'Freddie Mercury' (born 'Farrokh Bulsara';
5 September,
1946 –
24 November,
1991) was a
British musician, best known as the lead singer of the English
rock band Queen (inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001). He is noted for his vocal abilities and for his live performances. As a
songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "
Killer Queen", "
Bohemian Rhapsody", "
Somebody to Love", "
We Are the Champions" and "
Crazy Little Thing Called Love". In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury also produced several hits as a solo artist as well. He died from complications of
AIDS, greatly heightening worldwide awareness of the disease.
Although Queen was never popular with rock music critics, estimates of the band's worldwide record sales to date have been placed as high as 300 million.
[1] The band has also spent more collective weeks on the
UK Album Charts than any other musical act, including
The Beatles[2]. Two of Mercury's songs, "
We Are the Champions" and "
Bohemian Rhapsody", have each been voted as the greatest song of all time in major polls by
Sony Ericsson and
Guinness World Records, respectively.
[3][4] In 2006,
Time Asia listed him as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years.
[5] On the other hand, Mercury has been criticized for having kept his ethnicity, his bisexuality, and
HIV status a secret from the public.
Early Years
Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on the
African island of
Zanzibar, at the time a
British colony, now part of
Tanzania. His parents, Bomi Bulsara and Jer Bulsara were
Parsis from
India who practiced the ancient
Zoroastrian religion.
[6] The family had moved to Zanzibar in order for Bomi to continue his job as a middle-ranking cashier at the
British Colonial Office. Mercury had one younger sister, Kashmira.
[7]
Mercury was sent back to India at the age of 7 to attend
St. Peter's School, a
boarding school for boys at
Panchgani near
Bombay (now
Mumbai). At St. Peter's, he was a bright student who excelled at sports and learned to play the piano. At school, he formed a popular school band, called
The Hectics, for which he played the piano. It was also at St. Peter's where he began to call himself "Freddie." Mercury remained in India for most of his childhood, living with his grandmother and aunt. He completed his education in India at
St. Mary's (ISC) High School in
Mazagon before returning to Zanzibar.
At the age of 17, Mercury and his family were forced to flee from Zanzibar to
England as a result of the 1964
Zanzibar Revolution.
[8] The family moved into a small house in the suburban town of
Feltham outside
London. Mercury enrolled at Isleworth Polytechnic (now
West Thames College) in West London where he studied art. He ultimately earned a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at
Ealing Art College, later using these skills in order to design the
Queen crest. Mercury remained a British citizen for the rest of his life.
Following graduation, Mercury joined a series of bands and sold second-hand clothes in the
Kensington Market in London. He also held a job at
Heathrow Airport. Friends from the time remembered Mercury as a quiet and shy student who showed a great deal of interest in music. In 1969 he formed the band
Ibex, which was later renamed to Wreckage. When this band failed to take off, he joined a second band called Sour Milk Sea. However, by early 1970, this group broke up as well.
[9]
In April of 1970, Mercury joined with guitarist
Brian May and drummer
Roger Taylor, who had previously been in band called
Smile. Despite reservations from the other members, Mercury chose the name "Queen" for the new band. At around this time, he also changed his surname.
Musician
Singer
Widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in popular music of all time,
[10][11] [12] Freddie Mercury possessed a very distinctive voice, including a recorded range of nearly four octaves.
[13][14][15] Although his speaking voice naturally fell in the
baritone range, he delivered most songs in the
tenor range. Biographer
David Bret described Mercury's voice as "escalating within a few bars from a deep, throaty rock-growl to tender, vibrant tenor, then on to a high-pitched, almost perfect
coloratura, pure and crystalline in the upper reaches."
[16] On the other hand, he would often lower the highest notes during live performances. Mercury also claimed never to have had any formal training.
[17] Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, with whom Mercury recorded an album expressed her opinion that "the difference between Freddie and almost all the other rock stars was he was selling the voice."
[18]
Songwriter
Mercury wrote ten out of the seventeen songs on Queen's ''
Greatest Hits'' album: "
Seven Seas of Rhye", "
Killer Queen", "
Bohemian Rhapsody", "
Somebody to Love", "
Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", "
We Are the Champions", "
Bicycle Race", "
Don't Stop Me Now", "
Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "
Play the Game". However, by the 1980s, all four members of the band were writing hits. The most notable aspect of his songwriting involved the wide range of different genres that he used, which included, among other styles,
rockabilly,
heavy metal and
disco. Compared to many rock songwriters, Mercury tended to write musically complex material. For example, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is acyclic in structure and comprises dozens of chords.
