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Freddie Mercury (September 5 1946 – November 24 1991) was a rock musician, best known as the frontman and lead singer for the English rock band Queen. He is remembered for his powerful vocal abilities and charisma as a live performer. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love", "We Are the Champions" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." Mercury died from complications of AIDS, greatly increasing awareness of the disease.
Early life Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in the city of Stone Town on the African island of Zanzibar (at the time a British colony, now part of Tanzania). His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, were Parsi Indians. The family had emigrated to Zanzibar in order for Bomi to continue his job as a middle-ranking cashier at the British Colonial Office. Mercury had one younger sister, Kashmira. Mercury was sent back to India to attend St. Peter's boarding school near Bombay (now Mumbai). It was at St. Peter's where he learned to play the piano and joined his first band, The Hectics. He stayed in India for most of his childhood, living with his grandmother and aunt. Mercury completed his education in India at St. Mary's High School in Mazagon before returning to Zanzibar. He was 17 when he and his family finally fled to England, as a result of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution. In England, he earned a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Ealing Art College, following in the footsteps of Pete Townshend. He later used these skills in order to design the Queen crest. Singer and performer Widely considered as one of the greatest vocalists in popular music, In addition to vocal range, Mercury often delivered technically difficult songs in a powerful manner. However, due in part to the fact that he suffered from vocal nodules (for which he declined surgery), he would often lower the highest notes during many concerts. Mercury also claimed that he never had any formal vocal training. Songwriting As a songwriter, Mercury wrote ten out of the seventeen songs on Queen's Greatest Hits album, including "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Somebody to Love", "We Are the Champions" and "Don't Stop Me Now", among others. However, by the 1980s, all four members of the band were writing hits. The most notable aspect of his songwriting involved the wide range of different genres that he used, which included, among other styles, rockabilly, heavy metal and disco. Another characteristic of his songwriting involves a high level of musical complexity. As an example, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is acyclic in structure and is comprised of nearly sixty chords. On the other hand, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is made up of only a few chords. Despite the fact that Mercury often wrote very intricate harmonies, he claimed that he could barely read music. Although all four members of the band Queen were songwriters, producer Gary Langan, who worked in the studio with Queen on many of their early albums explained, "Freddie was always intensely supportive of other people's songwriting and would give as much attention to one of the other's as he would to his own. It was so unlike other bands I've worked with where there is an acknowledged songwriter and anyone else who writes one really has to hassle to get it anywhere." Mercury wrote most of his songs on the piano, often choosing keys that were technically difficult for band mate and guitarist Brian May (e.g., E flat major). Although he possessed only rudimentary skills on the guitar, Mercury wrote many lines and riffs for the instrument, including many of those heard in "Bohemain Rhapsody." He also wrote "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" on the guitar. Solo work In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury produced two solo albums, "Mr. Bad Guy" and "Barcelona," released in 1985 and 1988, respectively. The former was a pop-oriented album that emphasized disco and dance music. "Barcelona" was recorded with the opera singer Montserrat Caballé, whom Mercury had long admired. Although it remained on the UK Album Charts for 23 weeks, "Mr. Bad Guy" was not considered to have been a commercial success relative to most Queen albums. However, in 1993, a remix of "Living On My Own," a single from the album, reached the “Barcelona,” recorded with opera singer Montserrat Caballé, combined elements of popular music and opera. All Music suggests that this unusual combination of musical styles makes it a difficult album to recommend for either popular music fans or opera fans. On the other hand, several songs are also described as "startling in beauty." Caballé considered the album to have been one of the great successes of her career and said of Mercury, “He was not only a popular singer, he was a musician, that could sit at the piano and compose. He discovered a new way to bring different music styles together. He is the first and only person to have done this.” In September of 2006, a compilation album featuring Mercury’s solo work was released in the UK in honour of what would have been his sixtieth birthday. The album debuted in the top 10 of the UK Album Charts. Over the years, rare Freddie Mercury solo albums have greatly increased in value. For instance, a Japanese single of the song “Guide Me Home” from the Barcelona album is now worth as much as £1,000 ($1,800). Another valuable item is a 1973 cover of the 1969 Beach Boys song, I Can Hear Music recorded under the stage name Larry