Freddie Mercury was a famous singer and songwriter known for his performances as the lead artiste of the rock-and-roll band, 'Queen'. He was musically inclined from a very young age, and according to acquaintances, he had the ability to listen to any song and play the tune on the piano. After singing for a few short-lived bands, he formed his own music group called 'Queen', along with musicians Brian May and Roger Taylor. The band became quite popular in the 70s, belting out hits like 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'We Are the Champions'. This incredible singer was famous for his live concerts, having performed in over 700 such shows. His performances were marked by his flamboyant personality on stage and his vocal range. 'Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God' is a monodrama about this great singer's life. He has also been named by 'BBC' as one of the '100 Greatest Britons', and by the 'Rolling Stone' magazine as one of the 'Top 100 Singers of All Time'. Since he was the first celebrity rock artiste to have succumbed to AIDS, several organizations, including 'The Mercury Phoenix Trust', founded by 'Queen' band members, have organized concerts to raise funds for research in the field

In April, 1970, the talented singer formed a band named 'Queen', along with English drummer, Roger Taylor, and guitarist, Brian May. After its conception, the band, consisting of other musicians, was managed by 'Trident Studios'. He also renamed himself from Farrokh Bulsara to Freddie Mercury.
During 1970-80, the exceptional singer acted as singer and songwriter for several albums produced by his band, 'Queen'. They played rock-and-roll music, and shot to fame because of Freddie, who, despite having a baritone voice, sang brilliantly in the tenor range.
Some of the popular albums produced by 'Queen' are ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, 'A Day at the Races', 'News of the World', 'The Game', and of course their self-titled records.
On October 26, 1981, Queen released 'Greatest Hits', which is a compilation of songs from various albums of the band. Out of the seventeen singles featured on the album, ten were penned by their lead singer, Mercury.
During 1981–1983, the popular singer collaborated with Michael Jackson on soundtracks like 'State of Shock', 'There Must Be More to Life Than This', and 'Victory'.
Though none of these songs were officially made public, Jackson included the single 'State of Shock' in his album entitled 'Victory', in collaborated with Mick Jagger. Mercury released 'There Must Be More to Life Than This' as a part of his solo album, 'Mr. Bad Guy'
During this period, Freddie also teamed up with 'Queen' drummer Roger Taylor to produce the main track for the album 'Emotions in Motion', an album released by rock musician, Billy Squier.
In 1984, he attempted to go solo with the song 'Love Kills', from musician Richard Wolf's album, 'Metropolis: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'.
The following year, 'Queen' performed at the 'Live Aid' concert held on July 13, 1985. The concert was aimed at raising funds for the victims of the famine in Ethiopia, and it turned out to be a huge success. The band's live performance was even telecast on the TV show, 'The World's Greatest Gigs'.
During the same time, the gifted singer also released his first solo album, 'Mr. Bad Guy', collaborating with keyboardists, rather than playing the piano himself.
In 1986, Freddie once again collaborated with rock artiste Billy Squier for the latter's album 'Enough Is Enough'. The rock-and-roll singer sang the song 'Love is the Hero', and arranged music for 'Lady With a Tenor Sax'.
The same year, in 1986, Mercury performed with his band, 'Queen', at Budapest, for 80,000 fans. August 9, marked the last performance of the singer in collaboration with his band, when he sang at England's ‘Knebworth Park’, ending the concert with the country's national anthem, 'God Save the Queen'.
In 1988, Freddie released his second studio album titled, 'Barcelona', where he paired up with Spanish soprano singer, Montserrat Caballé. The album contained soundtracks in Spanish, Japanese and English.

One of the best known albums released by this famous singer is 'Mr. Bad Guy', a solo album produced in 1985. The album had eleven songs, all of which were written by the singer himself, and it included a variety of music genres, from pop to disco to dance music.

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara, to Parsi parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, on September 5, 1946, in the British territory of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, a part of present day Tanzania. Farrokh, his younger sibling Kashmira, and their parents were practising Zoroastrians.
The young boy was brought up in India, where he was taught the piano at the tender age of seven. He was educated at the 'St. Peter's School' in Panchgani, near Mumbai, beginning 1954. Having always loved music, one of his earliest idols was Indian singer, Lata Mangeshkar.
While in school, Farrokh began referring to himself as Freddie, and in 1958, he formed a music group, 'The Hectics'. The band performed rock and roll songs sung by artistes Little Richard and Cliff Richard.
In 1963, Farrokh went back to his hometown, to live with his parents, but soon, the family had to escape from there, after the commencement of the 'Zanzibar Revolution', meant to depose the Arab Sultan. They settled down in town of Feltham, England, living in a small house.
Freddie began pursuing a course in art from West London's 'Isleworth Polytechnic', which is presently known as 'West Thames College'. He graduated with a diploma in Art and Graphic Designing from the 'Ealing Art College'.
Once he graduated, he earned his living by selling old clothes in London's 'Kensington Market', working at the 'Heathrow Airport'. He also performed for various music bands, like 'Ibex', and 'Sour Milk Sea'.

The famous singer initially fell in love with Mary Austin, with whom he lived together at West Kensington, London, for almost 6 years.
In 1976, he embarked on an affair with male employee of 'Elektra Records', which saw the end of his relationship with Mary.
In the mid-1980s, he started a new relationship, this time with an Austrian actress, Barbara Valentin. This did not last long, and he began dating Jim Hutton, a male hairdresser.
During 1986-87, Mercury found out that he was suffering from AIDS, and his health began failing. It was during this time that Hutton and former girlfriend, Mary, took care of the celebrated singer.
On 24 November 1991, he died from bronchial pneumonia that was caused by AIDS. Three days later, his funeral was held according to Parsi customs. The service was attended by all the other members of his band, and also by singer Elton John, amongst other close family members and friends.
The popular singer was inhumed at the Kensal Green Cemetery, West London, while his ashes were later relocated to an unknown location by Mary Austin.
In his will, the singer left his house to Austin, and other possessions and money were distributed between his long-term partner, Jim Hutton, family, and people working for him.
The song 'Bohemian Rhapsody', written and performed by Mercury, was featured in the 1992 film, 'Wayne's World'.
'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'We Are the Champions' have been chosen as the greatest songs of all time by the 'Guinness Book of World Records'. Both the songs are also a part of the 'Grammy Hall of Fame'.
'Queen' released 'Made in Heaven' in 1995, an album that included a few never-heard-before songs by the spectacular artiste.
There is a statue in Switzerland, as a tribute to this revered musician.

The band formed by this extremely popular singer, broke world records by becoming the first group to play in South America

In 1990, Freddie, as a part of 'Queen', received the 'Brit Awards' for 'Outstanding Contribution to Music'.
In 1992, after his death, he received the 'Brit Award' for 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music'.
Freddie, along with other members of 'Queen' was inducted into various Halls of Fame, posthumously.