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įollowing graduation, Mercury joined a series of bands and sold second-hand Edwardian clothes and scarves in Kensington Market in London with Roger Taylor. He later used these skills to design heraldic arms for his band Queen. After first studying art at Isleworth Polytechnic in West London, Mercury studied graphic art and design at Ealing Art College, graduating with a diploma in 1969. The Bulsaras briefly relocated to 122 Hamilton Road, before settling into a small house at 22 Gladstone Avenue in late October. They moved to 19 Hamilton Close, Feltham, Middlesex, a town 13 miles (21 km) west of central London. In the spring of 1964, Mercury and his family fled to England from Zanzibar to escape the violence of the revolution against the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government, in which thousands of ethnic Arabs and Indians were killed. Įnglish Heritage blue plaque at 22 Gladstone Avenue, Feltham, London In February 1963, he moved back to Zanzibar where he joined his parents at their flat. Peter's where he began to call himself "Freddie". A friend recalls that he had "an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano". One of Mercury's former bandmates from the Hectics has said "the only music he listened to, and played, was Western pop music". At the age of 12, he formed a school band, the Hectics, and covered rock and roll artists such as Cliff Richard and Little Richard. Peter's School, a British-style boarding school for boys, in Panchgani near Bombay. In 1954, at the age of eight, Mercury was sent to study at St. Mercury spent most of his childhood in India where he began taking piano lessons at the age of seven while living with relatives. As Zanzibar was a British protectorate until 1963, Mercury was born a British subject, and on 2 June 1969 was registered a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies after the family had emigrated to England. Mercury was born with four supernumerary incisors, to which he attributed his enhanced vocal range. As Parsis, the Bulsaras practised Zoroastrianism. The family had moved to Zanzibar so that Bomi could continue his job as a cashier at the British Colonial Office. The Bulsaras had origins in the city of Bulsar (now Valsad) in Gujarat. His parents, Bomi (1908–2003) and Jer Bulsara (1922–2016), were from the Parsi community of western India. Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town in the British protectorate of Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) on 5 September 1946.
The house in Zanzibar where Mercury lived in his early years
In 2002, Mercury was voted number 58 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. In 2005, Queen were awarded an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. 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. His career with Queen was dramatised in the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.Īs a member of Queen, 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 1992, a concert in tribute to him was held at Wembley Stadium, in benefit of AIDS awareness. He announced his diagnosis the day before his death, from complications from the disease, in 1991 at the age of 45. He continued to record with Queen, and posthumously featured on their final album, Made in Heaven (1995). He also led a solo career and was a producer and guest musician for other artists. His charismatic stage performances often saw him interact with the audience, as displayed at the 1985 Live Aid concert. 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". Having studied and written music for years, he formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. In 1964, his family fled the Zanzibar Revolution, moving to Middlesex, England. Mercury defied the conventions of a rock frontman with his theatrical style, influencing the artistic direction of Queen.īorn in 1946 in Zanzibar to Parsi-Indian parents, Mercury attended English-style boarding schools in India from the age of eight and returned to Zanzibar after secondary school.
Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four- octave vocal range. Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen.