| Freddie Mercury |
Mercury performing in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1978 with Queen |
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Farrokh Bulsara |
| Born |
(1946-09-05)5 September 1946
Stone Town, Zanzibar |
| Origin |
London, England, UK[1] |
| Died |
24 November 1991(1991-11-24) (aged 45)
Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres |
Rock, hard rock, glam rock |
| Occupations |
Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments |
Multi-instrumentalist
Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active |
1969–1991 |
| Labels |
Columbia, Polydor, EMI, Parlophone, Hollywood Records |
| Associated acts |
Queen, Wreckage/Ibex, Montserrat Caballé
Freddie Mercury's Signature |
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara (Gujarati: ફારોખ બલ્સારા), 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991)[2][3] was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range.[4][5][6] 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, and 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 was a Parsi born in Zanzibar and grew up there and in India until his mid-teens. He has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star".[7] In 2002, Mercury was placed at number 58 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, in 2006, Time Asia named him one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years,[8] 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.[9] In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 18 on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.[6] In 2009, a Classic Rock poll saw him voted the greatest rock singer of all time.[10] Allmusic has characterised Mercury as "one of rock's greatest all-time entertainers", who possessed "one of the greatest voices in all of music".[11]
Mercury was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Africa (now part of Tanzania). His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara,[a] were Parsis from the Gujarat region of the then province of Bombay Presidency in British India.[12][b] 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.[13] 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.[14]
The house in Zanzibar where Mercury lived in his early years
Mercury spent the bulk of his childhood in India and began taking piano lessons at the age of seven.[15] 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.[16] One of his formative musical influences at the time was Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar.[17] Aged 12, he formed a school band, The Hectics, and covered rock and roll artists such as Cliff Richard and Little Richard.[18] A friend from the time recalls that he had "an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano".[19] 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.[20]
At the age of 17, Mercury and his family fled from Zanzibar for safety reasons due to the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution,[7] in which thousands of Arabs and Indians were killed.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]
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".[1] At about the same time, he changed his surname, Bulsara, to Mercury.[24]
Freddie Mercury's vocal range
Although Mercury's speaking voice naturally fell in the baritone range, he delivered most songs in the tenor range.[25] His vocal range extended from an F (F2) to an F (F6).[26] He could belt up to a high F (F5).[26] 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".[27] 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".[28] 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."[26] 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.[29]
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".[30]
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."[31] 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.[32][33] 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.[34] He wrote most of his songs on the piano and used a wide variety of different key signatures.[32]
Mercury, performing live in 1979, with his bottomless microphone stand
Mercury performing live in 1984
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".[35] 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."[36] Queen guitarist Brian May wrote that Mercury could make "the last person at the back of the furthest stand in a stadium feel that he was connected."[37]
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".[38][39] 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."[40]
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.[31] He once explained, "We're the Cecil B. DeMille of rock and roll, always wanting to do things bigger and better."[31] The band was the first ever to play in South American stadiums, breaking worldwide records for concert attendance in the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo in 1981.[41] 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.[42] 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.[43]
Freddie Mercury playing guitar during a live concert with
Queen in Frankfurt, Germany, 1984.
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.[44] 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.[45]
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.[46]
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.[46] In 1993, a remix of "Living on My Own", a single from the album, reached the No.1 position on the UK Singles Charts.[47] 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".[48] 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".[49] The album was a commercial success,[50] and the album's title track debuted at the No.8 position in the UK charts and was a hit in Spain.[51] 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.[52]
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.[46] 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.[53]
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".[54] 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.[55] Mercury included the solo version of "There Must Be More To Life Than This" on his Mr. Bad Guy album.[56] In November 2011, Brian May announced that a series of duets that Mercury recorded with Jackson are to be released in 2012.[57][58]
Queen in New Haven, Connecticut, US in November 1978.
