A Tribute To Freddie Mercury On What Would Have Been His 74th Birthday

Sep 04, 2020

If Freddie Mercury hadn’t passed away at the age of 45 nearly three decades ago, he would have turned 74 today. In celebration of Mercury’s birthday and musical legacy — which continues to influence pop music today — we’ll look back on highlights of the British singer's short but awe-inspiring life.

When Freddie Mercury passed away in November of 1991 due to complications with AIDS, the world lost one of its most versatile and dynamic musicians, someone who was known for changing the face of pop music forever. While no one could have predicted that Mercury would go on to become one of the most well-known musicians in the world — most famous for Queen hits like We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Another One Bites The Dust — the Tanzanian born singer was musical from a young age.

As Biography.com details, Mercury was born exactly 74 years ago as Farrokh Bulsara in Tanzania on September 5, 1946. When Mercury was 8, however, his parents sent him to a boarding school in India where he learned to play the piano. In his teens, he already formed a band called "The Hectics", in which he played the piano.

It wasn't until 1964, when Zanzibar became part of Tanzania, that his family moved back to England. Soon after, young Farrokh Bulsara began singing with London bands. He quickly formed friendships with two members of the band "Smile", guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. When Smile’s lead singer quit in 1970, Bulsara seized his chance and sang in his place. It wasn't long before he changed his birth name to Freddie Mercury – and the group’s name to Queen.

With their unique brand of music that incorporated elements of heavy metal and glam rock, Queen's approach to both songwriting and studio production soon paid off. Bohemian Rhapsody, arguably their most iconic track, spent nine weeks atop the British singles chart. More gigantic hits like We Are the Champions and We Will Rock You followed, which even today are almost universally known, not least due to their popularity at sporting events in Britain and the US. Even as the band's popularity waned ever so slightly in the early 80s, they added perhaps the most memorable milestone to their career with their unforgettable appearance at the Live Aid charity concert in 1985. Even if just 21 minutes long, it was voted the greatest live performance in the history of rock in a 2005 industry poll.

Sadly, Mercury, who had also been releasing solo albums from 1985 on, announced that he had been diagnosed with AIDS on November 23, 1991. He passed away only a day later. Queen's 1995 record, Made in Heaven, still features his immortal vocals, even if posthumously. One of the most touching tributes in the wake of his death was given by Elton John, who explained how he opened his front door to discover a present from Mercury wrapped in a pillow case on the first Christmas after Mercury’s death. Inside the case was a painting by Henry Scott Tuke, who was a favorite artist of Elton John.

"I was overcome, 44-years-old at the time, crying like a child,” wrote Elton John in his memoir, quoted by The Mirror. “Here was this beautiful man, dying from AIDS, and in his final days, he had somehow managed to find me a lovely Christmas present.”

Queen's immortal hits and the huge success of the blockbuster biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) leave no doubt that this unique man will never be forgotten, even nearly 30 years after his death. With which song are you celebrating what would have been his 74th birthday? Tell us below.