery, well known for playing the role of Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey on TV and in the period drama’s films, is among the cast of the six-part series This Town.

The family drama, which is also a thriller, stars Top Boy’s Pinnock, The Last Kingdom’s David Dawson and Calendar Girls actress Geraldine James.

Have you heard? Michelle Dockery, Nicholas Pinnock and David Dawson have been announced for This Town, Steven Knight’s original new drama series for the BBC

Find out more https://t.co/T7nnZ04g9i https://t.co/IQOXj3q0O5

— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) November 24, 2022

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is the writer, creator, and executive producer of This Town, which opens in 1981 at a moment of social tensions and unrest.

The 63-year-old said: “This is a project very close to my heart.

“It’s about an era I lived through and know well and it involves characters who I feel I grew up with. It’s a love letter to Birmingham and Coventry but I hope people from all over the world will relate to it.”

Jo McClellan, BBC Drama commissioning editor, said: “Steven’s scripts are absolutely brilliant – they capture the wild energy of youth and a pivotal moment in time, all set to a fantastic soundtrack, and we can’t wait to see this incredibly talented cast bring it all to life.”

Meanwhile, Levi Brown, who starred in Loss And Return, Jordan Bolger, known for The Woman King, The Innocents’ Ben Rose and You, Our Ladies’ Eve Austin star as the young leads who are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone.

The BBC said the music “exploded from the grass roots of Coventry and Birmingham in the late (1970s) and early (1980s), uniting black, white and Asian youths”.

Alice Webb, Mercury Studios chief executive and co-president, said: “Ska music has such a huge impact on music and culture – in the 1980s and through to modern day.

“Expect fierce new music as well as serious homage to classics of the time. It’s going to be unstoppable.”

Filming is now underway for This Town in the Birmingham area.

The Queen Consort has described it as “a pleasure” to re-home Paddington bears with vulnerable children at a nursery after thousands of the toys were left in tribute to the late monarch.She chatted with dozens of youngsters cared for by Barnardo’s charity at Bow day nursery in east London, during a picnic complete with marmalade sandwiches.

She was joined by Paddington film cast members Hugh Bonneville and Madeleine Harris, and author Michael Bond’s daughter, Karen Jankel, for whom he wrote the stories.

During the visit, Camilla gave the children Paddington bear toys which members of the public had left at the Long Walk in Windsor and outside Buckingham Palace following the Queen’s death in September.

The royal family has donated more than 1,000 bears to Barnardo’s, and each toy was professionally cleaned ahead of being delivered to the charity.

On Thursday, Camilla was greeted by Barnardo’s chief executive Lynn Perry MBE and its chair of trustees John Bartlett before being taken on a tour of the nursery by team manager Shamima Ahmed.

The Queen Consort joined a group of children aged two and under around a table, and two-year-old Noa Nkemdirim hovered nearby until Camilla gave her a hug.

Camilla also spoke with a circle of older children who were playing with blue foam, asking them: “What are we doing here?

“Making a mess? We love a bit of mess.”

To mark the end of her visit, the Queen Consort shared marmalade sandwiches seated beside Mr. Bonneville, Ms. Harris and Ms. Jankel, while around 40 children sat cross-legged at their feet.

Three-year-old Oscar Isherwood shouted: “I don’t like marmalade,” while others clamored to receive a bear from the Queen Consort.

Camilla gently told the children to place the tiny boots on their Paddington bears “otherwise, he won’t be able to go outside”.

Bonneville, who plays Mr. Brown, read Bond’s story “Paddington Takes a Bath” to the children, echoing the way their bears had all needed a clean before arriving at the nursery.

As she stood to depart, Camilla told the children and their carers: “It has been a pleasure to find a home for these bears – please look after them carefully”.

Carer Leighann Ives and three-year-old Serena Wicks presented the Queen Consort with a bouquet and a thank-you note.

The Queen Consort had traveled to the nursery in a car filled with some of the Paddingtons, on a journey from Clarence House in Westminster, along the Mall, and past London landmarks, including Trafalgar Square and Tower Bridge.

The visit comes after Camilla was pictured surrounded by teddies in a photo taken on October 13 to mark the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington Bear book.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee sketch in the summer saw the Peruvian bear visit Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea, during which the Queen produced a marmalade sandwich from her handbag.

It prompted mourners to leave teddy bears and even some marmalade sandwiches among the floral tributes which amassed outside royal residences following her death.

In 2016, the Queen passed the patronage of Barnardo’s to Camilla, who was then the Duchess of Cornwall.

Sir Cliff Richard said he may stop making music – but will never officially retire because he does not like the idea of a ‘comeback.’The 82-year-old singer was on BBC Radio 2 with Ken Bruce for an exclusive first play of his new Christmas single Heart of Christmas on Thursday.