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.[59] 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."[60] He also wrote several songs about Austin, the most notable of which is "Love of My Life". In his will, Mercury left his London home to Austin, rather than his then partner Jim Hutton, saying, "You would have been my wife and it would have been yours anyway".[61] Mercury was also the godfather of Mary's oldest son, Richard.[44]
During the early to mid 80s, he was romantically involved with Barbara Valentin, an Austrian actress,[62] who is featured in the video for "It's a Hard Life".[63] By 1985, he began another long-term relationship with a hairdresser named Jim Hutton. Hutton, who himself was tested HIV-positive in 1990,[64] 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.[64] Hutton died from cancer on 1 January 2010.[65]
Mercury was an acknowledged bisexual.[18][66][67] While some critics claimed he hid his sexual orientation from the public,[7][28][68] others claimed he was "openly gay".[8][69] In December 1974, when asked directly, "So how about being bent?" by the New Musical Express, 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." Homosexuality was legalised in the United Kingdom in 1967, only seven years earlier. In the 1980s, he would often distance himself from his partner, Jim Hutton, during public events.[64]
In 1992, John Marshall of Gay Times expressed the following opinion: "[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."[70] 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".[71]
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.[19][28][72] 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."[73] 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.[74]
Mercury did not disclose his HIV status to the public for several years, and it has been suggested that he could have made a contribution to AIDS awareness by speaking earlier about his situation and his fight against the disease.[75][76]
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.[40]
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".[69] The planned celebration was cancelled.
According to his partner Jim Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS shortly after Easter of 1987.[77] Around that time, Mercury claimed in an interview to have tested negative for HIV.[28] 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.[78] At the 1990 Brit Awards held at the Dominion Theatre, London on 18 February, Mercury made his final public appearance on stage when he joined the rest of Queen to collect the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.[79][80] Towards 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; notably in an article from November 1990 which featured an image of a haggard looking Mercury on the front page accompanied by the headline "It's official – Freddie is seriously ill".[81]
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 by then a rare public appearance.[82] Brian May confirmed in a 1993 interview that Mercury had informed the band of his illness much earlier.[83] Filmed in May 1991, the music video for "These Are the Days of Our Lives" features a painfully thin Mercury, which are his final scenes in front of the camera.[84]
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.[85] 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.[85] Due to his worsening condition, Mercury decided to hasten his death by refusing to take his medication, and just continued taking pain killers.[85]
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 international press on behalf of Mercury:[86]
| “ |
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.[66] The official cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.[87] The news of his death had reached newspaper and television crews by the early hours of 25 November.[88]
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.[89][90] Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery, West London, with the whereabouts of his ashes believed to be known only to Mary Austin.[91]
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.[92] Mary Austin continues to live at Mercury's home, Garden Lodge, Kensington, with her family.[92] 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.[77]
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.[93] 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".[94] 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.[95]
Estimates of Queen's total worldwide record sales to date have been set as high as 300 million.[96] In the UK, Queen have now spent more collective weeks on the UK Album Charts than any other musical act (including The Beatles),[97] and Queen's Greatest Hits is the highest selling album of all time in the UK.[98] 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[99] and Guinness World Records,[100] 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.[101] 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.[8] 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.[102] In May 2009, Classic Rock magazine voted Freddie Mercury as the greatest singer in rock.[10] In 2011, NME magazine readers voted Mercury second to Michael Jackson in the Greatest Singers Ever poll.[103] In 2011, a Rolling Stone readers' pick placed Mercury in second place of the magazine's "Best Lead Singers of All Time".[74]
[edit] Posthumous Queen album
In November 1995, Queen released Made in Heaven, an album featuring Freddie Mercury's previously unreleased final recordings from 1991—as well as outtakes from previous years and reworked versions of solo works by the surviving members.[104] The album cover features the Freddie Mercury statue that overlooks Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland, where he had written and recorded his last songs at Mountain Studios.[104] The sleeve of the album contains the words; "Dedicated to the immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury".[104]
A statue in Montreux, Switzerland (by sculptor Irena Sedlecka) was erected as a tribute to Mercury.[105] It stands almost 10 feet (3 metres) high overlooking Lake Geneva and was unveiled on 25 November 1996 by Freddie's father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance.[106] 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.[107] 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.[108][109]
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.[110] A tribute to Queen has been on display at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas throughout 2009 on its video canopy.[111] 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.[112]
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.[113][114]
For Mercury's 65th birthday, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him.[115] It included an animation set to the Mercury penned song, "Don't Stop Me Now".[116]
As the first major rock star to die of AIDS, Mercury's death represented a very important event in the disease's history.[117] 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.[118] 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".[119] The concert was broadcast live to 76 countries and had an estimated viewing audience of 1 billion people.[120]
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.[121] He was further listed at the 52nd spot in a 2007 Japanese national survey of the 100 most "influential heroes".[122] 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."[123] 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."[8] In 2008, Rolling Stone' magazine ranked Mercury No.18 in its list of the "Top 100 Singers Of All Time".[6]
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.[124] It presented Freddie Mercury in the hereafter; examining his life, seeking redemption and searching for his true self[125] 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.[126] 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".[127]
Main article:
Mercury (film)Brian May announced in a September 2010 BBC interview[128] 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 resemblance to Mercury.[129] 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 was planned to begin sometime in 2011.[130]
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.[131] The film is currently in development and is tentatively scheduled for a release sometime in 2014.[132]
| a) ^ |
On Mercury's birth certificate,[12] 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
- ^ a b Highleyman 2005.
