Freddie
Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on Thursday September 5th 1946 on the
small spice island of Zanzibar. His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, were
both Persian. His father, Bomi, was a civil servant, working as a High
Court cashier for the British Government. Freddie's sister, Kashmira, was
born in 1952. In 1954, at the age of eight, Freddie was shipped to St
Peter's English boarding school in Panchgani, about fifty miles outside
Bombay. It was there his friends began to call him Freddie, a name the
family also adopted. As St Peter's was an English
school, the sports played there were typically English. Freddie loathed
cricket and long-distance running, but he liked hockey, sprint and boxing.
At the age of 10 he became a school champion in table
tennis. Freddie was not only a good sportsman, his artistic
skills were incomparable.
At
the age of twelve he was awarded the school trophy as Junior All-rounder.
He loved art, and was always sketching for friends or relatives. He was also music mad and
played records on the family's old record player, stacking the singles to
play constantly. The music he was able to get was mostly Indian, but some
Western music was available. He would sing along to either and preferred
music to school work. The principal headmaster of St
Peter's had noticed Freddie's musical talent, and wrote to his parents
suggesting that they might wish to pay a little extra on Freddie's school
fees to enable him to study music properly. They agreed, and Freddie began
to learn to play the piano. He also became a member of the school choir
and took part regularly in school theatrical productions. He loved his
piano lessons and applied himself to them with determination and skill,
finally achieving Grade IV both in practical and theory. In 1958, five friends at St
Peter's - Freddie Bulsara, Derrick Branche, Bruce Murray, Farang Irani and
Victory Rana - formed the school's rock'n roll band, the Hectics, where
Freddie was the piano player. They would play at school parties, at annual
fetes and school dances, but little else is known about them. In 1962, Freddie finished
school, returned to Zanzibar and spent his time with friends in and around
the markets, parks and beaches. In 1964, many of the British and Indians,
due to political unrest in Zanzibar, left their country, although not
under forcible pressure, and among those driven out were the Bulsaras who
migrated to England. Initially they lived with
relatives in Feltham, Middlesex, until they were able to find their own
small, terraced house in the area. Freddie was seventeen, and had derided
he wanted to go to art college, but needed at least one A level to ensure
he could get in. In September 1964 he enrolled at the nearby Isleworth
Polytechnic During vacations he took a
variety of jobs to earn some money; one was in the catering department at
Heathrow Airport, a stone's throw from home, and the other was on the
Feltham trading estate, where he had a job in a warehouse lifting and
stacking heavy crates and boxes. His fellow workers commented on his
'delicate' hands, certainly not suited for such work, and asked him what
he did. He told them he was a musician just 'filling in time', and such
was his charm that those co-workers were soon doing the lion's share of
his work. He studied hard, although he
preferred the aesthetic side of school life to the more mundane academic
side, and easily achieved his Art A level, leaving Isleworth in the spring
of 1966. His grade A pass and his natural skill ensured that he was
readily accepted by Ealing College of Art and, in September 1966, Freddie
began a graphic illustrating course at that college. After Jimi Hendrix exploded
onto the scene in 1967, and Freddie became an ardent fan, he spent time
sketching and drawing his hero; drawings he would frame and use to
decorate the walls of his flat in Kensington, rented by his friend Chris
Smith, where Freddie had moved from the family home in Feltham. At that
time Kensington was an important place to be for the art crowd - it was
the base of the famous Biba boutique and the home of Kensington Market,
frequented by the then 'in' crowd. A fellow student at Ealing
College was bass player Tim Staffell, with whom Freddie became good
friends. As Tim's and Freddie's friendship became closer, Tim took him
along to rehearsals of his band called Smile, with Brian May on the guitar
and Roger Taylor on the drums. Freddie got on famously with Brian and
Roger and loved the sound that Smile had achieved; he also had immense
admiration and respect for Brian's guitar-playing. Inspired by Smile,
Freddie began to experiment with music for the first time since leaving
India. He initially began to practice
with Tim, another art student Nigel Foster, and with Chris Smith.
