The Museum
The Freddie Mercury Museum is located in the heart of Stone Town, Zanzibar. It is located in the same house where Freddie and his family stayed until they moved to England in 1963.
The Museum showcases a detailed accord of Zanzibar starting from the late 1800’s, the birth place of Farrokh Bulsara, his roots with the Zoroastrian Religion, his childhood and upbringing in Zanzibar, followed by his schooling in Panchgani, India, and then his extraordinary journey to becoming one of the greatest stars of all time.
Farrokh Bulsara was born on Thursday, 5th September 1946 in Zanzibar, Stone Town to parents Bomi Bulsara and Jer Bulsara. Farrokh means; lucky and fortunate. Farrokh and his family belonged to the Zoroastrian religion, one of the world’s oldest religions.
At the age of 5, in 1951 he started school at St. Joseph’s Convent Missionary School. He stayed in Zanzibar until the age of 8, after which he was sent to St. Peters School in Panchgani, India. It was at St. Peters he started calling himself Freddie Bulsara. Freddie was a shy kid, but after joining St. Peters, it did not take him long to gain confidence. He was a great songwriter and pianist. He started his first band at St. Peter’s called ‘The Hectics’ with Bruce Murray, Victory Rana, Farrang Irani and Derrick Branche, 10 years before he joined Queen. He returned to Zanzibar in 1962, at the age of 16.
In 1963, with Zanzibar heading for independence from Britain, the Bulsara family moved to England where he joined the Ealing Art College to study graphics illustration. Freddie Mercury formed Queen in 1970, from where his journey to fame began. He died on November 24th 1991, aged 45, at his home in Kensington. He left behind a compelling legacy which still influences rock performers.
Freddie Mercury was a singer – songwriter and musician whose music reached the top of U.S. and British charts in the 1970s and 1980s. His career as lead singer of the band Queen spanned 20 years and together they sold over 150 million albums worldwide. Queen performed in over 700 live concerts. As the front man of Queen, Mercury was one of the most talented and innovative singers of the rock era. His performances were marked by his flamboyant personality and four octave vocal range. He was named by the ‘BBC’ as one of the ‘100 Greatest Britons,’ and one of the ‘Top 100 Singers of All Time’ by the ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine.
