There are few musicians that have made a more significant or lasting impression that Freddie

 

Mercury with his incredible range unconventionally operatic vocal style and refusal to subscribe to norms of masculinity.

Freddie Mercury was a man who defied convention at every turn

 

When you face an audience of 300,000 people like I saw you in Rio to get intimidated by the size of the crowd no the bigger the better in everything

 

and alongside his bandmates in queen he left an enduring musical legacy that continues to resonate with listeners today

 

freddie mercury died far too young but even before his fatal diagnosis

 

the bohemian rhapsody singer had already faced more than his fair share of challenges

 

mercury struggled in ways that few can imagine everybody was taking drugs so the combination of all those things and the massive success where you know you start to think and do anything then lead any kind of life without any consequences

 

for all his exuberance wild partying and apparent show of eve

 

mercury also had demons and inner struggles that he contended with his entire life

 

Mercury Was born on September 5th 1946 in the British protectorate of Zanzibar

his parents Bomi and gerbil Sarah named him Farouk a popular parsIs name in keeping with their ethno-religious background which means happy and fortunate.

 

that they selected for him as Farrell that was his birth name that was the name at that time very fashionable in in the past and I just wanted to name him

 

at age 7 he began taking piano lessons which would prove important in his musical development

 

videos to come running after reckless then that India was on and then the music was finished you entered this tool again and played that I am just getting some musically since he's got in here for music

 

mercury was sent to boarding school in India when he was eight and though it might be hard to believe he was incredibly shy at the time making matters worse was his substantial overbite which made him the target of much mockery among his peers and earned him the nickname Bucky

 

when size is space my mouth means more range i'll consider your offer

 

 though this would have caused many children to retreat inwards young for opel sarah flourished in the boarding school setting by the age of 12 he had already started his first band with shoolmates.

 

Already started his first bandwidth school mates and practising a lot and I really like every minute of it but I have to tell you about something else Rosemary had the idea to form a band and asked me if I wanted to be in it we will call ourselves the hectic

 

it was also around this time that he began going by Freddie and distinguished himself as a performer peers described him as being at once shy and ashow off depending on the situation this is a duality that would follow him throughout his life. outwardly exuberant but inwardly insecure

 

fed even recording  people darling we were sort of terribly shocked to notice something was not done and not spoken about in public and we were all terribly shocked. I mean a boy sings darling  to other boy you  didn’t say to a  girl in public in those days damn

 

it so mercury's childhood was a mostly happy one his life was upended in 1964 when his family was forced to flee Zanzibar out of fear for their safety when a violent revolution broke out

 

it was very frightening it was really frightening and everybody was rushing around and didn't know what to do exactly it and because we had young children went to decide to leave the country

 

it would ultimately go on to claimed  lives of many Indian and Arab people with some estimates placing the death toll as high as 20,000 thankfully the bull sera family got out in time and relocated to the town of Feltham in Middlesex England

 

if freddy had  the choice he would have been born at the age of about 21 in felton.   

 

 although tragedy brought the bulsara family to England the move did provide Freddie with opportunities he would have been unlikely to receive back home here he was able to study art in West london's Isleworth Polytechnic followed by graphic design at ealing art college

 

all the while he continued to develop his music both during his studies and after graduation

 

leaving in the spring of 66 with an A grade a level under his belt

 

mercury was involved in a number of projects but it was when he joined the band smile which would later evolve into queen that his life would change forever

 

well then you'll need someone new  I know it is . what about me.  No those teeth mate.

 

 the story of queen success has been well documented elsewhere so we're going to focus more specifically on freddie's personal life as the band rose from up and comers to living rock gods Freddie   became an icon his onstage flamboyance was generally accepted despite gender norms of the time but did lead to much speculation about his sexuality and by extension homophobia

 

it’s vision has got to be a visual theatrics will always be used all the greatest   abused  it decades

 

after his passing  people are still trying to put mercury's sexuality in a box was he gay was he bisexual the reality is the public confusion over sexual identity is a reflection of the singer's own lack of clarity

 

 

I think I'm bisexual ready okay

 

mercury never gave the press a straight answer when asked about his sexuality letting his actions speak for him nonetheless freddie's behaviour did result in backlash from fans as his style increasingly reflected the fashion of the 80s gay culture American listeners began to turn against the band

 

what do you think gay not this darling the house

 

some fans went as far as to throw razors onstage encouraging him to shave his gay moustache because he never identified himself as explicitly gay it was as if a portion of the fans sought to sanitise his image

 

the whole publicity from him    growing a moustache then he would have done if he committed suicide I thing

 

 but given the rampant homophobia of the time it's little wonder that while indulging in all manner of sexual activity and being an overtly sexual being- mercury never really explicitly came out as a gay man