"The first time I heard Freddie sing I was amazed," recounts
Chris. "He had a huge voice. Although his piano style was very
affected, very Mozart, he had a great touch. From a piano player's point
of view, his approach was unique." "Freddie and I eventually
got to write little bits of songs which we linked together," adds
Chris. "It makes sense when you consider Bohemian Rhapsody. It was an
interesting way getting from one piece in a different key signature to
another. But I don't think we actually finished anything. Freddie
certainly taught me a lot at those sessions. He had great, natural sense
of melody. I picked that up straight away. For me it was the most
interesting aspect of what he was doing." Freddie
left Ealing College in June 1969, with a diploma in graphic art and
design, and a few commissions for adverts in local newspapers. He moved
into Roger Taylor's flat, and that summer opened a stall with Roger at
Kensington Market, initially selling artwork by himself and fellow Ealing
students, and later Victorian or whatever clothes, new and secondhand, he
could lay his hands on. In the summer of 1969 Freddie
was introduced to a Liverpool band called Ibex, who had come to London to
try to make a name for themselves. Ibex were a three-piece, with guitarist
Mike Bersin, John 'Tupp' Taylor on bass and Mick 'Miffer' Smith on drums.
They also brought with them their apprentice manager, roadie and general
dogsbody Ken Testi; part-time bass player Geoff Higgins used to travel
down for occasional gigs. Geoff would play bass when Tupp, a great Jethro
Tull fan, wanted to play flute. Freddie first met Ibex on 13th
August 1969. Such was his enthusiasm, that just ten days later, he'd
learned the band's set, brought in a few new songs, and had traveled to
Bolton, Lancashire, for a gig with them - his debut public performance.
The first date was 23rd August, and the occasion was one of Bolton's
regular afternoon 'Bluesology' sessions, held at the town's Octagon
Theatre. On the 25th August, Ibex appeared in the first 'Bluesology
pop-in', an open-air event on the bandstand in Bolton's Queen Park, and
the proceedings were covered in Bolton's 'Evening News'. This even
featured an uncredited photograph of Freddie. While Freddie's trip to Bolton
with Ibex was photographed, Ibex's appearance at the Sink was recorded.
This recording was made by Geoff Higgins; as he says, tape is chronic
quality, but it demonstrates Ibex's love of Cream, Jimi Hendrix, as well
as Freddie's favorite of the day, Led Zeppelin. The name-change went hand-in-hand with the departure of drummer Mike 'Miffer' Smith. He was replaced by Richard Thompson, the former drummer in Brian May's 1984. Despite flashes of true potential, the end of the 1960s also marked the end of Wreckage. Gigs were few and far between, and while John Taylor, Richard Thompson and Freddie remained in London, Mike Bersin was committed to his college course in Liverpool, as he promised to his parents. Inevitably, the band petered out.
Freddie started to search for
another band for himself. He found Sour Milk Sea after seeing a
"Vocalist Wanted" advert in the 'Melody Maker'. The pomp and
ceremony were impressive, and the band he was auditioning for knew he was
the right man, especially when he got around to singing. Freddie had a
great voice, with terrific range. But there was not only his voice that
made his performances so attractive to people. "He knew how to front
a show," - Ken Testi recalls. "It was his way of expressing that
side of his personality. Everything he did on stage later in Queen, he was
doing with Ibex at his first gig." It wasn't anything that could be
developed. It was his charisma, his pure natural gift that was in perfect
harmony with his voice, his appearance, his delicate taste and his
musicianship in the wide sense of the word. The fact that he realized it
himself made him absolutely fascinating! They offered him the job, and
in late 1969 Freddie became the lead singer with Sour Milk Sea. The other
members of the band were Chris Chesney on vocals and guitar, bass player
Paul Milan, Jeremy 'Rubber' Gallop on rhythm guitar and Rob Tyrell on
drums. They did a few rehearsals, and then a few gigs in Oxford (Chris's
home town). Freddie and Chris, who was
about seventeen at the time, became close friends and Chris moved into the
house that Freddie shared with Smile in Ferry Road, Barnes. The other
members of Sour Milk Sea were more than a little peeved Chris and Freddie
spent so much time together, and felt rather insecure about the future of
the band. After just two months Jeremy, who owned nearly all the
equipment, derided to take it back and break up the band. In April 1970 Tim Staffell
decided to leave Smile, and Freddie join them as lead singer. Freddie
decided to change the name of the band to Queen, he also changed his last
name to Mercury. The further biography of
Freddie Mercury is to considerable degree a story of Queen. In 1970 Freddie met Mary
Austin. They lived together for seven years and remained good friends
until his death. In 1971 John Deacon joined the
band and Queen were complete. Freddie designed the band's logo using their
birth signs: two fairies for him (Virgin), two lions for Roger and John
(Leo) and a crab for Brian (Cancer). Freddie was the author of the first
Queen song that entered the British charts (Seven Seas Of Rhye), the first
big hit (Killer Queen) and the most famous Queen song that was on the top
of charts for 9 weeks (Bohemian Rhapsody). Freddie has always been
considered the front-man of the band. In 1975 Queen toured Japan. A
crowd of screaming fans followed them everywhere. They were taken by
surprise at the strength of their reception. Freddie fell in love with
Japan and soon became a fanatical collector of Japanese art and
antiquities.