- ^ Birth certificate mr-mercury.co.uk
- ^ "Freddie Mercury (real name Farrokh Bulsara) Biography". Inout Star. http://www.inoutstar.com/news/Freddie-Mercury-real-name-Farrokh-Bulsara-1876.html. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ Independent 2006
- ^ Dance: Deux the fandango via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c RollingStone.com – 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
- ^ a b c Januszczak 1996.
- ^ a b c d Fitzpatrick 2006.
- ^ list of Blender and MTV2's "22 Greatest Voices" (archived at www.amiannoying.com).
- ^ a b Classic Rock, "50 Greatest Singers in Rock", May 2009
- ^ Greg, Prato. "Freddie Mercury biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4899. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ a b "Linda B" 2000.
- ^ Sky 1992, pp. 8–9
- ^ Das 2000.
- ^ Queen Online – History: Freddie Mercury
- ^ Freddie Mercury Biography.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Liam (2006). "Farrokh Bulsara". Time. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110523230337/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2006/heroes/at_bulsara.html. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ^ a b Hodkinson 2004, pp. 2,61.
- ^ a b O'Donnell 2005.
- ^ "Tribute to King of "Queen" Freddie Mercury | NowPublic News Coverage". Nowpublic.com. http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/tribute-king-queen-freddie-mercury. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- ^ Plekhanov 2004, p. 91
- ^ Davis 1996, pp. 1,10
- ^ Skala 2006.
- ^ SutcliffeHinceMack 2009, p. 22
- ^ Evans, David; Peter Freestone (2001), Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best, London: Omnibus, pp. 108–9, ISBN 0-7119-8674-6, http://books.google.com/?id=AH8zZsbmB98C&pg=PA108#v=onepage&q
- ^ a b c Soto-Morettini, D. (2006), Popular Singing: A Practical Guide To: Pop, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Country and Gospel, A & C Black, ISBN 978-0-7136-7266-4
- ^ Bret 1996, p. 26.
- ^ a b c d Cain 2006.
- ^ Rush 1977b.
- ^ Queen - Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 Allmusic.
- ^ a b c Wenner 2001.
- ^ a b Queen 1992.
- ^ Aledort 2003.
- ^ Coleman 1981.
- ^ Blaikie 1996.
- ^ Ressner 1992
- ^ Happy birthday, Freddie Mercury
- ^ Minchin 2005.
- ^ BBC News 2005b.
- ^ a b Harris 2005.
- ^ Bret 1996, p. 91.
- ^ Billboard – 16 Aug 1986 Retrieved 17 February 2011
- ^ Jones 1999.
- ^ a b Longfellow 2006
- ^ Lights! Action! Sound! It's That Crazy Little Thing Called Queen Circus Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2011
- ^ a b c Rees & Crampton 1999, p. 809.
- ^ Rees & Crampton 1999, p. 811.
- ^ Rivadavia <not dated>.
- ^ Bradley 1992.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1998) The encyclopedia of popular music: Louvin, Charlie – Paul, Clarence, Volume 5 Page 3633. Macmillan, 1998
- ^ Rees & Crampton 1999, p. 810.
- ^ Queen's Greatest Hits 3 BBC
- ^ ukmusic.com 2006
- ^ Freddie Mercury – Collaborations: Michael Jackson UltimateQueen. Retrieved 29 June 2011
- ^ Michael Jackson: the king of pop P.90. Retrieved 29 June 2011
- ^ There Must Be More To Life Than This UltimateQueen. Retrieved 29 June 2011
- ^ Smart, Gordon (12 November 2011) Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury duet tapes to be released The Sun. Retrieved 13 November 2011
- ^ Queen set to release Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson duets in 2012 NME. Retrieved 13 November 2011
- ^ Teckman 2004, part 2.
- ^ Hauptfuhrer 1977.
