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His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, were both Parsee (Persian). Hisfather, Bomi, was a civil servant, working as a High Court cashier forthe British Government. Freddie's sister, Kashmira, was born in 1952.In 1954, at the age of eight, Freddie was shipped to St Peter's Englishboarding school in Panchgani, about fifty miles outside Bombay. It wasthere his friends began to call him Freddie, a name the family alsoadopted.As St Peter's was an English school, the sports played there weretypically English. Freddie loathed cricket and long-distance running,but he liked hockey, sprint and boxing. At the age of 10 he became aschool champion in table tennis. Freddie was not only a goodsportsman, his artistic skills were incomparable. At the age of twelve he was awarded the school trophy as Junior All-rounder. Heloved art, and was always sketching for friends or relatives.He was also music mad and played records on thefamily's old record player, stacking the singles to play constantly. Themusic he was able to get was mostly Indian, but some Western musicwas available. He would sing along to either and preferred music toschool work. The principal headmaster of St Peter's had noticed Freddie's musicaltalent, and wrote to his parents suggesting that they might wish topay a little extra on Freddie's school fees to enable him to studymusic properly. They agreed, and Freddie began to learn to play thepiano. He also became a member of the school choir and took partregularly in school theatrical productions. He loved his piano lessonsand applied himself to them with determination and skill, finallyachieving Grade IV both in practical and theory.
Freddie Mercury
was born Farrokh Bulsara on Thursday September 5th 1946 on the small spiceisland of Zanzibar.
 
In 1958, five friends at St Peter's - Freddie Bulsara, Derrick Branche,Bruce Murray, Farang Irani and Victory Rana - formed the school'srock'n roll band, the Hectics, where Freddie was the piano player. They would play at school parties, at annual fetes and school dances,but little else is known about them.In 1962, Freddie finished school, returned to Zanzibar and spent histime with friends in and around the markets, parks and beaches. In1964, many of the British and Indians, due to political unrest inZanzibar, left their country, although not under forcible pressure, andamong those driven out were the Bulsaras who migrated to England.Initially they lived with relatives in Feltham, Middlesex, until they wereable to find their own small, terraced house in the area. Freddie wasseventeen, and had derided he wanted to go to art college, butneeded at least one A level to ensure he could get in. In September1964 he enrolled at the nearby Isleworth PolytechnicDuring vacations he took a variety of jobs to earn some money; onewas in the catering department at Heathrow Airport, a stone's throwfrom home, and the other was on the Feltham trading estate, wherehe had a job in a warehouse lifting and stacking heavy crates andboxes. His fellow workers commented on his 'delicate' hands,certainly not suited for such work, and asked him what he did. He toldthem he was a musician just 'filling in time', and such was his charmthat those co-workers were soon doing the lion's share of his work.He studied hard, although he preferred the aesthetic side of schoollife to the more mundane academic side, and easily achieved his Art Alevel, leaving Isleworth in the spring of 1966. His grade A pass and hisnatural skill ensured that he was readily accepted by Ealing College of Art and, in September 1966, Freddie began a graphic illustratingcourse at that college.After Jimi Hendrix exploded onto the scene in 1967, and Freddiebecame an ardent fan, he spent time sketching and drawing his hero;drawings he would frame and use to decorate the walls of his flat inKensington, rented by his friend Chris Smith, where Freddie hadmoved from the family home in Feltham. At that time Kensington wasan important place to be for the art crowd - it was the base of thefamous Biba boutique and the home of Kensington Market, frequentedby the then 'in' crowd.hey offered him the job, and in late 1969 Freddie became the leadsinger with Sour Milk Sea. The other members of the band were ChrisChesney on vocals and guitar, bass player Paul Milan, Jeremy 'Rubber'Gallop on rhythm guitar and Rob Tyrell on drums. They did a fewrehearsals, and then a few gigs in Oxford (Chris's home town).
 
Freddie and Chris, who was about seventeen at the time, becameclose friends and Chris moved into the house that Freddie shared withSmile in Ferry Road, Barnes. The other members of Sour Milk Seawere more than a little peeved Chris and Freddie spent so much timetogether, and felt rather insecure about the future of the band. After just two months Jeremy, who owned nearly all the equipment, deridedto take it back and break up the band.In April 1970 Tim Staffell decided to leave Smile, and Freddie jointhem as lead singer. Freddie decided to change the name of the bandto Queen, he also changed his last name to Mercury. The further biography of Freddie Mercury is to considerable degree a story of Queen .In 1970 Freddie met Mary Austin. They lived togetherfor seven years and remained good friends until his death.In 1971 John Deacon joined the band and Queen were complete.Freddie designed the band's logo using their birth signs: two fairies forhim (Virgo), two lions for Roger and John (Leo) and a crab for Brian(Cancer). Freddie was the author of the first Queen song that enteredthe British charts (Seven Seas Of Rhye), the first big hit (Killer Queen) and the most famous Queen song that was on the top of charts for 9weeks (Bohemian Rhapsody). Freddie has always been considered thefront-man of the band.
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