Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara – British musician, rock singer and songwriter, vocalist of the British band Queen. Repeatedly awarded the title of one of the best vocalists in the history of popular music, author of hits such as “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Are the Champions” and “Killer Queen”.

Mercury, although shy and reserved, as he himself admitted, was an energetic and charismatic performer on stage, considered one of the best showmen in the history of rock music. The vocalist did not consider himself the leader of the band, claiming that all its members were equal, but the audience’s attention was focused on him. In a letter that Kurt Cobain of the group Nirvana wrote before his death in 1994, we can read:

I feel more guilty about these things than I can express – for example, when we’re backstage and the lights go down and the crowd starts roaring, it doesn’t affect me the way it did Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love and bask in the love and adoration of the crowd.
Together with May, Taylor and Deacon, he played over 700 concerts around the world. Famous performances include Wembley Stadium (Magic Tour, July 11 and 12, 1986), the Iron Curtain show in Budapest (1986), the record-breaking show in South America (São Paulo, March 20, 1981, 130,000 people), the band’s final concert at Knebworth Park in England on August 9, 1986 (150,000 people).

One of the most famous events during the British group’s activity was the charity concert Live Aid (1985). Its main hero was Mercury, the performance lasted 20 minutes and was counted among the best concerts in the history of rock music. Immediately after it, Elton John said “they stole the show from themselves”, and the concert organizer, Bob Geldof, many years later stated that Freddie Mercury was born to play in front of 1.6 billion people who watched the concert on television.

The Queen frontman had an exceptional rapport with the audience, which made the band’s concerts enjoy an extraordinary reputation. A constant element of their concerts was a game consisting of repeating phrases sung by the vocalist – “eeooo”, “deeeeeoooo” etc.

An inseparable element of the stage show were the characteristic costumes, designed by, among others, Zandra Rhodes and Diana Moseley, e.g. white trousers, tight costumes straight from ballet, a yellow leather jacket from the Magic Tour or the coronation at the end of the concert to the sounds of “God Save the Queen”. Since playing in Wreckage, when on December 12, 1969, he unscrewed the heavy base of the microphone stand, which made it difficult for him to move around the stage, he used half a stand, which over time became his trademark.

He became famous for his characteristic voice timbre, unusual for rock vocalists, and his range, which was four octaves.

Although he sang technically and in various styles, he claimed that he had never studied singing. His natural voice was baritone, but he sang tenor. At Montserrat Caballé’s request, he sang “Ensueño” from the album Barcelona in baritone. During live performances, he usually sang in a lower voice than during studio recordings. Mercury’s voice changed over the years, becoming lower and hoarse, influenced by, among other things, the cigarettes he began smoking during the sessions for The Game in 1979.

For many years he struggled with the health consequences of professional singing, i.e. vocal nodules. However, he refused surgical intervention and supported himself with a steam inhaler and lozenges.Mercury wrote most of Queen’s songs, including the band’s first UK single, “Seven Seas of Rhye,” their first major hit, “Killer Queen,” and their most famous song, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Of the 17 songs on the Greatest Hits album, the frontman wrote ten (“Seven Seas of Rhye,” “Killer Queen,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Somebody to Love,” “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy,” “We Are the Champions,” “Bicycle Race,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Play the Game”). He wrote not only rock and pop songs, but also disco and even rockabilly.

He played the piano, synthesizers and organ (in the studio). Although he was not a keyboard virtuoso, his compositions on this instrument were original, with a special emphasis on rhythm. Since the 60s, when he was a fan of Jimi Hendrix, Mercury played the guitar, but he was not satisfied with the results. During concerts, before the song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, during which he played the instrument, he often said into the microphone that he could not play, e.g. “This shitty guitar never plays the chords I want” (Live at Wembley Stadium) or “Ten years ago I could play three chords on the guitar. Now, in 1982, I know three chords on the guitar” (Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl).