Biography for
Freddie Mercury More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

5 September 1946, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Date of Death

24 November 1991, Kensington, London, England, UK (AIDS)

Birth Name

Farrokh Bomi Bulsara

Height

5' 9½" (1.77 m)

Mini Biography

Freddie Mercury was born on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, on the 5th of September 1946. His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, sent him off to a private school in India, from 1955 til 1963. In 1964 Freddie and his family flew to England. Freddie was very delighted to come to England. In 1966 he started his education at the Ealing College of Art, where he graduated in 1969. He loved art, and because of that, he often went along with his friend Tim Staffell, who played in a band called Smile. Also in this band where Brian May and Roger Taylor. When Staffell left the band in 1970, Freddie became their new singer. He changed the band's name into Queen, and they took on a new bass-player in February 1971, called John Deacon. Their first album, "Queen", came out in 1973. But their real breakthrough was "Killer Queen", on the album "Sheer Heart Attack", which was released in 1974. They became immortal with the single "Bohemian Rhapsody", on the 1975 album "A Night At The Opera". After setting foot in the US in 1980, with "Another One Bites The Dust", they had a bad period. Their album "Flash Gordon" went down the drain, because the movie Flash Gordon (1980) flunked. Their next, "Hot Space", also wasn't a great success. Only the song "Under Pressure", which they sang together with David Bowie, made a difference. In 1983, they took a year off. But, in 1984 they were totally back with their new album, called "The Works". It contained great hits, such as "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want To Break Free". In 1985 Freddie made his first big solo-album, "Mr. Bad Guy". He and the band had been in a bit of an argument, and he wanted to do something on his own. The album was loved by the fans, but didn't do to well. But the band got back together again, after their famous performance at Live Aid, in 1985. At the end of the year, they started working on their new album, "A Kind Of Magic". They also held their most famous tour ever, the "Magic Tour". They did Wembley Stadium twice, and held their very last concert in Knebworth, in front of 125.000 people. After 1986, it went silent around Queen. It was in 1987 or '88, when Freddie told the band he had AIDS, and only had a few years to live. After Freddie told the band, he refused to talk about it anymore. He was afraid that people would buy their records out of pity. He said he wanted to keep making music as long as possible. And he did. His second big solo-album, "The Great Pretender", got out in 1987. After that, he flew to Spain, where he made the magnificent album "Barcelone", together with Montserrat Caballé, whom he saw performing in 1983. Because Freddie loved opera, he became a huge fan of her. For him, this album was like a dream becoming reality. The single "Barcelona" went huge, and was also used as a theme song for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. After Barcelona, he started working with the band again. They made "The Miracle", which was released in 1989. It was a success, with hits as "Breakthru", "I Want It All" and "The Invisible Man". After "The Miracle", Freddie's health got worse. They wanted to do one more album, called "Innuendo." They worked on it in 1990 and early 1991. Every time when Freddie would feel well, he came over to the studio and sang. After "Innuendo" was released in January 1991, they made two video clips. The first one was the video clip of "I'm Going Slightly Mad", shot in March 1991. Because Freddie was very thin, and had little wounds all over his body, they used a lot of make-up. He wore a wig, and the clip was shot in black and white. Freddie's final video clip was released in June 1991. The clip, "These Are The Days Of Our Lives", later turned out to be his goodbye song, the last time he appeared on film. You could clearly see he was ill, but he still hadn't told the world about his disease. Rumours went around that he some kind of terrible disease. This rumor was confirmed by Freddie himself, one day before he passed on. Which he did on the morning of Sunday the 24th of November 1991. His death was seen as a great loss for the world of music.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Arjan@arjanpijper.myweb.nl

Trade Mark

Sings with the top half of microphone stand

Loved to do a vocal duet with the crowd, especially before "Under Pressure".

Placing microphone under his belt

Wide ranged, powerful vocals

Mustache.

Overbite and camp behaviour on and off stage

Trivia

Lead singer of rock group Queen.

He was a staunch supporter of the British monarchy.

His ancestors, the Parsees, originated in Persia and fled to India in the 7th century. The reason being they are Zoroastrians and did not want to get converted to Islam.

Lead singer and keyboard player of the rock group Queen.

Chose not to to get corrective oral surgery to fix his famous overbite (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 out of fear that it would damage his voice. Also, chose not to have surgery to remove polyps on his vocal cords for the same reason. Ironically, Freddie was a smoker.

Attended Ealing College of Art.

When the rock group Smile (formed by Brian May with Roger Taylor and Tim Stafell) split, Freddie joined Brian and Roger to form Queen.

