Freddie Mercury
Farookh Bursara (1946 - 1991), most well known as, Freddie Mercury was the vocalist for the English Rock band, Queen. Beside singing, Freddie was also a song-writer and a record producer. He was well known for his energetic and influential performance. Freddie vocal range is three-octave which is rare for any human being to achieve that height of vocal range. More over, his life was full of speculation due to his sexuality (gay), but still, the people and followers of Queen remains, thus, increasing. Mercury died in 1991 due to AIDS. However, Queen and his legacy still went on until this day, as his voice still echoes around their fans and also nowadays younger generations. I was a big fan of him and also Queen (who didn't??), so here's some short Top 10 Facts about the legendary Freddie Mercury:
1. Queen's Iconic Emblem
Freddie designed the famous Queen's emblem himself, thanks to his degree in art and graphic design from Ealing Art College. He called this emblem as Queen Crest.
2. Recording Royalties
Before Freddie discovered his true sexuality, he was once dated with Mary Austin in the 70s, soon, when Freddie explore his true sexuality, they broke up but still remain close as a friend. Mary Austin was his manager and closest friend. When he died, he left most of his money, house, and his recording royalties.
3. Freddie Bottomless Mic Stand Signature
His trademark, "bottomless mic", was discovered by accident. Whilst performing a show in Queen's early years, his mic stand snapped in the mid-performance. Instead of replacing it, he carried on performing and continued to use bottomless mic stand from then on.
4. Last Appearance
Queen won the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution in 1990. All four members of the band came to the stage to accept the award. It was Mercury's last appearance in front of an audience.
5. Stamp Collector
Freddie was an avid and fastidious philatelist (stamp collector). His extensive collection is still exhibited at stamp shows world wide as being under the estate of his birth name. He was voted number 59 in BBC's poll of the Greatest Britons, but was born in Zanzibar.
6. Beliefs
Freddie's birth name was Farookh Bursara. He legally change his name to Freddie Mercury around 70s, when Queen was formed. He and family are Parsi and practiced Zoroastrian religion. His funeral was performed by a Zoroastrian priest.
7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Freddie wrote "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" in the bathroom. He was in the tub at a hotel and got inspired for the song, it is said that he even had a piano brought to his tub to allow him to compose.
8. Rose Named After Freddie Mercury
Queen was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001. A species of yellow rose was named after Freddie Mercury after his death.
9. Freddie's Iconic Vocal
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana's frontman), mentioned Freddie in his suicide note, explaining how he admired and envied his ability to perform and embrace the love of his audience. Freddie had a recorded range of three (almost four) octave, with a majority of his singing falling in the tenor range.
10. Freddie's Death
Freddie Mercury died due to complications from AIDS, which he kept it as secret from public knowledge for years. Freddie died a day after he finally announced his condition publicly.
