F R E D D I E M E R C U R Y Biography
The Life of a Legend
I N D E X 1 Birth 2 Early Life 3/4 Personal Life 5/6/9 Career With Queen 7/8 Centrefold 10/11 Solo Career 12 Most Popular Work 13 Death 14 Legacy 15 Awards
Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in the Stone Town in the British territory of the Sultanate of Zanzibar which is a part of present day Tanzania. He was born on the 5th of September, 1946. His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara were Parsis from the Gujarat region of the then-province of Bombay Presidency in British India. As Parsis, Mercury and his family practised the Zoroastrian religion. The Bulsara family had moved to Zanzibar so that his father could continue his job as a cashier at the British Colonial Office. Mercury had one sibling, a younger sister named Kashmira. He spent most of his childhood in Bombay.
Birth 1
Early Life Freddie Mercury spent much of his childhood in India and began learning to play the piano at age seven. He was educated at the ‘St. Peter’s School’, a British boarding school in Panchgani near Bombay since the age of eight. Having always loved music, one of his earliest idols was Indian Singer, Lata Mangeshkar. While in school, Farrokh first started referring to himself as Freddie, and in 1958, he formed a music group called ‘The Hectics’. The band performed rock and roll songs by artistes like Cliff Richard and Chuck Berry. In 1963, Farrokh went back to his hometown to live with his parents, but soon, the family had to escape after the commencement of the 1964 ‘Zanzibar Revolution’ meant to depose the Arab Sultan. Many ethnic Arabs and Indians were killed in the Zanzibar Revolution. Farrokh’s family fled to the town of Feltham in England. Freddie began pursuing a course in art from West London’s ‘Isleworth Polytechnic’, which is presently
known as ‘West Thames College’. He graduated with a diploma in Art and Graphic Designing from the ‘Ealing Art College’. Once he graduated, he earned his living by selling old clothes in London’s ‘Kensington Market’, working at the ‘Heathrow Airport’. He also performed for various music bands, like ‘Ibex’, and ‘Sour Milk Sea’. Freddie’s serious pursuit of his musical interests began once he was in England.
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Personal Life
Freddie Mercury kept his personal life out of the public spotlight during his lifetime. Many of the details about his relationships emerged after his death. In the early 1970s, he began arguably the most important and enduring relationship of his life. He met and fell in love with Mary Austin with whom he lived together in West Kensington, London until December 1976. Their romantic relationship was terminated when Mercury told her about his attraction to and relationships with men. This was when he embarked on an affair with a male employee of ‘Elektra Records’. He moved out, bought Mary Austin her own home, and they remained very close friends for the rest of his life. Of her, he told People magazine, “To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that’s enough for me.” 3
In the mid-1980s, he started a new relationship, this time with an Austrian actress, Barbara Valentin. This did not last long, and he began dating Jim Hutton, a male hairdresser. During 1986-87, Mercury found out that he was suffering from AIDS, and his health began failing. It was during this time that Hutton and former girlfriend, Mary, took care of the celebrated singer.
Mercury with Barbara Valentin
Mercury with Jim Hutton at their private residence Freddie Mercury never mentioned his sexual orientation when he rarely spoke to the press, but many associates believed it was far from hidden. His performances were very flamboyant on stage, but he was known as an introvert when not performing. 4
In April 1970, Freddie Bulsara officially became Freddie Mercury. He began performing music with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor who were previously in a band named Smile. The next year, bass player John Deacon joined them and Mercury chose the name Queen for the new band against the reservations of his fellow band members and management. He also designed for the group, which incorporated symbols for the zodiac signs of all four group members into a crest. In 1973 Queen signed a recording contract with EMI Records. They released their self-titled first album in July, and it was heavily influenced by the heavy metal of Led Zeppelin and progressive rock by groups like Yes. The album was well received by critics, broke into album charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and was eventually certified gold for sales in both the U.S. and U.K. With their second album Queen II, released in 1974, the group began a string of 14 consecutive top 10 charting studio albums at home in the U.K. The streak continued through their final studio release, 1995’s Made In Heaven.
Career With Queen 5
Commercial success came a little more slowly in the U.S., but the group’s fourth album A Night at the Opera hit the top 10 and was certified platinum on the strength of the legendary hit “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a mini-opera wrapped in a six-minute rock song. It is often listed as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. The peak of Queen’s pop success in the U.S. took place in 1980 with the #1 charting album The Game, featuring two #1 pop hit singles “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust.” It was the final top 10 album in the U.S. for the group, and Queen failed to reach the pop top 10 again with later studio singles. The band formed by this extremely popular singer went on to break world records by becoming the first group to play in South America. In February 1990, Freddie Mercury made his final public appearance with Queen to accept the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. A year later they released the studio album Innuendo. It was followed by Greatest Hits II released less than a month before Mercury’s death.
