Freddie Mercury was a Zanzibari-born singer, songwriter, record producer, and front man of the band Queen. He was considered one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, and still holds the title to this day, decades after his death.
Early Life
Freddie Mercury was born with the name Farrokh Bulsara, on September 5, 1946. He was born on the East African island of Stone Town, Zanzibar (now in Tanzania), to his mother Jur Bulsara, who was a hardworking stay at home mother, and Bomi Bulsara, who worked as a clerk for the British government’s High Court (Freddie Mercury-Britannica). Mercury was taught the Zoroastrian religion in the home and followed it alongside his Parsi parents. Mercury and his immediate family members lived a moderately upscale life, growing up with a nanny, and other household workers (Freddie Mercury-Biography.com). Although, when he was a child he was called “Bucky” and teased for his buckteeth, as he was born with four extra teeth in his mouth. He never ended up getting rid of the teeth, as he though it may impair his singing. Freddie grew up with one little sister, Kashmira, who was born in 1952, and formulated a strong bond with her over the years. In an interview, Mercury’s mother Jer Bulsara mentioned that Freddie started taking lessons on the piano at the age of seven, and used to find songs he wrote underneath his pillow (Singer). As a child, Mercury was sent to St. Peter’s boarding school in Panchgani, Maharashtra state, India, where he was encouraged to further his artistically inclined talents. While he attended, he formed a band there, called “The Hectics”, where he sang and played the piano (Freddie Mercury-Britannica). Mercury moved with his family to Feltham, England for safety reasons, as Zanzibar was becoming part of Tanzania during the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution.
Education
After Mercury’s years at his all boys boarding school, he first proceeded to attend Isleworth Polytechnic (now West Thames College), from 1964 to 1966 (Complex Relationship). In his time at Isleworth Polytechnic, Mercury studied art and written music. When he completed his time there, he then went to the Ealing Technical College and School of Art. During his time there, he studied graphic art and design, while still keeping up with all of his musical interests. It was at Ealing College where he met, and soon became close friends with guitarist Brian May, and drummer Roger Taylor, of the band Smile (Freddie Mercury-Britannica). When Smile’s lead singer quit in 1970, Mercury was quick to replace him and fill the spot. Once Mercury joined, he changed the name of the band name from Smile, to the infamously known Queen, as well as changing his own name from Farrokh Bulsara to Freddie Mercury.
Personal Life
Freddie is considered to be the first internationally recognized rock artist with both Asian and African roots (With Roots). Although Mercury never had any children of his own, he was once engaged to a woman named Mary Austin. When Mercury completed his schooling at Ealing College, he and his band continued on, but their drummer still owned a section of the boutique called BiBa that Mary Austin worked at, which is how Mercury and Austin met. The more they began to see each other, the quicker they fell in love, leading Mercury to propose to her soon thereafter. They then moved into a flat in London’s Kensington Market, but never got married, as they split up due to Mercury’s sexuality. Freddie revealed to Austin that he was bisexual, which ended their seven year relationship, but they remained close friends even after the fact (Freddie Mercury-Biography.com). Mercury was open with his sexual fluidity, but never mentioned specifically whether he was gay, or bisexual. Most sources would say he was gay, but as it was a sin against his Parsi religion, and tough to be gay at this time, he may have had relationships with women to deter from the fact. Although Mercury did not necessarily follow the steps of the Parsi people, he was an inspiration to most, and showed the Parsis that they could do anything (With Roots). Mercury went to a gay bar around eight to ten years after splitting with Austin, and met an Irish hairdresser named Jim Hutton there, where he offered to buy him a drink. Hutton originally turned him down, not realizing who it was, but after they began talking, they started to date. They were together up until Mercury’s death by complications with AIDS in 1991. Mercury ended up changing his name to match the uniqueness he felt in himself. His costumes and stage outfits were soon to follow his newfound persona, with the tight spandex pants, short shorts, capes, vibrant colors, and his infamous bushy mustache. Mercury was a big supporter of being yourself, letting yourself be free, and joining in on the fun doing as you please. After his claim to fame, he chose to live a lavish lifestyle, throwing extravagant parties, buying expensive champagne, spontaneous trips, tasteful art, and once spending $400,000 on a set of hand painted china (“Freddie Mercury”).
Photos of Mercury’s iconic looks. Photo courtesy of Stylilsh Men.
Music
Mercury and the rest of his band Queen’s first song was called Queen, released in 1973, which incorporated heavy metal and glam rock. (Freddie Mercury-Britannica). Although it was a great success that introduced them to their fans in the United Kingdom, the band struggled to get recognized outside the realm of the U.K., despite having incredible vocals and instrumental work. The band’s following album produced in November of 1974, Sheer Heart Attack however, was surrounded by large success, and soon advanced to the top of the charts internationally, starting to give Queen the world-renowned recognition that was soon to come. Their next album released in November of 1975, Night at the Opera, sold even better than the previous albums, gaining the band more recognition than ever before (Freddie Mercury-Britannica). Arguably the song the band is best known for, that describes the overall style of the band, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, was released in 1979 and became one of their biggest hits of all time. It was the song that several record labels would not release as they thought it would not be popular, due to its lengthy six-minute duration. Once Queen found a record company to release it for them, it was wildly popular for being so unique, as it was an operatic single written principally by Mercury himself, and was unlike any other song around. As for including part of his heritage, Mercury snuck in an ancient poetic form, called ghazal, from his Indian culture into some of his songs. The most prevalent song being “Mustapha”, which not only resembled his childhood and culture, but also featured the kind of vocalizing you would do in a call to prayer (With Roots). Two of the band’s most popular songs, “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You”, came next and were so popular due to their engaging rhythms and beats, allowing them to become ubiquitous songs played at large sporting events in Britain and the United States. With many other albums and songs in between, the last song the band wrote with Mercury was named “The Show Must Go On” in 1991. It is the twelfth and final track on their Innuendo album, and the lyrics portray to us the struggles and work Mercury went through when continuing to perform despite him nearing the end of his life.
