Bob Harris may refer to:

;In sport:

Bob Harris (baseball) (born 1915), American baseball player

Robert Harris (footballer) (born 1987), Scottish footballer

;In TV and radio:

Bob Harris (radio) (born 1946), "Whispering" Bob Harris, British radio and TV presenter

Bob Harris (sportscaster) (born 1942), American sports broadcaster

Bob Harris (writer) (born 1963), American political commentator and writer

;In fiction:

Bob Harris, character in the 2003 film ''Lost in Translation'', played by Bill Murray

See also

Robert Harris (disambiguation)

name	Danny Baker
birth date	June 22, 1957
birth place	Deptford, London, England
occupation	Radio DJ, Presenter, Journalist
website	}}

Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957, Deptford, South London) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including ''NME'', LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio.

Early life

Baker was born in Deptford in south east London to a bumptious dock-working, union-leading father and factory-working mother and grew up in Bermondsey. He left school in 1972 at the age of 14 and initially worked in One Stop Records, a small but fashionable record shop in South Molton Street in London's West End.

Career

Print journalism

In 1976, with fellow Deptfordian Mark Perry, Baker founded the proto-punk fanzine ''Sniffin' Glue'', and this led to an offer from the ''New Musical Express'', home to the likes of Julie Burchill, Tony Parsons, Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent. Baker initially began working as the office receptionist, but was soon contributing regular articles and reviews before progressing to interviews. He often refers to these times during his radio shows, regularly citing examples of the ridiculous behaviour exhibited by his rock star interviewees.

In the later 1990s, Baker wrote a weekly sports column for ''The Times'' and was briefly a columnist for early issues of movie magazine ''Empire''.

Television

Reporting for LWT (1980s)

By 1980, Baker was making documentaries for producer Janet Street Porter at LWT for the popular culture series ''20th Century Box''. The show consisted of a series of 30 minute documentaries on elements of youth culture. An edition documenting the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene included an early TV appearance of Iron Maiden performing at The Marquee Club and interviews with "air guitarists".

Baker's first mainstream break was as roving reporter-presenter on the Michael Aspel's LWT regional magazine ''The Six O'Clock Show'' alongside former ''Mastermind'' winner and former London black cab driver Fred Housego. Paul Ross (brother of Jonathan Ross whom Baker had as his best man) was his researcher. During his stint on ''The Six O'Clock Show'', Baker was filmed having an altercation with a railway platform guard in which Baker can be heard remonstrating "Don't you know who I am?". This clip is often resurrected for clip shows.

Writing and presenting (Early – Late 1990s)

In 1990, Danny presented The Game for LWT, a show which charted the ups and downs of a Sunday League in East London. Presented with a blend of passion and wit, the show went on to become a cult classic.

Baker began writing for television programmes in 1992 after being asked to prepare a piece for one of the first clip shows: ''TV Hell'', which was a collection the worst TV programmes ever. Since then he has presented television shows such as ''Win, Lose, or Draw'', ''Pets Win Prizes'' and ''TV Heroes'', which was a series of 10-minute homages to some of Baker's entertainment idols including Fanny Cradock, Peter Glaze (from Crackerjack) and the Top of the Pops audience. In one episode of ''TV Heroes'', a clip was shown of Baker leaping around to a performance of "Ooh What A Life" by the Gibson Brothers in 1979, which was captioned as "Danny Baker's first TV appearance". Baker later described himself as 'looking like he was trying to put out a small fire'.

Baker also began a BBC Saturday night chat show, called ''Danny Baker After All'' which borrowed its style from ''Late Night with David Letterman'', but his style and guests (Rick Wakeman of prog rock band Yes was a regular) did not attract the mainstream audience the slot demanded. Film critic Mark Kermode's band The Railtown Bottlers was the show's house band.

Later appearances fronting television adverts for Daz washing powder and Mars bar chocolate led to a feeling of over-exposure and even sell-out from some quarters. Adult satire comic ''Viz'' featured a critical cartoon, "''Cockney Wanker''", with Baker and actor Mike Reid as likely sources for the character. Baker parodied his Daz ads by appearing as himself on the sitcom ''Me, You and Him'', however he has defended the allegations about over-exposure by explaining that he wanted to set up a stable financial future for his family.

During this period, Baker began presenting on BBC Radio's 6-0-6 as well as the job of presenting ''Match of the Eighties'', a six-part BBC series of football between 1980/81 and 1985/86.

Baker was also a writer on Chris Evans' show ''TFI Friday'', as well as writing for presenters such as Angus Deayton and Jonathan Ross.

Guest appearances (Late 1990s – 2000s)

During the late 1990s he made guest appearances on comedy shows including ''Have I Got News For You'', ''Shooting Stars'' and ''Room 101''. During this period he appeared in the press as a result of nights out with friends Chris Evans and England footballer Paul Gascoigne. Gascoigne was under media scrutiny for drinking and socialising while preparing for tournaments. After Gascoigne was left out of the 1998 World Cup squad, Baker went on ''Have I Got News For You'' to defend his friend and criticise the omission.

He also appeared on ''The Terry and Gaby Show'' from 2003 to 2004 (where he burnt his hand trying to perform a trick with a microwave and a piece of soap) and has appeared on BBC Two quiz show ''QI'', becoming the show's first ever winner.

Baker worked again with Charles Shaar Murray on the Ramones documentary ''End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones'', providing an audio commentary.

In 2005, Baker appeared in the video to "Is This the Way to Amarillo?", a number 1 single for Peter Kay and Tony Christie, which also featured other British personalities such as Keith Harris, Geoffrey Hayes, Shakin' Stevens and Jimmy Savile.

Baker's most recent TV project was ''The Sitcom Showdown'' which began on UKTV Gold in late April 2006. Baker appeared on ''Comic Relief Does The Apprentice'' in 2007 for Comic Relief. He also starred in ''The Rocky Horror Show'', as the narrator, at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley and the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Radio career

BBC GLR/5 Live/Radio 1 (1989–1997)

Baker began his radio career on BBC GLR in 1989, presenting ''Weekend Breakfast'' from 6-9am on Saturdays and Sundays. The show was produced by Chris Evans, who became a good friend to Baker. With GLR eventually opting for a more orthodox breakfast show at weekends, Baker moved to the 10am to 1pm slot on Sundays.

In 1990, Baker joined the newly launched BBC Radio 5, presenting ''Sportscall'', a phone-in sports quiz broadcast every Saturday lunchtime.

From October 1991 to October 1992 he presented ''6-0-6'' and, from February 1992 until October 1993, he presented ''Morning Edition'' from 6.30-9am every weekday morning. The show blended Baker's love of unusual trivia with 'grown-up' music. This was where Baker first teamed up with Danny Kelly and Allis Moss. Mark Kermode added weekly film reviews, and would later appear with his band 'The Railtown Bottlers' every week on the first series of Baker's TV show.

Baker's loud-mouthed, iconoclastic anchoring of ''6-0-6'' polarised opinion. He was often fearless in his attacks on football authority, particularly the 'blazers' at the Football Association. His influence on the station remains, such as in BBC 5 Live's present day preparedness to court unpopularity within the game through its robust criticism of players, managers and referees.

Baker joined BBC Radio 1 in October 1993, taking over the weekend mid-morning show from 10am-1pm from Dave Lee Travis who had resigned on air following the sackings instigated by Matthew Bannister and Trevor Dann during the early 1990s. However, due to poor ratings, from November 1994 he was heard on Saturdays only from 10am-12midday. Simon Mayo took over Sunday mornings.