[19] On the other hand, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is made up of only a few chords. Despite the fact that Mercury often wrote very intricate harmonies, he also claimed that he could barely read music.
[20] He wrote most of his songs on the piano, often choosing keys that were technically difficult for band mate and
guitarist Brian May.
Singer
Axl Rose said of Mercury's songwriting, "If I didn’t have Freddie Mercury’s lyrics to hold on to as a kid, I don’t know where I would be. It taught me about all forms of music. It would open my mind. I never really had a bigger teacher in my whole life."
Nevertheless, Queen albums were generally not popular with rock music critics (See Criticism and Controversy section below).
Live Performer
Freddie Mercury with a Brazilian flag during the
Rock in Rio concert in 1985
Mercury is noted for his live performances, which were often delivered to stadium audiences around the world. He displayed a highly theatrical style that often invoked a great deal of participation from the crowd. One of Mercury's most notable performances with Queen took place at
Live Aid in 1985, during which the entire stadium audience of 72,000 people clapped, sang, and swayed in unison. Queen's performance at the event has since been voted by a group of music executives as the greatest live performance in the history of rock music. The results were aired on a television program called "The World's Greatest gigs".
[21][22] In reviewing Live Aid in 2005, one critic wrote, "Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top spots to
Mick Jagger,
Robert Plant et al. are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, as evidenced by his Dionysian Live Aid performance, was easily the most godlike of them all."
[23]
Over the course of his career, Mercury performed an estimated 700 concerts in countries around the world with Queen. The band was the first ever to play South American stadiums, breaking worldwide records for concert attendance in the
Morumbi Stadium in
Sao Paulo in 1981.
[24] In 1986, Queen was also the first to play behind the
Iron Curtain, when it performed to a crowd of 80,000 in
Budapest.
[25] Mercury's final live performance with Queen took place on August 9th, 1986 at
Knebworth Park in England and drew an estimated attendance of 150,000. Rock star
David Bowie, who performed at the
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recorded the song "
Under Pressure" with Queen said of Mercury, "Of all the more theatrical rock performers, Freddie took it further than the rest." ... "He took it over the edge. And of course, I always admired a man who wears tights. I only saw him in concert once, and as they say, he was definitely a man who could hold an audience in the palm of his hand. He could always turn a cliché to his advantage."
[26]
Instrumentalist
Freddie Mercury playing guitar during a live concert of
Queen in
Frankfurt in 1984
Mercury played the piano in many of Queen's most popular songs. He used concert grand pianos and, in the studio, various keyboard instruments such as organs, harpsichords and an upright piano. From 1979 onwards also he made extensive use of synthesizers in the studio. Although he was not a virtuoso pianist, his contributions were generally very original, with a particular emphasis upon
rhythm. Notable examples include "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Good Old Fashion Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", and "Don't Stop Me Now". However, according to bandmate Brian May, Mercury was not pleased with his abilities at the piano and used the instrument less over time.
[ 2006. Matthew Longfellow, Director. Release Date: March 21, 2006. Classic Albums: Queen- The Making of "A Night at the Opera" Internet Movie DataBase Link ] Although he wrote many guitar lines, Mercury possessed only rudimentary skills on the instrument.
Influences
As a child, Mercury listened to a considerable amount of Indian music, and one of his early influences was the
Bollywood playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, whom he had the opportunity to see live in India.
[27] According to
Record Collector magazine, after moving to England, Mercury became a fan of
Jimi Hendrix,
John Lennon and
The Beatles.
[28] Mercury said of Hendrix: “Jimi Hendrix is very important. He’s my idol. He sort of epitomizes, from his presentation on stage, the whole works of a rock star. There’s no way you can compare him. You either have the magic or you don’t. There’s no way you can work up to it. There’s nobody who can take his place."
[29] Another one of Mercury’s favourite performers was singer and actress
Liza Minnelli. In a 1975 interview, he said of Minnelli: “Liza, in terms of sheer talent, just oozes with it. She has sheer energy and stamina, which she gets across the stage, and the way she delivers herself to the public is a good influence. There is a lot to learn from her.â€
[29] Finally, Mercury was an
Elvis Presley fan as well. He reportedly wrote the song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" as a tribute to Presley and performed songs such as
Jailhouse Rock at live concerts.
