November 24: On This Day in World History … briefly
In 2002, Freddie Mercury ranked number 58 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.
1991: Freddie bows out
Freddie Mercury, one of the world’s most flamboyant characters, dies on AIDS at the age of 45. Mercury had issued a statement confirming rumours that he had the disease.
Freddie and his group ‘Queen’ hit the music world in the ’70s with a teasing mixture of transvestism and original rock. In the early days the music press wondered at Mercury’s outrageous persona with headlines like ‘Is This Man a Prat?’
Meanwhile fans flocked to buy the group’s records. Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, the effervescent Mercury kept them royally entertained with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘We Are The Champions’ and many, many more.
Fans loved him, his songs and the way he sang them. He was a mesmerising performer, uninhibited and totally involved. Unashamedly homosexual, Freddie Mercury the man was both kind and gentle.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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