A lavender background has the text ‘Freddie Mercury, singer, songwriter.’ written as a title in large purple letters. A portrait of a middle aged Parsi-Indian man wearing a multicoloured (but predominantly blue and red) jacket with his bare chest showing, is in the bottom right. He has a mustache and slicked back black hair, and is singing into a microphone which he is holding in his right hand. Next to the portrait on the left is the quote “It would be so boring to be seventy.” with ‘1987’ written underneath in black text.
Black text on a lavender background reads ‘About the composer: Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara) was born on 5th September 1946, in Zanzibar. He was born to Parsi-Indian parents, and attended British boarding schools in India. After his education he returned to Zanzibar. Mercury’s family fled Zanzibar in 1964 due to the Zanzibar Revolution, and relocated to Middlesex, England. Mercury is best known for being the frontman of the band Queen, which he formed in 1970 with guitarist Brian May, and drummer Roger Taylor. Possibly one of the most famous moments of the band’s prolific career is the 1985 Live Aid concert. Mercury was described in an obituary as a ‘self-confessed bisexual’ - he was in a relationship with Mary Austin in the early 1970s, however this ceased to be romantic in 1976. They remained fast friends, and Mercury went on to have other lovers. Most notably Jim Hutton, to whom Mercury referred to as his husband. Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. He died from AIDS in 1991, age 45. His partner Jim Hutton tested HIV-positive in 1990, and died from AIDS in 2010. They were together from 1985 until Mercury’s death in 1991.’
Black text on a lavender background reads ‘About the pieces we’re playing: ‘Killer Queen’ was written by Freddie Mercury and recorded for Queen’s third album ‘Sheer Heart Attack’. It was released in 1974, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart, and number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. The subject of the song ‘Killer Queen’ is a call girl or escort of high class. The quote of ‘Let them eat cake’ is used to reference pre-revolution French aristocracy - the phrase being most often mistakenly attributed to Marie Antoinette. ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ was also written by Mercury, and was recorded for Queen’s 1979 album ‘Jazz’. It hit number nine on the UK charts, but only reached number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The song has experienced growth in popularity since its release - some of which may be attributed to the zombie apocalypse film ‘Shaun of the Dead’, which used the song in a fight scene. We will be playing a 5-part arrangement of these songs, which we typically use for busking purposes.’ Underneath the text is an artistic drawing of a music stanza.
The man, the myth, the legend... Freddie Mercury!
Image descriptions in the alt text.
#CardiffQueerOrchestra #FreddieMercury #QueerComposers #QueerSongwriters #KillerQueen #Queen #DontStopMeNow #QueerMusic #Cerddoriaeth #QueerHistory