Baker's style led to a fall in listeners at Radio 1 but despite his tendering his resignation on at least two occasions, management added extensions to his contract. From October 1995, his Saturday show went out from 12.30-2.30pm. He left the station in September 1996. His co-hosts during this period included BBC continuity announcer Allis Moss, Dr.H, Laurie Sore, Andy Darling and Danny Kelly.

While continuing with his Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 1, in 1996 Baker joined BBC Radio Five Live to present a Sunday lunchtime show with Danny Kelly, ''Baker & Kelly Upfront''.

On leaving BBC Radio 1, Baker returned to BBC GLR to present a three-hour Sunday show from 10am-1pm. 'Baker and Kelly Upfront' also returned, now at Saturday lunchtime, while Baker also took on a new show, 'The Baker Line', a Wednesday evening version of the 606 phone in show.

While 'Baker and Kelly Upfront' was light-hearted, 'The Baker Line' was darker and emotionally charged. Baker was at his most outspoken, and in early 1997, he was sacked from Five Live when station bosses alleged that he had incited threatening behaviour during an angry outburst about a referee.

Talk Radio/Virgin Radio (1998–2000)

Baker joined Talk Radio to present a similar football phone-in with Kelly each Saturday from 5.30-7.30pm. A pre-match show was added from 11.30am to 1pm. After moving to the Saturday breakfast slot (8am to 12 noon), he engineered his own dismissal after a matter of weeks by refusing to centre the show on football, preferring to intersperse chat with his own music selections.

After leaving Talk Radio, he joined Virgin Radio in early 1999, taking over from Jonathan Ross on Sundays from 10am-1pm.

Not long after, Baker was approached by the BBC and was asked whether he wanted to present a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2. Baker turned down the offer by saying ''the time wasn't right'', and the show was given to Jonathan Ross. Baker also deputised on Virgin's Saturday lunchtime football show from 12-2pm for a handful of shows, alongside Danny Kelly until he left the station in 2000.

BBC London 94.9 (2001–2002 and 2005–Present)

In September 2001, Baker joined BBC London 94.9 presenting a Saturday morning show from 8-11am. Just 6 months later, in March 2002, and with a new co-presenting team which included Amy Lamé, Mark O'Donnell and David Kuo, he took over the breakfast show from 6-9am, with a new theme tune in the form of the Anthony Newley song ''The Candy Man''.

Although not drawing a large listenership, Baker won "Sony Radio DJ of the year" for the show. However, the day after winning the award, he announced his intention to leave the show at the end of the month. The last show was on Friday 27 May 2005.

On Monday 17 October 2005, after a sabbatical at home, Baker rejoined BBC London 94.9 where he took over the weekday 3-5pm show from Jono Coleman, who had moved to co-present the breakfast show with former actress JoAnne Good.

His current (2005- ) BBC London 94.9 shows tend to feature off-the-wall phone-ins and discussions with his on-air team, Amy and Baylen Leonard, often regarding music and entertainment nostalgia of the 1960s and 1970s. His interviews focus on off-beat trivia rather than the guests' latest or most famous work. He takes pleasure in interspersing his shows with relatively obscure rock tracks from bands such as Yes, Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart.

All Day Breakfast Show/Podcasts (2007)

On 15 March 2007, Baker launched the ''All Day Breakfast Show'', a podcast to reach listeners beyond BBC London's FM radio reach. Regulars Amy Lamé, Baylen Leonard and David Kuo all contributed and the first show featured an appearance by comedian and actor Peter Kay.

The All Day Breakfast Show was recorded daily, Monday to Friday at 11am GMT, "in the past for listeners in the future" originally in Baker's own studio based from the kitchen of an Italian restaurant and known as La Cucina and later from the offices of Wippit media. Each show was available as a download and lasted between 40 and 60 minutes.

After nearly six months of free podcasts, the ''All Day Breakfast Show'' began charging £2 per week in early September 2007. However, after one week of paid shows, Baker put the ADBS on indefinite hold until "a few things get sorted out". Users had reported short shows and difficulty downloading episodes. After several weeks of silence and internet "twitch", the All Day Breakfast Show officially announced its return to the air on 19 October 2007. No announcement on the main website was given, but in a 5 minute mini-show downloadable initially only to paid subscribers who happened to check the download section of the website, Danny Baker and Baylen Leonard announced the return of the show. They confirmed that from "next week" they would be broadcasting three times a week. They also suggested (possibly only partially in jest) that due to BBC cuts announced the previous day, that they may be planning to end their official BBC London show and move to being an "Internet only" show.

This new scheduling model continued – apparently successfully - for the next eight weeks. However, on 15 December 2007, Baker himself posted a notice on the "All Day Breakfast Show" and "Baker and Kelly" websites announcing that both shows were cancelled with immediate effect. The notice said that this was a result of "an irreversible and utter breakdown between the on-air team and the company ''Wippit media'' who have ... provided it to you online."

The notice in full:

Dear All, It appals me to say it but there will be no more All Day Breakfast Shows nor Baker & Kelly's. There has now been an irreversible and utter breakdown between the on-air team and the company who have, with varying degrees of success, provided it to you online. I suppose I should have heeded the warning of many of you after the initial, half-assed sign up but, Jesus Christ, I wanted this to work. I have absolutely no idea where any subscription fees are, went or remain. All I know is that we all have created an enormous amount of strong, funny, unbeatable internet shows and in return received nothing. And I mean nothing. Not a brass penny in nine long months just some hefty studio bills along the way. Now it has come down to the old "Ah well if you read your contract you'll find..." and I feel like some dumb-cluck boy band. Truth is when you're fifty years old, a successful broadcaster for two thirds of your life, and you're standing, crushed, on the sweaty Northern Line every day going to work without even so much as getting your ticket reimbursed... well it kind of rankles you know? I don't know any of my peers or, indeed, any of our genuinely genius audience who would tolerate such a circumstance. It's a rotten shame but enough is enough. The shows were too good and I have too much respect for myself and the team to allow this farcical situation to continue a belly-laugh longer. When I think of the hours and hours of midnight oil that Sonny put in to the magnificent websites alone it frankly makes my blood boil. What a sucker. (Me that is, not you Son). Radio - in whatever form I can deliver it - is what I do for a living. The current situation is, professionally, killing us all. I can't thank you enough for any of the two-quids - wherever they currently are - that you were good enough to invest in the ADBS. I just hope what you heard made it worthwhile. That will be the only recompense I can take from this whole wretched episode. Regards and with great apologies to you all, DB.

Wippit responded on 17 December 2007 with the following, alluding to Baker's failure to quit his daily radio show as agreed:

Unfortunately the All Day Breakfast Show in COLOR has ceased to be due to a breakdown in contract negotiations between our company and Danny Baker. Mr. Baker did not wish to meet his agreed obligations regarding exclusivity and the new terms proposed by his agent were not acceptable to Wippit. Last week Wippit offered Mr. Baker 100% of ADBS in COLOR revenues and declared no further interest in the podcast, but this offer was rejected by Baker’s agent. With the exception of ADBS and Baker and Kelly none of the other seven podcasts produced by Wippit are affected.