Solo career
In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury produced two solo albums, ''
Mr. Bad Guy'' and ''
Barcelona'', released in 1985 and 1988, respectively. The former was a pop-oriented album that emphasized disco and dance music. "Barcelona" was recorded with the opera singer
Montserrat Caballé, whom Mercury had long admired.
Mercury's first solo effort involved the contribution of a song called
Love Kills to a 1984 album dedicated to the 1926
Fritz Lang film
Metropolis. The song, which was produced by
Giorgio Moroder, debuted at the #10 position in the UK charts.
[31]
Although it debuted in the top ten of the
UK Album Charts,
[32]''Mr. Bad Guy'' was not considered to have been a commercial success relative to most Queen albums. However, in 1993, a remix of "
Living on My Own", a single from the album, reached the #1 position on the
UK Singles Charts.
[33] The song also garnered Mercury a posthumous
Ivor Novello Award.
All Music critic Ed Rivadavia describes ''Mr. Bad Guy'' as "outstanding from start to finish" and expressed his view that Mercury "did a commendable job of stretching into uncharted territory."
[34] In particular, the album was heavily synthesizer-driven in a way that was uncharacteristic of previous Queen albums, save 1982's ''
Hot Space'' and portions of 1984's ''
The Works''.
''Barcelona'', recorded with
Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, combined elements of popular music and opera. Many critics were uncertain of what to make of the album, and one critic referred to it as "the most bizarre CD of the year."
[35] Caballé, on the other hand, considered the album to have been one of the great successes of her career. The title song from the album debuted at the #8 position in the UK charts and was a hit in Spain.
[36]
In addition to the two solo albums, Mercury released several additional singles, including his own version of the hit
The Great Pretender by
The Platters, which debuted at the #5 spot in the UK in 1987.
[37] In September of 2006, a compilation album featuring Mercury’s solo work was released in the UK in honour of what would have been his sixtieth birthday. The album debuted in the top 10 of the
UK Album Charts.
Over the years, rare Freddie Mercury solo albums have greatly increased in value. For instance, a Japanese single of the song “Guide Me Home†from the ''Barcelona'' album is now worth as much as £1,000 ($2,000).
[34] Another valuable item is a
1973 cover of the
1969 Beach Boys song, "
I Can Hear Music" recorded under the
stage name Larry Lurex. Widely
bootlegged, the original record is now a valuable collectible.
Personal life
In the early 1970s Mercury had a long-term relationship with a girlfriend named Mary Austin, with whom he lived for many years. However, by the mid-1970s, the singer began an affair with a male record executive at
Elektra Records, which ultimately resulted in the end of his relationship with Austin.
[39] However, the two remained close friends through the years, and Mercury often referred to Austin as his only true friend. In a 1985 interview, Mercury said of Austin, "All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary (Austin), but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary, and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me. I couldn't fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary."
[40] Mercury also wrote several songs about Austin, the most notable of which is "
Love of My Life."
[ ]
By 1980, he began to frequent
gay bathhouses and clubs in
New York, where he met many short-term partners.
[41] Insprired by
Glenn Hughes of the
Village People, Mercury also began to grow a
moustache at around this time.
[41] By 1985 he began another long-term relationship with a hairdresser named Jim Hutton. Hutton lived with Mercury for the last six years of his life, cared for him when he was ill, and was at his bedside when he died. According to Hutton, Mercury referred to him as his husband, and died wearing a wedding band that Hutton had given him.
[43] Hutton later wrote a book about his relationship with Mercury called ''Mercury and Me''.
Mercury possessed a notable
overbite of his teeth that he had wanted to fix for many years. Early in his career, he commented that he wished to have work done, but regretted that he did not have time to do it.
According to the January 2004 edition of ''
Cat Fancy'', Mercury possessed a great fondness for cats, at one point owning as many as ten. The album ''
Mr. Bad Guy'' and the song "
Delilah" were dedicated to cats, and Mercury wore clothes featuring cats in videos (such as the video clip for "
These Are the Days of Our Lives") and dedicated his album "
Mr. Bad Guy" to his cats.
[44]
Death
According to Hutton in his book "Mercury and Me", Mercury was diagnosed with
HIV in the spring of 1987.
