Talk:Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury has been listed as one of the good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
August 25, 2007	Good article nominee	Not listed
October 9, 2007	Peer review	Reviewed
November 1, 2007	Good article nominee	Listed

Current status: Good article

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Archive

This article is written in British English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, travelled, centre, defence, artefact, analyse) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

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Death

Why did the death section get "halved?" —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gregsynth (talk • contribs) 00:29, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Iranians and North Indians (and Greeks) are primary Caucasians. This can be easily inferred through multiple lines of genetic evidence. 'Primary Caucasian' means that Iranians and North Indians still have most in common (on a global scale) with the original population whom gave birth to the vast majority of, population-variant genes, that are found in modern day Europeans and Middle Easterners (neolithic farmers spread to the rest of the world from an area between turkey to north india at 10kybp). They are, obviously, not primary Caucasians because low admixture has allowed them to physically resemble the original Caucasoids (It is Europeans whom are phototypically more akin to the earlist Caucasoids. Although it is true, in recent history, the climate shift would'nt allow selection for lighter skin in certain parts of the world. This is most evident when you look at Southern Europe). Both of these populations have admixture higher than almost any European population (Although much of Iran (especially the north-eastern quadrant), actually has very little (relative to global populations) significant admixture). But, given the time elapsed since the neolithic dispersal, and given the fact that Europe's genetic signature is a product of a few genetic founders (whom have clearly lost a few male lineated haplogroups to say the least), and the data put forth by Cavalli-Sforza et al., it is clear that modern Europeans are not the same as the Caucasoids of early history (at 10kybp). Thus, the fact that many Iranians or North Indians have higher admixture than most Europeans, does not necessarily mean they are any less Caucasoid, altogether. It is quite centric, to ignore the obvious fact, that West Asia was the source of caucasoid genes. And technically, exo-migrants are no longer true Caucasoids, but rather descendents with newly evolved genetic identities. This is precisely why isolates such as Iranians, North Indians, and Greeks, do not pair hard with other populations on phylogenetic trees.

Ok. So at the lowest resolution, (broadest racial sense) we have: Levantines (or Neoliths) and their related descendents (Europeans, North Africans, Central Asians, Middle Easterenrs, Indo-Paki-Afghans). Congonisians and related Africans. And the East Asians.

It's over. The deludes can stop pushing the fantasy that Cro-magnum man was chasing reindeer through LGM Europe. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.197.253.38 (talk) 23:41, 2 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

All I can say to the writer who seems so enlightened about race above is maybe he should actually read into what hes saying instead of following that Eugenecist Nazi BS, which is very quaint and irrelevant.86.138.248.126 (talk) 15:34, 5 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism

Hi folks,

I've never done much on Wikipedia before, and I don't know too much about Freddie, but I did want to point out to you that the "Early Life and Playwright" section has been pretty seriously vandalized, and someone familiar with the original material may want to put it back together . . . —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.165.142.102 (talk) 19:47, 5 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Removed WP:COPYVIO

I have redacted my previous comment because it appears the text in question was copied from here. — confusionball (talk) 00:16, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Bisexuality

This section of the article is quite messy. It starts out trying to state that Freddie was bi, and then after two sentences only gives evidence as to how gay he was. In the past I've mostly heard that after breaking up with Mary (though they were obviously still very close friends until his death) he was explicitly gay from there on. The only things to back this up, however, are only the gossip of his past lovers. Any way to fix this?--Gocchin (talk) 15:42, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

English?

It says he's an English musician at the top. In what universe is THAT true? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.128.82.245 (talk) 10:34, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
He may have been born in India or wherever, but Mercury was a British Citizen. Hence, he is British. I suppose it should be British-Indian, or Indian-British, but I don't know if that would be PC. NIN (talk) 16:06, 17 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Iron Curtain

I'm adjusting the statement "In 1986, Queen were also the first to play behind the Iron Curtain, when they performed to a crowd of 80,000 in Budapest.[27]". While this might have been a first for them it certainly wasn't an absolute first: e.g. Iron Maiden played Poland, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia two years earlier in 1984 Behind the Iron Curtain (Iron Maiden video) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.191.183.85 (talk) 14:51, 3 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sexual Orientation

It seems that what is said in the beginning of the article about how he kept his sexual orientation a secrete from the public contradicts what is later said claiming that he was openly gay. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.12.153.168 (talk) 15:42, 10 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Origin of a Quote

A certain quote response given by Freddie Mercury that is listed in his Wikipedia page is not referenced. The quote is "I am as gay as a daffodil, my dear." It came from a New Musical Express magazine interview in their issue released on March 12, 1974. Could someone please incorporate this into the article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.23.107.83 (talk) 10:39, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Bisexuality and Asexuality

