Freddie Mercury is a British singer
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; born 5 September 1946) is a British singer-songwriter who rose to international fame as the lead vocalist and pianist for the rock band Queen. Considered one of the greatest singers in rock music history, he was known for his brilliant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Mercury defied rock frontman conventions with his theatrical style, which influenced Queen’s artistic direction.
Mercury was born in 1946 in Zanzibar to a Parsi Indian family. From the age of eight, Mercury attended English boarding schools in India and returned to Zanzibar after graduating from high school. In 1964, his family fled the revolution in Zanzibar and moved to Middlesex, England. After years of studying and writing music, he formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Mercury wrote many 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”. In his charismatic stage performances, he often interacted with the audience, as demonstrated at the 1985 Live Aid concert. He also pursued a solo career and was a producer and guest musician for other artists.
In 1987, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS. He went on to record with Queen and contributed posthumously to their final album, Made in Heaven (1995). In 1991, the day after his diagnosis, he died of complications from the disease at the age of 45. In 1992, a concert was held in his honor at Wembley Stadium to benefit AIDS awareness. His career with Queen was dramatized in the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
As 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 1990, he and the other members of Queen were awarded the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, and a year after his death, Mercury was honored individually. In 2005, Queen was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. In 2002, Mercury was ranked 58th in the BBC’s 100 Greatest Britons poll.
