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Speaking of the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, many people might feel familiar with this immortal song which was sung by Freddie Mercury, a king of rock from Queen. Still, many people did not know that the real beginning of this legendary singer happened in Stone Town, Zanzibar.
Freddie Mercury is a lead singer, songwriter and producer of Queen, a legendary band which made a worldwide reputation with sales of more than 150 million albums worldwide and charted in both the United States and England. The uniqueness of Freddie to Queen is his singing style that is hard to compare and Freddie’s stage performance is also an entertainer, making the show special and piquant, which is attracting a lot of audience for sure.
Farrokh Bulsara or Freddie Mercury was born on 5 September 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar. The name ‘Farrokh’ means luck and fortune. Farrokh and his family are Zoroastrians, one of the oldest religions in the world.
In 1951, 5-year-old Freddie studied at St. Joseph’s Convent Missionary School until when Freddy was 8 years old, he moved to St. Peters School in Panchgani, India, and started calling himself Freddie Balsara. Freddie has shown his artistic potential since he was a little boy such as songwriting and playing the piano. Until one day, he formed a music band in school with his friends called “The Hectics” before moving back to Zanzibar when he was 16 in 1962.
In 1963 when Zanzibar went ahead and declared his independence from the British, the Bulsaras moved to England and Freddie studied at the Ealing Art College in graphic illustration before making a world-class name with the formation of Queen in 1970. Later, Freddie passed away on 24 November 1991 at the age of 45. Although Freddie passed away, his reputation and Queen’s is still a legend these days.
Freddie Mercury Museum is located in Shangani, downtown Stone Town, in Zanzibar. The museum’s location was the home Freddy and his family had lived before moving to England in 1963.
Freddie’s history related to Zanzibar will be displayed in the museum. Starting from the birthplace of Farrokh Bulsara, faith in Zoroastrianism, Freddy’s childhood in Zanzibar along with his school life in Panchgani, India, and a world-class success path that has made Freddie a legend to this day.
The beginning of the museum’s construction came in 2002 from a small souvenir shop called The Mercury House, an old Freddie house. The owner of this shop is Javed Jafferji who loved and fascinated Queen’s lead singer.
Until 2018, when Freddie Mercury’s biographical film “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released that year, Jafferji came up with an idea to build a museum. He invited his close friend Andrea Boero, who is also a fan of Queen, and in collaboration with Queen Productions Ltd. In England recreate an old house into a museum to commemorate. On November 24, 2019, the 28th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s death, the museum opened to welcome people who visited Zanzibar to remember the legend that will never fade from people’s minds.