- ^ Austin, Mary (12 November 2011). The Mysterious Mr Mercury. Interview with Midge Ure. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0171x1k. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "The Star – AIDS Kills The King of Rock". Queenarchives.com. 25 November 1991. http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-25-1991_-_The_Star_-_AIDS_Kills_The_King_of_Rock. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ Freddie's Loves (Channel 5) documentary
- ^ a b c Hutton 1994.
- ^ Sweeney, Ken (4 January 2010). "Partner of Queen star Freddie buried". Irish Independent (Dublin). http://www.independent.ie/national-news/partner-of-queen-star-freddie-buried-1997689.html. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ a b 1991: Giant of rock dies BBC
- ^ Robert Urban, Robert Urban. "Ragged Blade Reviews: Queen's Freddie Mercury and his Legacy". http://www.raggedblade.com/reviews/000329.html. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ Landesman 2006
- ^ a b BBC News 2006
- ^ Urban &nt;not dated>
- ^ Urban <not dated>
- ^ Das 2006.
- ^ Myers 1991.
- ^ a b Rolling Stone Readers Pick the Best Lead Singers of All Time (2.Freddie Mercury) Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 July 2011
- ^ Ressner 1992.
- ^ Sky 1992, p. 163
- ^ a b Teeman 2006
- ^ Bret 1996, p. 138
- ^ The Highs and Lows of the Brit Awards. BBC News Retrieved 28 April 2011
- ^ Queen, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, Brian May, BRITS 1990. BRIT Awards.co.uk Retrieved 20 January 2011
- ^ Jackson 1997.
- ^ Tragic Face of Freddie Mercury The Sun
- ^ Heir Apparent With Freddie Mercury Dead And Queen Disbanded, Brian May Carries On The Tradition Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 4 July 2011
- ^ Final Freddie Mercury performance discovered The Independent. Retrieved 4 July 2011
- ^ a b c Mary Austin Shares Her Memories – March, 17th 2000 OK! Magazine, Retrieved 26 August 2011
- ^ Bret 1996, p. 179.
- ^ Biography Channel 2007.
- ^ "CEEFAX: Singer Freddie Mercury dies, aged 45". http://teletext.mb21.co.uk/gallery/ceefax/cx_merc2.gif. Retrieved 4 September 2011. [dead link]
- ^ Elton's Sad Farewell The Sun (28 November 1991)
- ^ Freddie, I'll Love You Always Daily Mirror (28 November 1991)
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches p.282
- ^ a b Wigg 2000.
- ^ RIAA 2007.
- ^ Brown 1992.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum – 22 November 2009". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- ^ Cota 2006
- ^ BBC 2005a.
- ^ Brown 2006.
- ^ Haines 2005
- ^ CNN 2002
- ^ BBC News 2007.
- ^ The Top 40 Greatest Voices in Rock The Sun
- ^ The greatest singers ever NME. Retrieved 23 June 2011
- ^ a b c "Made in Heaven". Queen Online. Retrieved 26 April 2012
- ^ Mercury, heavy metal and a jazz explosion Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 June 2011
- ^ Montreuxmusic – Freddie Mercury statue EMI international. Retrieved 23 June 2011
- ^ Bishton 2004.
- ^ BBC: Entertainment: Mercury and Moore head millennium stamps BBC News
- ^ "Millennium Series. The Entertainers' Tale (1999)". Collect GB Stamps. http://www.collectgbstamps.co.uk/displayset.asp?setid=239. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ "Freddie Mercury memorial unveiled in Feltham (From Richmond and Twickenham Times". Richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk. 24 November 2009. http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/4757372.In_pictures__Freddie_Mercury_memorial_unveiled/. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ "Las Vegas...Queen tribute rocks tourists at Fremont St. experience!". Julian1st.wordpress.com. 17 January 2009. http://julian1st.wordpress.com/2009/01/17/las-vegasqueen-tribute-rocks-tourists-at-fremont-st-experience/. Retrieved 9 January 2011. [dead link]
- ^ Queen News – December 2009 BrianMay.com
- ^ "''We Will Rock You'' – Introduction & Credits". Ultimatequeen.co.uk. http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/Misc/wewillrockintrocredits.htm. Retrieved 9 January 2011. [dead link]
- ^ For the first time ever...Queen: Ten great hits from the sensational rock band The Mail On Sunday'.' Retrieved 6 February 2011.
