Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury, universally recognised as one of the greatest performers in the history of rock music, lived up to his promise that he was going to become “a legend”. His action-packed life took in being an art student, triumphs as the lead vocalist and a creative voice behind Queen, and a spell as a successful solo singer and songwriter in the 1980s. It was Mercury who persuaded fellow band members Roger Taylor and Brian May to change their name from Smile to Queen and remake the band as something “completely fresh”. As Freddie himself so eloquently put it: “The concept of Queen was to be regal and majestic. Glamour was part of us. We wanted to be dandy.”

The legend of Freddie Mercury began on the East African island of Zanzibar. It was there that this future star was born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946. His beloved mother, Jer Bulsara, nurtured the young Farrokh’s interest in music, making sure he took piano lessons at St Peter’s boarding school in Bombay. “At first I kept up the lessons because I knew she wanted me to, then I really grew to love playing,” Freddie later said of his mother’s influence.

The 12-year-old Freddie formed his first band, The Hectics, at school. While they may not have shaken the world outside India, the impression they made locally was seismic and the star quality he would become famous for was evident from the start. One teacher recalled the thrill of seeing the young musician: “Freddie was playing the piano… remove the piano and there was nothing left of The Hectics. All the symptoms were there, plenty of noise and I could say, very melodious. Even people like myself enjoyed their music.”

Freddie’s preoccupation with music perhaps resulted in him leaving St Peter’s having failed his exams. According to his school report he was an “accomplished boxer, good singer, outstanding pianist, unbeatable table tennis player, thoroughly mediocre cross country runner.” But what he lacked in academic excellence, he more than made up for in talent and ambition.

After his family moved to Middlesex, England three years earlier, the 20-year-old Freddie enrolled to study graphic design courses at Ealing College of Art with a view to becoming a freelance artist. It was here that Freddie’s musical ambitions were realized and he joined forces with the people that would change his life and the course of musical history.

“The music thing just grew and grew. I realised music was the biggest thing in my life and I decided to try and make my living from it,” said Freddie. He pursued his ambitions joining a series of hopeful up-and-coming bands. It was while he was performing with one of these bands, Wreckage, that he met Brian May and Roger Taylor. “At the time Brian and Roger were in a sort of up-tempo raucous band called Smile,” remembered Freddie.

When Smile lost their lead singer Freddie was by this time sharing a flat with Roger and Brian. “Eventually we decided we’d form a band together. It was as simple as that,” said Freddie, who came up with the name Queen: “It was a completely new chemical reaction, so it had to have a new title so that we felt fresh.” John Deacon was recruited into the band in early 1971, marking the beginnings of Queen as we have known them.

EMI Records and Elektra Records signed the band, and in 1973 their debut album ‘Queen’ was released and hailed as one of the most exciting new developments in rock music. While Queen rose rapidly thanks to hits such as “Killer Queen” and “Now I’m Here”, it was Freddie’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” that propelled the band into the superstar league. This immortal, operatically styled single was released in 1975 and proceeded to race to the top of the UK charts, where it stayed for a record-breaking 9 weeks. A song that was nearly never released due to its length and unusual style became – and remains - one of the most recognised and lasting songs of the last half century.
 
Freddie’s unique talents helped define Queen, from his immediately recognisable voice and remarkable range to a stage presence that gave the band its colourful, unpredictable and flamboyant personality. Thanks to Freddie’s ability project himself and the band’s music and image to the every corner of the huge 70,000 seater venues they played, Queen became known as the leading proponents of stadium rock.
 
While most publicly recognised as the frontman of one of the most visionary and successful rock bands of the era, Freddie defied the stereotype, releasing the acclaimed solo album “Mr Bad Guy” in 1985. Driven by an inherent excitement for venturing into new territories led Freddie to explore his interests in a wide spectrum of the arts, particularly in the areas of ballet, opera and theatre. He formed a hugely successful recording partnership with Spanish opera diva Montserrat Caballé, with the pair’s unique blend of pop music and opera showcased on the 1988 album ‘Barcelona’, whose unforgettable title track would go on to become the anthem for the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Queen continued to release best-selling albums and make history across their career but perhaps it was their Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium, on 13 July 1985 that cemented the legendary status of Freddie and the band, not only going down in history as the day’s show-stopping event, but one of the greatest live concerts of all time. Faithfully recreated for the Queen biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, starring Oscar-winning actor Rami Malek, it helped elevate the film to become the highest-grossing music biopic ever at the time, and introduce Freddie and Queen to new generations of dedicated fans the entire world over.
 
Freddie’s final return to the studios with Queen was to record their ‘Innuendo’ album in 1990 which produced their final single and video together, “These Are The Days Of Our Lives”. On November 24th, 1991, Freddie’s struggle against AIDS ended when he passed away. Musicians and fans the world over the world mourned the passing of rock’s most innovative, flamboyant ambassador and his loss signified the end of an era. 
 
Freddie Mercury, who majored in stardom while giving new meaning to the word showmanship, left a legacy of iconic songs and performances that will never lose their stature as landmarks for generations to come.