On 8 September 2007 Baker and Kelly had resumed their partnership, releasing the first podcast of their football programme for the 2007–2008 season. A total of twelve such podcasts were produced, before their cancellation was announced on 15 December 2007 as a result of the dispute with Wippit.

Return to 6-0-6, Radio 2 and Saturday Show (2008–Present)

Having announced on his BBC London radio show on 21 May 2008 that he would be returning to present BBC 5 Live's 6-0-6 football phone-in for a limited period that summer, Baker hosted six shows during Euro 2008 beginning on Sunday 8 June (following Austria's game against Croatia) and culminating after the final on Sunday 29 June.

Baker went on to make a long-term return to 6-0-6 in September 2008, hosting a Tuesday night show for the duration of the 08/09 football season.

Baker's first Radio 2 show was announced by the BBC Press Office on 11 November 2008, with a statement revealing that he and Zoe Ball would co-present four Saturday morning shows from 22 November to 13 December 2008 in the slot usually occupied by Jonathan Ross, who had been suspended for three months by the BBC. The shows were generally well-received, and notably different in style to Ross's regular programme.

At the end of the 08/09 football season Baker's 6-0-6 Tuesday night show (nicknamed the 'Pirate Ship' – Baker oft donning a pirate's hat and wig for the benefit of the digital TV simulcast) that he co-hosted with Issy Clarke shifted to an expanded Saturday morning slot, debuting on 5 September 2009 on BBC 5 Live. The show returned in September 2010 after the summer break with Lynsey Hipgrave replacing Clarke as co-host. Hipgrave had been co-hosting during the World Cup as Clarke was working elsewhere during the tournament. Previously Hipgrave had been providing travel reports during the show and across other weekend morning shows on the station.

Other ventures

Football videos

Baker has presented a number of popular football videos and DVDs including ''Own Goals and Gaffs'' (1992), ''Right Hammerings'', ''Whose Season Was It Anyway?'' (both 1993), ''Own Goals and Gaffs 2'' (1994), ''Fabulous World Of Freak Football'' (1995) and ''The Glorious Return Of Own Goals And Gaffs'' (2009).

''The Game'' (1990), a cult classic television show presented by Baker, following bottom-division East London Sunday League football teams, was released on DVD through Revelation Films on May 24th, 2010.

Books

In 2009, he released a book co-written with Danny Kelly entitled ''Classic Football Debates Settled Once and for All, Vol. 1''. Despite the title, the book itself makes clear that a sequel is not planned, though some extra material was written for the paperback edition, released to coincide with the 2010 World Cup.

Led Zeppelin

Danny was made an official member of Led Zeppelin by Robert Plant at the Q Awards 1992. 25 minutes later, Danny resigned citing musical differences.

Personal life

His passions range as widely as punk music, the U.S., progressive rock, Steely Dan, Disney, The Marx Brothers and P. G. Wodehouse. He has a large collection of vinyl records and a collection of redundant laserdiscs that his family refer to as 'Baker's folly'. On 8 February 2008, two days after giving up drinking for Lent in support of Amy Lamé, Danny announced on air on his BBC London 94.9 show, that he was selling his record collection.

It has frequently been claimed that Baker inadvertently killed Bob Marley by treading on his foot at a charity football match. However, although Baker did break Marley's toe in a 1977 football match, and Marley's cancer began with foot melanoma, the match was played after the onset of his illness.

Baker is a life long supporter of his local football club, Millwall.

On meeting one of his heroes Mel Brooks he was delighted to find Brooks had used the name "Danny Baker" as character names in one of his early works as he felt it "was the most Gentile name I could think of".

Baker is married to Wendy (born 7 March 1955). They have three children: Bonnie, Sonny and Mancie. He lives in Blackheath, South East London.

On 1 November 2010 Baker announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would start chemotherapy instantly and radiotherapy in January. On 14 June 2011 he announced that he had been given the all clear.

Baker resumed broadcasting on BBC London on 18 April.

Notes

External links

The All Day Breakfast Show official web site.

Site with a wealth of Baker-related information and archives of his work

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:English radio personalities Category:English radio presenters Category:English television presenters Category:English music critics Category:English music journalists Category:British radio DJs Category:BBC sports presenters and reporters Category:BBC Radio 5 Live presenters

Category:The Times people Category:Virgin Radio (UK) Category:People with cancer Category:People from Deptford Category:English comedy writers

Robert Brinley Joseph "Bob" Harris, OBE (born 11 April 1946), known as "Whispering" Bob Harris, is British radio host who currently works for BBC Radio 2, presenting music two nights a week. His programmes feature a moderately eclectic blend of mostly American and British rock, country, and occasional folk music from the 1950s to the present.

Early career

Born in Northampton, England, Harris first followed in his father's footsteps and joined the police force as a cadet for two years. He then helped found ''Time Out'' magazine, as co-editor. Years later, he still refers to himself as "a journalist who can broadcast".

He began at BBC Radio 1 in 1970 where he hosted ''Sounds of the 70s'' until 1975. Sounds of the 70s was initially an hour long, broadcasting from 6 to 7pm on Monday evenings. The next year, it was expanded to two hours and moved to 10pm to midnight, still on Mondays. In January 1975, the show was axed due to BBC cutbacks.

Harris then went on to present shows for Radio Luxembourg in 1975–77. In 1977, he joined Radio 210, firstly presenting a Saturday afternoon sports show. He then presented many shows at the weekend, such as Friday nights from 9pm-from and Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-2pm and 9pm-1am. He left the station for a few months in 1978 due to ill health, but came back in 1979 to present a Friday evening Rock Show from 9pm-1am and Weekend afternoons from 12-4pm. He was also head of music and presentation.

He also presented ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' rock music show on BBC television from 1971 until 1978. His first appearance on the show was as chair of a debate on the Night Assemblies Bill, based on his experience as a journalist and at the invitation of producer Richard Williams. Shortly afterwards he was invited to be the main presenter. His velvety voice and quiet delivery earned him his enduring nickname. His hippie-style beard and laid-back presentation made him a favourite target for parody, most notably by Eric Idle on the 1970s BBC comedy show ''Rutland Weekend Television''.

1980s

1981 saw Harris move to BBC Radio Oxford, presenting the weekday afternoon show 3-5pm taking over from Timmy Mallett. Bob remained there until 1984. He then joined London's LBC Radio Station, presenting a weekly half hour music review & also joined GWR, where he did shows on Saturday lunchtimes and Sunday afternoons.

In 1985, Harris was heard on Norwich'sHereward Broadland]], presenting a Saturday evening show, and on a Sunday afternoon show on Hereward FM in Peterborough. At the same time he was still continuing with his half-hour music review on LBC and was recording shows for GWR.

In 1986, he was offered the Weekend Nightline phone-in on LBC every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 10pm-1am, which he hosted until 1989.

He was heard on BFBS from 1986 to 1998 and on the UK Commercial Radio sustaining service, The Superstation.

Return to Radio 1

Harris rejoined BBC Radio 1 in 1989, standing in for Richard Skinner for two weeks on the weekday 12–2am slot, before being offered his own weekly show on Sunday nights from 11pm to 2am later that year following the death of Roger Scott. Harris then took over the weekday 12–2am slot from April 1990, which then became 12–4am when Radio 1 started broadcasting 24 hours a day on 1 May 1991.