- ^ Freddie Mercury Google doodle celebrates Queen singer's birthday The Mirror. Retrieved 21 October 2011
- ^ Inc, Google. "Freddie Mercury Google Doodle". Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KX2BQM0D01M. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ National AIDS Trust 2006
- ^ Stothard 1992
- ^ Freddie Mercury Tribute The Times. Retrieved 27 August 2011
- ^ ABC Television 2007
- ^ "BBC – 100 great British heroes". BBC News. 21 August 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2208671.stm. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ "James" 2007
- ^ Russell 2002
- ^ Lefkowitz, David (24 Nov 1997). "Freddie Mercury To Rise Again, Off-B'way, Nov. 24". Playbill. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/35833-Freddie-Mercury-To-Rise-Again-Off-Bway-Nov-24.
- ^ Marone, Mark (13 December 1997). "On Stage". Billboard: p. 46. http://www.billboard.com/search/?keyword=Goncalves&x=0&y=0#/archive/read?id=3gkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=frontcover&query=1997&date=1997-12-13.
- ^ Simonson, Robert (11 January 2004). "Bohemian Rhapsody: Freddy Mercury Play Begins Performances Off Broadway, Jan. 11". Playbill. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/83716-Bohemian-Rhapsody-Freddy-Mercury-Play-Begins-Performances-Off-Broadway-Jan-11.
- ^ Barron, James; Martin, Douglas (18 February 1998). "PUBLIC LIVES; Theater Records". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E2DC153FF93BA25751C0A96E958260.
- ^ "Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury". BBC News. 17 September 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11340336. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
- ^ Sacha Baron Cohen to Play Freddie Mercury, TIME, 17 September 2010
- ^ "'Is it because I has a mankini?' Ali G creator to take on Queen: Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury in a film about the star's colourful life". The Independent. 18 September 2010. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/is-it-because-i-has-a-mankini-ali-g-creator-to-take-on-queen-2082687.html. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
- ^ Sacha Baron Cohen is perfect to play Freddie Mercury but we can't mess up his legacy, says Brian May, Scottish Daily Record, 27 April 2011
- ^ [1]
^ Notation done in Scientific Pitch, and thus is written one octave lower than what is displayed here.
- ABC Television (20 August 2007), Freddie Mercury: The Tribute Concert, Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/abc2/200708/programs/ZY9027A001D20082007T210000.htm .
- Aledort, And (29 November 2003), Guitar Tacet for Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, http://people.csail.mit.edu/custo/FTP/Chitarra/Bohemian%20rhapsody%20-QUEEN.txt .
- "Linda B" (2000), Certificate of Birth, Chorley: mr-mercury.co.uk, http://mr-mercury.co.uk/Images/Birthcertificatefreddie.jpg .
- Barnes, Ken (20 June 1974), "Album Review: Queen II", Rolling Stone Magazine, http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/queen/albums/album/111006/review/5944771/queen_ii [dead link].
- BBC News (18 April 2001), Sinatra is voice of the century, London: BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/entertainment/music/1281522.stm [dead link].
- BBC News (22 August 2002), BBC reveals 100 great British heroes, London: BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2208532.stm, retrieved 4 January 2010 .
- BBC News (4 July 2005), Queen top UK album charts league, London: BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4648611.stm, retrieved 4 January 2010 .
- BBC News (9 November 2005), Queen win greatest live gig poll, London: BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4420308.stm, retrieved 4 January 2010 .
- BBC News (1 September 2006), Zanzibar angry over Mercury bash, London: BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5306792.stm, retrieved 4 January 2010 .
- Biography Channel (2007), Freddie Mercury, London: thebiographychannel.co.uk, http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/338:294/1/Freddie_Mercury.htm .
- Boyce, Simon (1995), Freddie Mercury, Bristol: Parragon, ISBN 1-86105-054-2 .
- BBC News (8 October 2007), Queen's rhapsody voted best video, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7033249.stm, retrieved 4 January 2010 .
- Middleton, Christopher (31 August 2004), Bishton, Derek, ed., "Freddie's rhapsody", The Daily Telegraph (London), http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2004/08/31/etmontreux2908.xml, retrieved 2 May 2010 [dead link].
- Blaikie, Thomas (7 December 1996), "Camping at High Altitude", The Spectator, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_199612/ai_n8756422 .
- Bradley, J. (20 July 1992), "Mercury soars in opera CD: Bizarre album may be cult classic", The Denver Post (Denver: MNG) .
- Bret, David (1996), Living On the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story, London: Robson Books, ISBN 1-86105-256-1 .