 

in your song life ir real  what do you mean by the line love is a roulette wheel are you implying that the more partners you have the more chances you have of contracting something

 

what

 

over the course of his life mercury had a number of notable relationships his earliest and perhaps most enduring love was Mary Austin they lived together for many years and even got engaged but is mercury's interest in men became more apparent their relationship evolved into a platonic one

 

I don't know many people turn to and  the only one who we talking about it is marry who was a you know long you know  she's been a girlfriend of mine from a long time and even though we're not together right now . in legitimate   machine i sort   of refer to a lot

 

Freddie took many lovers over  the years but few  of them are more than a footnote   in his story by 1975 homeever he met radio DJ paul printer at a bar and the latter became a big part of freddie’s life involving himself with the rock star personally and as his manager

 

I saw him as a very subversive influence in the worst possible sense -----I don’t see  queens her in when they in the 60s I won’t be with them if they are I hope that I was sleeping

 

what  paul brento was his partner in crime

 

 they were lovers and for years seem to have behaved as life parthers . printers  professional influence over Freddie however seemingly drove a wedge between the singer and the band

 

do you want pissing off . this is a band discussion

 

printer and mercury’s relationship while largely obscured in mystery was by alla accounts of volatile and seemingly toxic and before passing of sida related illness himself printers sold a story outing Freddie to the tabloids

 

care about you. Paul doesn’t care about you. You don’t belong here pretty , humble mood.

 

Around the same time that printer and mercury parted ways . freddy began a relationship with Jimmy Hutton with whom he lived for the remaining years of his life  though he had lovers and friends mercury's life was one characterise first and foremost by an intense and pervasive sense of loneliness in a handful of candid interviews the singer revealed that he almost always felt alone surely

 

Comes a time when you want to share your life with someone yes but nobody wants to share his life with me

 

by his own admission he was prone to falling in love and falling hard and because he so often got his heartbroken he learned to close himself off holding back when he felt drawn to someone new

 

before he leaves boarding school the 14 year old Freddie jumps in a friend's autograph book modern paintings are like women you can't enjoy them if you try to understand them

 

 all the lovers he took in messy relationships he had including the complex one with Mary Austin were attempts to satisfy his greatest unrealised desire to be in a beautiful relationship with someone

 

 the more I opened up the more I get hurt so I mean you know it's so basically what happens is I'm just riddled with scars and I just don't want anymore

 

by his own admission however his self destructiveness made him difficult to love and so for much of his life Freddie suffered greatly desperately seeking love while burdened with the knowledge that he drove it away because of his iconic status is a party animal and his flamboyant nature people often tend to gloss over his substance abuse but according to Peter freestone who worked for mercury for over a decade getting the star his cocaine was a regular part of his job though   freestone doesn't frame it as an addiction cocaine seemed to be a staple and freddie's life part of his falling out with Michael Jackson allegedly stemmed from the queen singer using the drug in Jackson's home you generally can't party for days as mercury did without it damaging your behaviour

 

I've been hideous I know that I deserve your fury I've been conceited selfish

 

We’re not performing or otherwise entertaining he was known to be quite shy and drugs were likely an essential tool in helping him come shell the final chapter in Freddie mercury's life is the darkest and most well known

 

About it what sida

 

according to partner Jimmy Hutton mercury was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 but the singer didn't publicly acknowledge it until 1991 just 24 hours before his death up until the very end however even as his health deteriorated mercury continued to pursue his great passion music speaking with queen guitarist Brian May towards the end of his life he told his bandmate quote write me more right me stuff I want to just sing this and do it and when I'm gone you can finish it off

 

worst of all if  you bore me with your sympathy  that’s  just seconds wasted seconds that could be used making music which is all I want to do at the time I have left

 

the great showman eventually became bedridden lost most of his foot and began to lose his eyesight with various friends visiting him around the clock in the last few weeks of his life Freddie Mercury chose to embrace his fate by foregoing any further treatment  he died on November 24th 1991

 

you think you are going  to get to heaven no I don't want to hell  is much better look at the interest interesting people that  you’re gonna meet down there  you are gonna be there too you know.

 

Freddy left large sums of money to everyone from Jimmy Hutton to a chef and personal driver all the people who made his life a little less lonely the majority of his fortune however he left to Mary Austin the love of his life an longest lasting friend

 

his life had been nice work I think his joy had been that  and  I think without it he would have wouldn't have been strong enough to face

 

to the rest of us mercury left an enduring legacy of not only powerful and timeless music but also his fashion sense bold  personality and the high bar he said for all performers to follow

 

freddie was a one of a king and while  his life was difficult anda tragically short     he continues to inspire countless fans around the world

 

I don't regret any other things I did I'm just me just me