Freddie Mercury, the legendary frontman of Queen, was a man of eclectic tastes, and his musical influences spanned far and wide. Known for his unmatched vocal range and electrifying stage presence, Mercury drew inspiration from pop, soul, opera, and even the vibrant sounds of classic 1950s rock ‘n’ roll.

In a playlist compiled by his Queen bandmates, which sheds light on Mercury’s favourite songs, one classic stands out: the iconic Elvis Presley hit ‘Jailhouse Rock’.

The track, which Elvis Presley recorded in 1957, quickly became a defining anthem of early rock ‘n’ roll. Its infectious rhythm, catchy lyrics, and undeniable energy made it a classic that captured the essence of Presley’s musical style – a blend of rebellion, charisma, and raw power.

Mercury was known for his larger-than-life performances, and his admiration for Presley was no secret. In 1979, the Queen frontman wrote ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, a song which bandmate Brian May later confirmed is “Freddie’s tribute to Elvis in a way”. He added: “Freddie was very fond of Elvis.”

While Jailhouse Rock holds a special place in Freddie Mercury’s heart, it wasn’t the only song that shaped his musical identity. From ‘Kashmir’ by Led Zeppelin to ‘Respect’ by Aretha Franklin, Freddie’s tastes were anything but predictable.

Songs like ‘I Get Around’ by The Beach Boys and ‘Woman in Love’ by Barbra Streisand highlight his love for both upbeat pop anthems and more emotive ballads, while ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’ by Elton John reflects his affinity for high-energy rock and roll.

Another Elvis classic, ‘Love Me Tender’, also earned a spot on Freddie’s list of favourites. Released in 1956, the ballad is an adaptation of the Civil War-era song ‘Aura Lea’ and has since been featured in at least 20 films.

Here are the top 25 of the 60 songs on the playlist of Freddie Mercury’s favourite songs, as selected by his Queen bandmates, his former PA Peter Freestone, and author and band friend Jim Jenkins:

• ‘Africa’ – Toto

• ‘Kashmir’ – Led Zeppelin

• ‘I Get Around’ – The Beach Boys

• ‘Careless Whisper’ – Wham!

• ‘Jailhouse Rock’ – Elvis Presley

• ‘Woman in Love’ – Barbra Streisand

• ‘Relax’ – Frankie Goes to Hollywood

• ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’ – Elton John

• ‘I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself’ – Dusty Springfield

• ‘Respect’ – Aretha Franklin

• ‘Rock With You’ – Michael Jackson

• ‘Unchained Melody’ – The Righteous Brothers

• ‘Make It Easy on Yourself’ – The Walker Brothers

• ‘Carnival is Over’ – The Seekers

• ‘Please Don’t Tease’ – Cliff Richard

• ‘Love Me Tender’ – Elvis Presley

• ‘Imagine’ – John Lennon

• ‘Billie Jean’ – Michael Jackson

• ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord’ – Mahalia Jackson

• ‘(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman’ – Aretha Franklin

• ‘Goin’ Back’ – Dusty Springfield

• ‘Vesti La Giubba’ – Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti, and Mehta

• ‘Little Red Corvette’ – Prince

• ‘Pull Up to the Bumper’ – Grace Jones

• ‘D’amore Sull’ali Rosee’ – Giuseppe Verdi.

New Sims rival InZOI is giving players the chance to sample part of the game for free ahead of the early access release.

The InZOI Creative Studio lets players create their own character (Zoi) and design a home. It made its debut on March 20, but only for fans who received a code by watching a stream.

Publisher Krafton is now opening the Creative Studio up to all fans, meaning you can download and enjoy the creation tool simply by visiting the Steam Store and adding it to your library.

The InZOI Creative Studio has a March 23 release date and a midnight GMT release time for fans living in the UK.

InZOI will enter full early access on March 28, complete with three open-world environments to explore and customise.

Success in the game revolves around meeting the needs of your characters, including hunger, hygiene, bathroom, fun, social, energy, sleep, and recognition.

Players can also fully build and customise their environments, which includes creating your own furniture.