Harris was credited as the inspiration for ''The Fast Show'' character Louis Balfour whose catchphrase "nice!" delivered in close up to camera followed universally dreadful modern jazz acts. This closely mirrors Harris' trademark laconic enthusiasm on both ''Whistle Test'' and his radio shows.

Move to GLR

Harris left Radio 1 in October 1993 as he, along with many other Radio 1 DJs, was felt not to fit in with the changes being made by new controller Matthew Bannister. Lynn Parsons took over his 12–4am slot, but Harris continued to do the occasional documentary for the network for some time afterwards.

In the summer of 1994, Harris ended up at BBC GLR, presenting a three-hour Saturday night show from 10pm to 1am, then additionally on Monday to Wednesday evenings from 8pm to midnight. He later left the Saturday night show to concentrate on the Monday-to-Wednesday evening shows.

Return to national radio

In spring 1997, Harris returned to the national airwaves, this time on BBC Radio 2, where he took up a 11pm–1am Saturday night slot. He still continued to present on GLR, but at this stage he quit the Monday-to-Wednesday evening shows and presented a Saturday afternoon show from 2 to 6pm.

Harris eventually quit GLR in late 1998 as he took over another show for Radio 2, ''Bob Harris Country'', (previously David Allan's ''Country Club'') on Thursday evenings from 7 to 8pm, and his Saturday night show then went out from 10pm to 1am. From April 2006, his Saturday show moved to an 11pm-2am slot, and moved back another hour from 4 April 2010, meaning it will air early Sunday mornings from midnight-3.00am.

Current work

In addition to his Radio 2 programmes, in 2002 Harris became an original presenter on the newly-launched digital station BBC 6 Music, presenting a Sunday-evening show from 5 to 8pm. He left 6 Music in 2004 to present another show on Radio 2, which broadcast on Friday nights/Saturday mornings from midnight to 3am. He was replaced in this slot by Mark Lamarr, but returned to it temporarily, when Lamarr left the BBC at the end of 2010. The end of the Friday show has allowed Bob to concentrate more on producing one-off shows like the 'Maple Leaf Revolution' under the auspices of the Whispering Bob Broadcasting Company.

Harris was heard covering for Chris Evans on ''Drivetime'' BBC Radio 2 over the festive holiday 2007/2008 and 2008/2009.

Leave due to illness

During his broadcast on 4 August 2007, Harris announced he had prostate cancer and would be taking a break for a few months. He started broadcasting the ''Country'' programme again in November and the Saturday Programme on 1 December.

Awards

Honorary Fellowship from the School of The Arts, Northampton University

Sony Radio Academy Awards 2009 - Silver for 'The Sandy Denny Story:Who Knows Where The Time Goes'

Sony Radio Academy Awards 2008 - Silver for 'The Day John Met Paul'

CMA International Broadcaster of the Year 2004

Harris was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to music broadcasting.

Further reading

References

External links

The Whispering Bob Broadcasting Company

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:British journalists Category:British radio DJs Category:British radio personalities Category:British television presenters Category:Cancer survivors Category:People from Northampton Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Sony Radio Academy Award winners

name	Rick Wakeman
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Richard Christopher Wakeman
born	May 18, 1949Perivale, London, England
instrument	Keyboard, piano, synthesiser
genre	Rock, progressive rock, pop, electronica, jazz fusion, classical, Christian music
occupation	Musician, songwriter
years active	1969–present
label	A&M;, Charisma, President Records, Voiceprint, Griffin, EMI, Music Fusion, Hot Productions, Studio T
associated acts	Yes, Strawbs, ABWH, David Bowie, Warhorse, Black Sabbath, Cat Stevens
website	www.rwcc.com }}

Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known for his solo albums, contributing to the BBC comedy series ''Grumpy Old Men'' and for ''Rick's Place'', his former radio show on Planet Rock that aired until December 2010.

Wakeman was born in West London. He purchased his first electronic keyboard at 12 years of age. In 1968, he studied the piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music before leaving after a year in favour of session music work. He went on to feature on songs by artists including Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, T. Rex, Elton John and Cat Stevens. Wakeman joined the folk group Strawbs in 1969 and played on three of their albums. He first joined Yes in 1971 to replace Tony Kaye, and left the group in 1974 to work on his solo career. He returned in 1976 before leaving with lead vocalist Jon Anderson in 1980. Wakeman was part of the side project Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, a group of ex-Yes members formed in 1989, and the eight-member Yes line-up that followed until his third departure in 1992. He returned for two years in 1995 and once more in 2002, where he was part of the band's 35th anniversary tour until its end in 2004.

Wakeman began his solo career during his first run with Yes. His perhaps most known records being his first three, ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1973), ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' (1974) and ''The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'' (1975). He has produced over 100 solo albums that have sold more than 50 million copies. In November 2010, Wakeman was awarded the Spirit of Prog award at the annual Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.

Early life

Rick Wakeman was born on 18 May 1949 in the west London suburb of Northolt to Cyril Frank and Mildred Helen Wakeman. He attended Wood End Infants School in 1954, followed by Drayton Manor Grammar School in 1959. He started playing the piano at the age of 5 and purchased his first electronic keyboard at the age of 12. In 1968, Wakeman secured a place at the Royal College of Music, where he studied piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music. He left a year later in favour of session music work.

Music career

Session work and the Strawbs (1969–1971)

Wakeman became an active session musician. In June 1969, he played Mellotron on David Bowie's single "Space Oddity" for a session fee of £9. He went on to play piano for Bowie's "Life on Mars?", "Changes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things" in April 1971 and "Absolute Beginners" in 1985. He also played the piano on the Cat Stevens' hit "Morning Has Broken". In 1971 he acquired an early Minimoog synthesiser, purchasing it at half price from actor Jack Wild who believed that it was defective because it only played one note at a time.

Between 1970 and 1971, Wakeman was part of the folk rock group Strawbs. His first appearance on an album sleeve was on ''Dragonfly'', the group's second studio album released in February 1970. The band held a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 11 July 1970 where Wakeman performed a solo piano piece named "Temparament of Mind". He received a standing ovation for his performance, and the track appeared on the band's live record released that year, ''Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios''. Wakeman appeared on the front page of ''Melody Maker'' soon after, which called him "Tomorrow's Superstar", and composed the theme music to the television show ''Ask Aspel''. He remained in the Strawbs for a third album, ''From the Witchwood'', but left the group in mid-1971.

Joining Yes and start of solo career (1971–1975)

In 1971, Wakeman joined the progressive rock band Yes, replacing their organist Tony Kaye. His first concert with the group took place in Leicester on 30 September 1971. He worked on the group's fourth, fifth and sixth studio albums – ''Fragile'' (1971), ''Close to the Edge'' (1972), and ''Tales from Topographic Oceans'' (1973). Wakeman, however, felt ''Tales from Topographic Oceans'' was pretentious and – despite its ambition -insubstantial. He disliked performing the album on tour, feeling the length of the songs prevented the band from playing their more popular tracks. Following the tour, as the band began work on what would become ''Relayer'' (1974), Wakeman felt further alienated from the group. Disenchanted with the direction in which Yes was going, and already into a successful solo career, he left.

Wakeman produced his first three solo albums during his first run with Yes. On 23 January 1973, he released ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', an instrumental concept album based on his interpretations of the musical characteristics of the wives of Henry VIII, using keyboard instruments. The album was overall well received by critics. ''TIME'' magazine named the record one of the best pop albums of 1973. In October 1975, the album was certified Gold.

