Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury stamp, issued c. 2006, photo by gors4730/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Farrokh Bulsara
Date of Birth: 5 September, 1946
Place of Birth: Stone Town, Sultanate of Zanzibar (now Tanzania)
Date of Death: 24 November, 1991
Place of Death: Kensington, London, England, U.K.
Ethnicity: Parsi
Freddie Mercury was a British singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead singer of the band Queen. Other members of the band include or have included John Deacon, Brian May, and Roger Taylor.
Freddie was born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, now Tanzania, an island near Africa. His parents, Jer Jasi Behranji (Khanj) and Bomi Rustomji Bulsara, were Parsis, from India. His father was from Maharashtra. His mother was from Gujarat. His father worked as a cashier at the British Colonial Office in Zanzibar. The surname Bulsara is derived from the town of Bulsar, now Valsad, in southern Gujarat.
Freddie’s family was of the Zoroastrian religion. He spent much of his youth in India and Zanzibar, and moved to London, England, when he was seventeen. In India, he attended St. Peter’s School, a British-style boarding school for boys.
Throughout his career, he was said to have been hesitant to talk about his ethnic background. This was something he was criticized for. He is considered Britain’s first Asian rock star.
Freddie was played by Rami Malek in the film Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). Rami won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.
Freddie’s paternal grandfather was named Givind Bulsara.
Freddie’s paternal grandmother was named Devkor.
Sources: http://www.time.com
Genealogy of Freddie Mercury – https://www.findagrave.com
Genealogy of Freddie Mercury (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
He did look pretty White back in the day. I’m not sure if it was due to the environment he lived in.
He was a Parsi. His family descended from Iranian Zoroastrians who left Persia during the Arab invasion to settle in India.
Maybe the environment he lived in. Some Indians look white too.
Omg. Thought he was European! Wow. Wait till I tell people he was Indian. Surprise. Cool stuff tho.
He is not ethnically Indian. He is Persian from the Indian subcontinent. Think, a French from Canada.
So what? Indians can look white too, you know.
Both the Indian subcontinent and Persia are diverse.
Your right things weren’t that great for foreign people back then. He did have some luck, all stars do. I also think he was so amazingly good that no one could look at his ethnicity. His music still plays today and he was talented so people didn’t care where he was from. :)
you are stupid as…that I cant believe that
So what about all the artists of non-European ancestry who topped the charts in 60s and 70s?
That is ridiculous
Rock is traditionally a musical genre for a white audience. Despite having roots in Blues, that is black music, except for Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, Lenny Kravitz, Slash, Tom Morello I can’t think to any other black rockstar. The last 4 I’ve mentioned are actually biracials. Oh, I’ve forgotten the Skunk Anansie.
Hendrix also had a band with two white musicians and a white producer too.
Pay attention to history.