Maybe someone else can do the others?
I originally did this as a school project, hence the titles.


Name: Farrokh Bulsara (Freddie Mercury)
Born: Stone Town, Zanzibar, Sept. 5, 1946
Died: London England, November 24, 1991 of Bronchopneumonia, brought on by AIDS

Early Years

Born on Stone Town, Zanzibar, Sept. 5, 1946, Farrokh Bulsara, he lived with his parents and younger sister, Kashmira, until he attended elementary school at St. Peter’s boarding school in Panchgani, near Bombay, India. This Zoroastrian with a Parsi descent learned to play the piano and joined his first band: The Hectics. He also attended Cathedral and John Connon School and St. Mary’s High School in Mozagon. He returned to Zanzibar, but the family moved to England because of the Zanzibar Revolution, when he was seventeen. He studied art at Isleworth Polytechnic (now called West Thames College). He performed in a play called ‘The Kitchen’, and went to gigs with friends at Eel Pie Island; Rod Stewart and many others were some of the performers he watched. He was remembered by his classmates as shy, friendly and musically inclined, even then.

Accomplishments

Farrokh had started to be called Freddie, and met his future band-mates, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May who were then in a band called.... In 1970, he replaced their singer, changed his name to Freddie Mercury and renamed the band to what would be known worldwide: Queen. In 1971, their bassist, John Deacon joined them. Queen’s first tour took place in 1974, as the opening act to Mott the Hoople. Their songs continued to be in the top-ten song list almost constantly, and, in 1975, one of their most famous hits, Bohemian Rhapsody, topped the charts for six weeks. Amazingly, it was re-released after Freddie died, and topped the charts once more in 1992. Queen experimented with many types of rock, including hard rock, glam rock, punk rock and rockabilly. They played at Live Aid in 1985. Many critics claim that he is the most accomplished and talented singer of all time. He also spent some time as a solo artist in the eighties. As the singer of Queen, he was the most out there member that everyone got to see; the drummer Taylor was in the far back, the bassist Deacon on the sidelines, and, although the guitarist May did come out for solos and such, he too mostly stayed on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Freddie was everywhere, strutting all around the stage, bringing the attention to himself, controlling the crown as almost no other artist could.

Interesting Facts

Freddie, a notorious bisexual, had a girlfriend, Mary Austin, although his affairs with men ended their relationship. However, they remained close friends until his death. In 1983, Freddie found a boyfriend in Jim Hutton. They lived together for the last six years of his life, considering each other husbands, and, when Freddie finally died, he wore a wedding ring that Hutton had given him. Freddie always had a slight overbite that he wanted to have fixed, but never had the time.

In 1992, the year after he died, there was a gigantic tribute concert, held in Wembley Stadium, the location of some of Queen’s biggest concerts. Many rock stars performed with remaining members of Queen, raising fifteen million dollars for AIDS charities while the crowd of 72 000 fans sang and stomped along to hits. The lineup of performers included David Bowie, Annie Lennox, George Michael, Lisa Stansfield, Elton John, Axl Rose, Def Leppard, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Extreme, Paul Young, Seal and Bob Geldof.

Why This Person is Historically Significant

Aside from the fact that Freddie Mercury was a phenomenal singer, and globally famous, he became an idol despite people’s homophobic and racist tendencies of the seventies and eighties. Most rock singers of that time were white, straight males, with a few exceptions. But, when people listened to Freddie, they realised that whatever his sexuality was and wherever he came from, he was a brilliant singer. If you asked people if they thought that a Parsi bisexual would ever make it that far, and influence the world as Freddie did, they wouldn’t believe you. However, he did, writing and singing powerful songs that are in many movies, commercials, books and cover versions by other artists. Freddie Mercury was not the only bisexual to help change people’s views; David Bowie and Elton John also contributed to the reducing of homophobia, at the same level, if not more.