Freddy
Mercury
FREDDY MERCURY
british singer, songwriter and Queen vocalist
His parents sent the 8-year-old Farrukh to St Peter’s School in India. At that time, the Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar had a significant formative influence on him from a musical point of view. Already in school, Farrukh began to call himself Freddie and became fascinated by rock’n’roll.
Freddie Mercury was born on 5 September 1946 in the Stone City the oldest district of Zanzibar, to a Parsi family from Gujarat. At birth the boy was named Farrukh (in Persian, "happy").
Happy
England
Hectics
In 1958, five friends from St Peter’s School formed their first rock band, which they called The Hectics. The band played mostly rock and roll at school parties, dances and celebrations.
In early 1964, an anti-feudal Zanzibar revolution took place in Zanzibar, marking the end of the Sultanate. The People’s Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba was proclaimed.
Due to the political turmoil in the country, the Bulsara family flew to the United Kingdom with only two suitcases of clothing.
Due to the political turmoil in the country, the Bulsara family flew to the United Kingdom with only two suitcases of clothing.
Freddy
After arriving in England, Freddie, who was eighteen at the time, was painting. During his holidays, he worked as a packer in the supply department of Heathrow Airport in London, then as a loader in a warehouse.
In the summer of 1969, twenty-three-year-old Freddie graduated from Ealing College with a diploma in digital art and design. Freddie’s thesis was based entirely on Hendrix’s work.
Ealing
to Freddie
Queen
Before becoming part and star of Qween, Freddie changed several creative teams. One of these was the band Smile. In April 1970 vocalist Tim Staffel decided to leave the band, and his place in the project was taken by Freddie.
On Freddie's initiative, the band was renamed Queen.
After the band's line-up became permanent, Freddie drew the band crest. One version is that it was based on the coat of arms of Great Britain, with a Latin letter Q around which the zodiacal signs of Queen's members are woven.
In 1972, while recording his debut Queen album, Freddie decided to change his surname from Bulsara to Mercury, in honour of the planet that patronised him.
Freddie Mercury had a long-term (7 years) relationship with Mary Austin. In 1976 he confessed his bisexuality to her and the couple separated but were close friends for the rest of their lives. Mercury dedicated several songs to Mary the most significant of which is "Love of My Life". He was godfather to her eldest son Mary.
"All my lovers ask me why they NOT CAN
for me NO ONE ELSE WAS NEEDED. SHE WAS
actually my wife. WE BELIEVE FRIEND TO
be substituted Mary to me. BUT IT'S JUST
not possible SHE IS MY ONLY FRIEND, AND
friend, and that's enough for me.
The song was predicted to fail because it was too long for commercial radio stations and a mix of several styles and genres of music. "Bohemian Rhapsody", written by Freddie, was voted "Best Song of the Millennium" by The Official Charts Company
minutes track duration
weeks at the top of the charts
"IN EVERY ALBUM WE ALLOW OURSELVES A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH. BUT THAT'S WHAT QUEEN IS ALL ABOUT. AT A CERTAIN POINT, WE REALISE WE WANT TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES. AND THAT'S WHAT KEEPS US GOING."
Freddie wrote the first Queen song to hit the British charts, Seven Seas of Rhye (1973). He also wrote the band's first hit song, "Killer Queen" (1974) and Queen's most successful song, "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The song stayed at the top of the British charts for nine weeks. Mercury understood its eccentricity and enjoyed it. Queen released the song as a single, making the video that would revolutionize music videos.
At the end of May 1983, Freddie Mercury attended Verdi's opera "The Masquerade Ball", where he saw and heard Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé for the first time. The extraordinary beauty and power of her voice made an enormous impression on him. In March 1987, Freddie met her in Barcelona and gave her a cassette with several of his new songs.
A month later, they started working on an album together. At the end of May, at a music festival, they performed "Barcelona", a song dedicated by Freddie Mercury to Caballé's hometown.
Caballé
Duet with
Montserrat
The album Barcelona was released on 10 October 1988. The album’s title song, "Barcelona", was one of the two anthems for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
This was Freddie Mercury's last public appearance. By this time, he was already seriously ill with AIDS.
July 13th 1985 was a very special day for Queen and Freddie, with Live Aid, a huge show at Wembley Stadium, attended by 75,000 people and many famous artists such as Elton John, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, Sting, U2 and many more.
Queen's performance was hailed as one of their finest and gave them back their status as a spectacular and brilliant rock band; Britain even issued a special stamp featuring Mercury
On 23 November 1991, Mercury made an official announcement that he was HIV-positive
Mercury, knowing that time was short, tried to record as many songs as possible. During the last years of his life, in addition to his solo album Barcelona, the musician managed to record songs for three other albums by the band.
Two albums were released during his lifetime -The Miracle, which was released in 1989 and Innuendo, released in 1991. Several music videos were also made for the songs on these albums. Some of the videos were black and white to disguise the physical condition of the vocalist.
Freddie Mercury's funeral was held in private - only family and friends were present. Although the musician did not follow Zoroastrian beliefs, his parents conducted the funeral ceremony in accordance with their beliefs, except for the cremation of the body, which according to Zoroastrian customs is not welcome.
24 NOVEMBER 1991
FREDDIE MERCURY DIED AT THE AGE OF 45 AT HIS HOME IN LONDON FROM BRONCHOPNEUMONIA, CAUSED BY HIV AND AIDS
Freddie Mercury's body has been cremated. Only his family and Mary Austin know where the musician's ashes are buried. In his will, Freddie Mercury left most of his fortune, including his mansion and income from his record sales, to Mary Austin as well as his parents and sister.
On 20 April 1992, the surviving members of Queen, along with many other international pop and rock stars, performed a concert in Freddie's memory at Wembley Stadium, the proceeds from which, amounting to £19,400,000, were donated to AIDS funds.
19,400,000 pounds was raised at a concert in Freddie's memory and sent to the Anti-AIDS Foundation
The Queen musicians had originally planned to erect the monument in London, and for four years they looked for a place for it, but were turned down. The only site proposed by the government for a monument in London was the backyard of the art college where Freddie studied. Friends considered it an insult to the memory of the great musician. On 18 June 2003, another monument, about 8 metres high, was unveiled near the Dominion Theatre in London, where the We Will Rock You show is regularly staged.
25 November 1996, five years after Freddie Mercury’s death, a memorial to him was unveiled in Montreux, Switzerland, where the musician worked and rested for many years
thought ABOUT IT.
"When will the source
before then."
IT WILL NEVER
OF my creativity
dry up? I HAVEN'T
happen! I'LL DIE
must go on must go on must go on must go on must go on must go on
materials obtained from public sources, used for noncommercial purposes and belong to their owners
Website development by Drozdova Natalya