Freddie Mercury is a British singer and band leader.
Childhood
Freddie Mercury was born on September 5, 1946 in Zanzibar, his name was then Farrukh Bulsara. He became Freddie with the light hand of his friends, and took the pseudonym Mercury himself much later, in 1970 - either in honor of the quirky god Mercury, or in honor of the planet of the same name that rules all Virgos. In any case, this was not a random choice. Mercury walked towards his fame thanks to incredible energy and determination, calculating every step and only occasionally relying on intuition. His parents - Bomi and Jer - were Persians. Bomi's father worked as a cashier for the British government. In 1952, Freddie's sister Cashmere was born. And in 1954, when Freddie was only 8 years old, he was sent to India and assigned to St. Peter's School in Panchgani - 500 miles from Bombay.
St. Peter's School was typically English and all the sports played there were typically English. Freddie hated cricket and long-distance running, but he loved hockey, sprinting and boxing, and at the age of 10 he became the school table tennis champion. But his talents were not limited to sports. At the age of 12, he won the cup in the youth all-around.
He loved painting and constantly made drawings for friends and relatives. And, of course, from an early age Freddie was crazy about music. He listened to records on his old home record player, stacking them and spinning them continuously. While listening to music, Freddie loved to sing along. The music was mostly Indian, although sometimes there was Western music - he sang everything and greatly preferred this activity to school lessons.
The principal of St. Peter's School drew attention to Freddie's musical abilities. He wrote a letter to his parents, where he offered to give him the opportunity to seriously study music for a small additional payment. They agreed and Freddie began to learn to play the piano. He also began singing in the school choir and regularly took part in school theater productions. He liked piano lessons - here he could definitely apply his talent. As a result, Freddie received a 4th degree in theory and practice.
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In 1958, five friends from St. Peter's School - Freddie Bulsara, Derrick Branch, Bruce Murray, Farang Irani and Victory Rana - formed their first rock band, which they called The Hectics ("Fidgets"), in which he was not yet a vocalist. and a pianist. They played at school parties, anniversaries and dances - nothing more is known about this group.
Youth
In 1962, Freddie graduated from St. Peter's School and returned to Zanzibar, where he spent his free time with friends in markets, parks and beaches. Zanzibar was a British colony with Africans and Arabs making up the majority of its population. When unrest began in the country in 1964, many British and Indians were forced to leave, although no one drove them out. Among those who left Zanzibar were the Bulsara family - they headed to England.
At first they lived with relatives in Feltham (Middlesex), then they had the opportunity to buy their own small house in the same area. 17-year-old Freddie chose an art college for himself, but for this he needed to get the appropriate grade in painting. In September 1964 he entered nearby Aylesworth Polytechnic School. During the holidays, he tried to work at least a little - either in the supply department of Heathrow Airport, or at the Feltham trading enterprise, where he had to lift and stack heavy baskets and boxes. The workers, looking at his hands, which were completely unsuitable for this kind of work, asked what he was doing here. He replied that he was a musician and that he just needed something to do, and so great was his charm that his comrades quickly took over the lion's share of his work.
The aesthetic side of school life appealed to him clearly more than the academic one, but he easily earned the required grade in painting and in the spring of 1966 became a graduate of Islesworth School. Thanks to this score, as well as his natural talent, he was readily accepted into Ealing Art College. In September 1966, he began taking a course in graphic illustration.
Freddie became friends with a student from his college, Tim Staffell. As their friendship grew, Tim began inviting Freddie to the rehearsals of his band Smile, where he played bass and sang. In addition to Tim, the group included guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. The sound of the group made a lasting impression on Freddie, especially Brian's playing. Inspired by "Smile", he embarked on musical experiments for the first time after leaving India. His partners were first Tim and Nigel Foster, another art college student, then Chris Smith. When Chris first heard Freddie's voice, he was fascinated. And his manner of playing the piano - outwardly spectacular, with Mozartian ease - combined with a strong touch, was distinguished by its unique originality, and this also did not leave Chris indifferent. They tried to write songs together. As Chris recalled, it was unlikely that they had completed anything, but he noted that these sessions with Freddie taught him a lot. "I immediately noticed that Freddie had an innate sense of melody,- Chris recalled, - and that's what attracted me the most". Even then, Freddie experimented, combining several melodies together in different keys, trying to achieve the greatest effect. You should definitely take this into account when listening to Bohemian Rhapsody.
