Freddie Mercury is a legend. At the group leader Queen I had a very rich personal and creative life. His extraordinary energy from the first seconds charged the audience. Friends said that in ordinary life Mercury was a very modest and shy man.
By religion, he was a Zoroastrian. The compositions that came out from the pen of the legend, he called "tracks for entertainment and consumption in a modern spirit." Many compositions were included in the "golden rock collection".
In the early 2000s, Freddie took an honorable 58th place in the BBC's 100 Famous Britons poll. A few years later, Blender conducted a poll in which Mercury took 2nd place among vocalists. In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked him #18 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Vocalists of All Time.
Childhood and youth of Freddie Mercury
Farrukh Bulsara (real name of a celebrity) was born on September 5, 1946 in Tanzania. The father and mother of the future celebrity by nationality were Parsis, the Iranian people. They professed the teachings of Zoroaster.
When the younger sister was born, the family moved to India. The Bulsara family stayed in Bombay. The boy was sent to a school located in Panchgani. The boy's grandfather and aunt lived there. At the time of his studies at school, Farrukh lived with relatives. At school, the guy began to be called Freddie.
Farrukh studied well at school. Teachers spoke of him as an exemplary student. He was into sports. In particular, the guy played hockey, tennis and boxing. His hobbies included music and drawing. He spent a lot of time studying in the school choir.
Soon the director of the school drew attention to Farrukh's ideal vocal abilities. It was he who spoke with his parents and advised them to develop his son's talent. He even signed the guy up for piano lessons. Thus, the guy began to study music at a professional level.
Organization of the first group
In adolescence, Freddie created the first team. He called his brainchild The Hectics. The musicians performed at school discos and city events.
Freddie soon graduated from high school in India and returned to Zanzibar, where his parents moved again. Two years after the move, the situation in his hometown began to deteriorate sharply. Zanzibar declared independence from England, riots broke out. The family was forced to move to London.
Freddie entered a prestigious college in Ealing. In an educational institution, he studied painting and design, and also continued to improve his vocal and choreographic skills. He was inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Rudolf Nureyev.
While in college, Freddie decided to lead an independent life. He left his parents' house and rented a small apartment in Kensington. The guy rented housing not alone, but together with his friend Chris Smith. During this time, he also met college colleague Tim Staffel. At that time, Tim was the leader of the group Smile. Freddie began attending the band's rehearsals, getting to know the whole line-up. He developed a warm relationship with Roger Taylor (drummer), to whom he soon moved to live.
Freddie Mercury graduated from college in 1969. He left school with a degree in graphic design. The guy devoted considerable time to drawing. Together with Taylor, Freddie opened a small shop where Mercury's works were sold among various goods. Soon the young man met the musicians of the Ibex group from Liverpool. He thoroughly studied the band's repertoire, and even included several author's tracks in it.
But the Ibex group broke up. Freddie, who could not imagine his life without music, found an ad that indicated that Sour Milk Sea was looking for a new soloist. He was included in the team. The attractive guy had excellent control over his body. And his voice of 4 octaves did not leave indifferent any music lover.
Creation of the band Queen
Soon the team left one of the members. The group broke up, and a new team appeared in its place. The guys began performing under the creative pseudonym Queen. Initially, the group consisted of two teams. In 1971, the composition became permanent. Freddie drew the coat of arms of his offspring with the letter Q in the center and the zodiac signs of the musicians around. A year later, the musicians presented their debut LP, and Freddie changed his last name to Mercury.
Unexpectedly for the band and Mercury, their track Seven Seas of Rhye hit the British charts. The real "breakthrough" was in 1974, when the band presented the top song Killer Queen. The track Bohemian Rhapsody continued the band's success.
The last song had a complex form. The record label owner didn't want to release the five-minute track as a single. But thanks to the patronage of Kenny Everett, the composition was launched on the radio. After the presentation of the track, the members of the Queen group became the idols of millions. The song stayed at the top of the hit parade for 9 weeks. A video clip was filmed for the song.
Bohemian Rhapsody was later named the best track of the millennium. The second composition We Are The Champions became the unofficial anthem of the champions of sports competitions and olympiads.
In the mid-1970s, the musicians went on a tour of Japan. By the way, this was not the first foreign tour of the band. By that time they had already performed with a significant number of concerts in America. But such a resounding success was the first time. The guys felt like real stars. It was then that Freddie Mercury was imbued with the history and culture of Japan.
