Tanzania

Happy Birthday, Freddie Mercury! 🤍 He was born 80 years ago today. The boy from Zanzibar: On September 5, 1946, Farrokh Bulsara was born in Stone Town, son of Indian parents. At 8 he was sent to a boarding school in India; in 1964 the family fled a revolution to England. 🎸 In 1970 he founded the band Queen in London. He drew their crest himself - he had just graduated in graphic design from Ealing Art College. And Farrokh Bulsara became Freddie Mercury. In 1975 he wrote “Bohemian Rhapsody”: nearly 6 minutes long. The label found it too long for radio. A DJ played it 14 times in one weekend - after that it spent 9 weeks at number 1 in the UK. 🍺 From 1979 Freddie Mercury lived in Munich. Queen recorded several albums there, and he wrote “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” in his hotel bathtub - the song went to number 1 in the USA. His 39th birthday party in Munich in 1985 became the music video for “Living on My Own”. 🎤 That same summer Queen played Live Aid at Wembley Stadium: 20 minutes in front of 72,000 people. In 2005 it was voted the greatest live performance ever. 🕯️ In 1991 Freddie Mercury was seriously ill. He recorded his last songs in Montreux and sang “The Show Must Go On” in a single take. On November 23, 1991, he told the world he had AIDS. One day later the world said goodbye to him. What remains: • His statue has stood on the lakeside in Montreux since 1996 - unveiled by Montserrat Caballé • Every year on his birthday, fans bring flowers and letters there • Since 2016 an asteroid has carried his name • A mosaic at the Hotel Deutsche Eiche recalls his Munich years, 1979-1985 Freddie Mercury. Forever remembered. 🕯️ 📷 Photos (details, edited), all via Wikimedia Commons: Christopher Hopper / Elektra Records, US press photo Live Aid 1985 and David Bailey / Capitol Records (public domain), Carl Lender (CC BY 2.0), Felix Edelmann (CC0), Maude Rion and Markus Schweizer (CC BY-SA 4.0). 🎬 Background footage: Pexels. 🎵 Music: Johannes Brahms, Lullaby op. 49 no. 4 (Wiegenlied, “Guten Abend, gut' Nacht”), Emoria's own piano recording - grand piano samples: Salamander Grand Piano, Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0). This video is a derivative work and is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.