That same year, Mercury also claimed to have tested negative for the virus in a published interview. Despite the denials, British press pursued the rampant rumours over the next few years, fueled by Mercury's physical appearance, Queen's lack of touring and by reports from former lovers to various tabloid journals
[45]. Towards the end of his life, Mercury was routinely stalked by photographers, while the daily tabloid newspaper
The Sun featured a series of articles claiming that Mercury was seriously ill. His gaunt appearance in his last video, "
These Are the Days of Our Lives", further confirmed these suspicions.
Mercury continued to record music in the studio until the month before he died in November of 1991. During the final year of his life, Queen was at the height of its commercial success, as the album
Innuendo entered the British charts at the number one position and sold 250,000 copies in the first week alone.
[46]
On
November 22,
1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to discuss a public statement. The next day,
November 23, the following announcement was made to the press on behalf of Mercury:
A little over 24 hours after issuing the statement, Mercury died on
November 24 1991 at the age of 45, the same day as
Kiss drummer
Eric Carr. The official cause of death was
bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.
Although he had not attended religious services in years, Mercury's funeral was conducted by a
Zoroastrian priest. Singer
Elton John and the remaining members of Queen attended the funeral. He was
cremated at
Kensal Green Cemetery and the whereabouts of his ashes now are unknown. In his will, Mercury left half of his wealth to Austin, and the other half to his parents and sister. He further left £500,000 to his chef, £500,000 to his personal assistant, £100,000 to his driver, and £500,000 to his partner, Jim Hutton. Mary Austin inherited his estate, where she now lives with her family.
[47]
Criticism and controversy
Regarding sexual orientation and HIV status
Critics have noted that Mercury never formally acknowledged his sexuality to the public. Others criticized his reluctance to admit his HIV status, saying that this gave the message to many fans that AIDS was a shameful disease. It was further suggested that Mercury could have raised a great deal of money by speaking truthfully and honestly about his situation and his fight against AIDS.
[48][49] On the other hand, much awareness was also made possible as a result of the
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, which was broadcast around the world. Shortly after his death, pop star
Phil Collins said about Mercury,"I have the greatest admiration and a lot of affection for him. But if you go around living a pretty much promiscuous life, as he did, you always run the risk of AIDS."
[50]
Regarding ethnicity
Mercury has been criticized for having kept his Indian ethnicity a secret from the public. Bandmate Roger Taylor suggested that Mercury downplayed his heritage simply because the singer did not feel that it would fit well with his public persona.
[51] A more critical journalist from
Times Online wrote, "Curiously, people are horrified that
Michael Jackson should be in such denial of his ethnic origins and yet don’t mind Mercury doing the same thing."
[52]
Controversies
Mercury and Queen were widely criticized in the 1980s for the fact that they broke a
United Nations cultural boycott by performing a series of shows at
Sun City, an entertainment complex in apartheid South Africa. As a result of these shows, Queen were placed on a United Nations list of blacklisted artists and was widely criticized in magazines such as the
NME.
[ ] Members of the band defended themselves in various interviews, saying the shows were all held in front of integrated crowds.
Controversy arose in 1999 when a
Royal Mail stamp was issued in honour of Mercury as part of the
Millennium Stamp series.
[53] One journalist expressed the opinion that Mercury had lived a "degenerate lifestyle," making him an unsuitable subject for a stamp.
[54] The stamp caused further controversy because Queen
drummer Roger Taylor could be seen in the background. At that time, members of the British Royal family were the only living people who usually appeared on stamps in the UK, although this policy has since changed.
A further controversy ensued in August 2006, when an organization calling itself the Islamic Mobilization and Propagation petitioned the Zanzibar government's culture ministry, demanding that a large-scale celebration of what would have been Mercury's sixtieth birthday be cancelled. The organization issued several complaints about the planned celebrations, including that Mercury was not a true Zanzibari and that he had lived a homosexual lifestyle not in accordance with the laws of Islam, the dominant religion of the island. The organization claimed that "associating Mercury with Zanzibar degrades our island as a place of Islam."
[55] The planned celebration was cancelled.
Legacy
Appearances in lists of influential individuals
Several popularity polls conducted over the past decade indicate that Mercury's reputation may in fact have been enhanced since his death. For instance, in 2002 he appeared in the 58th spot in a list of the "
100 Greatest Britons", sponsored by the
BBC and voted for by the public.
[56] He was further listed at the 52nd spot in a 2007
Japanese national survey of the 100 most "influential heroes."
