Superstar Freddie Mercury is of Indian origin:
Freddie Mercury, original name Farrokh Bulsara, (born September 5, 1946, Stone Town, Zanzibar [now in Tanzania]—died November 24, 1991, Kensington, London, England), British rock singer.
And songwriter whose flamboyant showmanship and powerfully agile vocals, most famously for the band Queen, made him one of rock’s most dynamic front men.
Bulsara was born to Parsi parents who had emigrated from India to Zanzibar, where his father worked as a clerk for the British government.
As a child, Bulsara was sent to a boarding school in Panchgani, Maharashtra state, India.
Artistically inclined from an early age, he formed a band there in which he played the piano.
When Zanzibar became part of the independent country of Tanzania in 1964, Bulsara moved with his family to Feltham, England.
He later studied graphic art and design at Ealing Technical College and School of Art (now part of the University of West London), graduating in 1969.
By the early 1980s Queen had become an international phenomenon, drawing particular attention for its elaborately staged performances in enormous venues.
Strutting the stage in outrageous costumes, Mercury effortlessly commanded audiences in the tens of thousands.
Although Queen’s commercial fortunes had begun to wane by mid-decade, the band arguably reached its apotheosis as a live act with a stellar performance at the charity concert Live Aid in 1985.
That same year Mercury released the solo record Mr. Bad Guy, which took musical inspiration from disco.
Mercury later appeared on the sound track of Dave Clark’s science-fiction musical Time (1986) and teamed with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé for the semi-operatic album Barcelona (1988).
In 1991 Mercury announced that he had been diagnosed with AIDS
In 1991 Mercury announced that he had been diagnosed with AIDS. He died a day later from complications related to the disease.
Until shortly before his death, Mercury had continued to record with Queen, and he was posthumously featured on the band’s final album, Made in Heaven (1995). His time with Queen was dramatized in the blockbuster film Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).
Although Rami Malek won an Academy Award for his performance as Mercury in the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody was criticized for its sanitized presentation of Mercury’s complicated life, particularly his sexual fluidity.
