the life of Freddie Mercury

His youth

Freddie Mercury was born Farookh Bulsara 5th September 1946. His birthplace was Zanzibar,now called Tanzania). His parents Bomi and Jer were both Persian. Bomi his father worked as a civil servant. When Farookh was 8 he was sent to St.Peter's boarding school in Panchgani near Bombay. His friends there called him Freddie, a name his family adopted.So the rumours about Freddie and his (supposed) surname are incorrect. His own full name was: Farookh Bulsara, not Frederick Bulsara. Freddie's talent at sport was mixed, he hated cricket and long distance running, but liked hockey, sprinting and boxing. His other talents were (as you all probably know) art and music, and he also joined the school choir. Freddie took piano lessons on his mothers insistance, but soon grew to love and enjoy playing. And indeed,It didn’t took Freddie long to form his first band, The Hectics, they used to play at school dances and fetes. Freddie liked all sorts off music; mystical Indian music, but also liked to listen to his parents' collection of classical music, as well as a smattering of rock and roll that was beginning to take the West by storm. The influence of this cocktail of styles was to be evident in the intricate compositions Freddie would later pen for Queen.

His relegion

The Bulsaras were Zoroastrians, followers of the prophet Zoroaster. He was taught that celibacy and abstinence sap man's spirit and make him susceptible to evil. He became a full member of the religion at age eight, in the solemn Navjote ceremony. In front of eternal fires he repeated the appropriate prayers, accepting the teachings of the religion as revealed to Zoroaster by the god Ahura Mazda. He was given a shirt known as sudreh, made out of white muslin to symbolize purity. The high priest tied around his waist a kusti, a cord woven from purest white wool. The young initiate was showered with rose petals, coconut shavings and pomegranate seeds. In 1963 he and his family which included his sister Kashmira, moved to Britain due to political unrest in their country, and made their new home in Feltham, Middlesex, in a semi-detached house right in the flight-path of Heathrow Airport. Freddie's parents stayed in this house even when Freddie became a superstar, he was never able to persuade them to move. 1964 was an exciting time in Britain. The swinging 60's were under way. Exciting pop groups were emerging, and Freddie began to get caught up in this new and groovy world. Two years later, he enrolled in Ealing College of Art to study graphic illustration.