[57] Other Western entertainers on the Japanese list included
Audrey Hepburn,
John Lennon and
Elvis Presley. Despite the fact that he had been criticized by gay activitists for hiding his HIV status, author
Paul Russell included Mercury in his book "The Gay 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Gay Men and Lesbians, Past and Present."
[58] Other entertainers on Russell's list included
Liberace and
Rock Hudson. In 2006,
Time Asia magazine named Mercury as one of the most influential
Asians heroes of the past 60 years.
[5] The article credited Mercury with having "duplicated in popular music what other Indians—such as
Salman Rushdie and
Vikram Seth—have done in literature: taking the colonizer's art form and representing it in a manner richer and more dazzling than many Anglophones thought possible."
Popularity
In the UK, Queen have now spent more collective weeks on the
UK Album Charts than any other musical act (including the Beatles),
[We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", have each been voted as the greatest song of all time in major polls by Sony Ericsson and Guinness World Records, respectively.[62][63] The former poll was an attempt to determine the world's favourite song, while the Guinness poll took place in the UK. ]
The extent to which Mercury's death may have enhanced Queen's popularity is not clear. In the United States, where Queen's popularity had lagged in the 1980s, sales of Queen albums went up dramatically in 1992, the year following Mercury's death. [64] In 1992 one American critic noted, "what cynics call the 'dead star' factor had come into play—Queen is in the middle of a major resurgence." [65] At the same time, the movie Wayne's World, which featured "Bohemian Rhapsody," also came out that year.
Tributes
The statue of Freddie Mercury in
Montreux
A statue in Montreux, Switzerland (by sculptor Irena Sedlecka) has been erected as a tribute to Mercury. Beginning in 2003, fans from around the world gather in Switzerland on a yearly basis to pay tribute to the singer as part of the "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day" on September 1st and 2nd. [66] A Royal Mail stamp was also issued in honour of Mercury as part of the Millennium Stamp series. A plaque was also erected at the site of the family home in Feltham where Mercury and his family moved upon arriving in England in 1964. [67]
Importance in AIDS history
Freddie Mercury's death represented an important event in the history of AIDS. [68]
In the spring of 1992, the remaining members of Queen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust and organized ''The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness''.[69] The concert, which took place at Wembley Stadium for an audience of 72,000, featured wide variety of guests including Robert Plant, Extreme, Elton John, Metallica, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Tony Iommi, Guns N' Roses, Elizabeth Taylor, George Michael, Def Leppard and Liza Minnelli. The concert was broadcast live to 76 countries and had an estimated viewing audience of 1 billion. [70]
Discography
Main articles: Freddie Mercury discography
Instruments used by Mercury
Keyboards
'Grand pianos:'
★ Baldwin SD10 Concert Grand
★ Bechstein D Concert Grand
★ Bechstein S Baby Grand
★ Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand
★ Kawai RX7 Concert Grand
★ Steinway D Concert Grand
★ Steinway S Baby Grand
★ White Baby Grand (unknown brand)
★ Yamaha C1 Baby Grand
★ Yamaha C7 Concert Grand
★ Yamaha CFIIIS Concert Grand
'Upright pianos:'
★ Chappell
★ Upright (unknown brand)
'Electronic pianos:'
★ Roland RD1000
★ Wurlitzer EP200
★ Yamaha CP80
'Synthesizers and samplers:'
★ E-mu Emulator II+
★ Fairlight CMIIIS
★ Korg M1
★ Kurzweil K250
★ Oberheim OB8
★ Oberheim OBX
★ Oberheim OBXA
★ Roland Jupiter 8
★ Yamaha DX7
'Other keyboard:'
★ Hammond organ
★ Harpsichord (unknown brand)
Other
'Guitars:'
★ Ovation 12-string
★ White Fender Telecaster
Further reading
★
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References
★
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Footnotes
1. Cota, Erich Adolfo Moncada. Queen Proves There's Life After Freddie. Ohmynews. An article estimating 300 million albums worldwide
2. BBC News. July 4, 2005. Queen top UK album charts league. Queen #1 of all time on UK Album Charts
3. Haines, Lester. September 29, 2005. "We Are the Champions" voted world's fave song,
www.theregister.co.uk "We Are the Champions" Voted as the World's Favorite Song
4. May 9, 2002. Queen in Rhapsody over hit award. www.cnn.com.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" voted as the greatest song of all time in the UK.
