Freddie Mercury
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Biography
The Panchgani boy who became a pop legend, Sep 04 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Born: Sept 5, 1946
His childhood buddies tell Anvar Alikhan how `Bucky' could make even the girls in burqa dance
Freddie Mercury , born Freddie Bulsara, was probably the world's most famous Parsi. [??? Indpaedia asks: What about Zubin Mehta—and he did not hide behind a non-Parsi name either? The Tata group is known in many countries, especially their hotels.]
Graphic: The Times of India
He was voted the second greatest lead singer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine (ahead of John Lennon and Mick Jagger), and his Bohemian Rhapsody was listed as the greatest song of all time by the Guinness Book of Records. But not many know about the beginnings of Freddie's music career in the little hill station of Panchgani, where he studied at St Peter's School, and played in a rock band called the Hectics.
At school, the eight-year-old Freddie was nicknamed `Bucky', because of his buck teeth -something he would be sensitive about all his life. It was a teacher at St Peter's who first recognised his musical talent, having heard him sing in the school choir. He was recommended for special music lessons, and his piano teacher, Mrs O'Shea, tried patiently to steer him towards classical music, but young Freddie just wanted to play rock `n' roll.
The Hectics, his first band, was set up by class-mate, Bruce Murray , now settled in England. “We started the band only to impress the girls,“ Murray reminisces, “Our idols were Elvis Presley , Cliff Richards and Little Richard. And we sang numbers like Yakkety Yak, Tutti Frutti and Rock Around the Clock. We had a couple of guitars, an old tea chest that we converted into a bass with one string, the school's ancient piano, and a drum. We were terrible musicians. But Freddie was different. He had the ability to hear a song on Radio Ceylon just once, and then play it perfectly .“ And was Freddie influenced by 1950s Bollywood music, as the urban legend claims? The members of the Hectics insist that's a complete myth.
Classmate Dr Subash Shah remembers Freddie as an introvert.Yet, he was “a born show-off “, and his personality would transform once he was on stage. Dr Shah recalls, for example, an evening on a beach in Zanzibar (where their parents lived).Music was playing and Freddie spontaneously started to do the `twist', the popular dance of the time. The next thing they knew a group of local girls, wearing burqas, had formed a circle around Freddie and began to twist with him.“That was the power of his showmanship,“ recalls Dr Shah.
Apart from being a great musician, Freddie was also a talented artist and sportsman.He was a good boxer, for example, and school-mates recall the time he was getting hammered in a boxing match, and everybody told him to concede, but Freddie insisted on boxing till the finish, his protruding front teeth badly bloodied.
Some friends remember him as “a bit of a sissy“, though, and his favourite teacher, Mrs Smith, always thought he was slightly effeminate. Friends also recall his rather outré habit of calling the other boys “darling“, a lifelong habit. Freddie himself apparently never realized he was gay till he was in his 30s, when he confessed to Mary Austin, his long-time girl-friend, that he might be bi-sexual. “No Freddie,“ she told him, “You're not bi-sexual, you're gay .“ It was a turning point in his life.Mary Austin recalled, “Once Freddie understood he was gay , he became one with himself, for the first time.“ In the mid-'60s, he migrated to England with his parents, and reinvented himself, changing his name to Freddie Mercury , after his ruling planet. As a result, many of his school friends never knew, until after his death, that the great Freddie Mercury was actually their old Panchgani buddy .
The only school friend who kept in touch with Freddie after he'd become famous was Bruce Murray, who remembers the time, for exam ple, when Freddie invited him for dinner, and it turned out that the other guest was Elton John. But, while Freddie was always friendly , after a point Murray felt he could no longer keep up with him socially , and the friendship waned.
St Peter's School has today become a pilgrimage centre for Freddie fans from all over the world, and it patiently puts up with trespassers, and vandals in quest of souvenirs. An enterprising alumnus even promoted a `Freddie Mercury Tour of India', the highlight of which was a visit to the school and a photograph taken with Freddie's old Moutrie piano.
But what became of Freddie's other Hectics band mates? The drummer, Victory Rana, went on to a distinguished military career, ending up as a majorgeneral. Lead guitarist Bruce Murray migrated to England and, now runs a music shop. Guitarist Derrick Branche also migrated to England and became an actor, playing small roles in productions like My Beautiful Launderette and Jewel in the Crown. Bass guitarist Farang Irani ran a little restaurant in Pune, until he died a few years ago. And Freddie, of course, became one of the great Gods of rock music.
His private world
Naomi Canton, Sep 4, 2023: The Times of India
London : Hordes of fans have lined up for days lately outside Sotheby’s in London in a scene reminiscent of a rock concert —not to witness iconic British band Queen’s charismatic anchorman Freddie Mercury’s electrifying stage presence, but for an exclusive glimpse into the private world of the legend.
Mary Austin, his ex-girlfriend and soulmate, has made a decision to auction off the contents of his Garden Lodge home in Kensington, a treasure trove left to her in his will. Mary, now in her 70s, has decided to keep the house that hadn’t changed for three decades since Mercury’s passing in 1991, aged 45.
Inside Sotheby’s, a 16,000-sqfoot gallery space has been transformed into a never-beforeseen exhibition. Walking through the exhibition preceding the auction, scheduled for September 6, is akin to taking a tour through the various stages of Mercury’s life. His antique furniture, dazzling cat suits, wellworn sneakers, the iconic silver snake bracelet, cat ornaments and photos, his grand piano, hand-written manuscripts, and even his Tiffany moustache comb are on display. Each item, whether it’s one of his signature jackets, his regal crown and cloak, or the vibrant kimonos, tells a story of flamboyant fashion that only Mercury could pull off with such flair.
Yet, what’s striking is the limited Indian influence in his collection. Despite his Indian roots, Mercury rarely spoke about his heritage in public. Born as Farrokh Bulsara to Indian Parsi parents in Zanzibar, his connection to India was a personal one. One intriguing aspect of the collection is his late fasci nation with Indian art. Seven months before his death, he acquired three Indian paintings, including a 16th-century miniature with an estimated bidding price of Rs 50 lakh. The framed illustrated folio from the third Akbarnama by Indian artist Khem, depicts a prince on horseback. It is believed to have been commissioned by Humayun’s wife Hamida Banu Begum.
The other Indian items on display are a small silver pot from Kashmir and a silver cigar case containing Para-Grams by Paramahansa Yogananda, which was gifted to him by six ties pop star Dave Clark.
Sotheby specialist in Indian art, Rukmani Rathore, speculated that Mercury’s connection to his Indian-Persian heritage may have deepened as he grappled with his terminal illness. But India didn’t play a huge part in his life until the end when he probably tried to connect with his roots, Rathore said. The Sotheby’s restaurant pays homage to his taste with a menu featuring his favourite dishes — “akoori” (Indian scrambled eggs) and tandoori lamb chops — linking his musical journey to his culinary preferences.