- Brown, G. (19 April 1992), "Queen's popularity takes ironic turn", The Denver Post (Denver: MNG) .
- Brown, Mark (16 November 2006), "Queen are the champions in all-time album sales chart", The Guardian (London), http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1948792,00.html .
- Cain, Matthew, dir. (2006), Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic, London: British Film Institute, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ1cfoMWRpQ ..
- Clarke, Ross (1991), Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic, Oxted: Kingsfleet Publications, ISBN 1-874130-01-9 .
- CNN (9 May 2002), Queen in Rhapsody over hit award, Atlanta: CNN, http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/08/uk.queen/index.html .
- Cohen, Scott (April 1975), "Queen's Freddie Mercury Shopping for an Image in London", Circus Magazine, archived from the original on 11 October 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071011205552/http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=30, retrieved 24 September 2009 .
- Coleman, Ray, ed. (2 May 1981), "The Man Who Would Be Queen", Melody Maker, archived from the original on 20 October 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071020050854/http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=26, retrieved 24 September 2009 .
- Cota, Erich Adolfo Moncada (25 January 2006), "Queen Proves There's Life After Freddie", Ohmynews.com (Seoul), http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=6&no=270701&rel_no=1 .
- D'Esti Miller, Sarah (19 July 2007), "EPAC's 'Rhapsody' Hits Too Many Wrong Notes", Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY), http://www.queenzone.com/news/epacs-rhapsody-hits-too-many-wrong-notes.aspx, retrieved 24 September 2009 .
- Das, Lina (2006), "The Great Pretender", The Mail on Sunday (London), 26 November 2000, http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-26-2000_-_Mail_on_Sunday, retrieved 24 September 2009 .
- Davis, Andy (1996), "Queen Before Queen", Record Collector Magazine 3 (199), http://www.freddie.ru/e/archives/qbq/1.html .
- Evans, David; Minns, David (1992), Freddie Mercury: This is the Real Life, London: Britannia, ISBN 0-9519937-3-9 .
- Fitzpatrick, Liam (13 November 2006), "Farookh Bulsara", Time Magazine, Asia Edition, 60 Years of Asian Heroes (Hong Kong: Time Asia) 168 (21), http://time.com/time/asia/2006/heroes/at_bulsara.html [dead link].
- Freestone, Peter (1998), Mister Mercury, London: Tusitala, ISBN 0-9533341-0-4 .
- Freestone, Peter (1999), Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir By the Man Who Knew Him Best, London: Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-8674-6 .
- Guazzelli, Andrés E. (8 February 2007), The Voice: Freddy Mercury > Characteristics of his voice, Buenos Aires: f-mercury.com.ar, http://f-mercury.com.ar/eng_characteristics.htm [dead link].
- Gunn, Jacky; Jenkins, Jim (1992), Queen: As It Began, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, ISBN 0-330-33259-7 .
- Haines, Lester (29 September 2005), We Are the Champions" voted world's fave song, London: theregister.co.uk, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/29/world_music_poll/ .
- Harris, John (14 January 2005), "The Sins of St. Freddie", Guardian on Friday (London), http://arts.guardian.co.uk/harris/story/0,,1411006,00.html .
- Hauptfuhrer, Fred (5 December 1977), "For A Song: The Mercury that's rising in rock is Freddie the satiny seductor of Queen", People Magazine, http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Group_-_12-05-1977_-_People, retrieved 24 September 2009 .
- Highleyman, Liz (9 September 2005), "Who was Freddie Mercury?", Seattle Gay News 33 (36), http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews36/page20.cfm .
- Hodkinson, Mark (2004), Queen: The Early Years, London: Omnibus Press, ISBN 1-84449-012-2 .
- Hutton, Jim; Waspshott, Tim (1994), Mercury and Me, London: Bloomsbury, ISBN 0-7475-1922-6 .
- Hutton, Jim (22 October 1994), "Freddie and Jim" A Love Story", The Guardian, "Weekend magazine", http://queen.peoples.ru/html/archive/stati/fred_jim3.htm .
- Hyder, Rehan (2004), Brimful of Asia: Negotiating Ethnicity on the UK Music Scene, Ashgate, ISBN 978-0-7546-4064-6, http://books.google.com/?id=54U93KEMlNwC&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=freddie+mercury+brim+of+asia .
- Independent (December 2006), "Depp tipped for Freddie Mercury film role", The Independent (UK), http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/depp-tipped-for-freddie-mercury-film-role-429639.html, retrieved 25 February 2011 .