The beginning of the way
Freddie graduated from Ealing in June 1969 with a degree in graphics and design and a couple of advertising assignments for the local newspaper. He moved into Roger Taylor's apartment and that same summer they opened their own kiosk in Kensington Market. At first they sold the works of Freddie and his college friends, and then all sorts of clothes - new and used, which they could get. That same summer he was introduced to the Liverpool trio Ibex - the guys came to London to try their luck. They were guitarist Mike Bersin, bassist John "Tupp" Taylor, and drummer Mick "Miffer" Smith. With them were their main and road manager Ken Testi and another member Geoff Higgins, who sometimes had to play bass when "Tupp" - an ardent Jethro Tull fan - wanted to play the flute.
Freddie's meeting with Ibex took place on August 13, 1969, and after 10 days he studied their entire repertoire, added several songs and was ready to go with them to Bolton (Lancashire) to give his first concert. Performances in Bolton took place as part of the annual blues festivals, covered by the local press. Ibex concerts took place on August 23 at the Oktogon Theater and on August 25 at Queen's Park.
After that, Freddie began looking for a new group and found it through an ad in Melody Maker: the group “Sour Milk Sea” needed a vocalist. There is a story about the pomp with which Freddie appeared before them. Although there were several other very worthy candidates that day, as soon as Freddie started singing, it became clear that they were taking him. Freddie's voice was distinguished by its extraordinary beauty and wide range. But it's not just about the voice. His very behavior and ability to present himself made an indelible impression. Those who have seen the performances, at least in recordings, will understand what we are talking about. As Ken Testi recalled, everything that Freddie later did in , he did at his very first performance at Ibex - it was not something developed over the years, it was a rare natural gift, in unique harmony with his voice, both with external data, and with his subtle artistic taste and musicality in the broadest sense. And the fact that he himself realized this made him absolutely irresistible!
Other members of the band were Chris Chesney on vocals and guitar, bassist Paul Milne, Jeremy "Rubber" Gallop on rhythm guitar, and Rob Tyrell on drums. They had a few rehearsals and then a couple of shows in Chris's home town of Oxford. Freddie and Chris, who was about 17 at the time, became fast friends and Chris moved into a flat on Ferry Road where Freddie lived with members of Smile. The other members of Sour Milk Sea were not very impressed with Freddie and Chris spending so much time together - they were much more concerned about the future of the group. And two months later, Jeremy, who owned almost all the equipment, took it away, which meant the breakup of the group. In April 1970, Tim Staffell decided to leave Smile and Freddie took over as vocalist. He changed the name of the group to , and his last name to Mercury.
The further biography of Freddie Mercury largely coincides with the biography of the group. In 1970, Freddie met Mary Austin. They lived together for seven years, but remained friends for life. Later, statements appeared in the press more than once that Freddie was a homosexual.
In 1971, John Deacon joined the group - since then they have been in full force. Freddie came up with a crest for the group based on the zodiac signs of its members: two fairies for him (Virgo), two lions for Roger and John (Leo) and a crab for Brian (Cancer). It was Freddie who became the author of the first song to hit the British charts - (Seven Seas Of Rhye). He also owned the first big hit (Killer Queen), as well as the group’s most famous song (Bohemian Rhapsody), which stayed at the top of the British charts for 9 weeks. At concerts Freddie was always in the foreground. In 1975 they toured Japan, where they were accompanied everywhere by a screaming crowd of enthusiastic fans. This was the first time they had received such an unusual and unexpected welcome. Freddie simply fell in love with this country and began collecting Japanese paintings and antiques.
On October 7, 1979, Freddie's long-time dream came true - he performed with the Royal Ballet. He chose Bohemian Rhapsody and Crazy Little Thing Called Love. The melody was performed by an orchestra, and Freddie sang live. The performance began with Bohemian Rhapsody and was a huge success among ballet lovers, who gave him a standing ovation after both numbers.
In 1980, Freddie changed his image - he got a short haircut and grew a mustache. After this, many fans began sending him "gifts" - nail polish and razor blades.
