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Quick Facts
- NAME: Freddie Mercury
- OCCUPATION: Songwriter, Singer
- BIRTH DATE: September 05, 1946
- DEATH DATE: November 24, 1991
- EDUCATION: Ealing College of Art
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Zanzibar, Tanzania
- PLACE OF DEATH: London, United Kingdom
- Full Name: Farookh Bulsara
- AKA: Freddie Mercury
Best Known For
Freddie Mercury is best known as the rock worlds most versatile and engaging performers and for his mock operatic masterpiece, Bohemian Rhapsody.
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Freddie Mercury - Full Biography (44:46)
Queen: Days of Our Lives - Full Episode
The story of Queen is an inspiring, sometimes tragic, and honest story of four school friends who conquered the music world, selling an astonishing 300 million records.
Freddie Mercury - Musical Legacy
Lesley-Ann Jones, author of "Mercury," describes Freddie Mercury's personality both on and off stage, as well as his legacy as a musician and the lead singer of Queen. Video courtesy of Simon & Schuster © 2012.
Freddie Mercury - Full Biography
Born in Zanzibar to Indian parents, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury became a rock legend with songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody." Queen's album sales rival the Beatles, with Mercury's four octave range contributing to the band's success.
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Play NowFarookh Bulsara. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 07:05, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228.
Farookh Bulsara. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Farookh Bulsara." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 07:05 http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228.
"Farookh Bulsara," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Farookh Bulsara," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Farookh Bulsara [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228.
Farookh Bulsara, http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Farookh Bulsara. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228. Accessed May 22, 2013.
Synopsis
Singer, songwriter Freddie Mercury, was born Farookh Bulsara, on September 5,1946 in Zanzibar, Tanzania. He studied piano in boarding school in India and befriended numerous musicians at London's Ealing College of Art. The music of Mercury's band Queen reached the top of US and British charts. Mercury died of HIV on November 24, 1991.
Musical Education
Singer, songwriter, musician. Born Farookh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar, Tanzania. As the frontman of Queen, Freddie Mercury was one of the most talented and innovative singers of the rock era. He spent time in a boarding school in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, where he studied piano. It was not long before this charismatic young man joined his first band, the Hectics.
Moving to London with his family in the 1960s, Mercury attended the Ealing College of Art. He befriended a number of musicians around this time, including future bandmates, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May. In 1969, Mercury joined up with a group called Ibex as their lead singer. He played with a few other bands before joining forces with Taylor and May. They met up with bassist John Deacon in 1971, and the quartet—who Mercury dubbed Queen—played their first gig together that June.
Queen
In 1973, the band released their first self-titled album, but it took two more recordings for Queen’s music to really catch on. Their third record, Sheer Heart Attack (1974), featured their first hit, "Killer Queen," a song about a high-class call girl. The single hit No. 2 on the U.K. charts, and peaked at No. 12 in the U.S.
With a sound that has been described as a fusion of hard rock and glam rock, Queen had an even bigger hit the following year with their album, A Night at the Opera (1975). Mercury wrote the song "Bohemian Rhapsody," a seven-minute rock operetta, for the album. Overdubbing his voice, Mercury showed off his impressive four-octave vocal range on this innovative track. The song hit the top of the charts in Britain and became a Top 10 hit in the United States.
In addition to his talents as a singer and songwriter, Mercury was also a skilled showman. He knew how to entertain audiences and how to connect with them. He liked to wear costumes—often featuring skintight spandex—and strutted around the stage, encouraging fans to join in the fun. Artistic in nature, Mercury was also actively involved in designing the art for many of the group’s albums.
Queen's popularity continued to soar through the late 70s and early 80s. "We Are the Champions," off of News of the World (1978), became a Top 10 hit in the United States and in Britain. It was featured on a single with “We Will Rock You”—both songs have taken on a life of their own as popular anthems played at sporting events. Always exploring new and different sounds, Queen also tried their hand at the big music trend of the time, with the disco-flavored “Another Bites the Dust” in 1980. Off that same album, The Game (1980), Mercury and the rest of the band showed their range as performers with the rockabilly-influenced hit “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” which Mercury penned.
BOOKS
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Learn more about Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury by Lesley-Anne Jones.
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