- Jackson, Laura (1997), Mercury: The King of Queen, London: Smith Gryphon, ISBN 1-85685-132-X .
- "James" (1 April 2007), NTV program review: History's 100 Most Influential People: Hero Edition, Saitama: japanprobe.com, http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=1471 .
- Januszczak, Waldemar (17 November 1996), "Star of India", The Sunday Times (London), http://queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-17-1996_-_Sunday_Times .
- Jones, Lesley-Ann (1998), Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography, London: Coronet, ISBN 978-0-340-67209-9, http://books.google.com/?id=FN20GwAACAAJ&dq=lesley-ann+jones .
- Jones, Tim (July 1999), "How Great Thou Art, King Freddie", Record Collector, archived from the original on 25 October 2009, http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stadium/5025/RC.html&date=2009-10-25+10:58:55 .
- Landesman, Cosmo (10 September 2006), "Freddie, a Very Private Rock Star", The Sunday Times (London), http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article634052.ece, retrieved 2 May 2010 .
- Longfellow, Matthew, dir. (21 March 2006), Classic Albums: Queen: The Making of "A Night at the Opera, Aldershot: Eagle Rock Entertainment .
- Hudson, Jeffrey (1995), Freddie Mercury & Queen, Chessington, Surrey: Castle Communications, ISBN 1-86074-040-5 .
- Mehar, Rakesh (18 September 2006), "God Should've Saved the Queen", The Hindu (Kochi) (New Delhi: hinduonline.com), http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006091800730300.htm&date=2006/09/18/&prd=mp& [dead link].
- Mercury, Freddie; Brooks, Greg; Lupton, Simon (2006), Freddie Mercury: A life, In His Own Words, London: Mercury Songs, ISBN 0-9553758-0-0 .
- Minchin, Ryan, dir. (2005), The World's Greatest Gigs, London: Initial Film & Television, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob5NpdkH5Dw .
- Myers, Paul (25 November 1991), "Queen star dies after Aids statement", The Guardian (London), http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,12269,1650611,00.html?=rss, retrieved 2 May 2010 .
- National AIDS Trust (2006), 25 years of HIV – a UK perspective, London: National AIDS Trust press office, archived from the original on 22 December 2006, http://web.archive.org/web/20061222111814/http://www.worldaidsday.org/about3.asp .
- O'Donnell, Lisa (7 July 2005), "Freddie Mercury, WSSU professor were boyhood friends in India, Zanzibar", RelishNow!, archived from the original on 18 February 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20080218010236/http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_RelishArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783665319&path=!entertainment!music&s=1037645508978, retrieved 24 September 2009 .
- Queen (1992), "Bohemian Rhapsody", Queen: Greatest Hits: Off the Record, Eastbourne/Hastings: Barnes Music Engraving, ISBN 0-86359-950-8 .
- Plekhanov, Sergey (2004), A Reformer on the Throne: Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Trident Press Ltd, ISBN 1-900724-70-7, http://books.google.com/?id=-U8BL-tEPLwC .
- Prato, Greg (<not dated>), Freddie Mercury, Ann Arbor: allmusic.com, http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4899 .
- Zimmermann, M (Dec 2004), Pye, Ian, ed., "Hungarian Rhapsody" (– Scholar search), Neuropeptides (London) 38 (6): 375–6, 9 August 1986, DOI:10.1016/j.npep.2004.09.007, ISSN 0143-4179, PMID 15651128, http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=626 [dead link].
- Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1999), Summers, David, ed., The Rock Stars Encyclopedia, London: Dorling Kindersley .
- Ressner, Jeffry (9 January 1992), "Queen singer is rock's first major AIDS casualty", Rolling Stone Magazine 621, http://queenzone.com/queenzone/article_show.aspx?q=96 .
- RIAA (2007), Gold and Platinum Record Database, Washington: Recording Industry Association of America, http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH .
- Rivadavia, Eduardo (<not dated>), Mr. Bad Guy (Overview), Ann Arbor: Allmusic, http://www.allmusic.com/album/r12964 .
- Rush, Don (1977a), "Queen's Freddie Mercury", Circus Magazine, 17 March 1977, archived from the original on 25 October 2009, http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stadium/5025/CIRCUS.html&date=2009-10-25+10:58:44 .