At the end of 1982, they unanimously decided that they needed to take a break and rest from each other. They announced that there would be no touring in 1983. Freddie had been considering the possibility of releasing a solo album for a long time - now he had the time to do it. At the beginning of 1983, he began recording at the Musicland studio in Munich. During this period he was introduced to the composer Giorgio Moroder. Moroder took part in the revival of Fritz Lang's silent science fiction film Metropolis, filmed back in 1926, which was decided to be scored with modern music. He asked Freddie to take part in co-writing a song for the film and Freddie agreed. He has never co-written or performed cover songs with anyone other than Larry Lurex. The result of this collaboration was the song Love Kills.
On September 10, 1984, Freddie's first solo single was released - the song Love Kills, written together with Giorgio Moroder, for the film Metropolis. And the first single from his future solo album was I Was Born To Love You, released on April 9, 1985. Three weeks later, the album itself appeared, entitled Mr. Bad Guy. It was released on CBS Records. July 13, 1985 was a special day for Freddie. That day, the Live Aid concert took place - a grand show at Wembley Stadium, where 72 thousand spectators were present. The concert was broadcast on television all over the world, i.e. More than a billion people watched it! With their performance they secured their place in history, and all observers, journalists, fans and critics were unanimous in the opinion that the group became the highlight of the program.
At the beginning of 1987, there was some lull, which Freddie took advantage of to record another solo number in the Townhouse studio. It was a cover of an old Platters song, The Great Pretender. The single was released on February 23.
In March 1987, Freddie flew to Barcelona to meet Montserrat Caballe. He gave her a cassette on which two of his songs were recorded (according to other sources - 4). The Spanish opera diva appreciated them and even performed one of them - to Freddie's great surprise - at a concert in London's Covent Garden. And in early April, these two artists of such different genres began working on a joint album. At the end of May, a grand festival took place in the famous “Ku Club” on the island of Ibiza. Freddie was the guest of honor and, together with Montserrat Caballe, performed at the closing of the festival. They performed the song Barcelona, which Freddie dedicated to his hometown of Montserrat. On October 8, 1988, Freddie and Montserrat performed at another grand festival - La Nit, this time in Barcelona itself. They performed 3 songs: How Can I Go On, The Golden Boy and Barcelona, and the piano part was played by Mike Moran, co-writer of the songs. The long-awaited album Barcelona was finally released on October 10th.
Sunset
The performance on October 8 was Freddie's last appearance in front of the public. By that time he was already seriously ill with AIDS, but did not want people to know about it. He announced his illness only the day before his death, leaving his entire fortune to his sister, his only close person, and also to his beloved cats. Despite everything, he continued to write songs and make records and even starred in video clips. Already quite ill, he shot a wonderful video for the song I'm Going Slightly Mad. On November 24, 1991, Freddie died at home in London from bronchial pneumonia, which developed against the background of AIDS. Musicians
In 2002, a list of famous British people was compiled, among which Freddie Mercury took 58th place. In addition, this man is remembered as a singer in the world famous rock band Queen. In addition to vocals, the musician wrote his own lyrics and received a huge number of awards during his life.
Fans of Freddie Mercury still remember him, and the biography and personal life of the artist makes everyone’s heart flutter. Many are interested in how the singer became infected and what led to his death.
Legendary English rock musician Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury's real name is Farrukh Balsara. He was born on September 5, 1946 in Stone Town (Zanzibar). The musician's father worked at the cash desk of the English Supreme Court. The mother did not work, but devoted herself to raising children. The second child after Freddie was the youngest daughter, Kashmir.
Freddie Mercury (Farrukh Balsara) as a child with his mother
Life in India was the longest period of the artist's childhood. When he was seven years old, he began to learn to play the piano, and at the age of eight he was already studying at St. Peter's School.
If you believe the words of those close to you, Indian vocalist Lata Mangeshkar had a special influence on Freddie.
Freddie Mercury during school
Due to lack of interest in school lessons, he tried his best to avoid cricket and athletics. He replaced these disciplines with playing hockey and boxing.
Farrukh Balsara (middle) in his youth
The young musician had excellent physical abilities, and already in the 3rd grade he won a tennis competition that took place as part of a school competition. When the artist turned 12 years old, he participated in the youth all-around, where he won an award.
Freddie Mercury is from India
In addition to his sporting interests, Freddie was attracted to art. In particular, drawing, singing and listening to rock music, which then became well known. Music took the most important place among the singer’s interests.
