Freddie bhai
He just wanted to break free
The legendary Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, was born Farrokh Pluto Bulsara in Stone Town, Zanzibar to Bomi and Jer Bulsara. He had a sister, Kashmira Bulsara-Cooke. His parents were Parsis from the state of Gujarat (!!!) in western India. The name Bulsara was taken from the small Gujarati town in which Bomi Bulsara, Freddie's father, was brought up. Freddie's father was an accountant for the British Colonial Office in Zanzibar.
Mercury was educated at St. Peter's boarding school near Bombay, India, where he had his first musical training (Grade IV piano). His first onstage performance was also at St. Peters, with his five-member school band, the Hectics. It was at St. Peter's where he picked up the name 'Freddie'; soon even his parents addressed him by that name.
His songwriting was unique, demonstrating influence from a variety of sources, but with a strong individual sense of melody, harmony, and complex orchestration. In several of his most well-crafted and popular tunes he provided all of the vocal tracks, resulting in a smooth controlled sound that was at the time unprecedented. Many listeners identify "Bohemian Rhapsody" as the pinnacle of his musical achievement, but it is possible to find the seeds of this mini-opera in his earlier works.
He was well known for his extravagance and hedonism, but also for his kindness and generosity. He adored cats and kept several, even writing a song about his favourite ("Delilah", on the Innuendo album, 1991). He was a heavy smoker, which contributed to a roughening of his voice in the eighties.
He was bisexual; however, he did not officially come out until his announcement that he had AIDS, one day before he died.
A species of East African isopod, Cirolana mercuryi N. Bruce, 2004 was named for Freddy Mercury, as, quoting the type, "arguably Zanzibar's most famous popular musician and singer."
--
The song 'I want to break free' has special meaning for me. It was the first Queen song that I heard and I love the day I was made to listen to it and the person who made me listen to it. God bless her! We were getting back from a school picnic and I was sitting on the floor of the schoolbus right in the front along with her, doing nothing. Suddenly, she stuck out her headphones and put them in my ears. '..But life still goes on. I can't get used to living without you, living without you, living without you, by my side.', the man in the headphones was singing. The music video is absolutely stunning. All of Queen is dressed in drag, and Freddy's in his leather shorts and vaccumming. The song itself I think is simply about breaking free from the oppression of being single, needing someone to love you.
+
Recommended listening: Queen II
Mercury was educated at St. Peter's boarding school near Bombay, India, where he had his first musical training (Grade IV piano). His first onstage performance was also at St. Peters, with his five-member school band, the Hectics. It was at St. Peter's where he picked up the name 'Freddie'; soon even his parents addressed him by that name.
His songwriting was unique, demonstrating influence from a variety of sources, but with a strong individual sense of melody, harmony, and complex orchestration. In several of his most well-crafted and popular tunes he provided all of the vocal tracks, resulting in a smooth controlled sound that was at the time unprecedented. Many listeners identify "Bohemian Rhapsody" as the pinnacle of his musical achievement, but it is possible to find the seeds of this mini-opera in his earlier works.
He was well known for his extravagance and hedonism, but also for his kindness and generosity. He adored cats and kept several, even writing a song about his favourite ("Delilah", on the Innuendo album, 1991). He was a heavy smoker, which contributed to a roughening of his voice in the eighties.
He was bisexual; however, he did not officially come out until his announcement that he had AIDS, one day before he died.
A species of East African isopod, Cirolana mercuryi N. Bruce, 2004 was named for Freddy Mercury, as, quoting the type, "arguably Zanzibar's most famous popular musician and singer."
--
The song 'I want to break free' has special meaning for me. It was the first Queen song that I heard and I love the day I was made to listen to it and the person who made me listen to it. God bless her! We were getting back from a school picnic and I was sitting on the floor of the schoolbus right in the front along with her, doing nothing. Suddenly, she stuck out her headphones and put them in my ears. '..But life still goes on. I can't get used to living without you, living without you, living without you, by my side.', the man in the headphones was singing. The music video is absolutely stunning. All of Queen is dressed in drag, and Freddy's in his leather shorts and vaccumming. The song itself I think is simply about breaking free from the oppression of being single, needing someone to love you.
+
Recommended listening: Queen II
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home