Some of his estate was left to Mary Austin, a woman he had dated regularly.

Attended many operas and released a semi-classical album with Spanish opera diva Montserrat Caballé.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 (as a member of Queen.

Sang a duet of "Tutti Frutti" with Marillion front man Fish at the Mungersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, West Germany. [19 July 1986]

Was an avid and fastidious philatelist (stamp collector). His extensive collection is still exhibited at stamp shows world-wide as being under the estate of his birth name.

Loved his cats, and dedicated his solo-album "Mr. Bad Guy" to them. When he was out touring, he used to phone his cats and talk to them for hours. On one of his waistcoats, he has painted portraits of all of his cats.

He was educated at St. Peter's boarding school near Bombay, India, where he had his first musical training (Grade V piano) and also his first experience of performing onstage, with his 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.

His song "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975) was named Britain's favourite pop single of all time on 2002 in a poll by Guinness World Records (GWR). More than 31,000 people voted in the poll for GWR's "British Hit Singles" book.

After a revolution in Zanzibar, he and his family were forced to flee to England, where he pursued a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design. This knowledge was to come in useful when he designed Queen's famous crest.

Came in 58th place in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. [2002]

While buried in the Zoroastrian tradition, Freddie, himself, seldom practiced the family religion.

Was an ardent fan of Jimi Hendrix.

Designed Queen's famous crest using his and his fellow band mates' birth signs: Two lions for Roger and John (Leo), a crab for Brian (Cancer), and two fairies for himself (Virgo).

Had a vocal range of 4 octaves.

Achieved grade IV in practical piano and theory.

Was of Persian descent. His parents were Persians born in India.

Said that Aretha Franklin was one of his favorite singers.

There is a breed of yellow rose named after him.

Loved cats, and owned many of them. The song "Delilah" is written about his favorite.

His baby photo won photograph of the year in 1947 in his hometown.

He was diagnosed HIV positive in the spring of 1987.

Despite being a classically trained pianist, he admitted in an interview (Melody Maker, 2 May 1981) that he could read "very little" sheet music.

Queen won the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution in 1990. All four members of the band came to the stage to accept the award. It was Mercury's last appearance in front of an audience.

Queen won the 1992 Brit Award for British Single for their song "These Are The Days of Our Lives" and Mercury was the posthumous winner of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution. Only John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Sting have also managed to win the Outstanding Contribution Award as both a member of a band and as an individual.

Queen were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for their outstanding contribution to British music and integral part of British music culture. [11 November 2004]

Was a huge fan of actress and Broadway star Liza Minnelli.

Wrote "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" in the bathtub.

Penned the hits "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody To Love", and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love".

Survived by Jim Hutton, his partner since 1985.

Released his first solo album, "Mr. Bad Guy", in 1985.

While living in Asia,he listened to many Indian artists. Upon arriving in England, he was very influenced by British bands like The Beatles, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin.

Used a piano as a headboard for his bed and taught himself to play the piano backwards so if a song idea popped into his head when lying in bed, he could reach backwards and play it or record it.

Queen was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6356 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Was bisexual.

He was voted the No.1 'Greatest Singer In Rock' by Classic Rock magazine (May 2009/Issue 131).

Queen's performance at Live Aid (1985) (TV) was voted the "World's Greatest Concert" in a 2005 poll for Channel 4 in the U.K. The historic gig fought off competition from Jimi Hendrix's 1969 Woodstock show in second place and The Sex Pistols' raucous show at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in 1976.

Personal Quotes

If I didn't do this well, I just wouldn't have anything to do...I can't cook, and I'd be a terrible housewife.

I'm just a musical prostitute my dear

The bigger the better; in everything.

Years ago, I thought up the name Queen...It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid...It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it.

"I am as gay as a daffodil." (Speaking in 1974)

"All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, thats enough for me. I couldn't fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary." (On Mary Austin, late 70s interview)

"Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private in order to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me in the fight against this terrible disease." (Statement released on 23 November 1991)

Oh, I was not made for heaven. No, I don't want to go to heaven. Hell is much better. Think of all the interesting people you're going to meet down there!

Woman are like modern paintings. You can't enjoy them, if you try to understand them.

I think I'm totally original. I'm sure there are many people who see themselves in me, but that's to them. I'm me, basically, and that's how I like to be.

My voice takes a beating. The more vocal gymnastics I do in the studio, the more I have to do on stage.

All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary Austin, but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me. I couldn't fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary.

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