Freddie Mercury of Queen: The man behind the legend

The rock spectacular “One Night of Queen,” featuring Gary Mullen and The Works, will take the stage at the Santander Performing Arts Center, 136 N. Sixth St., Thursday night, paying tribute to one of the iconic rock bands of the 1970s and ’80s. How one describes the music the British group performed depends on what stage of the band’s career is under discussion. Hard rock is the safer choice, but glam rock works as well.

Glam is precisely the adjective one would use in describing Queen’s flamboyant lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury.

Taking on the Mercury role in “One Night of Queen” will be Mullen.

Queen formed in London in 1970. The group signed its first recording contract with EMI in 1973. The Queen we all remember featured Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon (who replaced Mike Grose) and Roger Taylor.

“One Night of Queen” will perform the original band’s most celebrated anthems: “We Will Rock You,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “We Are the Champions.”

Freddie Mercury was born in September 1946 and died of AIDS in November 1991 at the age of 45.

Here are 10 intriguing facts about Mercury, thanks to his fans at the website mentalfloss.com:

1. Mercury designed the Queen emblem. He held a degree in art and graphic design from Ealing Art College. The crest is composed of the Zodiac signs of the band members.

2. Mercury’s birth name was Farrokh Bulsara. He didn’t take on the name Freddie until he was a student at St. Peter’s, a boarding school for boys near Mumbai. He changed his name legally to Freddie Mercury when the band was formed in 1970.

3. Mercury and his family – his parents and one sister, Kashmira – were Parsis who practiced the Zoroastrian religion. Mercury’s funeral was performed by a Zoroastrian priest.

4. The rock star was born in Zanzibar, where his father worked in the British Colonial Office.

5. Mercury had a vocal recording range of nearly four octaves. His speaking voice was baritone, but most of his singing was performed in the tenor range.

6. When Mercury died, he left all of his wealth and possessions, as well as his music royalties, to his first girlfriend, Mary Austin, with whom he had a relationship in the early 1970s. After breaking up, they remained friends for life. He wrote the song “Love of My Life” in honor of her.

7. People who knew Mercury personally contend that despite his flair for the dramatic onstage, he actually was a very subdued, shy man. It is, some explain, why he rarely gave interviews.

8. Mercury and his manager did not reveal that the singer had AIDS until the day before he died, although many suspected it from his appearance. AIDS activists were unhappy with that choice, claiming that an earlier announcement by a celebrity of his caliber would have helped to raise funds to fight the disease.

9. Mercury was a fan of cats and at one time had 10 of them. He dedicated the album “Mr. Bad Guy” to his beloved pets.

10. Among Freddie Mercury’s many trademarks was his bottomless microphone. The story goes that early in his career, the mic stand snapped while he was performing. He apparently liked it, because he used the so-called “mic stick” from that point on.

Contact Entertainment Editor George Hatza: 610-371-5075 or ghatza@readingeagle.com.