On 18 January 1974, Wakeman performed ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'', a forty-minute piece based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Combining rock with an orchestra and choir, the concert was recorded and released on 18 May, where it topped the UK album charts on entry for one week. The record became a multi-million dollar seller in six weeks. The album was certified Gold in September 1974.

In May 1975, Wakeman released ''The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'', with the album was performed live at the Empire Pool on ice. The show was well received but expensive to produce, consuming much of the income from sales of the album. The album was also a worldwide success, reaching No.21 in the United States while going Gold (the third time a Wakeman record had achieved this) in Brazil, Japan and Australia. The album has sold 12 million copies.

In 1975, Wakeman produced the first of two soundtracks for films by Ken Russell – ''Lisztomania'' and ''Crimes of Passion'' (1984).

Rejoining Yes (1976–1980)

Wakeman returned to Yes for their 1977 album ''Going for the One''. He remained until their next album, ''Tormato'', a year later. He is reputed to have given the album its name by throwing a tomato at a showing of the art used for the album's cover.

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and Yes (1989–1992)

In 1989, he joined with three fellow ex-Yes members to form Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe ("ABWH"). After ABWH's first album, some of the completed tracks for a planned second album were merged with tracks from an in-progress Yes album to create the album ''Union''. Wakeman, along with the combined members of both bands then joined to form a Yes supergroup (made up of past and present members of Yes) for the subsequent tour in 1991. When the tour ended a year later, Wakeman left again.

Fourth run with Yes (1995–1997)

He then returned in 1996 for the ''Keys to Ascension'' albums but left before the band could tour.

Fifth run with Yes and Hampton Court (2002–2009)

In 2002, he rejoined Yes and stayed with the band until their 2008 In The Present Tour. For the group's 40th anniversary tour, Wakeman was replaced by his son, Oliver Wakeman.

In 2008, Wakeman toured with a solo show named ''Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show'', featuring an evening of music and stories.

In May 2009, Wakeman performed ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' live at Hampton Court Palace for the first time, for two nights. The performance was recorded and released as ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII Live at Hampton Court Palace''.

Instruments

Although Wakeman is a noted player of the grand piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, Minimoog and many later models of synthesiser, he is well known as an exponent (for a time) of the Mellotron – an analogue electronic musical instrument that uses a bank of pre-recorded magnetic tape strips, each of which is activated by a separate key on its keyboard and lasts approximately 8 seconds. Wakeman featured playing this instrument, to varying degrees, on the David Bowie track "Space Oddity", the Yes albums ''Fragile'', ''Close to the Edge'' and ''Tales From Topographic Oceans'', as well as the solo albums ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' and ''White Rock''. It proved too unwieldy and unreliable for regular touring, and he eventually doused the last Mellotron that he owned in petrol and set fire to it in a field. Undeterred, he worked with David Biro to develop the Birotron, which used the then popular 8-track cassette format rather than tape strips. Because of the advent of digital keyboards at that time, and also because the cassette tape format could not reproduce the attack and decay of musical notes (which the tape strips of the Mellotron could reproduce), the Birotron was never a commercial or technical success. Only 35 Birotrons were produced, and Wakeman eventually threw his across the stage after it broke down mid-concert, an action he now regrets as there are only six remaining examples.

Recent years

Wakeman's track "Arthur" has been used as the theme tune to the BBC's ''Election Night Coverage'' since 1979, with the exception of 2001 and 2010. Wakeman's album ''Fields of Green '97'' features the track "Election '97/Arthur" which was used by the BBC for their coverage of the 1997 General Election. The music was revamped for the BBC's 2005 general election night coverage.

His TV career was launched in 1982 when he hosted Gastank on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. The show featured a mix of interviews with 1970s musicians and impromptu performances where the guest artist would join Wakeman and his house band in playing re-arranged versions of their classic songs or entirely new pieces created for the show.

Wakeman is a contributor to the BBC Two show ''Grumpy Old Men''. He has also appeared in a number of episodes of ''Countdown''. He has also appeared on the satirical panel shows ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' (4 appearances) and ''Have I Got News For You''. Between September 2005 and December 2010, Wakeman presented ''Rick's Place'', a weekly radio show on Planet Rock with David 'Kid' Jensen. Wakeman appeared as himself in "Journey to the Centre of Rick Wakeman", the season two finale of ''Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music'', a BBC Radio 4 comedy programme. The episode detailed a fictional war between England and Wales in 2009 which only Wakeman could stop. Wakeman provided piano for Benn's 2008 single "Sing Like an Angel", which was released on iTunes. In December 2006, Wakeman was the guest host for an episode of ''The Personality Test'' on Radio 4. He also appeared on ''Top Gear'' and set a race track lap time of 1'55.26. Wakeman made his debut appearance on ''Just a Minute'' on Radio 4 on 7 February 2011.

In October 2007, Wakeman commenced a new tour 'Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show', where he accompanies video performers such as Gordon Giltrap and the English Rock Ensemble (Ashley Holt, Lee Pomeroy, Dave Colquhoun and Tony Fernandez). A Freemason, he is a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers. In 2009, Wakeman became a Patron of Tech Music Schools.

In 2011, Wakeman, alongside Fiaba's drummer Bruno Rubino, has been recording and arranging the debut full-length studio album of the Italian singer Valentina Blanca.

Personal life

On 28 March 1970, Wakeman married his first wife Rosaline Woolford at twenty years of age and had two sons, Oliver (b. 26 February 1972) and Adam (b. 11 March 1974). The two divorced in 1977, and Wakeman married studio secretary Danielle Corminboeuf in January 1980 in the West Indies, with whom he had one son, Benjamin (b. 1978). He had a daughter, Jemma Kiera (b. 12 February 1983), with former Page 3 model Nina Carter and the two married in 1984 followed by the birth of their son, Oscar (b. May 1986). He has had a renewal of his Christian faith, which began around the time of their marriage.

Nina and Rick divorced in December 2004.

In his twenties, Wakeman suffered three heart attacks. The first occurred after a performance of ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' at the Crystal Palace Bowl on 27 July 1974.

A passionate football fan, Wakeman has supported Brentford F.C. since he was a child, and later on he also became a director of the West London club. After a disagreement with the board, he moved on to Manchester City F.C. but maintained his allegiance to Brentford. He was involved in the ownership of the American soccer club Philadelphia Fury in the late '70s, along with other rock celebrities such as Peter Frampton and Paul Simon.

He is a strong supporter of the UK's Conservative Party, and performed a concert in September 2004 for the benefit of the party.

Wakeman has been president of the show business charity The Heritage Foundation. The charity erects blue plaques on the homes and/or work-places of late entertainers and sportspeople. He is also Honorary President of the Classic Rock Society, a UK-based organisation helping to promote classic and progressive rock.