5. Fitzpatrick, Liam. 2006. Time Asia. 60 Years of Asian Heroes. Farrokh Bulsara.
Time Asia Article
6. "Certificate of Birth". Retrieved from mr-mercury.co.uk
7. Das, Lina. November 26, 2000. The Great Pretender. The Mail On Sunday. Interview with Mercury's Sister
8. Waldemar, Januszczak. November 17, 1996. Star of India. Sunday Times Interview with Family
9. http://www.freddie.ru/e/bio/
10. Prato, Greg. Freddie Mercury. Publisher: All Music. Prato refers to Mercury as one of the greatest singers "in all of music"
11. Mercury was listed second to Mariah Carey in ''MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music'', aired March 2003 by MTV, compiled by MTV and Blender magazine
12.
April 18,2001. Sinatra is voice of the century. BBC News.Mercury is #10 in poll including all genres of music
13. D'Esti Miller, Sarah. July 19, 2007. EPAC's 'Rhapsody' Hits Too Many Wrong Notes. Press & Sun Bulletin. Article discussing vocal range
14. Mehar, Rakesh. September 18, 2006. God Should've Saved the Queen. The Hindu. Article mentioning vocal range
15. f-mercury.com.ar/eng_characteristics.htm Thorough documentation of recorded vocal range by a Fan
16. Bret, David. 1996. Chapter 2: Pagan Features...Godline Creatures. Living On the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story. p.26.
17. Rush, Don. December 5, 1977. Queen's Freddie Mercury. Circus1977 Interview with Mercury
18. 2006 Documentary. Matthew Cain, director. Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic. BFI Credits for "Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic" viewing of documentary available on youtube, Roger Taylor 9:00
19. 1992. Queen: Greatest Hits: Off the Record. Music transcribed by Barnes Music Engraving Limited. International Music Publications Ltd.Note: Here is a non-published transcription
20. May 2, 1981. The Man Who Would Be Queen. Melody Maker.1981 Interview with Mercury
21. 2005 Television Program. Ryan Minchin, director. The World's Greatest Gigs. Initial Film & Television.BFI credits for "The World's Greatest Gigs viewing of "The World's Greatest Gigs" available on youtube
22. November 9, 2005. Queen win greatest live gig pol;. BBC News. BBC Article on "The World's Greatest Gigs" Poll
23. Harris, John. January 14, 2005. The Guardian. The Sins of St. Freddie
24. Bret, David. 1996. Chapter 5: Just an Alley Creeper. Living On the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story.
25. August 9, 1986. Hungarian Rhapsody. NME. NME Coverage of Budapest Concert
26. Ressner, Jeffry. January 9, 1992. Queen singer is rock's first major AIDS casualty. Rolling Stone v. 621, p.16 Quotation from Bowie in "Rolling Stone"
27. Bret, David. 1996. Chapter 1: Looking to Find My Goal. Living of the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story. Robinson books. p.7
28. Davis, Andy. March 1996. Queen Before Queen. Record Collector. Issue 199 Record Collector Article
29. Cohen, Scott. April 1975. Queen’s Freddie Mercury Shopping for an Image in London.1975 Interview with Mercury
30. Cohen, Scott. April 1975. Queen’s Freddie Mercury Shopping for an Image in London.1975 Interview with Mercury
31. Rees, Dafydd, and Crampton, Luke, 1999. The Rock Stars Encyclopedia. David Summers, editor. DK Publishing, Inc. p. 809.
32. Rees, Dafydd, and Crampton, Luke, 1999. The Rock Stars Encyclopedia. David Summers, editor. DK Publishing, Inc. p. 809.
33. Rees, Dafydd, and Crampton, Luke, 1999. The Rock Stars Encyclopedia. David Summers, editor. DK Publishing, Inc. p. 811.
34.
35. Bradley, J. July 20, 1992. Mercury soars in opera CD: Bizarre album may be cult classic. The Denver Post.
36. Rees, Dafydd, and Crampton, Luke, 1999. The Rock Stars Encyclopedia. David Summers, editor. DK Publishing, Inc. p. 810.
37.
38.
