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Famous
Singers > Freddie Mercury
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Freddie
Mercury
Freddie Mercury (September 5, 1946 - November 24,
1991) was a singer and the lead vocalist of the British Rock band
Queen. He was born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, Zanzibar to Bomi
and Jer Bulsara. He had a sister, Kashmira Bulsara-Cooke. His parents
were Parsis from the state of Gujarat in western India. The name Bulsara
was taken from the small Gujarati town in which Bomi Bulsara, Freddie's
father, was brought up. Freddie's father was an accountant for the
British Colonial Office in Zanzibar.
Freddie was educated at St. Peter's boarding school near Bombay, India,
where he had his first musical training (Grade V piano). His first
onstage performance was also at St. Peters, with his five-member school
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.
After spending his formative years in India, Freddie and his family
fled to England because of a revolution in Zanzibar. He was 18 when
he arrived in England. There, he pursued a Diploma in Art and Graphic
Design at Ealing Art College, following in the footsteps of Pete Townshend.
This knowledge was to come in useful when he designed queens famous
crest. |
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With
a wide vocal range and a somewhat operatic technique, he was one of
the most versatile and technically accomplished singers to work in
the pop idiom. He was the composer of many of Queen's hits, including
"Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love" and "We
Are the Champions".
Freddie's songwriting was unique, demonstrating influence from a variety
of sources, but a strong individual sense of melody, harmony, and
complex orchestration. In several of his most well-crafted and popular
tunes he provided all of the vocal tracks, resulting in a smooth controlled
sound that was at the time unprecedented.
Queen started using studio overdubs in a serious way with their second
album, Queen II, which features Freddie's music on the entire second
side of the LP (or, in CD parlance, tracks 6-11). Many listeners identify
"Bohemian Rhapsody" as the pinnacle of his musical achievement,
but it is possible to find the seeds of this mini-opera in his earlier
works.
He released two solo albums: Mr. Bad Guy (1985) and Barcelona (1988),
the latter with Catalan soprano Montserrat Caballé. The collaboration
came as surprise to critics, being the first of its kind, but was
nonetheless widely acclaimed if not commercially successful. One of
his hits as a solo artist was a cover of the song "The Great
Pretender" (1987), but after his death gained his first solo
number 1 hit "Living On My Own", remixed by No More Brothers,
which was his biggest UK hit.
He was bisexual; however, he did not officially come out until his
announcement that he had AIDS, one day before he died. He was a fan
of Liza Minnelli and Michael Jackson, the latter of whom he collaborated
with on some tracks, which were never published including "State
Of Shock" which was performed by Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger
for the official release.
He was well known for his extravagance and hedonism, but also for
his kindness and generosity. He adored cats and kept several, even
writing a song about his favourite ("Delilah", on the Innuendo
album, 1991). He was a heavy smoker, which contributed to a roughening
of his voice in the eighties.
He died of AIDS on November 24, 1991, in London, and was cremated
at Kensal Green Cemetery; the wherabouts of his ashes are unknown.
The remaining members of Queen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust and
organized The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
Mercury appears in the 2002 List of "100 Greatest Britons"
(sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public).
A species of East African isopod, Cirolana mercuryi N. Bruce, 2004
was named for Freddy Mercury, as, quoting the type, "arguably
Zanzibar's most famous popular musician and singer."
He was a Zoroastrian. His famous overbite was 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. He also expressed fears that such
an operation might damage his voice.
Freddie possessed a very slight tenor voice, he was able to produce
very sharp sounds, but also quite grave sounds. Mercury had an enviable
voice range, with the superb extension of three and a half octaves.
Mercury left £100,000 to his chef, and left his £18-million
house to his friend Mary Austin.
Although Mercury may have passed in the real world, he appears as
a recurring character in the Japanese anime series Sakigake!! Cromartie
High!. Wearing only long brown pants with red suspenders he is known
to the main characters only as "Freddie". He does not speak
despite moments of him singing (although his voice is not audible)
and is sometimes seen riding around on a giant black horse. Some people
wonder if he understands Japanese. He also is normally introduced
by a harmonious guitar riff.
Solo Albums:
Mr. Bad Guy (1985)
Barcelona (1988) (with Montserrat Caballé)
The Freddie Mercury Album (1992)
The Great Pretender [UK Version Of The Freddie Mercury Album] (1992)
Box set:
The Solo Collection (10 CDs and 2 DVDs) (2000) |
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