I have reverted the page to my revision mentioning his bisexuality and asexuality. These are important parts of his sexual identity that deserve mentioning in any article that describes that aspect of his person and life, especially if the notion of his homosexual activities are considered deserving of mention (as few would deny they are). I believe that my mentioning of his shift to a preference for male sexual contact is enough to satisfy those who prefer the moniker gay, but the fact that he had the relationship with a woman and later shifted to asexuality makes the term bisexual justified and later an asexual/chaste individual.24.239.162.198 (talk) 03:49, 1 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Criticism and controversy

The criticism and controversy section needs integrating into it's chronological position to avoid coat-racking. Does someone else want to or shall I? — Realist² (Speak) 04:04, 4 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Photo

Doesn't anybody have a decent photograph of the man? It's not like he lived before the invention of the camera! —75.4.233.205 (talk) 00:04, 24 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Parents were Azerbaijani Zoroastrians

According to BBC Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar but his parents were Azerbaijani Zoroastrians. This is exacly how they noted it down, a worthy sentence in the article? Baku87 (talk) 14:34, 29 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Where did they get this information from? This is the first time anyone has ever claimed Freddie was Azerbaijani, as far as I know. ... discospinster _talk 17:01, 29 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

OK, the more I think about this, the less I am convinced. Watch the documentary Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic — there is a discussion of his Indian heritage by those who know him. I think that's more reliable than a one-off claim that has never been made before. ... discospinster _talk 01:35, 30 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I got it from the BCC, see here, its written exacly like I said. Baku87 (talk) 14:34, 30 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I know you got it from the BBC, but where did they get it from? ... discospinster _talk 19:50, 30 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ethnicity, revisited

(This was originally a note I posted on User:156.34.142.110's talk page.)

I don't know if we should rely on the BBC website for sources about Freddie's ethnicity. They don't seem to be able to keep things straight. Compare this article where they claim he's proudly Iranian, to this one where they say he's Azerbaijani, and here they call him "Indian Parsi"....

I have watched the documentaries A Kind of Magic and Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story and neither of them implied he was anything but Indian Parsi. The latter, I believe, mentioned that the name Bulsara comes from the city of Bulsar in Gujarat.

Of course Parsis came from Iran but they migrated 1,000 years ago. They are a distinct ethnic group, having retained some Persian culture but also absorbed Indian tradition.

The best way to handle it, in my opinion, is to go on saying he's Indian Parsi heritage. That seems to have the most support from external sources, including the ones in the documentaries, who happen to be his family and closest associates. Thoughts? ... discospinster _talk 01:56, 2 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with your your take on the content. The refs support that he is Indian Parsi. The Real Libs-speak it 02:00, 2 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yep. Discospinster's take is fine. Anyone taking bets that we shall now be accused of being anti-something-or-the-other? -- Fullstop (talk) 14:02, 2 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

New Photo

I uploaded a good picture of Freddie! I'm sure it's the best we had!--Greg D. Barnes (talk) 19:47, 4 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Nice picture but it's a copyright violation and I delted it. There are free pictures availabe and they should be used instead. Thanks. CambridgeBayWeather Have a gorilla 21:58, 4 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No album covers allowed in the infobox either. Only free-use images. Album covers are only fair-use in the article about the album the cover is sourced from. The Real Libs-speak politely 22:36, 4 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry about that.--Greg D. Barnes (talk) 23:00, 4 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I found a Public Domain picture in Queen Commons. It represents Freddie well. If this photo is rejected, then I'll just stop uploading pictures. LOL.

I think it's OK though.--Greg D. Barnes (talk) 23:07, 4 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Freddie picture

Is something like this what everyone is looking for? It even has the name of the person who took the picture, and the date. I don't know if it's the type of thing you're looking for, so please say so if it is! Thanks and have a great day! http://www.flickr.com/photos/clender/257193818/ CarpetCrawler (talk) 03:47, 8 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A picture like that would be great, but we can't use that specific picture. faithless (^speak) 00:14, 12 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Nationality and Citizenship

Even though he was born in Zanzibar and has Indian ethnically links, did he ever become a British Citizen? I thought he did, but I can not find this information in the article. If he did become a British citizen, this information should be included in the article. My apologies if it already is. Ijanderson (talk) 21:37, 11 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Let's use a decent photo

Let's please agree to use a decent photo in the infobox. From what I can see, there are two free photos available. Let's use the one of higher quality (i.e., the modern photo of the statue). 146.186.39.84 (talk) 02:20, 12 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Muslim (or former Muslim)

I think mercury was a muslim or a former one... his birth name ( Farrokh Bulsara ) which means in Arabic (the differnts between something)?? .. so i think it should be mention?????????/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.231.248.250 (talk) 09:12, 17 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Mercury was a Zoroastrian, though not a practicing one. faithless (^speak) 09:19, 17 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Zoroastrian??? if he was a Zoroastrian?? why he used to say an islam & arabic things on his songs?? the Zoroastrian religion have no relation with islam?? ..when he said "Allah we'll pray for you" and Bismillah ... I think that he WAS a muslim??