Tomorrow 5th September, I Love Disco in the wake of Hard Rock Cafè from all over the world celebrates “FREDDY FOR A DAY”. How will he do it? Organizing a web event directly on the ILOVEDISCOOfficial facebook page. And you, Discolovers, can’t miss it!
Memories, songs, images and curiosities about the greatest rock legend in the world, FREDDY MERCURY of Queen, will follow each other for a whole day, non-stop. Everyone knows the songs that made him a world rock legend, but few know his private life. Let’s try, then, to find out something more about the man: who was Freddie? Where he was born? What instrument could he play? What was your first band? Who did he love? How was it in private life?
Freddie Mercury was born on September 5 67 years ago in Zanzibar, Stone Town to be exact.
Contrary to what people think, he arrived in England only at eighteen, and his schooling began in India. His natural propensity for music was immediately evident, so much so that it was the same institute of the St. Peter Boarding School, in Bombay, that recommended to the family a surplus of lessons in the study of the piano for the young man, Farrokh Bulsara (this in fact was his first name).
The early days in London were a continuous wandering between studying and looking for the ‘right’ band to play in. He tried unsuccessfully with Tim Staffell’s Smile and future mates Brian May and Roger Taylor, then joined Ibex, a band from nearby Liverpool.
But on September 9, 1969, something happened that marked their lives. Whether for an astral combination or for simple luck, on that 9th September both the two rock bands, Smile and Ibex, performed in Liverpool. Taylor and May are said to invite young Bulsara on stage to perform some tunes. It was the first official contact between the three musicians, but Roger Taylor had already heard him sing in some gay clubs, which he regularly frequented, despite being straight.
Tim Staffell leaves the two companions at the end of the year. May and Taylor then decide to hire Farrokh, “Freddie”, as the leading singer: this is how Queen was born. The band logo was designed by Mercury himself who, in addition to the phoenix, also reproduced the zodiac signs of the band.
Remembered by all for his voice, his sensual performances and his histrionic shows, Freddie was above all a genius songwriter.
May and Taylor themselves admitted in an interview that there was great competition within Queen to write the lyrics, and Freddie was certainly the one who could reinvent himself best. It was an innate talent. Most of his songs he composed on the piano, but for him everything was a source of inspiration for him.
From the first public appearances, a stage animal is shown. Great charisma, an imposing presence and an extravagant character. He took the name of Freddie Mercury, following the composition of My Fairy.
In a 1974 interview, he made his homosexuality public and thus became an icon for the gay movement. his concerts and to enhance the character. The changes in look were many and always sudden, from long hair and full to white jacket, to short hair and mustache with tight suits and showy make-up. He always said: ‘a concert is not a live rendition of our album. It is a theatrical event ”.
1989 coincides with his choice to retire from public life. It was at that time that he ascertained that he had contracted the HIV virus; the news, however, was kept semi-hidden almost until the end and, ironically, the announcement of the disease was given by Mercury himself in a statement issued on November 23, 1991, the day before his tragic death. There he is:
“… I wish to confirm that I have tested positive for the HIV virus and that I have contracted AIDS. I have found it appropriate to keep this information confidential until now in order to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join me, the doctors who follow me and those around the world in the fight against this terrible disease … “
Only 35 were present at his funeral, including his partner Jim Hutton, Elton John, Michael Jackson, David Bowie. Ten million pounds, half of her inheritance, went to Mary Austin, the rest to her family. To Comrade Jim, £ 500,000.
On April 20, 1992, the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was organized at the Wembley Stadium (Lonfra), the proceeds of which were directed to the newly formed “Mercury Pohenix Trust”, an association committed to the fight against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The funds that will also be raised tomorrow, September 5th, with the world event “FREDDY FOR A DAY” will be donated to the “Mercury Pohenix Trust”, because as Freddy would say: “the show must go on”!