Freddie Mercury Wrote Bohemian Rhapsody In Bed
Freddie often had moments of inspiration that would wake him up in his sleep, so he used a piano as the headboard of his bed.
He would wake up in the middle of the night with a tune in mind, and he would immediately sit up, turn around, and get his musical genius out regardless of what hour of the night or early morning it was. This is how the legendary masterpiece, 'Bohemian Rhapsody', was created.
Freddie Took The Meaning Of Bohemian Rhapsody To The Grave
He said: "Bohemian Rhapsody didn’t just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research, although it was tongue-in-cheek and it was a mock opera. Why not? ‘I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them."
Guitarist Brian May seemed to suggest this when he said in an interview about the song: "Freddie was a very complex person: flippant and funny on the surface, but he concealed insecurities and problems in squaring up his life with his childhood. He never explained the lyrics, but I think he put a lot of himself into that song."
His Real Name
Freddie Mercury's birth name was Farrokh Bulsara. He legally changed his name to Freddie Mercury around 1970, when Queen was formed.
Farrokh Bulsara started going by Freddie when he was at St. Peter's, a boarding school for boys near Mumbai.
He Had a Recorded Range Of Four Octaves
For some of the youngsters that might not have a frame of reference, Mariah Carey claims to have five octaves. When he spoke he was more of a baritone, but the majority of his singing fell in the tenor range.
In 2016, a team of scientists decided to study Mercury's voice. Among the many facts, they concluded was that Mercury's vocal cords moved faster than the average person's. "While a typical vibrato will fluctuate between 5.4 Hz and 6.9 Hz, Mercury’s was 7.04 Hz,".
Despite His Flamboyant Personality, He Was Actually Quite Shy
Freddie is known for his wild, outrageous antics on stage, but most people who knew Mercury personally said he was very shy in his personal life, which is one of the reasons he very rarely accepted interviews.
"In real life, nobody knew Freddie," bandmate Roger Taylor once said. "He was shy, gentle and kind. He was never the one, he was on the stage.”
He Was A Cat-Person
Some people may have referred to him as a crazy cat lady because he had up to ten cats at one point. He even had an album and a song dedicated to his cats, "Mr. Bad Guy". He wrote a song about his favorite cat, Delilah.
Here's a snippet: "Delilah, Delilah, oh my, oh my, oh my - you're irresistible
You make me smile when I'm just about to cry
You bring me hope, you make me laugh - you like it
You get away with murder, so innocent
But when you throw a moody you're all claws and you bite -
That's alright!
Delilah, Delilah, oh my, oh my, oh my - you're unpredictable
You make me so very happy
When you cuddle up and go to sleep beside me
And then you make me slightly mad
When you pee all over my Chippendale Suite"