It has now been thirty years since rock—and more broadly the world of music—mourned its queen, Freddie Mercury, the iconic singer of the English rock band Queen.
Farrokh Bulsara, known as Freddie Mercury, managed to captivate the entire planet with his voice alone and his charisma as the leader of the legendary rock band Queen. Author of some of the greatest rock music hits such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites the Dust, and We Will Rock You, his career experienced nothing but successes and records before coming to an abrupt halt with the singer’s death, taken by pneumonia while he was suffering from AIDS.
A look back at what made this immigrant from Zanzibar a global icon.
Freddie Mercury is, first of all, that voice, recognizable among all, with tones sometimes lyrical, sometimes rock that marked the minds and made several generations sing.
Freddie Mercury is also that stage presence, that charisma every singer would envy. He could, with his “hey oh,” awaken the entire Wembley Stadium by inviting it to warm up their voices with him, and through this mere two-minute vocal warm-up, he made Live Aid legendary.
Finally, Freddie Mercury, icon of glam rock, is also this extravagant, provocative, and sultry style that many artists seem to draw inspiration from today—we think notably of Harry Styles. Breaking gender codes, he performed on stage as comfortably in jeans/tank tops as in ultra-tight suits or even dresses, with both long and shorter hair, sporting a mustache. His androgynous appearances contributed to making him a fashion icon.
Thirty years after the death of Queen’s leader, the band continues to fascinate. They manage the feat of appealing to everyone, rock music enthusiasts or not, and touching all generations.