On October 7th, 1979 Freddie performed with the Royal Ballet. He had never
done any ballet before, but it was something he had always wanted to try.
The songs he had chosen to perform to were Bohemian Rhapsody and Crazy
Little Thing Called Love. Songs were played by the orchestra with Freddie
doing live vocals. Freddie's first dance was Bohemian Rhapsody, and he
performed with skill in front of a packed house of enthusiastic
balletomanes, who loved him, and he received a standing ovation for both
his cameo performances. In 1980 Freddie changed his
image. He cut his hair and grew a moustache. His fans began to send him
gifts of nail
polish and razor
blades. At the end of 1982 Queen all
agreed they wanted to take break from each other. They announced they
wouldn't be touring throughout 1983. Freddie had been thinking of making a
solo album for some time, and at last he had time to do something about
it. He booked studio time at Musicland in Munich and began work in early
1983. During that time he was introduced to Georgio Moroder, who was
working on a re-release of the 1926 Fritz Lang silent science fiction film
Metropolis. He wanted to put a contemporary musical score to the
film. He asked Freddie to consider collaborating on a track for the film
to which Freddie agreed. He had never before co-written with anyone
outside Queen, and had not recorded anyone else's compositions, apart from
Larry Lurex. The result of this co-operation was the song Love Kills. In 1983 Freddie attended a
performance of Verdi's Un Ballo In Maschera at the Royal Opera
House sometime in May. It was the first time when he saw Spanish opera
diva Montserrat Caballé, and the sheer power and beauty of her voice
mesmerized him. On September 10, 1984 Freddie's
first solo single was released. It was the track he had co-written with
Georgio Moroder for Metropolis, Love Kills. The first single from his
forthcoming solo album was I Was Born To Love You. It was released on
April 9, 1985. Three weeks later Freddie's first solo album Mr. Bad Guy
was released on CBS Records. July 13, 1985 was a special day
for Queen and Freddie. It was the day of their memorable performance at
Live Aid, a tremendous show at Wembley Stadium in front of 72,000 people.
Live Aid was also broadcast to over one billion people worldwide. Queen
secured their place in history, as every media person, journalist, fan and
critic unanimously agreed: Queen stole the show. The early part of 1987 was very
quiet for Queen, so Freddie took the opportunity to go into Townhouse
Studios to do some solo work. It resulted in a remake of the classic
Platters' song The Great Pretender. The single was released on February
23rd. In March 1987 Freddie flew to
Barcelona to meet Montserrat Caballé. He gave her a cassette with two or
four songs. The Spanish opera diva liked these songs and even performed
one of them at London's Covent Garden. Freddie was delighted. In early
April, Freddie began work on the album he agreed to record with Montserrat
Caballé. At the end of May the island of
Ibiza staged a huge festival at the outrageous Ku Club. Freddie agreed to
be a guest of honour and closed the event with Montserrat Caballé singing
the song he had written for her and her home city, Barcelona. On October 8th, 1988 Freddie
and Montserrat appeared at the huge open air La Nit festival in Barcelona.
They performed three tracks from their forthcoming album - How Can I Go
On, The Golden Boy and Barcelona, accompanied by Mike Moran on piano. The
long-awaited album, Barcelona, finally come out on October 10th. October 8th was the last time
Freddie Mercury performed on stage. At the time, he was terribly ill with
AIDS, although he didn't want people to know about it. He announced that
fact the day before he died. Being ill he continued to compose and record
songs and even took part in making videos. In my opinion, I'm Going
Slightly Mad video is his masterpiece. On November 24th, 1991 Freddie died peacefully at his home in London of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia. |