Freddie Mercury
(born September 5, 1946, Stone Town, Zanzibar [now in Tanzania]?died November 24, 1991, Kensington, London, England) was a British rock singer and songwriter whose
flamboyant
showmanship and powerfully agile vocals, most famously for the band
Queen
, made him one of
rock
’s most
dynamic
front men.
Bulsara was born to
Parsi
parents who had emigrated from
India
to
Zanzibar
, where his father worked as a clerk for the British government. As a child, Bulsara was sent to a
boarding school
in Panchgani,
Maharashtra
state, India. Artistically inclined from an early age, he formed a band there in which he played the
piano
. When Zanzibar became part of the independent country of
Tanzania
in 1964, Bulsara moved with his family to Feltham,
England
. He later studied
graphic art
and design at Ealing Technical College and School of Art (now part of the University of West London), graduating in 1969.
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Influenced by the hard-edged
blues
-based style of rock acts such as
Cream
and
Jimi Hendrix
, Bulsara began singing with bands in
London
. He also became friends with guitarist
Brian May
and drummer
Roger Taylor
of the band Smile, and in 1970, when Smile’s lead singer quit, Bulsara replaced him. He soon changed the group’s name to Queen and his own to Freddie Mercury. Bassist John Deacon joined the following year. Incorporating elements of both
heavy metal
and
glam rock
, the band debuted on record with
Queen
(1973), which was followed by
Queen II
(1974).
Despite an impressive blend of majestic vocal harmonies and layered virtuosic guitar work, Queen initially failed to attract much notice beyond the
United Kingdom
. The album
Sheer Heart Attack
(1974), however, shot up the international charts, and
A Night at the Opera
(1975) sold even better. The band’s ambitious approach to both songwriting and studio production was epitomized by the latter album’s mock-operatic single “
Bohemian Rhapsody
,” one of a number of Queen
compositions
written principally by Mercury. The song spent nine weeks atop the British singles chart, and its accompanying promotional film helped the music industry recognize its future in video. Spectacular success followed in 1977 with “
We Are the Champions
” and “
We Will Rock You
”?which became
ubiquitous
anthems at sporting events in Britain and the
United States
.
(Read Britannica’s essay “9 (Lives of) Famous Cat Lovers.”)
By the early 1980s Queen had become an international phenomenon, drawing particular attention for its elaborately staged performances in enormous
venues
. Strutting the stage in outrageous costumes, Mercury effortlessly commanded audiences in the tens of thousands. Although Queen’s commercial fortunes had begun to wane by mid-decade, the band arguably reached its
apotheosis
as a live act with a stellar performance at the charity concert
Live Aid
in 1985. That same year Mercury released the solo record
Mr. Bad Guy
, which took musical inspiration from
disco
. Mercury later appeared on the sound track of
Dave Clark’s science-fiction musical
Time
(1986) and teamed with Spanish
soprano
Montserrat Caballe
for the semi-operatic album
Barcelona
(1988).
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In 1991 Mercury announced that he had been diagnosed with
AIDS
. He died a day later from complications related to the disease. Until shortly before his death, Mercury had continued to record with Queen, and he was posthumously featured on the band’s final album,
Made in Heaven
(1995). His time with Queen was dramatized in the blockbuster film
Bohemian Rhapsody
(2018). Although
Rami Malek
won an
Academy Award
for his performance as Mercury in the movie,
Bohemian Rhapsody
was criticized for its
sanitized
presentation of Mercury’s complicated life, particularly his sexual fluidity.