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In honor of what would have been Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s 65th birthday, Google Canada yesterday and today the US version of Google have devoted their entire frontpage to the legendary frontman. So with that said, here are 10 cool things you probably didn’t know (or maybe you did) about Queen.
- Lead singer Freddie Mercury was a Parsi born in Zanzibar. Mercury grew up there and in India until his he was around 16 or 17. He has been referred to as “Britain’s first Asian rock star”
- Mercury grew up in a family that practice Zoroastrianism. His funeral in 1991 was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest.
- Onstage, Mercury was a flamboyant man but has been reported to be privately a bit of a shy person.
- Queen have sold 32.5 million albums in the United States, about half of which have been sold since Mercury’s death in 1991.
- Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody has been forever immortalized in the movie Wayne’s World.
- Numerous bands and artists, some of whom are legends themselves, have all cited Queen as influences. Some of these legends include Journey, Nirvana, Guns & Roses, Green Day, and the Killers.
- “Don’t Stop Me Now” was featured in the BBC television show Top Gear. In 2005 the song was voted as “The Greatest Driving Song Ever” by its viewers.
- There has been talk of a screenplay being written about Mercury’s life. British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen (Borat) is slated to play the famous frontman.
- Mercury had an extremely versatile vocal range that extended from bass low F (F2) to soprano high F (F6).He could belt up to tenor high F (F5).
- Mercury was also a piano player who played on a few of Queen’s songs