Discography

Bibliography

See also

Oliver Wakeman

Adam Wakeman

References

External links

Rick Wakeman's Communication Centre

Rick Wakeman's Official Press Photos

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be-x-old:Рык Уэйкман cs:Rick Wakeman de:Rick Wakeman es:Rick Wakeman fr:Rick Wakeman id:Rick Wakeman it:Rick Wakeman ka:რიკ უეიკმენი hu:Rick Wakeman nl:Rick Wakeman ja:リック・ウェイクマン no:Rick Wakeman nn:Rick Wakeman pl:Rick Wakeman pt:Rick Wakeman ro:Rick Wakeman ru:Уэйкман, Рик sk:Rick Wakeman fi:Rick Wakeman sv:Rick Wakeman uk:Рік Вейкман

name	Freddie Mercury
background	solo_singer
birth name	Farrokh Bulsara
birth date	September 05, 1946
birth place	Stone Town, Zanzibar
origin	London, England, UK
nationality	British Indian
death date	November 24, 1991
death place	Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
genre	Rock, hard rock, glam rock
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer
years active	1969–1991
label	Columbia, Polydor, EMI, Parlophone, Hollywood Records
associated acts	Queen, Wreckage/Ibex, Montserrat Caballé }}

Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara (Gujarati: ફારોખ બલ્સારા‌), 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range. As a songwriter, Mercury composed many hits for Queen, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "We Are the Champions". In addition to his work with Queen, he led a solo career, penning hits such as "Barcelona", "I Was Born to Love You" and "Living on My Own". Mercury also occasionally served as a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. He died of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease.

Mercury, who was a Parsi born in Zanzibar and grew up there and in India until his mid-teens, has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star". In 2006, ''Time Asia'' named him as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years, and he continues to be voted one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music. In 2005, a poll organised by ''Blender'' and MTV2 saw Mercury voted the greatest male singer of all time. In 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' editors ranked him number 18 on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. In 2009, a ''Classic Rock'' poll saw him voted the greatest rock singer of all time. Allmusic has characterised Mercury as "one of rock's greatest all-time entertainers", who possessed "one of the greatest voices in all of music".

Early life

Mercury was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Africa (now part of Tanzania). His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, were Parsis from the Gujarat region of the then province of Bombay Presidency in British India. The family surname is derived from the town of Bulsar (also known as Valsad) in southern Gujarat. As Parsis, Mercury and his family practised the Zoroastrian religion. The Bulsara family had moved to Zanzibar so that his father could continue his job as a cashier at the British Colonial Office. He had a younger sister, Kashmira.

Mercury spent the bulk of his childhood in India and began taking piano lessons at the age of seven. In 1954, at the age of eight, Mercury was sent to study at St. Peter's School, a British-style boarding school for boys in Panchgani near Bombay (now Mumbai), India. Aged 12, he formed a school band, The Hectics, and covered artists such as Cliff Richard and Little Richard. A friend from the time recalls that he had "an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano". It was also at St. Peter's where he began to call himself "Freddie". Mercury remained in India, living with his grandmother and aunt until he completed his education at St. Mary's School, Bombay.

At the age of 17, Mercury and his family fled from Zanzibar for safety reasons due to the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution. The family moved into a small house in Feltham, Middlesex, England. 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 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 remember him as a quiet and shy young man who showed a great deal of interest in music. In 1969 he joined the band Ibex, later renamed 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.

In April 1970, Mercury joined guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor who had previously been in a band called Smile. Despite reservations from the other members, Mercury chose the name "Queen" for the new band. He later said about the band's name, "I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it". At about the same time, he changed his surname, Bulsara, to Mercury.

Career

Singer

Although Mercury's speaking voice naturally fell in the baritone range, he delivered most songs in the tenor range. His vocal range extended from bass low F (F2) to soprano high F (F6). He could belt up to tenor high F (F5). Biographer David Bret described his voice as "escalating within a few bars from a deep, throaty rock-growl to tender, vibrant tenor, then on to a high-pitched, perfect coloratura, pure and crystalline in the upper reaches". 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 that he was selling the voice". She adds, "His technique was astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sung with an incisive sense of rhythm, his vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from a register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word." As Queen's career progressed, he would increasingly alter the highest notes of their songs when live, often harmonising with seconds, thirds or fifths instead. Mercury was said to have "the rawest vocal fold nodules" and claimed never to have had any formal vocal training.

Songwriter

Mercury wrote 10 of the 17 songs on Queen's ''Greatest Hits'' album: "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Seven Seas of Rhye", "Killer Queen", "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".

The most notable aspect of his songwriting involved the wide range of genres that he used, which included, among other styles, rockabilly, progressive rock, heavy metal, gospel and disco. As he explained in a 1986 interview, "I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things." Compared to many popular songwriters, Mercury also tended to write musically complex material. For example, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is acyclic in structure and comprises dozens of chords. He also wrote six songs from Queen II which deal with multiple key changes and complex material. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", on the other hand, contains only a few chords. Despite the fact that Mercury often wrote very intricate harmonies, he also claimed that he could barely read music. He wrote most of his songs on the piano and used a wide variety of different key signatures.

Live performer

Mercury was noted for his live performances, which were often delivered to stadium audiences around the world. He displayed a highly theatrical style that often evoked a great deal of participation from the crowd. A writer for ''The Spectator'' described him as "a performer out to tease, shock and ultimately charm his audience with various extravagant versions of himself". David Bowie, who performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recorded the song "Under Pressure" with Queen, praised Mercury's performance style, saying: "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."

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". 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, etc all are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, as evidenced by his Dionysian Live Aid performance, was easily the most godlike of them all."

Over the course of his career, Mercury performed an estimated 700 concerts in countries around the world with Queen. A notable aspect of Queen concerts was the large scale involved. He once explained, "We're the Cecil B. DeMille of rock and roll, always wanting to do things bigger and better." The band were the first ever to play in South American stadiums, breaking worldwide records for concert attendance in the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo in 1981. In 1986, Queen also played behind the Iron Curtain when they performed to a crowd of 80,000 in Budapest, in what was one of the biggest rock concerts ever held in Eastern Europe. Mercury's final live performance with Queen took place on 9 August 1986 at Knebworth Park in England and drew an attendance estimated as high as 300,000.

Instrumentalist

As a young boy in India, Mercury received formal piano training up to the age of nine. Later on, while living in London, he learned guitar. Much of the music he liked was guitar-oriented: his favourite artists at the time were The Who, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin. He was often self-deprecating about his own skills on both instruments and from the early 1980s onward began extensively using guest keyboardists for both Queen and his solo career. Most notably, he enlisted Fred Mandel (a Canadian musician who also worked for Pink Floyd, Elton John and Supertramp) for his first solo project, and from 1985 onward collaborated with Mike Moran (in the studio) and Spike Edney (in concert), leaving most of the keyboard work exclusively to them.

Mercury played the piano in many of Queen's most popular songs, including "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", "Somebody To Love" and "Don't Stop Me Now". He used concert grand pianos and, occasionally, other keyboard instruments such as the harpsichord. From 1980 onward, he also made frequent use of synthesisers in the studio. Queen guitarist Brian May claims that Mercury was unimpressed with his own abilities at the piano and used the instrument less over time because he wanted to walk around onstage and entertain the audience. Although he wrote many lines for the guitar, Mercury possessed only rudimentary skills on the instrument. Songs like "Ogre Battle" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" were composed on the guitar; the latter featured Mercury playing acoustic guitar both on stage and in the studio.

Solo career

In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury put out two solo albums and several singles. Although his solo work was not as commercially successful as most Queen albums, the two off-Queen albums and several of the singles debuted in the top 10 of the UK Album Charts. His first solo effort involved his contribution to the Richard "Wolfie" Wolf mix of ''Love Kills'' on the 1984 album (the song also used as the end title theme for National Lampoon's "Loaded Weapon") and new soundtrack to the 1926 Fritz Lang film ''Metropolis''. The song, produced by Giorgio Moroder, debuted at the number 10 position in the UK charts.