- Rush, Don (1977b), "title unknown", Circus Magazine, 5 December 1977, archived from the original on 20 October 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071020050442/http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=32, retrieved 24 September 2009 .
- Russell, Paul (2002), The Gay 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Gay Men and Lesbians, Past and Present, Seacaucus: Kensington/Citadel, ISBN 0-7582-0100-1 .
- Skala, Martin (2006), Concertography > Freddie Mercury live > Early days, Plzen, Czech Republic: queenconcerts.com, http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/freddie-mercury/early.html .
- Sky, Rick (1992), The Show Must Go On, London: Fontana, ISBN 978-0-00-637843-3 .
- Stothard, Peter, ed. (26 April 1992), "Freddie Tribute" (– Scholar search), The Times (London: Times Newspapers), http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=389 [dead link].
- Sutcliffe, Phil; Hince, Peter; Mack, Reinhold (2009), Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock, London: Voyageur Press, ISBN 978-0-7603-3719-6, http://books.google.com/?id=adNONbUWLjgC&pg=PT25&dq=Bulsara,%20to%20Mercury#v=onepage&q=Bulsara%2C%20to%20Mercury&f=false
- Taraporevala, Sooni (2004), Parsis: The Zoroastrians of India: A Photographic Journey (2nd ed.), Woodstock/New York: Overlook Press, ISBN 1-58567-593-8 .
- Teckman, Kate, dir. (2004), Freddie's Loves, London: North One Television *part 2* *part 3*.
- Teeman, Tim (7 September 2006), "I Couldn't Bear to See Freddie Wasting Away", TheTimes (London), http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article630033.ece, retrieved 2 May 2010 .
- UKMusic.com (10 September 2006), UK Top 40 Albums Chart 10 September 2006, http://www.ukmusic.com/charts/album-chart/uk-top-40-albums-chart-10th-september-2006.html [dead link].
- Urban, Robert (<not dated>), Freddie Mercury & Queen: Past, Present & Future Impressions, afterelton.com, http://www.raggedblade.com/reviews/000329.html .
- Webb, Julie (4 April 1974), "Queen" (– Scholar search), NME (London), http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=28 [dead link].
- WENN (9 April 2005), "Legend Freddie Mercury Honoured", Femalefirst.co.uk (Wigan, Lancs), http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment/Freddie+Mercury-3960.html .
- Wenner, Jann (2001), "Queen", Hall of Fame Inductees, Cleveland: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/queen .
- Wigg, David (22 January 2000), "Mercury Left Me His Millions", Daily Mail Weekend, http://www.freddie.ru/e/archives/daily_mail/ .
Quotations related to Freddie Mercury at Wikiquote
|
Freddie Mercury
|
|
| Studio albums |
|
|
| Compilations |
|
|
| Singles |
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|
| Persondata |
| Name |
Mercury, Freddie |
| Alternative names |
Bulsara, Farrokh Bomi (real name) |
| Short description |
British South Asian rock musician |
| Date of birth |
5 September 1946 |
| Place of birth |
Zanzibar |
| Date of death |
24 November 1991 |
| Place of death |
Kensington, London, England |
![THE LEGEND OF ZELDA RAP [MUSIC VIDEO]](http://web.archive.org./web/20131026030341im_/http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/mO1QBTG6EXs/default.jpg "THE LEGEND OF ZELDA RAP [MUSIC VIDEO]")
![Bruno Mars - It Will Rain [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://web.archive.org./web/20131026030341im_/http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/W-w3WfgpcGg/default.jpg "Bruno Mars - It Will Rain [OFFICIAL VIDEO]")
![ULTIMATE ASSASSIN'S CREED 3 SONG [Music Video]](http://web.archive.org./web/20131026030341im_/http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/12PWq22E9CQ/default.jpg "ULTIMATE ASSASSIN'S CREED 3 SONG [Music Video]")
![Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man [Official Video]](http://web.archive.org./web/20131026030341im_/http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/ekzHIouo8Q4/default.jpg "Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man [Official Video]")
![Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://web.archive.org./web/20131026030341im_/http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/LjhCEhWiKXk/default.jpg "Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are [OFFICIAL VIDEO]")
![Bruno Mars - Grenade [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://web.archive.org./web/20131026030341im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SR6iYWJxHqs/default.jpg "Bruno Mars - Grenade [OFFICIAL VIDEO]")
![Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://web.archive.org./web/20131026030341im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fLexgOxsZu0/default.jpg "Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song [OFFICIAL VIDEO]")
