Day 7 Freddie Mercury - Part 1 Undoubtedly, Freddie Mercury is the legend of world rock music. He was a singer, songwriter, record producer and lead vocalist of the rock band “Queen”. I was about 5-6 years old when I first time listened to his songs because my elder brother listened to them. That time I could not understand lyrics, but I felt the energy and emotions which Freddie Mercury gave performing his compositions. Then I became elder, I started listening to the songs consciously and admired his outstanding talent every time. Farrokh Bulsara was born in Zanzibar on 5th September 1946 in Parsi-Indian family. He spent most of his childhood in India. Mercury formed his first band “Hectics” at the age of 12. That moment he had started calling himself “Freddie”. In 1963 Freddie Mercury returned to Zanzibar, and then his family fled to the UK because of the revolution. Mercury graduated from Ealing Art College. Then he joined several bands, sold second-hand clothes, and also worked as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport. In 1970 he joined the band “Smile” as the lead vocalist. Despite the reservations of some band members Freddie Mercury named “Queen” for the band. Moreover, he designed “Queen crest”. The logo combines 4 zodiac signs corresponding to team members (2 lions for John Deacon (bass) and Roger Taylor, a crab for Brian May and 2 fairies for Freddie Mercury. Although Freddie’s natural range is baritone, he performed songs in all ranges. Most of the songs were in the tenor range. Moreover, Freddie Mercury started taking piano lessons at the age of 7, in India. Later, living in London, he learnt to play the guitar. Despite he composed many songs on the piano as well as on the guitar, Freddie Mercury underestimated his instrumental talent. Besides, he was famous for his flamboyant scenic images. Queen's performance at the event Live Aid in 1985 was recognized as the greatest performance in the history of rock music. Although Freddie Mercury was an extravert on the stage, he was a shy person in life. He also gave very few interviews. In addition to work as part of the Queen band, Mercury recorded 2 solo albums: Mr Bad Guy and Barcelona, both of them were a success. Recorded with Montserrat Caballé, “Barcelona” album, contains elements of opera and popular music. One year after Mercury’s death Caballé sang it live with Mercury’s part played on a screen at the opening of the Olympics Games in 1992 (held in Barcelona). The continuation is in the next part.