Photo of the young singer
Mercury at the beginning of his career
It was the director of the school where Mercury studied who noticed the young man’s talent before anyone else. He personally composed a letter addressed to the artist’s parents, where he strongly recommended not to interrupt his piano training.
Freddie responded to an ad from Sour Milk Sea looking for a vocalist and was accepted
Freddie Mercury and Queen
In 1972, Freddie added the pseudonym Mercury to his fictitious name.
Many of the artist’s friends told how, after each composition he heard for the first time on the radio, he played the melody on the piano. In 1958, a rock band was founded, in which the musician himself and his friends performed. The young men's repertoire included covers of compositions known at that time. After graduating from school in 1962, Freddie found himself at home again.
The Queen crest was designed by Freddie Mercury himself.
Still from the video “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Famous rock performer on stage
In 1964, the political situation in Stone Town worsened, and the family was forced to go to the UK.
Freddie recorded several hits with Montserrat Caballe
Queen group
Personal life
The death of the musician led to a flood of various memories from his personal life, even from people who were slightly familiar with the singer. According to truthful sources, Freddie's main and lasting love was with Mary Austin. She inherited the largest part of the property from him.
Their acquaintance occurred in 1969 at the initial stage of the formation of a musical career. Mary was then working in a store called Biba's, which was located next to Freddie's. The girl was distinguished by her beautiful appearance, knowledge in the world of fashion and stylish clothing, and also helped the musician create an individual image. For example, it was Austin’s idea to paint the singer’s nails black.
Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin
Young people did not have money for a free life at that time, so they had to rent a room. However, after about two years, Mercury rented an apartment. The couple's life was filled with daily hobbies and fun events, and they were surrounded by the same creative people as they themselves were.
After the musician’s new achievements, the couple’s relationship became worse and worse. At a certain point, the singer proposed to formalize their relationship, but subsequently did not address this issue. He also did not want to have children, which he argued by constantly traveling.
Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin
When their union was six years old, the musician admitted to Austin that he was gay, but he did not want to leave the girl. To do this, Freddie gave her a job as an administrator and bought an apartment located next to his house.
Thus, meetings between former lovers continued. It was Mary who took care of the dying musician when he already had his last strength. Freddie instructed the woman to bury her ashes confidentially, so that none of the relatives would know the location and could not tarnish the honor of the grave.
Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton
Many journalists recall the singer’s large-scale sprees that took place in gay clubs in London and other cities. Homosexual relations were prohibited in the period 70-80, so it was almost impossible to find out the details.
Mercury started relationships with different men
After rumors about gayness reached the musician’s relatives, they stopped communicating with him due to their religious beliefs. Mary helped provide financial support to the family; she transferred money. Among the public people with whom Freddie built relationships was Jim Hutton. The men lived together for about eight years until the musician’s death.
Illness and death
Rumors about the singer's fatal illness appeared in 1986. Then they started writing about Freddie donating blood for HIV infection. In 1989, the musician’s fans began to pay attention to changes in appearance. According to them, the artist lost a lot of weight, after which it became known that the diagnosis had been confirmed. Even now you can look at personal photos and see how unhealthy the musician looked. Only those closest to him knew the truth, and in front of everyone else, Mercury did not admit his illness until his death.
The singer was diagnosed with HIV infection
During a 1989 interview with Queen members, a question was asked about the musicians' planned upcoming tours. Say exact date, when there will be a concert, they could not, citing serious health problems with the lead singer. It was then that active discussion of his health condition began again.
Personally, Freddie was preparing for his approaching death and knew that he was living his last moments. His main desire was to create new musical works. During his career, two solo records were released, as well as many songs performed by other singers.
Freddie Mercury near his house
Videos were shot for some of the songs, which aroused admiration among Freddie's fans. The final ones were videos shot in a black and white filter. This was done in order to hide the appearance of the musician. After the death of his idol, his new album was released in 1995.
Freddie Mercury during illness
On November 23, 1991, Mercury officially admitted his illness and died soon after. He said that he had AIDS. He saw no point in continuing to keep everything secret; the truth would come out anyway. He addressed the right to own his own musical compositions to the foundation for the protection of seriously ill people.
Facts from life
The fate of the musician turned out to be very interesting and eventful. Based on the stories of friends and relatives, several facts from his life can be cited:
- Mercury was partial to pets, especially cats. His mansion was filled with several households whom he cared for individually. He wrote one of his musical compositions in honor of a cat.