Lurex. Widely bootlegged, the original record is now a valuable collectible. Personal life Although he had a very close girlfriend named Mary Austin for many years, Freddie Mercury had always been fairly open about his homosexual tendencies. In a March 12, 1974 interview for New Musical Express, he exclaimed to the interviewer, "I am as gay as a daffodil, my dear!" Beginning in the late 1970s, Mercury began a series of affairs with men, which ultimately resulted in the end of his relationship with Austin. However, the two remained close friends through the years, and Mercury often referred to Austin as his only true friend. In a 1985 interview, Mercury said of Austin, "All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary (Austin), but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary, and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me. I couldn't fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary." In 1983, Mercury found a new lover named Jim Hutton. Hutton lived with Mercury for the last six years of his life, cared for him when he was ill, and was at his bedside when he died. According to Hutton, Mercury referred to him as his husband, and died wearing a wedding band that Hutton had given him. Mercury possessed a notable overbite of his teeth that he had wanted to fix for many years. Early in his career, he commented that he wished to have work done, but regretted that he did not have time to do it. He also expressed fears that such an operation might damage his voice. While smiling Mercury would often cover his mouth with his hand, in an attempt to hide the overbite. According to the January 2004 edition of Cat Fancy, Mercury possessed a great fondness for cats, at one point owning as many as ten. Mercury's personal assistant, Peter Freestone, wrote that his boss "put as much importance on them his cats as any human." The album Mr. Bad Guy and the song "Delilah" were dedicated to cats, and Mercury wore clothes featuring cats in videos and on album covers. Mercury kept his Indian descent a secret from most of his fans, rarely mentioning his heritage in interviews. He would sometimes refer to himself as "Persian," perhaps alluding to his identity as a Parsi. Many friends expressed their view that Mercury felt ashamed of his ethnic origins and feared racial backlash in a country that had long been troubed by race riots and violence against Indian immigrants. On the other hand, fellow band mate Roger Taylor suggested that Mercury downplayed his heritage simply because he did not feel that it would fit well with his rock musician persona. Death According to Mercury's partner, Jim Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in the spring of 1987. Mercury claimed to have tested negative in an interview published that year, and continued to deny that he had AIDS. Despite these denials, the British press continued to pursue the rampant rumors about Mercury's health. The rumors were likely fueled by Mercury's appearance in the last years of his life: his gaunt appearance in his last appearance on film, "These Are the Days of Our Lives", suggested serious illness. On November 22, 1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to discuss a public statement. The next day, November 23, the following announcement was made to the press: A little over 24 hours after issuing the statement, Freddie Mercury died at home in the presence of close friends, at the age of 45. The official cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. Although he had not attended religious services in years, Mercury's funeral was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest. He was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery, and the whereabouts of his ashes are unknown, although some believe them to have been dispersed into Lake Geneva, or in his family's possession. The remaining members of Queen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust, and organised The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. He left £500,000 to his chef, £500,000 to his personal assistant, £100,000 to his driver, and £500,000 to his partner, Jim Hutton. Mary Austin, his life-long friend, inherited the estate and now lives there with her family. Influences As a child, Freddie Mercury’s parents listened to a great deal of Indian music, and one of his early influences was the Bollywood playback singer, Lata Mangeshkar.• Legacy
Recent polls The worlds first Indian and Persian rock star Freddie Mercury was of full Parsi descent, grew up in India, and moved to the UK when he was only 17. Consequently, he was arguably the world's first Indian rock star. Due to his Parsi roots he was also, arguably, the world's first Persian rock star.• He is also considered Zanzibar's most famous musician by many. Millennium Stamp
Controversy surrounding sixtieth birthday celebration On August 25, 2006, an organization calling itself the Islamic Mobilization and Propogation, or UAMSHO, petitioned the Zanzibar government's culture ministry, demanding that a large-scale celebration of what would have been Freddie Mercury's sixtieth birthday be cancelled. UAMSHO had several complaints about the planned celebrations, including that Mercury was not a Muslim, had a homosexual lifestyle that was not in accordance with the laws of Islam, was not a true Zanzibari, and that 'associating Mercury with Zanzibar degrades our island as a place of Islam.' The planned celebration was cancelled. Quotes about Freddie Mercury Solo: albums Solo: selected singles Queen Biographies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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