39. 2004 Documentary. Freddie's Love's: Part 2. Kate Teckman, Director. North One Television BFI Film & TV Database viewing available on youtube
40. Hauptfuhrer, Fred. December 5, 1977. For A Song: The Mercury that's rising in rock is Freddie the satiny seductor of Queen. People.1977 Profile of Mercury
41. 2004 Documentary. Freddie's Loves: Part 3. Kate Teckman, Director. North One Television. BFI Film & TV Database youtube viewing of documentary
42. 2004 Documentary. Freddie's Loves: Part 3. Kate Teckman, Director. North One Television. BFI Film & TV Database youtube viewing of documentary
43. Hutton & Waspshott, 1994. Mercury and Me.
44. January 2004. Freddie & His Best Friends. Cat Fancy
45. Bret, David. 1996. Chapter 8: And Shake the Foundations from the Skies! Living On the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story. p. 138.
46. Bret, David. 1996. Chapter 10: Where is My Star in Heaven's Bough? Living On the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story. Robinson Books. p.172.
47. Wigg, David. January 1, 2000. The Shy woman Who Was Left the Mercury Millions. The Daily Mail. Interview with girlfriend Mary Austin
48. Ressner, Jeffrey. January 1992. Queen Singer is Rock's First Major AIDS Casualty. Rolling Stone. Criticism in "Rolling Stone" article
49. Sky, Rick. 1992. The Show Must Go On. p. 163.Transcribed portions from "The Show Must Go On"
50. Kelley, Donna. 1991. CNN Morning News. Video Clip of CNN Morning News at 3:15
51. A similar sentiment was expressed by another one of Freddie's close friends, who related to biographer David Brett: "Faroukh Bulsara was a name he had buried. He never wanted to talk about any period in his life before he became Freddie Mercury, and everything about Freddie Mercury was a self-constructed thing." [ Bret, David. 1996. Chapter 1: Looking to Find My Goal. Living on the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story. Robinson Books. p.20. ]
52. Landesman, Cosmo. September 10, 2006. Freddie, a Very Private Rock Star. The Sunday Times.Journalist discusses ethnicity
53. www.queenonline.com/fm-stamp.html A series of articles of stamp issue
54. June 3, 1999.
Freddie Mercury Stamp Creates Controversy In The U.K. www.mtv.com.MTV Article on Stamp
55. September 1, 2006. Zanzibar angry over Mercury bash. BBC News. BBC Article Discusses Controversy in Zanzibar
56. August 22, 2002. BBC reveals 100 great British heroes. BBC News.
The 100 Greatest Britons
57. www.japanprobe.com. Results of Japanese "Hero" Poll
58. Russell, Paul. 2002. The Gay 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Gay Men and Lesbians, Past and Present, Kensington Publishing Corporation/Citadel Press. The Gay 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Gay Men and Lesbians, Past and Present
59. Fitzpatrick, Liam. 2006. Time Asia. 60 Years of Asian Heroes. Farrokh Bulsara.
Time Asia Article
60. Brown, Mark. November 16,2006. Queen are the champions in all-time album sales chart. The Guardian.
"Queen's Greatest Hits" is the #1 Album of all time in the UK
61. Cota, Erich Adolfo Moncada. Queen Proves There's Life After Freddie. Ohmynews. An article estimating 300 million albums worldwide
62. Haines, Lester. September 29, 2005. "We Are the Champions" voted world's fave song.
www.theregister.co.uk "We Are the Champions" Voted #1
63. May 9, 2002. Queen in Rhapsody over hit award. www.cnn.com.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" voted as the greatest song from the past 25 years.
64. www.riaa.com.Recording Industry Association of America: Searchable Database
65. Brown, G. April 19th, 1992. Queen's popularity takes ironic turn. The Denver Post. Section D.
66. August 8. 2004. Freddie's rhapsody. www.telegraph.co.uk. www.telegraph.co.uk discusses tribute day
67. April 9, 2005. Legend Freddie Mercury to be Honoured. www.femalefirst.co.uk Article Discussing Plaque
68. www.worldaidsday.org. World AIDS Day 2006. World AIDS Day Timeline features Mercury's death as important 1991 event
69. April 26, 1992. Freddie Tribute. The Times.
Review of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, The Times
70. August 20, 2007. Freddie Mercury: The Tribute Concert. www.abc.net.au.ABC Article Discusses Tribute Concert
External links
★
★
★
★
★ Freddie Mercury interviews: Queen Archives
★ Freddie Mercury concertography: Queen Concerts
★ Freddie Mercury Complete Song List: Queenpedia
★ Lyrics of Freddie Mercury and Queen
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