- I had experience working creatively with Michael Jackson. The resulting tandem released 4 compositions that won the hearts of universal idols.
- A distinctive feature of the musician was working on stage with microphones without attaching them to a stand.
- Many journalists have repeatedly asked the artist’s friends how he contracted AIDS. According to relatives, drug use and promiscuous relationships are to blame.
The famous musician loved cats very much
Freddie Mercury is "always alive"
Mercury is a legendary person who was forced to die early by an incurable disease. The fight for life continued until the very end, but his strength was not enough to cope with the illness. He planned many great events, however, he could not bring them into reality.
A concert in memory of Mercury was organized at Wembley Stadium, which became a symbol of the group's triumph
In 1996, a monument to Freddie Mercury was unveiled in the town of Montreux, Switzerland.
Freddie Mercury, whose biography excites every fan, is a truly outstanding musician.
Many memorable documentary videos have been made about him and broadcast on television. Anyone who truly loved and admired the singer will always remember him.
The second edition of the sensational book is coming out the other day. Mariam Akhundova “The Story of Freddie Mercury”. Let us remember that it was first published in 2005. In the early 2000s, a Russian historian and journalist, having analyzed the biography of the famous rock singer, came to the conclusion that there are serious arguments in favor of a very unusual hypothesis - that the band’s vocalist Queen became a victim of slander.
First of all, almost 17 years have passed since the death of the vocalist, creator of almost half of the songs, screenwriter of many famous Queen videos in 1991, and since then, for unknown reasons, not a single normal creative biography has been published.
At the same time, Mercury's most popular biographers - also his servants Freestone and Hutton - did not even think about analyzing his work, but instead created an image of the Queen vocalist that was far from reality.
Obviously, the real Mercury has nothing in common with the “hero” of his biographies. This is evidenced by significant inconsistencies between Queen's concert schedule and Freddie's lifestyle presented in the books of Freestone and Hutton.
Queen (recently named one of the world's best-selling bands) had a very busy touring schedule, taking up almost all of the musicians' time. A few but persistently advertised biographers attributed to Mercury the life of a social slacker - that is, drug abuse and spending time in clubs around the clock, and at the same time - an incredible number of sexual partners from among the British proletariat - "chauffeurs with strong hands."
In terms of the level of description of the singer’s personal life, almost all British authors boldly step over the line separating biography from pornography.
In addition to detailed sex scenes, the books contain interesting episodes in which Mercury cleared his stomach after a drinking binge and even recorded himself urinating in Michael Jackson's toilet.
In general, according to M. Akhundova, these biographies are pamphlets, libels, that is, materials aimed at destroying the singer’s reputation.
It must be said that over the years between the two editions of the book, research continued, as a result of which the new version of “The Freddie Mercury Story” is significantly different.
In the latest edition, the role of Freddie’s “close people” is explored in particular detail. Queen fans have long been embarrassed that Mercury's servant, hairdresser Jim Hutton, who called himself his main lover and, of course, claimed to be infected with AIDS, is alive and, judging by the photograph, completely healthy.
In addition, convincing arguments have emerged in favor of the fact that Freddie Mercury was not sick with AIDS, but with cancer. This is indicated not only by interviews with specialists who have worked with Mercury in the last year.
By the way, those around Mercury in 1991, right up until his death, were sure that Freddie had cancer. As it turned out, this hypothesis is easily confirmed from a medical point of view. It is known that Freddie was able to sing almost on his deathbed - the last recording of the vocal part was made two weeks before his death.
At the same time, Freddie had chronic laryngitis, and if he really was HIV-positive, AIDS would have first attacked his throat. One way or another, Freddie's official diagnosis - pneumonia caused by AIDS - is actually incompatible with singing.
One of the key topics of the new publication is an analysis of Freddie’s will, made with the participation of Russian specialists international law. It follows from it that the representative of the label with which Mercury worked - manager Jim Beach - by will received the right to control the distribution of Freddie's money to all his heirs.
It is difficult to say what made Mercury sign such a paper. The document may have been forged. One way or another, one of the points in Freddie Mercury’s curious will – about transferring part of the money to a fund to fight cancer, not AIDS, is thought-provoking.
Freddie Mercury (September 5, 1946 - November 24, 1991) - British singer and musician, vocalist of the legendary rock band "". Until now, 20 years after his death, he is one of the most popular singers in the world. He will forever be remembered by his fans for his inimitable voice and unique gift as a composer, which allowed him to combine the most contradictory styles in unsurpassed musical harmony.
Early years (1946-1968)
Born on the island of Zanzibar, in the family of a British department employee, Bomi Balsara. His parents were Parsis. At birth, the boy received the name “Farukh”, which means “happy”. Balsar's family was quite wealthy, so early years Farukh did not feel any need, he lived in peace and prosperity. Farukh was brought up in Zoroastrian traditions, which was later reflected in his work.
In 1951, Balsar's family moved to Bombay, where India's largest Parsi community was located. Young Farukh attended St. Peter's Catholic School, where he had excellent grades in English language, history and drawing. There, the boy showed an aptitude for music, and the director of the boarding school invited Freddie’s parents to take piano lessons for their son. The English name "Freddie" is not an analogue of the name "Farukh", it was just that it was not very convenient for his English classmates to call him by his real name.
In 1959, due to the revolution that broke out in Zanzibar, the Balsar family was forced to flee to London. In 1964 Freddie entered Ealing Art College, from which he graduated three years later with a degree in design. To earn money, Freddie opened a shop in Kensington Market, where he sold second-hand clothes and his pictures. This stall existed even after "" recorded their first album, that is, at least until 1973.
In 1969, Mercury met Brian May, Roger Taylor and Tim Staffel, who played in the group “Smile”. In 1970, Staffel left the group, it broke up, and Freddie persuaded May and Taylor to start a new, serious project, which was to become their life's work. At the same time, in 1972, Mercury took part in the Trident Studios project Larry Lurex, performing cover versions of the songs “I Can Hear Music” and “Going Back” (on Freddie’s initiative, May and Taylor were involved in this project ).
Soon after this, Freddie suggested calling the new group “Queen” and took the pseudonym Mercury. After bassist John Deacon joined the group, Queen's twenty-year stellar history began.
Among the Queen songs written by Mercury are the group's first two hits - "Killer Queen" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", as well as "Somebody to Love", "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", "Bicycle" Race", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Play the Game" and many others. These songs are very diverse. For example, in order to play “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” you just need to play a few chords, while “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a complex composition that combines rock and pop music, opera and individual folklore motifs. Freddie's wonderful ability to experiment with different musical styles and directions, and at the same time remain himself, is amazing.
Mercury's songs are full of optimism and joy. Unlike the songs of most rock bands, which called for suicide, Freddie wrote songs with a call to abandon this act. Mercury was an excellent composer who could combine different styles in his songs: from opera to heavy metal. In his poems, Mercury quoted classical English poetry, Persian songs and fairy tales (a striking example of this is the early composition “My Fairy King”), and the works of German philosophers.
With his uncontrollable imagination and talent, Mercury was able to turn the group's concerts into bright, colorful shows. His flexibility allowed him to perform acrobatic stunts and ballet pirouettes during concerts or filming videos. He danced like oriental dancers who move not just one part of the body, but the whole body at the same time. Freddie directed the video clips himself and used Zoroastrian symbols in them.
Solo projects
In addition to working in the group, Freddie released two solo albums, “Mr. Bad Guy" (1985) and "Barcelona" (1988, a duet with Montserrat Caballe), two solo singles "Love Kills" (1984) and "The Great Pretender" (1987, a cover version of a song by The Platters).
Personal life
Mercury's personal life throughout his career was shrouded in rumors and gossip about the singer's homosexuality and drug addiction. However, what was considered only cheap gossip during Mercury's life, in a matter of months acquired the status of official biographical information after his death - despite the fact that absolutely no evidence was ever provided. Numerous “biographies” of the musician are filled with insults and speculation about his sex life, and his image becomes more and more sinister from year to year. Meanwhile, Mercury himself has repeatedly said that if he had led the lifestyle attributed to him by the media, he would have died a long time ago, and often complained about loneliness and the inability to build a personal life because of his “star” status and taking away everything free time for hard work.
