Born: 5 September 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar.
Died: 24 November 1991 in Kensington, London, UK.

Best known as lead singer of British popular rock group Queen.

Born to parents Bomi and Jer Bulsara, in his youth he went to St. Peter's boarding school near Bombay, there he formed his first school band "The Hectics" where he played piano and excelled in playing it during his educational life.
At age 17 he and his family fled to England during the Zanzibar revolution. While in England he took up studies in art design. He also formed a band called Ibex but they failed to take off. Soon after he joined another band called Sour Milk Sea but it also soon disbanded.

In 1970 he met Brian May and Roger Taylor who at the time were going under the name Smile. Quickly taking full charge, he soon changed the name to "Queen", and with his art design education designed the band's logo. Around this time he changed his name legally to Freddie Mercury.

With their song "Bohemian Rhapsody" they gained stardom, and the following years up until the mid-1980's they proved to be worldwide stars, and certainly one of the biggest British bands of their era. An example of the band's status was their legendary 1985 "Live AID" performance in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium.

Between the late 1970's and early 1980's, Freddie took a break from the band to pursue a solo career, leaving the UK for NYC. Tragically, after some time there, in 1987 he was diagnosed with HIV.
During his illness he still recorded with Queen to finish his last album with them "Innuendo", and his last recorded song "Mother Love". As the disease took hold, he also barely managed to do a few music videos as well with songs like "I'm Going Slightly Mad" and "These Are The Days Of Our Life"; all featuring a very thin Freddie.

While this raised many questions about his health in the press, he insisted on keeping his illness secret. Just two days before Freddie passed away, he finally issued a statement about his illness.
On 24 November 1991, after a long time struggle with an associated AIDS-related illness, he died in his Kensington home. He was aged just 45.