With their music ranging from genres like Rock, Jazz, Pop, Opera and Classical music, Queen has won the hearts of millions of fans around the world. And in the centre sits Freddie Mercury, the superstar who is an icon in his own right.
Queen could be rightly known as one of the most iconic bands of all times. The band still exists, sans the magic of Mercury. The legendary status of Queen reached its peak during the time of its lead vocalist Farrokh Bulsara, the greatest showman with a baritone four-octave ranged voice, who ruled the hearts of people through his music. Better known as Freddie Mercury to the world, he became a global phenomenon with his hits like Bohemian Rhapsody; We Are the Champions, We Will Rock You, Another One Bites the Dust, I want to break free and so on. His flamboyance, charisma and unapologetic attitude made his fans adore him.
There are not many singers who had the same impact as Mercury had over his fans during live shows. He could quickly form an instant connect with the live audience with his playfulness and encouraging them to repeat whatever he sang. The show would start by Freddie humming a simple tune and audience repeating after him. The act would continue with Mercury teasing his fans by complicating the tunes and asking them to hum it afterwards till the audience would get completely thrilled and lose themselves entirely into the music. That is how the great showman would lead his audience into his experimental music and initiate them into an endless variety of his diverse musical acumen. The magic of Queen and Freddie Mercury reached at the pinnacle when they broke all records with their exhilarating performance at Live-Aid concert in 1985 where Queen was a part of the superstar line-up for a fundraiser event to raise money for African famine. The event went down as one of the most memorable performances by Queen.
Speaking about his interaction with the audience, Mercury used to say “I’d like the whole world to listen to my music and I’d like everybody to listen to me and look at me when I’m playing on stage… I have to make sure that I win them over and make them feel that they’ve had a good time. I know it’s a cliché to say, ‘Oh, you have them eating out of the palm of your hand,’ but I just feel that the quicker I do that, the better, because it’s all to do with me feeling in control. Then I know that it’s all going well.”
Queen has inspired musician from different genres. Katy Perry, Rob Zombie, Faith Hill have all acknowledged the influence of Queen over their music. Lady Gaga named herself after Queen’s song Radio Gaga. The most incredible legacy of Queen and Mercury lies in their impact on a generation of musicians and fans. Thank you, Queen, Thank you, Freddie!
