Freddie Mercury was a legend: not only for being the lead singer for the hit rock band Queen, but also for bringing awareness to the AIDS epidemic during the 80s and 90s. When Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991, the world was shocked, especially since he only announced his illness the day before.His birth name was Farrokh Bulsara, but he changed it to Freddie Mercury around 1970 when Queen was formed. After the lead singer of the band Smile left, Freddie filled the spot and the name changed to Queen. Freddie had an impressive 4 octave range, which he believed was due to the extra 4 teeth he had in the back of his mouth. The rest is history.
In 1973, the band signed with Elektra Records and released their first album, Queen, which was not very successful. However, the band rose in popularity after the release of their second album, Queen II, in 1974. In 1975, Queen released their famous hit single, Bohemian Rhapsody, which gave a fresh, new sound to the radio.
Because Queen, and more specifically, Freddie, had a unique sound, the crowd was often left awestruck after an electrifying performance. Freddie's constant vibrant and energetic performances explain why everyone was shocked when he finally announced he had been battling AIDS.
After Freddie Mercury died the next day, awareness of AIDS became much more prominent and much more discussed. His bandmates raised millions of dollars for AIDS research in memory of Freddie. Since Freddie revolutionized music, he has inspired many artists today, such as Lady Gaga and Nivana.
Sources:
https://startsat60.com/discover/opinion/how-freddie-mercury-changed-the-world-in-life-and-in-death
https://www.history101.com/freddie-mercury/
https://history-biography.com/history-of-queen/
I thought this was a really interesting and informative post! I love all of the details you included about Freddie Mercury and his musical career with Queen. As you mentioned, Mercury's death also raised a lot of awareness for the growing AIDS epidemic. I think seeing an idolized celebrity pass away made people realize that the disease was a real issue and it could affect anyone. After looking into it a little more, I learned that Mercury was actually diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, but he decided to keep the news private and only told a few friends.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1238266/Freddie-Mercury-Queen-die-AIDS-death-mum-Jer-Bulsara
This is a really interesting post! I also believe that Freddy Mercury and his AIDS diagnosis helped humanize the victims battling the disease and convince many people to draw away from the negative stigma and stereotypes surrounding the disease since he was such a high-profile and influential person. As for Queen's music, I also found out that there was a sort of controversy surrounding the release of Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio. Queen's record label, EMI did not want to release the full, six minute song because they thought it was too long and they did not understand it, however Freddy Mercury was unwilling to make this compromise and today, the international hit is mostly recognized by the unedited version.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thewrap.com/bohemian-rhapsody-fact-check-label-resist-release-single/