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I always knew I was a star. And now, the rest of the world seemse to agree with me.
Freddie Mercury
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Solo Career
Many fans of Queen in the U.S. are unaware of Freddie Mercury’s career as a solo artist. None of his singles were significant hits in the U.S., but he had a string of six top 10 pop hits in the U.K. The first Freddie Mercury solo single “I Can Hear Music” was released in 1973, but he didn’t approach solo work with serious dedication until the release of the album Mr. Bad Guy in 1985. It debuted in the top 10 on the U.K. album chart and received strongly positive critical reviews. The style of the music is influenced heavily by disco in contrast to the majority of Queen’s music being rock. He recorded a duet with Michael Jackson that was not included on the album. A remix of the album’s song “Living On My Own” became a posthumous #1 pop hit in the U.K
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Mercury with Michael Jackson Between albums, Freddie Mercury released a series of singles including a cover of the Platters’ classic “The Great Pretender,” a top five pop smash in the U.K. Mercury’s second solo album Barcelona was released in 1988. It was recorded with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe and combines pop music with opera. The title track was used as an official song for the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Spain a year after Freddie’s death.
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“Mr. Bad Guy” is one of the best known albums released by Freddie Mercury. It issolo album produced in 1985. The album had eleven songs, all of which were written by the singer himself, and it included a variety of music genres, from pop to disco to dance music. “We are the Champions” is one of the catchiest songs in the history of popular music. It’s only natural that the frontman for one of history’s greatest stadium rock bands would come up with one of the greatest anthems in sports. With a little help from Brian May’s complementary “We Will Rock You,” this track soon raised the audiences to their feet the world over. No list of rock anthems is complete without mention of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. It sounds just as ambitious, revolutionary and preposterous (but in the best possible way) today as it did nearly decades ago when Queen first unveiled it, leaving ears ringing, eyes bulging and jaws gaping. Simply put, nothing else compares with Mercury’s magnum opus. This song is his and the band’s defining song.
Most Popular Work 12
By 1990, despite denials, Mercury’s low public profile and gaunt image fueled rumors about his health.He was visibly weakened when Queen accepted their Outstanding Contribution to Music honor at the Brit Awards in February 1990. Rumors that Freddie Mercury was ill with AIDS spread throughout early 1991, but his colleagues denied the truth in the stories. Freddie Mercury’s final appearance in front of a camera was the Queen music video “These Are the Days Of Our Lives” filmed in May 1991. In June, he chose to retire to his home in west London. On November 22, 1991, Mercury released a public statement through Queen’s management that, in part, said, “I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS.” Just over 24 hours later on November 24, 1991, Freddie Mercury died at age 45.
Death 13
Three days later, his funeral was held according to Parsi customs. He was inhumed at the Kensal Green Cemetery, West London. He left his house to Mary Austin, and other possessions were distributed between Jim Hutton, family, and people working for him.
Legacy Freddie left behind a catalog of phenomenal hits in a range of musical styles.Extravagantly theatrical live performances endeared Freddie Mercury to live concert fans around the world. He influenced generations of rock performers with his ability to connect directly with an audience. Freddie Mercury stayed silent about AIDs and his own sexual orientation until just before his death. This has complicated his status as a gay icon. Regardless, Mercury’s life and music will be celebrated for years to come, both in the gay community and in rock history at large. His story and perfomance continues to intrigue the world at large; which has resluted in the making of a movie soon to be released titled ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury.
Freddie Mercury and Rami Malek as him 14
Awards In 1990, Freddie, as a part of ‘Queen’, received the ‘Brit Awards’ for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’. In 1992, after his death, he received the ‘Brit Award’ for ‘Outstanding Contribution to British Music’. In 2001, Queen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked Freddie Mercury 18th on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are the Champions’ have been chosen as the greatest songs of all time by the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’. Both the songs are also a part of the ‘Grammy Hall of Fame’.
‘Queen’ recieving The ‘Brit Award’ in 1990 15
Freddie Mercury 1946-1991
Name Also Known As Famous As Nationality Birth Date Spouses/Partners Died On Place Of Death Cause Of Death
Freddie Mercury Farrokh Bulsara Lead Singer of Queen British September 5, 1946 Jim Hutton, Mary Austin November 24, 1991 Kensington AIDS
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