icon... freddie mercury <strong>out</strong>! icon... freddie mercury 14 <strong>northeast</strong> / issue 29 / <strong>out</strong><strong>northeast</strong>.com
icon... freddie mercury the great pretender photo: Queen Productions Limited Freddie Mercury entered this world on 5 September 1946, on the exotic Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar. On becoming a student at an English boarding school near Bombay, at the age of 8, Farrokh Bulsara soon picked up the nickname Freddie. A keen sportsman, he took up piano, joined the school choir, took part in theatrical productions, and by the age of 12, formed a school band with four fellow students. After school Freddie returned home to Zanzibar but political unrest saw the family uprooted and moved to Middlesex, England. He attended Ealing College and completed a graphic art and design diploma in 1969. A friend at college had introduced him to Roger Taylor and Brian May who were already playing music together. This re-ignited Freddie’s love of music and he went on to have short-lived consecutive experiences as a member of two bands, called Ibex (later re-named Wreckage) and Sour Milk Sea. After that he took up as lead singer with Roger and Brian’s band Smile and somehow persuaded them to change the name to Queen. At the same time Freddie added the surname of Mercury to his own. In 1971 the final fourth piece of the jigsaw fell into place when John Deacon joined the line-up. And the rest as they say, is history. Mercury penned Bohemian Rhapsody, the UK’s third best selling single of all time. It was number 1 in the UK for nine weeks in 1975, and reached pole position again in 1991 for five weeks following his death. It also peaked at number 2 in the US in 1992 as a result of featuring in the film Wayne’s World. The song allowed Freddie to show off much of his <strong>out</strong>standing 3.5 octave vocal range. For years Queen had a string of successive hits and successful world tours. 72k people witnessed them at Wembley Stadium for Live Aid in 1985. The show was watched on tv by a billion people worldwide (I recall it as one of the most moving days of my life). There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the stage belonged to Queen - or more specifically, Freddie. Arguably his finest hour - when the capacity crowd ate from the palm of his hand. Always overtly flamboyant, and with much of his music alluding to his sexual orientation, it seemed for decades, to pass over the heads of his mainly straight white male audiences. It wasn’t until the video for ‘I Want To Break Free’ was aired in 1984 that it was made abundantly clear to those who hadn’t quite ‘got it’. Freddie recorded a cover of ‘The Great Pretender’ containing the lyrics, ‘Oh yes I’m the great pretender, just laughing and gay like a clown, I seem to be what I’m not you see, I’m wearing my heart like a clown, too real when I feel what my heart can’t conceal’. The song bears a surreal resemblance to his off-stage life - right up until the end. Controversially, he never ‘came <strong>out</strong>’, although he has been quoted as referring to himself as “bisexual” and “openly gay” just “unwilling to justify my lifestyle”. Nonetheless, at public events he often distanced himself from his male partner. And after his death, left his estate to the woman he always considered “my common-law wife”. The song ‘Barcelona’ on which he duetted with international opera diva Montserrat Caballé, became a memorable theme for the 1992 Olympics. In fact his last public performance was in Barcelona in 1988. From 1988 there were many rumours that Freddie had AIDS, but these were denied until 23 November 1991, when he released the following statement, “I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private in order to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has now come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth, and I hope everyone will join me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease”. The following day the world lost a uniquely talented entertainer as Freddie died peacefully in his London home of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia, with close friends including George Michael at his side. Strangely Freddie never attracted much homophobia from the public, photo: Queen Productions Limited or the usual media witch hunts of the last century which generally accompanied being gay and in the spotlight - even after he passed away of what is still considered a ‘gay’ disease. Although Freddie Mercury was an indisputably entertaining stage performer, he kept his private life private. Not many can stake claim to the charismatic power and raw talent that he possessed. It is his contribution as a singer, songwriter, stage performer, that brought a unique blend of joy to the world. Quite rightly, it is this that he wished to be measured by. For this alone he is, 10 years after his death, an <strong>out</strong>! <strong>northeast</strong> icon. n by aly rhodes <strong>northeast</strong> / issue 29 / <strong>out</strong><strong>northeast</strong>.com 15
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