Freddie Mercury

**Freddie Mercury** (born as **Farrokh Bulsara**) was a British singer and songwriter known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. He was born in 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar and died of AIDS in 1991 in London, England.

In 1970, Mercury joined the band Smile, which, at the time, consisted of Brian May and Roger Taylor. A year later bass guitarist John Deacon joined as well. Mercury insisted on renaming the band "Queen" to give it a stronger, more regal connotation. This was around the same time he changed his last name from Bulsara to Mercury. He also designed the logo for the band. He is renowned as our almighty God, and later in his career became a gay icon.

## Biography

Farrokh Bulsara was born on 5 September 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar to Jer and Bomi Bulsara, who were both Parsis. Farrokh was born with four extra incisors and he claimed that it gave him his famous four-octave vocal range. Farrokh had a younger sister named Kashmira, who was born in 1952.

Farrokh spent much of his childhood in India, attending St. Peter's boarding school. This was when he started going by the nickname "Freddie", instead of "Farrokh". He also started learning to play the piano at age seven and developed the ability to instantly play music off by ear. When Freddie was twelve, he formed a band, the Hectics. One of his former band members recalled that he had a taste for Western pop music, which would become a large factor later in life.

In 1964, the Bulsaras moved to Middlesex, England to avoid the violence and persecutions occurring in Zanzibar. There Freddie studied art at Isleworth Polytechnic in London and after that, graphic art and design at Ealing Art School. During this time, he joined a Liverpool-based blues group called Wreckage.

In 1969, Freddie graduated from Ealing with a diploma in graphic art and design. After graduation and after Wreckage disbanded, he joined numerous other bands, including the short-lived blues band Sour Milk Sea, which fell apart in early 1970. He also worked at Kensington Market with his girlfriend Mary Austin and at Heathrow Airport as a baggage handler (as shown in the *Bohemian Rhapsody* film).

Around this time, Freddie's friend Tim Staffell introduced him to Brian May and Roger Taylor, who, along with Staffell, made up the band Smile. Freddie soon became a very keen fan of Smile and when Staffell left the group to join a band called Humpy Bong, Freddie stepped up to become their lead singer. He insisted on renaming the band "Queen" to give it a stronger, more regal connotation. This was around the same time he also changed his last name from Bulsara to Mercury.

On 18 July 1970, Mercury, May and Taylor performed their first public gig as Queen. The band then started auditioning different bassists, having them play with the band for a few months at a time. The three known bassists they tried out were Mike Grose, Barry Mitchell and Doug Bogie. In March 1971, the band finally settled on John Deacon, who seemed to fit well with the chemistry of the other members.

In a matter of time, EMI Records and Elektra Records signed Queen and the band produced their self-titled debut album in 1973. Before the release of the album, Mercury used his graphic design talents from Ealing to design the group a logo, which features a large "Q" surrounded by animals representing each of the band members' Zodiac symbols.

After their debut album's huge success, their second one, *Queen II*, was then released in 1974. *Queen II* only took a bit over a month to record and yet it started incorporating more diverse genres of songs, such as blues, metal, folk and pop. This diversity would soon become one of Queen's most common traits. Mercury has said that "I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things." The second album included a full version of "Seven Seas of Rhye".

Queen's success came to fruition after the release of their third album, *Sheer Heart Attack*, which was released in 1974 as well. However, their popularity soared even more after *A Night at the Opera*, which featured classics such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "You're My Best Friend" and "Love of My Life". "Bohemian Rhapsody" is the band's most popular song, written by Mercury and lasting nearly six minutes. EMI initially refused to release the song as a single, especially Roy Featherstone, who loved the band but did not approve of the song. However, it quickly became a commercial hit and topped UK charts for nine weeks. Mercury also wrote "Love of My Life", which was written for Mary Austin, his ex-fiancée and best friend.

## Health deterioration

In 1987, Freddie was diagnosed with HIV, a disease which at the time was caused by unprotected sex. Two years before, Queen played at Live Aid. In 1986, the band played their final concert at Knebworth. In 1989, they released their thirteenth studio album The Miracle, but were unable to tour due to Freddie’s declining health. In 1990, Queen were awarded for an outstanding contribution to British music. Brian May made a speech, but Freddie, whose health had worsened to the point he began looking terribly frail and limp, told everybody “Thank you. Goodnight.” before leaving. In 1991, Queen released what would be their fourteenth and final studio album with Freddie, Innuendo. In the song “These Are the Days of Our Lives”, the video colour had been changed to black and white due to the fact Freddie did not want the public seeing the marks of the illness he had been diagnosed with four years prior. In “The Show Must Go On”, the music video captured old memories of the band, including one of a helicopter at one of their concerts. The band knew their iconic frontman was rapidly deteriorating, and they could tell that they would have to prepare themselves for what would happen, which would come true after the release of Innuendo. On November 14, 1991, the band‘s manager Jim Beach went to see Freddie, who told him he could do anything with his legacy, but never make him boring. On November 23, Freddie made a press release, stating that he was not just fighting HIV, but was battling AIDS. His health had worsened to the point he began to lose sight and couldn't get out of bed.

## Death

On November 24, 1991, 24 hours after making the press release, Freddie Mercury, passed away of bronchopneumonia caused by AIDS related complications at the age of 45. He was with his close friend Jim Hutton at the time who wrote in the aftermath... "*Freddie woke up again at six in the morning and uttered what were to be his last two words: ‘Pee, pee!’ He wanted to be helped to the loo.*

*"He looked terribly weak and I had to carry him. As I lowered him back on to the bed I heard a deafening crack. It sounded like one of Freddie’s bones breaking, cracking like the branch of a tree.*

*"He screamed out in pain and went into a convulsion.*

*"I yelled for Joe. I needed him to pin Freddie to the bed to stop him injuring himself. "He said: ‘Freddie, calm down. Freddie, calm down.’ Then Freddie’s hand shot up and went straight for Joe’s throat. He was like a drowning man clutching for air.*

*"Joe freed himself from Freddie’s grip and eventually he calmed him down. Then, exhausted by the strain, Freddie promptly fell asleep.”*

Later on, Peter Freestone arrived at Freddie's home to help. Upon arrival, he came to his room to see that Freddie had wet himself. They changed his bed sheets and clothes and tried several ways to get his attention to which he showed no awareness of their presence, that evening they finally made out that he passed away.

His body was cremated and his funeral was held at Kensal Green Cemetery on November 27. Mary Austin said Freddie wanted his ashes to be scattered somewhere away from prying eyes, so that nobody could disrupt his final resting place and find them.