Since 1986, rumors have spread that Mercury has AIDS - curiously, this happened long before any changes in Mercury's appearance became noticeable - in 1986 he had barely finished the legendary Magic tour with Queen. All the major changes began to be evident no earlier than 1988-1989 (for example, see the video collection Greatest Video Hits II)
However, despite a serious illness and constant pain, Mercury continued to work actively. In 1989, the group gave their first joint radio interview in several years, where they said that they wanted to deviate from the usual “Album-Tour” conveyor belt and stated that they would not go on tour this time. But the reason was not the retreat, but precisely that Freddie felt worse and worse every month.
The same year, the album “The Miracle” was released, in which there were hints of Mercury’s illness. Realizing that there is little time left, the musicians record the group’s “swan song” album, “Innuendo” (1991). Full of tragedy, faith, and the desire to live, the songs “I’m Going Slightly Mad”, “Innuendo”, “These Are the Days of Our Lives” and the unique “The Show Must Go On” became a miraculous monument to a wonderful musician.
On November 23, 1991, Freddie released an official statement in which he announced that he had AIDS: “Given the rumors that have been circulating in the press for the past two weeks, I want to confirm that my blood test showed the presence of HIV. I have AIDS. I considered it necessary to keep this information secret in order to preserve the peace of my family and friends. However, it is time to tell the truth to my friends and fans around the world. I hope everyone will join the fight against this terrible disease." He also ordered that all rights to his song "Bohemian Rhapsody" be transferred to the Teres Higgins AIDS Foundation.
The next day, November 24, 1991, at 7:40 p.m., Freddie Mercury died at his home in London. This was announced in the media, and crowds of people came to his garden fence to place bouquets of flowers, cards, letters and photographs on the paths. Thousands of people from different countries and different ages gathered at his house. Freddie's death was a personal tragedy for millions of people around the world. And now fans come to Mercury’s estate “Garden Lodge”: the walls and sidewalk around are scrawled with various words of gratitude (a little later it was all washed away)…
Freddie was buried according to the customs of the Mazdayasni faith (Zoroastrianism), of which he and his parents were adherents. The funeral was held closed, only family and friends were present. At the funeral, arias by Montserrat Caballe and Aretha Franklin, whom Freddie idolized during his lifetime, were played. Mercury's body was cremated. The burial place is unknown.
Posthumous fame
Freddie still remains one of the most beloved performers in the whole world. His incredible stage images and demeanor on stage are known even to people far from music. In 1992, May, Taylor and Deacon, together with world pop and rock stars, gave a concert in memory of Mercury at Wembley Stadium, the proceeds (more than 19,400,000 pounds) from which were directed to AIDS funds. The telecast of this concert attracted more than 1 billion people around the world. In 1995, the album “Made In Heaven” was released, containing recordings that did not see the light of day during Freddie’s lifetime, and adaptations of old songs. The name Freddie Mercury has become a kind of brand in music, synonymous with rock of the 80s. Many modern singers take Freddie as a model, but no one has yet achieved the same success that Mercury and Queen were able to achieve during their 20 years of collaboration.
The Queen musicians spent four years looking for a place in London for a monument to Mercury. Among those who refused to provide space were Kensington Council, Covent Garden, all state parks, and Imperial College. Ealing College of Art has allocated a corner... in the car park. Prim Britain rejected him, and the monument went to Montreux, where Freddie worked and rested for many years. Brian May: “We decided: let him go to Switzerland. We are terribly disappointed by England's refusal." On November 25, 1996, 5 years after the death of Freddie Mercury, a monument to the great singer and artist was unveiled in a small Swiss town.
The video for the song Bohemian Rhapsody, which was written by Freddie, became the first video clip in the history of show business, and the song itself reached the status of “Best Song of the Millennium.”
Freddie’s second equally famous (and perhaps surpassed it in popularity) song was and remains “We are the champions”, which was in rotation on almost all US radio stations, not to mention the fact that this composition became the unofficial anthem of the winners major sporting competitions. This is what you can often hear from fans.
Finally, his collaboration with the opera diva Montserrat Caballe, the single “Barcelona” became the anthem of the 1992 Olympics
Interesting Facts
According to contemporaries, Freddie was very interesting person. He was very fond of classical opera and ballet (this can be seen from his costumes at the very beginning of his career), he was very well read (this is noticeable from the lyrics of his songs), and was a fan of Japanese art, whose works he collected. His friends included people like Elton John and Dave Clark.
At one time he communicated with Michael Jackson and even made several test recordings with him - however, for unknown reasons, the collaboration never took place. Officially it was said that both musicians were busy.