Freddie Mercury : One of the most versatile & greatest singers of all time.
Born in 1946 in Zanzibar to Parsi-Indian parents, at the age of 8, Mercury’s parents sent him to a boarding school in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, where he studied piano and spent his free time with his aunt and grandparents. It was not long before the charismatic young man joined his first band, the Hectics. In 1963, Mercury returned to Zanzibar. Following a bloody revolution in Zanzibar in 1964, the family fled to London. Having studied and written music for years, he formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Mercury wrote numerous hits for Queen, including “Killer Queen”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Somebody to Love”, “We Are the Champions”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. His charismatic stage performances often saw him interact with the audience, as displayed at the 1985 Live Aid concert. He also led a solo career and served as a producer and guest musician for other artists.
Freddie Mercury was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1990, he and the other Queen members were awarded the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, and one year after his death Mercury was awarded it individually. In 2002, Mercury ranked number 58 in the BBC’s poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.
Mercury died in 1991 at age 45 due to complications from AIDS. He confirmed the day before his death that he had contracted the disease, having been diagnosed in 1987. Mercury had continued to record with Queen following his diagnosis, and he was posthumously featured on the band’s final album, Made in Heaven (1995). In 1992, his tribute concert was held at Wembley Stadium. His career with Queen was dramatised in the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
A LEGEND WAS BORN.