Asked if he will stop making music, he said: “Stop is a good word. I might stop one day. I don’t want to retire. Once you’ve retired you feel you’ve got to stay away and if you do want to do something it’s called a comeback. And every time I hear somebody has done a comeback I’m thinking they’ve run out of money.

“Recording is so much fun, if I could record every day of my life I would. It’s always a challenge because every time you do an album, there is something different about it.”

Sir Cliff said he was approached by a record company to create his new album Christmas With Cliff, which includes nine classic Christmas tracks and three new songs.

He said: “It’s a fun album and I hope people like it. Unusually, I used two producers because I wanted to have a dynamic… and they gave it to me. They were fantastic producers – different styles of music but connected because of Christmas.

“The backing tracks were done in LA and I put my voice on in Miami. I found a studio the Bee Gees used to use and I’m a big fan of the Bee Gees so I said, ‘Yeah, lets do it there.’”

Sir Cliff has enjoyed UK chart success with previous festive songs, with Mistletoe And Wine bagging the coveted Christmas number one slot in 1988, and Saviour’s Day taking the title in 1990, according to the Official Charts Company.

In 1960, with backing band The Shadows, the song I Love You was Christmas number one.

Over the festive period, Sir Cliff will appear in a one-hour BBC Two TV special which will see him talking to broadcaster Sara Cox at the Abbey Road Studios and performing a mix of Christmas classics, new songs and his best-loved hits – both solo and in collaboration with “special guests”.

Recalling an anecdote about the music studios, made famous by the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover, Sir Cliff said: “In fact, when I met (Sir) Paul (McCartney) there once, they were celebrating the 50th year or something – I cant remember what it was – but he said to me, ‘Cor, we hated you’, and I said, ‘What do you mean?’

“He said, ‘Every time we called studio two, you had it’. I said, ‘Oh, please, Paul, don’t give me that rubbish. We hated you because every time Bruce Welsh called to book the studio for us, you had it’.

“We were hating each other for no reason at all. We were both favorites. To be fair, they made it famous, the album Abbey Road made it really famous, so good on them.”

Sir Cliff said he has a tour planned for next year but it will only include fewer than a dozen dates.

He added: “It’s not a very long tour. The heavy touring is a real strain, particularly on the vocal cords. You wake up in the morning hoping your voice will be OK for tonight so that’s a stressful thing, so I’m only doing about eight concerts next year and it’ll be fun. I like it and it’s nice to be in front of the public. It’s a mutual love.

“You’ve got to be a bit dignified when you’re 82.”

Staff at Windsor Castle have made their finishing touches to Christmas decorations before the doors opened to visitors.

Tourists exploring the historic Berkshire royal residence are able to see the State Apartments transformed with shimmering trees, twinkling lights and festive garlands.

One highlight is a 20ft Nordmann fir tree in St George’s Hall, grown nearby in Windsor Great Park and dressed with hundreds of iridescent ornaments.

A tree is also on display in the Crimson Drawing Room, one of the most ornate rooms in the castle and part of the Semi-State Rooms.

In the Waterloo Chamber, a large table has been laid with a display of decorative items from the royal collection, fruits and foliage beneath glittering chandeliers.

Originally created as private apartments for George IV and used by members of the royal family for official entertaining, the Semi-State Rooms opened to visitors for the winter months on Thursday.

The Queen spent her last Christmas at Windsor, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world.

Founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, it has been the home of 40 monarchs.

Queen guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and Culture Club have paid tribute to Freddie Mercury on the 31st anniversary of the singer’s death.The flamboyant and charismatic frontman of Queen died aged 45 on November 24, 1991, after suffering with bronchial pneumonia resulting from Aids.

The writer and performer of much-loved anthems, including We Are The Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody revealed he was HIV positive the day before his death.

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Veteran rocker May, who was a founding member of British rock band Queen, shared a photograph of Mercury captioning it: “Love ya Freddie. Bri.”

The band, which consisted of lead singer Mercury, guitarist May, drummer Taylor, and bassist John Deacon, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

On Instagram, Taylor shared an image of him posing alongside Mercury in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1974.

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He captioned it: “Memories.”

Meanwhile, pop group Culture Club shared an image of frontman Boy George and Mercury backstage at the Fashion Aid event at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 5 1985.

With a red heart included, the image was captioned: “Remembering the great Freddie Mercury.”

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Boy George became the fourth celebrity to leave I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! on Tuesday after 18 days in the Australian jungle with campmates including rugby star Mike Tindall and Lioness Jill Scott.

In October, Queen released a lost song featuring their late band member for the first time in more than eight years.

Face It Alone was originally recorded during the rock band’s 1988 sessions for their album The Miracle, but remained among those that did not make the final cut.

It was later rediscovered when the band’s production and archive team returned to the sessions to work on the upcoming reissue of the album.