On November 2nd, 2018 in the United States, Bohemian Rhapsody in honor of the legendary band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury. Let's begin to explain who is Queen and why this movie will create a huge impact.
Queen was formed in 1970 with drummer--- Roger Taylor, guitarist--- Brian May, and lead vocalist Freddie Mercury. The band was merely a couple of young college boys playing their heart out on weekend nights and dreaming that one day they will get noticed. At the time, Taylor was studying to become a dentist, May was studying astrophysics and Mercury finished studying design at an art school. The group went through multiple bassists before John Deacon came along and Queen was finalized and became one of the best rock bands in the history of music.
Many people believe that making movies about "old" music artists from the 60s-80s is plain lazy or lack of ideas to create a better movie. Although these "old music artists" are what made up our modern music today. Queen was the most unique band of rock and roll, where creativity never ceased to exist and uniqueness was their main goal. The movie is not because producers "ran out of ideas", it is for the younger generations to acknowledge the impact these music legends created.
Today's music, we mainly listen to rappers that names start with "Lil" or some pop singers that cannot even hit a high note. Of course, we have some very wonderful and talented artists who might be considered better than some music legends yet they were still inspired by them. Let's take for example the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, many fans and current music artists grew up wanting to be like him. Why? Because Michael was an artist with unbelievable dance moves and a voice that one can never forget. Queen set unlimited boundaries for artists to always try something new and be the best at anything if possible.
Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar, Tanzania. A little fun fact about Mercury is that he was born with four extra teeth in the back of his mouth which is why he is famous for his strong jawline, but as a child, he was made fun for it and was stuck with the nickname "Bucky." His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, were Parsis and emigrated from India to Zanzibar. At the age of eighteen, Freddie and his family fled Zanzibar due to the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution and moved to Middlesex, England.
There Freddie continued his education at Ealing Art College, got a job at an airport, and joined a series of bands while selling clothes with his girlfriend Mary Austin. Freddie and Mary were together for several years, but by the mid-1970s Freddie had an affair with male radio host, Kenny Everett, which ended Freddie's relationship with Mary Austin. Freddie's sexuality was always an enigma to many because of his flamboyancy and yet when people found that he had a girlfriend his sexuality was then "confusing" for others to comprehend. The press constantly interrogated him about his sexuality and why he has not accepted his true identity. Mercury was intelligent enough to not succumb to the pressure of society just so they can force him to be something he is not. Let's acknowledge that during this era sexuality was not something society truly accepted or understood. Sexuality was very black and white, meaning one was either gay or straight. No one understood that sexuality is fluid and there is an entire spectrum.
Freddie Mercury's style was very flamboyant and the way he presented himself onstage was filled with confidence, but supposedly offstage he was a different man. In the film "Bohemian Rhapsody", Mercury was conveyed as this young man trying to understand himself and what he truly wants in life. You can see that throughout the movie, Mercury struggled in figuring out his identity. He always demonstrated love for his audience and he wanted his music to able to move the crowd and embody what Queen truly is.
Queen at Live Aid in 1985Attitude.co.uk
Queen Dave's Music Database
Unfortunately, in 1987 Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS. In an interview with Brian May and Roger Taylor a week later after Mercury's passing, they mention that Freddie was a closed man and no one knew that he had AIDS. On the evening of November 24th, 1991, Freddie Mercury at the age of 45, passed away from pneumonia bronchial AIDS in his home in Kensington.
Freddie Mercury was and will always be a musical legend and an extraordinary human being who did not care about his appearance onstage rather cared for his music and what the audience deserved. Queen, as we know, will forever be the ultimate rock band in history known for its creativity in music and their unique relationship with one another. Freddie Mercury, despite what he may have gone through, will be remembered as a strong and brave man who never put his head down.
