Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (September 5, 1946 - November 24, 1991) was a singer and the lead vocalist of the British Rock band Queen.
Life and career
Mercury was born Farrokh Pluto Bulsara in Stone Town, Zanzibar to Bomi and Jer Bulsara. He was a Zoroastrian. His parents were Parsis from the state of Gujarat in western India. He had a sister, Kashmira Bulsara-Cooke. The name Bulsara was taken from the small Gujarati town in which Bomi Bulsara, Freddie's father, was brought up. Freddie's father was an accountant for the British Colonial Office in Zanzibar.
Mercury was educated at St. Peter's boarding school in Panchgani near Mumbai, India, where he had his first musical training (Grade IV piano). His first onstage performance was also at St. Peters, with his five-member school band, the Hectics. It was at St. Peter's where he picked up the name 'Freddie'; soon even his parents addressed him by that name.
After spending his formative years in India, Mercury and his family fled to England because of a revolution in Zanzibar. He was 18 when he arrived in England. There, he pursued a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Ealing Art College, following in the footsteps of Pete Townshend. This knowledge was to come in useful when he designed Queen's famous crest.
With a wide vocal range and a somewhat operatic technique, he was one of the most versatile and technically accomplished singers to work in the pop idiom. He was the composer of many of Queen's hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love" and "We Are the Champions".
His songwriting was unique, demonstrating influence from a variety of sources, but with a strong individual sense of melody, harmony, and complex orchestration. In several of his most well-crafted and popular tunes he provided all of the vocal tracks, resulting in a smooth controlled sound that was at the time unprecedented.
Queen started using studio overdubs a great deal with their second album, Queen II, which features Freddie's music on the entire second side of the LP (or, in CD parlance, tracks 6-11). Many listeners identify "Bohemian Rhapsody" as the pinnacle of his musical achievement, but it is possible to find the seeds of this mini-opera in his earlier works.
He released two solo albums: Mr. Bad Guy (1985) and Barcelona (1988), the latter with Catalan soprano Montserrat Caballé. The collaboration came as surprise to critics, being the first of its kind, but was nonetheless widely acclaimed if not commercially successful. One of his hits as a solo artist was a cover of the song "The Great Pretender" (1987), but after his death gained his first solo number 1 hit "Living On My Own", remixed by No More Brothers, which was his biggest UK hit.
He was bisexual; however, he did not officially come out until his announcement that he had AIDS, one day before he died. He was a fan of Liza Minnelli and Michael Jackson, the latter of whom he collaborated with on some tracks, which were never published including "State Of Shock" which was performed by Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger for the official release.
He was well known for his extravagance and hedonism, but also for his kindness and generosity. He adored cats and kept several, even writing a song about his favourite ("Delilah", on the Innuendo album, 1991). He was a heavy smoker, which contributed to a roughening of his voice in the eighties.
He died of AIDS on November 24, 1991, in London, and was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery; the wherabouts of his ashes are unknown. The remaining members of Queen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust and organized The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
Mercury appears in the 2002 List of "100 Greatest Britons" (sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public).
A species of East African isopod, Cirolana mercuryi N. Bruce, 2004 was named for Freddie Mercury, as, quoting the type, "arguably Zanzibar's most famous popular musician and singer."
His famous overbite was caused by the presence of four extra teeth which pushed his incisors out. He commented early in his career that he wished to have work done on his teeth, but regretted that he didn't have time to do it. He also expressed fears that such an operation might damage his voice.
Freddie possessed a very slight tenor voice, he was able to produce very sharp sounds, but also quite grave sounds. Mercury had an enviable voice range, with the superb extension of three and a half octaves.
Mercury left £100,000 to his chef, and left his £18-million house to his friend Mary Austin.
In pop culture
Although Mercury may have passed in the real world, he appears as a recurring character in the Japanese anime series Sakigake!! Cromartie High!. Wearing only long brown pants with red suspenders he is known to the main characters only as "Freddie". He does not speak despite moments of him singing (although his voice is not audible) and is sometimes seen riding around on a giant black horse. Some people wonder if he understands Japanese. He also is normally introduced by a harmonious guitar riff.
In December 2004, the rock group Electric Six released a cover version of Queen's "Radio Ga Ga". The promotional video features the lead singer, Dick Valentine, impersonating the ghost of Freddie Mercury dancing in front of his grave. This depiction has caused controversy amongst fans of Queen and Freddie Mercury, many of whom find it offensive, despite Electric Six claiming that it was intended to be interpreted positively.
The character Sol Badguy in the Guilty Gear series of Fighting games is heavily influenced by Mercury.
Solo albums
- Mr. Bad Guy (1985)
- Barcelona (1988) (with Montserrat Caballé)
- The Freddie Mercury Album (1992)
- The Great Pretender [UK Version Of The Freddie Mercury Album] (1992)
Box set
- The Solo Collection (10 CDs and 2 DVDs) (2000)
