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Freddie Mercury music biography continued...

parents, Mercury loved music and art and learned to play the piano at an early age. In 1964, his family moved to England and Freddie (as he had been nicknamed by school friends) got a job in Heathrow Airport. Initially a vocalist in a band called Wreckage, Mercury joined Queen in 1971. At this point the band was made up of ex-Smile members Brian May on guitar and Rodger Taylor on drums. John Deacon answered an advertisement in the music press to become the band's bassist. Queen's self-titled debut album appeared in 1973, but went largely unnoticed. Slowly but surely, however, the band built up an enormous and dedicated worldwide following due to their bombastic stage show and such hit releases as 1974's Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, but it was the Mercury-penned "Bohemian Rhapsody" off 1975's breakthrough A Night at the Opera that solidified Queen as one of rock's top bands. Further hit albums followed: 1976's A Day at the Races, 1977's News of the World, 1978's Jazz, and 1979's Live Killers, during which Mercury wrote such hit songs as "Killer Queen," "Somebody to Love," "We Are the Champions," "Don't Stop Me Now," and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." By the late '70s, Mercury had become one of rock's leading frontmen.



Although Mercury and Queen started off the 80s with another big hit—"Another One Bights the Dust" - and a show-stopping performance at 1985's Live Aid Concert, Mercury and the band's popularity started to wane in the middle of the decade. By the late '80s, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS, but decided to keep his condition secret as he focused on recording further albums with Queen. But by 1991, Mercury's battle with AIDS had taken a turn for the worse, and on November 24, 1991 (just one day after deciding to go public with his ailment), Mercury died at his home in London. The remaining members of Queen arranged a star-studded tribute to Mercury following his death. Since that time, he has become a rock legend and his name has lived on in the hearts of millions.