Talk:Freddie Mercury

4 octave range?????

Nobody has a four octave range. Celine Dion's biographies tell us she has a 5 or 6 octave range, as if 5 or 6 is just a little thing. Most of the greatest operatic singers have 2 octaves and maybe a little beyond. Pop/rock/whatever/commercial/industrial vocalists are always saying how big their range is, but they are at best an octave and a few notes. Pop singers have one register and do not combine chest, middle, and head registers. The women are all low chest register , and the men usually are all singing very high in their highest register. Pop singers all sing in the same area: a "sexless" range. Men and women sounding similar. And the range is about g below middle c, up to the e an octave above middle c. Rarely any higher or lower. So hyperbole works well to inflate the range. 4 octaves, my left foot. Low C, two ledger lines in the bass clef to two ledger lines above the treble clef? F M didn't sing any of those pitches and no other singer has ever done both. It is so ridiculous that I am amazed anyone would ever believe it, but so many people are musically illiterate now. Most people cannot read music, so they don't know what they are talking about. 68.71.8.57 (talk) 02:10, 6 September 2011 (UTC) Just looked at the article further: It tells us he sang LOW F to High Bb. Nope, not 4 octaves. OK it is 3 and 1/2. That is within reason. Falsetto at the top. and he probably had trouble bridging the gap between his man's voice and the falsetto at the high end. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.71.8.57 (talk) 02:20, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

That's not quite right. It's certainly true that in the pop music world ridiculous ranges are claimed, as if having more octaves somehow makes a singer more impressive. Nevertheless, it is incorrect to claim that nobody has a four-octave range. A few extraordinary singers (eg, Mado Robin) have reached four octaves at their extremes. As for opera singers, although it's possible to have a career with only two octaves, a typical professional opera singer is more likely to have two and a half, and three is not so rare. Accomplished falsettists generally have a range exceeding three octaves if you count all registers. It's also incorrect to say that pop singers' ranges are "at best an octave and a few notes". It's not uncommon for a pop singer to have a recorded range of two octaves. (For example, Billy Joel spans A3-G4 -- one step short of two octaves -- in a single song (Piano Man).) That said, the claims about Freddie Mercury's range in this article are silly; see discussion above. Iglew (talk) 09:09, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

Whether or not he actually had a four octave range, the picture illustrating the "four octave range" isn't four octaves. It goes from an F to a B-flat--not an F. I don't know how to fix the picture, or I would.

Lazr75 (talk) 18:01, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

Instrumentalist

It says, "As a young boy in India...". Freddie was raised in Zanzibar, which is on an archipelago close to the coast of eastern Africa, and is a semi-autonomous part of the country of Tanzania. Zanzibar is in the Indian ocean, but it is not situated "in India". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.92.14.172 (talk) 04:10, 26 October 2011 (UTC)

You're right about Zanzibar, but the phrase you mention refers to the time Freddie spent at boarding school in India. Armadillopteryx^talk 05:14, 26 October 2011 (UTC)

Legacy

At the second annual Asian Awards ceremony that has been held in London on 18th October, 2011 which celebrated achievements in the worlds of music, entertainment, sport and business, Freddie Mercury was posthumously honored, receiving a special prize for his contribution to music. Among the winners was the legendary Indian singer, Asha Bhosle. --Ramprakashpalaparty (talk) 06:14, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

✓ Done I added to the 'Continued popularity' section. mabdul 18:23, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

"gay as a daffodil"

i wanted to put a ^{[citation needed]}, but since he died today there are probably too many douchebag assholes around, vandalizing this article? anyway, he NEVER said "i'm as gay as a daffodil, my dear!". never. not once. this should not be in the article. 77.176.233.155 (talk) 22:16, 24 November 2011 (UTC)

While it is disputed whether he actually said the "gay as a daffodil" quote, he is widely believed to have said that, which this article reflects. While he certainly didn't shout his sexuality from the rooftops, he made no secret of it either. In interviews he simply refused to discuss the matter in detail. Leave it to readers to decide whether they believe he said these exact words or not, but the quote, rightly or wrongly, was often attributed to him, so it is justified to at least make mention of it. 67.177.228.64 (talk) 19:16, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

Freddie's born name

Dear friend

I want to call your attention on Freddie's born name (see birth Certificate). It says Famokh, and not Farrokh, as wrongly written. Thanks for checking it out. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.235.250.106 (talk) 10:52, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

Sources? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.98.23.103 (talk) 23:53, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Origin

How can you say that he was born in Zanzibar and then a line below: origin-London, England, UK? This is a mistake. Origin means ( http://www.thefreedictionary.com/origin ) "The point at which something comes into existence or from which it derives or is derived." He was born in Zanzibar and that is where "he came to existence". Origin of THE BAND would be in the UK as that is where the band was formed.Mjblackfox (talk) 15:38, 13 January 2012 (UTC)