Queen’s frontman, Freddie Mercury, was one of classic rock’s biggest personalities, but his life before the stage was shockingly conservative. Leading Queen on a meteoric rise to fame, Mercury’s performances were mesmerizing, explosive, and unforgettable.
The band is credited with altering the
world’s concept of what music could be forever — their influence inestimable. Yet, Mercury’s early life was far from the dazzling lifestyle he would later lead.
Freddie Mercury’s childhood
Born in Zanzibar, India on September 5, 1946, Mercury’s name at birth was Farrokh Bulsara. He was born to conservative, Persian parents who raised him with a focus on education, sending Mercury (then, still Bulsara) to boarding school in what is now Mumbai at only 8 years old, according to GQ. It was then that Mercury began going by “Freddie.”
When he finished school, Mercury returned to Zanzibar to find his home consumed with violence as the Zanzibar Revolution began. Fleeing the riots, the family moved to Middlesex, England in 1964 where Mercury studied graphic art and design in West London.
His greatest passion, however, had always been music, something his mother noted from the very beginning. She said, according to Domesticated Companion, “Right from the start, Freddie was musical. He had it on his mind all the time.”
Freddie Mercury worked as an airport baggage handler before joining Queen
While attending college in London, Mercury began working part-time jobs, including one as a baggage handler at London’s Heathrow Airport — something British Airways is proud of. In 2018, on what would’ve been Mercury’s 72nd birthday, the airline hosted a “Freddie for a Day” celebration of the pop star.
The festivities included the baggage handlers lip-syncing and hip-thrusting in outstanding choreographed dances in the middle of the terminal (now memorialized on YouTube) and playing Queen’s music throughout all arrival and departure gates.
Additionally, British Airways invited “any customer who is called Freddie, Frederick or the legend’s real name, Farrokh… [and] their traveling companions to use British Airways’ first lounge, accessed through the exclusive First Wing.”
Queen was created after Freddie Mercury joined the band, then called Smile
When not slinging bags at Heathrow, Mercury appreciated the London music scene, frequenting underground concerts. It was at one of these concerts that Mercury first met Brian May and Roger Taylor, the guitarist and drummer of Smile. When the band’s lead singer dropped out in 1970, Mercury stepped in to replace him.
By 1971, the band had changed its name to Queen. Mercury had officially changed his moniker to that which would be known forever in rock history. Queen’s 1975 song “Bohemian Rhapsody” became the UK’s favorite hit of all time. The band has the longest-running fan club of any band in history, and Queen’s albums have spent more time on the UK album charts than any other artist, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Their 1981 greatest hits album alone has spent nearly 20 years on the UK charts.
Mercury’s influence permeated the social culture and continues to do so, as evidenced by the tribute from British Airways — an expertly executed nod to Mercury’s incredible life and an act Mercury himself would’ve likely appreciated.
