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Welcome to Earth
Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar, Tanzania. -
London
Moving to London with his family in the 1960s, Mercury attended the Ealing College of Art. He befriended a number of musicians around this time, including future bandmates, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May. -
Ibex
In 1969, Mercury joined a group called Ibex as their lead singer. He played with a few other bands before joining forces with Taylor and May. -
The Quartet
They met up with bassist John Deacon in 1971, and the quartet — which Mercury dubbed Queen — played their first gig together that June. -
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Catching up
In 1973, the band released their first self-titled album, but it took two more recordings for Queen's music to really catch on. Their third record, SheerAttack (1974), featured their first Heart t hit, "Killer Queen," a song about a high-class call girl. The single hit No. 2 on the U.K. charts, and peaked at No. 12 in the U.S. -
Bohemian Rhapsody
With a sound that has been described as a fusion of hard rock and glam rock, Queen had an even bigger hit the following year with their album, A Night at the Opera (1975). Mercury wrote the song "Bohemian Rhapsody," a seven-minute rock operetta, for the album. Overdubbing his voice, Mercury showed off his impressive four-octave vocal range on this innovative track. The song hit the top of the charts in Britain and became a Top 10 hit in the United States. -
Champs
"We Are the Champions," of News of the World (1978), became a Top 10 hit in the United States and in Britain. It was featured on a single with "We Will Rock You" — both songs have taken on a life of their own as popular anthems played at sporting events. Always exploring new and different sounds, -
Disco
Queen also tried their hand at the big music trend of the time, with the disco-flavored "Another One Bites the Dust" in 1980. Off that same album, The Game (1980), Mercury and the rest of the band showed their range as performers with the rockabilly-influenced hit "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," which Mercury penned. -
Huge Crowds
Queen continued to draw huge crowds around the world. One of their most notable performances was in 1985 at the Live Aid charity concert. Simply dressed in a tank top and jeans, Mercury led the crowd through some of the band's greatest hits with great energy and style. -
Death
Freddie Mercury died