InZOI will cost $39.99 during Early Access (UK pricing is yet to be revealed), which includes all updates and downloadable content until it launches in full.

As for InZOI Creative Studio, the demo has been given a small update since March 20. You can check out the patch notes below.

InZOI Creative Studio patch notes…

Installation/Launch Issues

• Fixed an issue where launching the game on Intel integrated graphics cards with 128 MB VRAM will occasionally show an error message related to DirectX 12.

• The message “Insufficient video memory to run the game.” will now be displayed when video memory is insufficient.

• Fixed an issue where certain text would not appear when the game language was set to Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, or Japanese.

• Fixed an issue where the game could not be saved if the save file name was not entered.

• Fixed an issue where the “Canvas Under Construction” page would occasionally appear on the lobby tablet.

• Fixed an issue where physical memory and the page file would be rapidly consumed due to sudden spikes in usage.

• Fixed an issue where unsupported resolutions were being applied in windowed mode.

• Fixed an issue where unnecessary large files were being uploaded along with creations on Canvas.

Build Studio Issues

• Fixed an issue where players could control the Zoi character outside of Build Mode under certain conditions.

• Fixed an issue where the data could not be saved when selecting “Save and Exit”.

• Fixed an issue where 3D objects would not retain their appearance when returning to the last saved property.

• Adjusted certain property presets.

• Fixed an issue where the “Needs” and “Skills” pop-ups would appear immediately upon entering Build Studio.

• Fixed an issue where the UI would occasionally disappear when uploading to Canvas.

• Fixed an issue where pressing ESC while using the 3D Printer would turn off lighting effects, resulting in a dark screen.

Character Studio Issues

• Fixed an issue where a Zoi’s torso would disappear when opening 3D Printer Decorations with all outfits hidden.

• Fixed an issue where the chin gizmo appeared far from the chin during facial customisation.

• Fixed an issue where the torso would disappear during certain steps on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti systems.

• Fixed an issue where wristwatch accessories displayed overlapping textures.

Without any leaks to go on, fans have been attempting to predict the line-up ahead of next week’s reveal.

In the regular monthly predictions thread on Reddit, multiple fans believe cartoon shooter Cuphead will join the PS Plus Essentials.

Despite its classic cartoon aesthetic, the gorgeous 2D shooter is hard as nails, featuring a mixture of side-scrolling stages and boss battles.

Other games with plenty of predictions include Need for Speed Unbound, Atomic Heart, Lords of the Fallen, Robocop and Avatar Frontiers of Pandora.

Speaking of Ubisoft, others think Assassin’s Creed Mirage could join the line-up, although it seems unlikely given the recent launch of AC Shadows. The Crew Motorfest is also in the predictions thread.

One fan thinks Lord of the Rings Return to Moria could join the line-up, which seems possible given it was recently given away on the Epic Games Store. Other realistic picks include Pacific Drive, F1 Manager 2024, NBA 2K25, EA Sports FC 25 and Stray.

Other games tipped to appear include A Way Out, Hi-Fi Rush, Outcast A New Beginning, Warhammer 40,000 Darktide, Goat Simulator 3, Hogwarts Legacy, The Casting of Frank Stone, LEGO Bricktales, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, Another Crab’s Treasure and EA Sports College Football 25.

That’s on top of Parcel Corps, Scorn, Psychonauts 2, Nioh 2, Lies of P, Tinykin, Dakar Desert Rally, Deathloop, Signalis, Viewfinder, Layers of Fear, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake and Jusant.

Finally, there are countless predictions for Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, Wo Long Fallen Dynasty, The DioField Chronicle, Lost in Random, South Park Snow Day, Exoprimal, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Like a Dragon Ishin!, Citizen Sleeper, DNF Duel, Cozy Grove, Steel Rats, Darkest dungeon 2, Pentiment, Cocoon, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Wanted Dead, Burnout Paradise Remastered, Resident Evil Village, One Piece Odyssey and The Riftbreaker.

In terms of first-party games, Gran Turismo 7 and Death Stranding, the latter of which seems like a possibility considering the sequel is just a few months away.

The new games will replace the likes of Dragon Age The Veilguard, TMNT Collection and Sonic Colours.