Mercury's two full albums outside the band were ''Mr. Bad Guy'' (1985) and ''Barcelona'' (1988). The former is a pop-oriented album that emphasises disco and dance music. "Barcelona" was recorded and performed with the opera singer Montserrat Caballé, whom he had long admired. ''Mr. Bad Guy'' debuted in the top ten of the UK Album Charts. In 1993, a remix of "Living on My Own", a single from the album, reached the No.1 position on the UK Singles Charts. The song also garnered Mercury a posthumous Ivor Novello Award. Allmusic critic Eduardo 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". In particular, the album is heavily synthesiser-driven in a way that is not characteristic of previous Queen albums.

''Barcelona'', recorded with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, combines elements of popular music and opera. Many critics were uncertain what to make of the album; one referred to it as "the most bizarre CD of the year". The album was a commercial success, and the album's title track debuted at the No.8 position in the UK charts and was a hit in Spain. The title track received massive air play as the official hymn of the 1992 Summer Olympics (held in Barcelona one year after Mercury's death). Caballé sang it live at the opening of the Olympics with Mercury's part played on a screen, and again prior to the start of the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final in Barcelona.

In addition to the two solo albums, Mercury released several singles, including his own version of the hit The Great Pretender by The Platters, which debuted at number five in the UK in 1987. In September 2006, a compilation album featuring Mercury's solo work was released in the UK in honour of what would have been his 60th birthday. The album debuted in the top 10 of the UK Album Charts.

In 1981–1983, Mercury recorded several tracks with Michael Jackson, including a demo of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". None of these collaborations were officially released, although bootleg recordings exist. Jackson went on to record the single "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for The Jacksons's album ''Victory''. Mercury included the solo version of "There Must Be More To Life Than This" on his ''Mr. Bad Guy'' album.

Personal life

Relationships

In the early 1970s Mercury had a long-term relationship with Mary Austin, whom he had met through guitarist Brian May. He lived with Austin for several years in West Kensington. By the mid-1970s, however, the singer had begun an affair with a male American record executive at Elektra Records, which ultimately resulted in the end of his relationship with Austin. Mercury and Austin nevertheless remained close friends through the years, with Mercury often referring to her 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." He also wrote several songs about Austin, the most notable of which is "Love of My Life". Mercury was also the godfather of Mary's oldest son, Richard.

During the early-to-mid-80s, he was romantically involved with Barbara Valentin, an Austrian actress, who is featured in the video for "It's a Hard Life". By 1985, he began another long-term relationship with a hairdresser named Jim Hutton. Hutton, who himself was tested HIV-positive in 1990, lived with Mercury for the last six years of his life, nursed him during his illness and was present at his bedside when he died. Hutton claimed that Mercury died wearing a wedding band that Hutton had given him. Hutton died from cancer on 1 January 2010.

Personality

Although he cultivated a flamboyant stage personality, Mercury was a very shy and retiring man in person, particularly around people he did not know well. He also granted very few interviews. Mercury once said of himself: "When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man." While on stage, Mercury basked in the love from the audience, which was famously noted by Kurt Cobain, in his suicide note, when he wrote of how he both admired and envied Mercury for being able to do so.

Criticism and controversy

Sexual orientation

Mercury was an acknowledged bisexual. While some critics claimed he hid his sexual orientation from the public, others claimed he was "openly gay".

He would often distance himself from his partner, Jim Hutton, during public events in the 1980s. When asked directly "So how about being bent? " by the ''New Musical Express'' in December 1974, Mercury replied "You're a crafty cow. Let's put it this way, there were times when I was young and green. It's a thing schoolboys go through. I've had my share of schoolboy pranks. I'm not going to elaborate further." A writer for a gay online newspaper felt that audiences may have been overly naïve about the matter: "While in many respects he was overtly queer his whole career ("I am as gay as a daffodil, my dear" being one of his most famous quotes), his sexual orientation seemed to pass over the heads of scrutinising audiences and pundits (both gay and straight) for decades". John Marshall of ''Gay Times'' expressed the following opinion in 1992: "[Mercury] was a 'scene-queen', not afraid to publicly express his gayness but unwilling to analyse or justify his 'lifestyle' ... It was as if Freddie Mercury was saying to the world, "I am what I am. So what?" And that in itself for some was a statement."

HIV

Mercury hid his HIV status from the public for several years, and it has been suggested that he could have raised a great deal of money and awareness earlier by speaking truthfully about his situation and his fight against the disease.

Other controversies

Queen were widely criticised when they broke a United Nations cultural boycott in 1984 by performing a series of shows at Sun City, an entertainment complex in Bophuthatswana, a homeland of (then) apartheid South Africa. As a result of these shows, Queen was placed on a United Nations list of artists who broke the boycott and was widely criticised in magazines such as the ''NME''.

A further controversy ensued in August 2006, when an organisation 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 organisation issued several complaints about the planned celebrations, including that Mercury was not a true Zanzibari and that he was gay, which is not in accordance with their interpretation of sharia. The organisation claimed that "associating Mercury with Zanzibar degrades our island as a place of Islam". The planned celebration was cancelled.

== Illness and death == According to his partner Jim Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS shortly after Easter of 1987. Around that time, Mercury claimed in an interview to have tested negative for HIV. Despite the denials, the British press pursued the rampant rumours over the next few years, fuelled by Mercury's increasingly gaunt appearance, Queen's absence from touring, and reports from former lovers to various tabloid journals - by 1990 the rumours about Mercury's health were rife. Toward the end of his life, he was routinely stalked by photographers, while the daily tabloid newspaper ''The Sun'' featured a series of articles claiming that he was seriously ill.

However, Mercury and his inner circle of colleagues and friends, whom he felt he could trust, continually denied the stories, even after one front page article published on 29 April 1991, which showed Mercury appearing very haggard in what was now a rare public appearance. Brian May confirmed in a 1993 interview that Mercury had informed the band of his illness much earlier. Filmed in May 1991, the music video for "These Are the Days of Our Lives" feature a painfully thin Mercury, which are his final scenes in front of the camera.

After the conclusion of his work with Queen in June 1991, Mercury retired to his home in Kensington. His former partner, Mary Austin, had been a particular comfort in his final years, and in the last few weeks of his life made regular visits to his home to look after him. Near the end of his life, Mercury was starting to lose his sight, and his deterioration was so overpowering he couldn't get out of bed. Due to his worsening condition, Mercury decided to quicken his death by refusing to take his medication.

On 22 November 1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to discuss a public statement. The next day, 23 November, the following announcement was made to the press on behalf of Mercury:

Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors, and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue.

A little over 24 hours after issuing that statement, Mercury died on the evening of 24 November 1991 at the age of 45, at his home in Kensington. The official cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. The news of his death had reached newspaper and television crews by the early hours of 25 November.

On 27 November, Mercury's funeral service was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest. An intensely private man, Mercury's service was for 35 of his close friends and family, with Elton John and the remaining members of Queen among those in attendance. Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery, West London, with the whereabouts of his ashes believed to be known only to Mary Austin.

