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FREDDIE MERCURY – THE ORIGINAL GREATEST SHOWMAN!
Freddie Mercury is well known as having been the lead singer of Queen up until his death in 1991.
Following the release of the film biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ about Freddie’s life in 2018, you could be forgiven for thinking you know everything there is to know about this legendary frontman.
But hopefully in the next couple of hundred words will have a surprise or two for you!
Early Life and Childhood
Freddie was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) in 1946. As a child he attended boarding school in India, and it was here when he was just 12 years old that he formed his first band, The Hectics, which specialised in Cliff Richard and Little Richard covers. It was also around this time that he started calling himself Freddie. In the mid-1960s that Freddie and his family moved to Britain and settled in Feltham in Middlesex. Freddie’s family were followers of Zoroastrianism – one of the world’s oldest continuously practised religions, but the revolution in Zanzibar at that time meant that the family’s religion put them at risk of persecution. As Zanzibar had been a British protectorate the family were British subjects and able to find sanctuary in the UK.
Once settled in what is now West London, Freddie studied graphic design (something which he would put to good use later when designing the artwork used by Queen). It was in 1970 that Freddie joined the band that Brian May and Roger Taylor had formed and became their lead singer.
Performance Skills
Freddie was different from most other frontmen, not just because of his stage presence, but because of his 4-octave vocal range (most people sing with 2 a range of 2 octaves!). This meant that he could sing anything from a low bass to a high soprano. If you’ve ever tried singing along to certain Queen songs, it’s also why you’ll struggle at certain points. In fact, when preparing to sing at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert after his death, many performers had to ask Queen to alter the arrangements of some of their most famous songs because of this!
Solo Career
Despite Queen’s success as a band, Freddie’s solo work was never as successful in the charts. In fact, Freddie’s only solo number 1 single came after he died in 1993 when a remix of ‘Living on my Own’ was released.
One of his most commercially successful solo projects was the ‘Barcelona’ album, a collaboration with Montserrat Caballe widely regarded as the most successful rock/opera crossover there has been. What most people don’t realise about this project is that it was Montserrat Caballe who requested that Freddie Mercury work with her on the project. And that Freddie was very nervous about meeting the operatic legend!
Later Life
Sadly, Freddie didn’t get to perform Barcelona, or see it performed, at the Olympic Games held in the city in 1992. In November 1991, after many years of speculation about his health, and having confirmed to the press just 24 hours earlier that he was suffering from AIDS, Freddie died at his home in Kensington of AIDS related pneumonia.
The last Queen single released prior to Freddie’s death was ‘The Show Must Go On’, released just 6 weeks prior. Thanks to the amazing back catalogue of songs that Freddie left behind, nearly 30 years after his death the show definitely is still going on. And with the kind of magic that Freddie had, will no doubt continue to be enjoyed for many years to come.
Did you ever get to meet Freddie Mercury?
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9th June 2024 Here's this week's playlist from our Sunday request show. Many of our listeners have been asking if they can get a list of all the songs we play, so here it is. Chris Taylor was in charge this Sunday with producer Lucy. This weeks theme was songs with a vowel at the start. If you haven't heard of us before make sure you join us every Sunday 10am.
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There's one big thing that sets us apart from our competition. We do it all for free. From the very beginning our aim was to create a radio station we would want to listen to. Twenty two years later and Forest Radio is the fastest growing internet radio stations in Essex. But in order for us to continue playing the good time oldies we need your help.
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 500 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Duran Duran. But don't get too comfy, it is only 500 words (ish).
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Reggae is a musical genre that originated from Jamaica and gained popularity in the 1960s. The genre was highly influenced by American jazz, ska, rocksteady and rhythm and blues. Usually, reggae music is off beat, has a slow tempo and is drum and bass heavy. Lyrics often were politicised and stressed the social and economic injustices in the world. The genre is often linked to Rastafarianism and has spread to countries across the world. Reggae spread to the UK in the 70s and influenced bands such as UB40, Steel Pulse and Aswad. Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley and the Wailers and UB40 are three of the most influential and successful reggae artists of all time. See below a little about each artist.
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