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Freddie Mercury
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Freddie Mercury is one of top Rock Music Legend. He was a lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Queen. He was born at September 5, 1946, in Stone Town, Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania). He come from Parsi-India bloodline, his parents were zoroastrians. They are Bomi and Jer Bulsara. The name of Bulsara come from the name of a town, Bulsar. They had lived in Gujarat region of the province of Bombay (British India).
Mercury spent his childhood in India, along with his younger sister, Kashmira. He began taking piano lessons at the age of seven (1954) and at eight, he was sent to study at St. Peter's School, a British-style boarding school for boys in Panchgani, Bombay. At age 12, he formed a school band , the Hertics, and covered artist such as Cliff Richard and Little Richard. He was famous in those days for he had uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on a piano. In St. Peter, he began call himself "Freddie". He remained in Indi, living with his grandmother and aunt until he completed his education at St. Mary's School, Bombay.
Bulsara's family was moved to Zanzizar because Jer Bulsara had a career as a cashier at Britis Collonial Office. But at a age of 17, this family was fled from Zanzibar for safety reasons due to 1964 Zanzibar Revolution. The family moved into a small house in Feltham, Middlesex, England. He enrolled Art study at Isleworth Polytechnic in West London. He got Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Ealing Art College, he used this skill to design his band's symbol, Queen's crest.
After his graduation, Mercury joined a series of bands and sold second hand clothes in the Kensington Market in London. He also held a job at Hearthrow Airport. His friends acknowledge him as a quiet and shy young man who showed a great deal of interest in music. In 1969, he joined Ibex, later renamed to Wreckage. When this band failed to take off, he joined a second band called Sour Milk Sea. But by early 1970 this group broke up as well.
April 1970, he joined guitarist Brian May and Drummer Roger Taylor who had been in a band called Smile. His influence on this band make him able to name his band, Queen, as he want. He later said about the band's name, " I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet it". In this time also, he change his surname, Bulsara, to Mercury. And he remained a British citizen for the rest of his life.
As a singer, Mercury had a baritone range voice, but he delivered most songs in the tenor range. His vocal range extended from bass low F (F2) to soprano high F (F6), he even 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 crystalline in the upper reaches. When Mercury recorded an album with Spanish's soprano artist, Montserrat Caballe, she was commenting on Mercury's voice as "Freddie was selling voice, 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 coloring or expressive nuance for each word." In live concert, Mercury often increasingly alter the highest notes of their songs, harmonising with seconds, thirds or fifth instead. He was said to have "the rawest vocal fold nodules" and he claimed that he never had any formal vocal training.
Mercury wrote 10 of 17 songs on Queen's Greates Hits album: Bohemian Rapshody, 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.
Mercury was famous for his songwriting style because he involved a wide range of genres, which included, rockabilly, progressive rock, heavy metal, gospel and disco, among others. In 1986 on an interview he said, " 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". He also also famous for write a musically complex material, compare to other popular songwriters. When he wrote Bohemian Rapshody, people recognize it's cyclic 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.
Mercury played the piano inmany of Queen's most popular songs, including Killer Queen, Bohemian Rapshody, 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 harpsichord. From 1980 onward, he also made frequent use of synthesiser in the studio. Queen's 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 on stage and entertain audience. He often write song with guitar instrument line but actually he possessed only rudimentary skill on the instrument. And although Mercury was skillfull on piano , he got underestimated himself about keyboard instrument, and he extensively using guest keyboardists on his works with Queen and his solo career. He had enlisted Fred Mendel (a Canadian musician who also worked for Pink Floyd, Elton John and Supertramp) for his solo project, and from 1985 onward collaborated with Mike Moran (in studio) and Spike Edney (in concert), leaving most of the keyboard work exclusively to them.
Mercury was noted for his live performances, which were often delivered to stadium audiences around the world. His highly theatrical style attracted his fans, and he often evoked a great deal of participation from the crowd. The Spectator describe him as "a performer out of taste, shock and ultimately charming his audience with various extravagant versions of himself". David Bowie, his fellow performancer in Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recorded the song "Under Pressure" with Queen, praised his performance style. He said, " 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".
Mercury's performance with Queen in 1985 at Live Aid, with audience of 72,000 people was noted for it's unison of clapped, sang and swayed of the crowd. Many were voted it as the greatest live performance in the history of rock music. In 2005, a television proggram called "The World's Greatest Gigs" reviewing Live Aid as "Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top sports 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"
In all his career, Mercury had performed 700 concert in countries around the globe. Queen's concert was noted for it's large scale audiences. In 1981, the band were the first ever to play in South American Stadium, breaking worldwide records for concert attendance in the Morumbi Staidum in Sao Paulo. When in Budapest, Queen's concert was one of the biggest concert ever held in Eastern Europe. Queen's final live performance took place on August 9, 1986 at Knebworth Park in England had drew attendance of 300,000 people.
In addition his work with Queen, Mercury released two solo albums and several singles. His solo albums 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 perform with the opera singer Montserrat Caballe whom he had long admired. Some were not as successful as Queen's albums, but few of his single debuted in the top of the UK Album Charts.
Mr. Bad Guy debuted in the top ten of the UK Album Charts. A remix of it's song, Living on My Own, reached number 1 position on the UK Singles Charts in 1993. This album is heavily synthesiser-driven in a way that is not characteristic of previous Queen albums. Barcelona was recorded with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe combines elements of popular music and opera. The album was a commercial success and the album's title track debuted at number 8 position in the UK charts, just like it's hit Spain. The title track received massive air plays as the official hymn of the 1992 Summer Olympics (held in Barcelona one year after Mercury's death) and 1999 UEFA Champions League Final in Barcelona also.
A few singles had been put out by Mercury on his career. He make his own version of The Great Pretender by The Platter which debuted at number 5 in the UK in 1987. He also made several recorded tracks with Michael Jackson in 1981-1983 including a demo of State of Shock, Victory and There Must Be More to Life than This, although none of this collaboration were officially released. Jackson went on to record the former song with Mick Jagger for The Jacksons's album Victory, and Mercury included the solo version of the latter song on his Mr. Bad Guy album.
And his solo effort involved his contribution to the Richard "Wolfie" Wolf mix of Love Kills on the 1984. album. This song was produced by Giogioalso Moroder and had been used as the end title theme for National Lampoon's "Loaded Weapon" and new soundtrack to the 1926 Fritz Lang film Metropolos, and debuted at the number 10 position in the UK charts.n 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.
Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS shortly after Easter of 1987. His partner Jim Hutton confirm ed this. Although he denied those claims. Despite the denials, British press pursued the rampant rumours over the next few years, fuelled by Mercury's increased gaunt appearance, his absence from Queen's touring and reports from former lovers to various tabloid journals.
On November 22, 1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to discuss a public statement. The next day he held a press conference. He said, "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."
Over 24 hours after his press conference, Mercury died on the evening of November 24, 1991 at the age of 45, at his home in Kensington. The official cause of his death was bronchial pneumonia, resulting from AIDS. The news about his death had reached newspaper and television crews by the early hours of November 25.
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.