In his will, Mercury left the vast majority of his wealth, including his home and recording royalties, to Mary Austin, and the remainder to his parents and sister. He further left £500,000 to his chef Joe Fanelli, £500,000 to his personal assistant Peter Freestone, £100,000 to his driver Terry Giddings, and £500,000 to Jim Hutton. Mary Austin continues to live at Mercury's home, Garden Lodge, Kensington, with her family. Hutton was involved in a 2000 biography of Mercury, ''Freddie Mercury, the Untold Story'', and also gave an interview for ''The Times'' for what would have been Mercury's 60th birthday.

Legacy

Continued popularity

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 his death. 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". The movie ''Wayne's World'', which featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", also came out in 1992. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Queen have sold 32.5 million albums in the United States, about half of which have been sold since Mercury's death in 1991.

Estimates of Queen's total worldwide record sales to date have been set as high as 300 million. In the UK, Queen have now spent more collective weeks on the UK Album Charts than any other musical act (including The Beatles), and ''Queen's Greatest Hits'' is the highest selling album of all time in the UK. Two of Mercury's songs, "We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", have also each been voted as the greatest song of all time in major polls by Sony Ericsson and Guinness World Records, respectively. The former poll was an attempt to determine the world's favourite song, while the Guinness poll took place in the UK. In October 2007, the video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" was voted the greatest of all time by readers of ''Q'' magazine. Consistently rated as one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music, Mercury was voted second to Mariah Carey in MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music. Additionally, in January 2009, Mercury was voted second to Robert Plant in a poll of the greatest voices in rock, on the digital radio station Planet Rock. In May 2009, Classic Rock magazine voted Freddie Mercury as the greatest singer in rock. In 2011, NME magazine readers voted Mercury second to Michael Jackson in the Greatest Singers Ever poll. In 2011, a ''Rolling Stone'' readers' pick placed Mercury in second place of the magazine's "Best Lead Singers of All Time".

Tributes

A statue in Montreux, Switzerland (by sculptor Irena Sedlecka) has been erected as a tribute to Mercury. It stands 3 metres high overlooking Lake Geneva and was unveiled on 25 November 1996 by Freddie's father and Montserrat Caballé. Beginning in 2003, fans from around the world gather in Switzerland annually to pay tribute to the singer as part of the "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day" on the first weekend of September and the Bearpark And Esh Colliery Band played at the Freddie Mercury statue on 1 June 2010. In 1999, a Royal Mail stamp with the image of Mercury on stage was issued in his honour as part of the Millennium Stamp series.

In 2009, a plaque was unveiled in Feltham where Mercury and his family moved upon arriving in England in 1964. The star in memory of Mercury's achievements was unveiled in Feltham High Street by his mother Jer Bulsara and Queen bandmate Brian May. A tribute to Queen has been on display at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas throughout 2009 on its video canopy. In December 2009 a large model of Mercury wearing tartan was put on display in the centre of Edinburgh as publicity for the run of ''We Will Rock You'' at the Playhouse Theatre.

A statue of Mercury stands over the entrance to the Dominion Theatre in London's West End since May 2002, where the main show has been Queen and Ben Elton's musical ''We Will Rock You''.

Importance in AIDS history

As the first major rock star to die of AIDS, Mercury's death represented a very important event in the disease's history. In April 1992, the remaining members of Queen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust and organised ''The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness'' to celebrate the life and legacy of Mercury and raise money for AIDS research, which took place on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992. The Mercury Phoenix Trust has since raised millions of pounds for various AIDS charities. The tribute concert, which took place at Wembley Stadium for an audience of 72,000, featured a wide variety of guests including; Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin), Roger Daltrey (of The Who), Extreme, Elton John, Metallica, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Tony Iommi (of Black Sabbath), Guns N' Roses, Elizabeth Taylor, George Michael, Def Leppard, Seal, Liza Minnelli (and also U2 via Satellite). Elizabeth Taylor spoke of Mercury as "an extraordinary rock star who rushed across our cultural landscape like a comet shooting across the sky". The concert was broadcast live to 76 countries and had an estimated viewing audience of 1 billion people.

Appearances in lists of influential individuals

Several popularity polls conducted over the past decade indicate that Freddie Mercury's reputation may in fact have been enhanced since his death. For instance, in a 2002 vote to determine whom the UK public considers the greatest British people in history, Mercury was ranked number 58 in the list of the "''100 Greatest Britons''", broadcast by the BBC. He was further listed at the 52nd spot in a 2007 Japanese national survey of the 100 most "influential heroes". Despite the fact that he had been criticised by gay activists 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." Other entertainers on Russell's list included Liberace and Rock Hudson. In 2006, ''Time Asia'' magazine named him as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years: 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 coloniser's art form and representing it in a manner richer and more dazzling than many Anglophones thought possible." In 2008, ''Rolling Stone''' magazine ranked Mercury No.18 in its list of the "Top 100 Singers Of All Time".

Portrayal on stage

On 24 November 1997, a monodrama about Freddie Mercury's life titled Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God opened in New York City. It presented Freddie Mercury in the hereafter; examining his life, seeking redemption and searching for his true self The play was written and directed by Charles Messina and the part of Mercury was played by Khalid Gonçalves (né Paul Gonçalves) and then later, Amir Darvish. Billy Squier opened one of the shows with an acoustic performance of a song he had written about Mercury titled ''I Have Watched You Fly''.

Portrayal in film

Brian May announced in a September 2010 BBC interview that Sacha Baron Cohen, previously best known for his comedic characters Borat, Ali G and Brüno, had been chosen to play Mercury in a film about his life. ''TIME'' commented with approval on his singing ability and visual similarity to Mercury. The motion picture is being written by Peter Morgan, who had been nominated for Oscars for his screenplays ''The Queen'' and ''Frost/Nixon''. The film, which is being co-produced by Robert De Niro's TriBeCa Productions, will focus on Queen's formative years and the period leading up to the celebrated performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. Filming is due to begin sometime in 2011.

In April 2011, Brian May confirmed that a lot of work was still being done in preparation for the film. He said that after holding back for a long time due to mixed feelings, the band had approved a team to start filming later in 2011, and Baron Cohen's eagerness had been the key to progress.

Discography

Notes

his parents defined themselves with "Nationality: British Indian" and "Race: Parsi". The Parsis are an originally Persian ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent who follow Zoroastrianism. |- | style="vertical-align:top; width:3em; text-align:right;"|b) | The Bulsara family gets its name from Bulsar, a city and district that is now in the Indian state of Gujarat and is today officially known as Valsad. In the 17th century, Bulsar was one of the five centres of the Zoroastrian religion (the other four were also in what is today Gujarat) and consequently "Bulsara" is a relatively common name amongst Zoroastrians. |- | style="vertical-align:top; width:3em; text-align:right;"|c) | Mercury is portrayed in the manga and anime series Cromartie High School as the character Freddie (and as the minor character Mercury), and as himself in the British Channel 4 show House of Rock along with Marc Bolan, John Lennon, Notorious BIG, John Denver and Kurt Cobain. |}

References

Notation done in Scientific Pitch, and thus is written one octave lower than what is displayed here.

Bibliography

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External links

(official EMI Music)

Category:1946 births Category:1991 deaths Category:AIDS-related deaths in England Category:Bisexual musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:British people of Parsi descent Category:English male singers Category:English people of Indian descent Category:English pianists Category:English rock keyboardists Category:English rock musicians Category:English rock singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters Category:English tenors Category:English Zoroastrians Category:Tanzanian emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:LGBT people from Africa Category:LGBT people from South Asia Category:Queen (band) members Category:Zanzibari Indians

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