Live Aid
Queen arguably reached their peak in 1985 at the Live Aid charity concert, and was the biggest event of Freddie’s career (Freddie Mercury-Britannica). This concert was held at Wembley Stadium in London, England, and simultaneously held at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 13, 1985. Live Aid drew 1.5 billion television viewers, as well as all of those who attended in person in London and Pennsylvania. This concert raised millions of dollars to aid in the rebuilding and restructuring of the communities after the famine in Ethiopia. Several years of drought, a civil war, and many failed attempts to stabilize the grain market in the early 1980s is what caused the catastrophic famine (Freddie Mercury-Britannica). This famine caused uneasiness and lots of unknowns for the fates of hundreds of thousands of lives in Ethiopia, making this situation the perfect cause for this large event to contribute to.
Freddie’s Death
Freddie Mercury sadly passed away at the very young age of 45 years old. He passed away on November 24, 1991, the day after he announced publicly that amid the rumors of ill health that were circulated, they were in fact true. From 1989 to 1991, Mercury retreated from the public eye, and did not tour for Queen’s last album, Innuendo, which is where the fans flooded the band with questions and worries (Freddie Mercury-Biography.com). Freddie revealed after a couple years of being hidden, that he did indeed have AIDS. Mercury’s cause of death was contracting bronchial pneumonia creating complications with his preexisting AIDS virus. “To honor Freddie’s memory, the Freddie Mercury Tribute: Concert for AIDS Awareness was held in April of 1992 at Wembley Stadium” (Freddie Mercury-Biography.com). There were 72,000 tickets available for this tribute concert, and every single one of them sold out within just three hours (Freddie Mercury-Biography.com). Mary Austin remained friends with Freddie up until he passed, and when he did, he entrusted his estate, London mansion, and Garden Lodge to her.
Accomplishments
Not only did the tribute concert after Freddie’s death spark a greater interest and awareness in the AIDS disease, but a foundation was created in Mercury’s name after he passed to help with AIDS and other projects as well. This foundation is called “The Mercury Phoenix Trust”, and was set up by Mercury’s old bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor, as well as his old producer Jim Beach, which Mercury called “Miami” as a nickname (Mercury Phoenix). The Trust was set up fairly quickly after Mercury’s tribute concert, and is seen as a core part of Queen and Freddie’s legacy. The Mercury Phoenix Trust has been able to reach millions of people in the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide, providing over $23,510,000 to over a thousand different projects in 57 countries (Mercury Phoenix). One of Queen’s other most prominent accomplishments was performing at one of the biggest and most pivotal concerts, Live Aid, in 1985. In 1992, almost a year after his death, he received the Brit Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Mercury and Queen were remembered for their considerable contributions to American music history when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. After almost 3 decades, Mercury still ranks in the top rock vocalist list, which is quite an accomplishment, and impressive to speak for itself. “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You” have been played at two Olympic games since his passing, as well as other major events. Queen has had one Number One Hit on the Billboard charts, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, 4 Top Ten Hit songs, and 5 songs on the Billboard charts total (Queen). In 2018, there was even a movie produced going through the life of Freddie Mercury, played by Rami Malek, and his experience with Queen as he defies the stereotypes and convention to become one of the world’s most beloved singers and entertainers. Freddie Mercury and Queen have received many other awards, earned many other accomplishments, and still are incredible to this day.
Works Cited
- “Freddie Mercury.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 29 Mar. 2021, www.biography.com/musician/freddie-mercury.
- “Freddie Mercury.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., http://www.britannica.com/biography/Freddie-Mercury.
- “Freddie Mercury’s Complex Relationship with Zanzibar.” BBC News, BBC, 23 Oct. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45900712.
- “Freddie Mercury: Singer: Blue Plaques.” English Heritage, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/freddie-mercury/.
- Mercury Phoenix Trust, Freddie Mercury. “Freddie Meter.” MPT – FFAD, www.mercuryphoenixtrust.com/.
- “Queen.” Billboard, www.billboard.com/music/queen/chart-history.
- “With Roots in Asia and Africa, Freddie Mercury Left a Legacy Influenced by His Background.” Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna926286.
Images
Featured Image courtesy of Exclaim! (no credit given to who took the headshot): https://exclaim.ca//images/FreddieMercuryHeadshot.jpg
https://www.biography.com/musician/freddie-mercury
http://www.freddiemercury.com/en/biography
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