Dream come true Freddie Mercury
At the end of 1970, Freddie Mercury's dream came true. The musician performed with the Royal Ballet with his immortal hits Bohemian Rhapsody and Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
In subsequent years, the band's repertoire was enriched with tracks from the records A Day at the Races, News of the World and Jazz. In 1980, the idol of millions, unexpectedly for fans, changed his image. He cut his hair and grew a short mustache. The music has also changed. Now disco-funk was clearly audible in the band's tracks. Freddie delighted fans of his work with the duet composition Under Pressure. He performed it with David Bowie, and later came the new hit Radio Ga Ga.
In 1982, the team shared with the "fans" the first tour schedule for the year. While the musicians were resting, Freddie took advantage of the break and recorded his debut solo album.
The Peak of Freddie Mercury's Musical Career
July 13, 1985 - the peak of the career of Freddie Mercury and the Queen team. It was then that the group performed in a grand show at Wembley Stadium. The performance of Mercury and his team was recognized as the "Highlight of the Show". The 75-strong crowd during Queen's performance seemed to be under the influence of drugs. Freddie became a rock legend.
A year after this momentous event, the group organized their last Magic Tour. Within its framework, the last concerts with the participation of Freddie Mercury took place. This time, more than 100 thousand fans gathered at the Wembley Stadium. The concert was recorded under the name Queen at Wembley. After that, the singer no longer performed with the group.
In 1987, Freddie and M. Caballe started recording a joint album. The record was called Barcelona. The LP went on sale a year later. At the same time, the performance of the singer and Mercury took place in Barcelona.
Mother love is a farewell composition by Freddie Mercury. He recorded this track shortly before his death. He felt very bad. Freddie was fading, so he used a drum machine to record the aforementioned track. The last verse was finished for the musician by his friend and colleague Brian May. The composition was included in the band's album Made in Heaven, which was released in 1995.
Freddie Mercury personal life
In 1969, Freddie Mercury met his beloved woman. The singer's lover was called Mary Austin. Almost immediately after they met, young people began to live together. After 7 years they broke up. Freddie confessed to being bisexual.
Former lovers managed to maintain warm friendships, even after parting. Austin was his personal secretary. Mercury dedicated the composition Love of My Life to the woman. It was Mary the celebrity who left the property in London. He was godfather to her eldest son, Richard.
After that, Freddie had a vivid romance with actress Barbara Valentine. Biographers of Mercury say that the singer suffered from loneliness. He gave himself completely to work, but he came to an empty apartment. Many created strong families, and he had to be content with loneliness.
During his lifetime, there were rumors that the famous singer was gay. After the death of Freddie Mercury, these rumors were confirmed by friends and lovers. Brian May and Roger Taylor told about the bright adventures of the idol of millions.
George Michael also confirmed the performer's bisexuality. Freddie's personal assistant Peter Freestone wrote a memoir in which he mentioned several men with whom Freddie had a close relationship. Jim Hutton spoke about the 6-year connection with the singer in the book "Mercury and I". The man until the last day of Freddie's life was next to him, and even gave him a ring.
Interesting facts about Freddie Mercury
- He didn't like the expression "spend the whole day in bed." Freddie tried to lead an active lifestyle. He spent the least amount of time relaxing.
- Jim (male Freddie) gave him an engagement ring, which the musician wore until his death. It was not removed from Mercury's finger even before cremation.
- The performer always carried a bag with him, which contained cigarettes, throat lozenges and a notebook.
- Mercury openly spoke about the fact that he did not want his children.
- Mercury had five cars at his disposal, but he never passed a driving test.
The last years of the artist's life
The first rumors that the singer fell ill with a serious illness appeared in 1986. There was information in the press that Freddie took an HIV test, and it was confirmed. Until 1989, Mercury denied that he was ill. Once Freddie appeared on stage in an unusual form for fans. He was very thin, looked exhausted and could hardly stand on his feet. Fans' fears were confirmed.
During this period, he worked at full capacity, realizing that he was living his last years. Freddie wrote compositions for The Miracle and Innuendo albums. The clips for the latest LP are black and white. This shade masked Freddie's morbid state. Mercury continued to create masterpieces. The track The Show Must Go On, which was included in the last collection, subsequently got into the “100 Best Songs of the XNUMXth Century”.
On November 23, 1991, Freddie Mercury officially confirmed that he had AIDS. November 24, 1991 he died. The cause of death was bronchial pneumonia.
The funeral of a celebrity took place according to the Zoroastrian rite. The body was cremated. Relatives attended the funeral. Only they and girlfriend Mary Austin knew where Mercury's ashes were buried. In 2013, it became known that Mercury's ashes were buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in west London.
