Rhapsody By Freddie Mercury. Pathography And Presumptive Diagnosis - Great And Terrible

Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) at birth received a more exotic name - Farrukh Bulsara. The world famous British singer, songwriter and vocalist of the rock band Queen, belonged to the small followers of Zoroastrianism of Iranian origin and lived on an island located off the east coast of Africa

Farrukh from Zanzibar

Farrukh attended the Zanzibar Missionary School and, according to his mother, “as a boy, he showed an interest in music and performances:“He loved to listen to records, and then sing - any music: folk, classical or Indian.” The director of St. Peter's School drew attention to Freddie's musical abilities. He offered to organize piano courses for the boy for a small fee. The parents agreed, and Farrukh began to study music with enthusiasm.

Farrukh spent his childhood and adolescence in Zanzibar and in the city of Panchgani north of modern Mumbai. Without a geographic atlas, you will not immediately figure out where these places are. The family moved to England in 1964

In addition to the colorful oriental appearance, the boy had four extra teeth. He was ashamed of this "ugliness", as the upper incisors protruded noticeably forward. But he did not realize that thanks to this very circumstance, his vocal range increased markedly, giving him vocal advantages as a singer. The range of Mercury was so vast that he could even sing in falsetto, thus covering a full three octaves.

When Freddie was in college, outwardly he was no different from the surrounding students: he played the fool with friends, worked as a dishwasher, a loader. But according to the recollections of a mathematics teacher, rumors of his homosexual inclinations have already appeared. The very fact of episodic homosexual relationships could take place in any educational institution. But Freddie's family was distinguished by strict religiosity, moreover, the Zoroastrians had a categorical ban on homosexual relations.

Such a ban - "haram" - is inherent in most Muslim countries, where its violation was punishable by death. So the feeling of his sexual deviation in Mercury should have been especially dramatic in those years, although freedom of sexual mores has always been characteristic of bohemians, and especially the world of pop and the "world of rock and roll."

Pathological cutting of talent

We will not dwell on the biography of the famous singer, the history of the creation and glory of his legendary group. Readers have every right to believe that Mercury's homosexuality had nothing to do with his work. You never know who has any features.

We believe that the "Mercury phenomenon", his fame and influence on the stage of his time are due to a huge extent to the hysterical structure of his personality and homosexuality, which he hid from others without much success. Just do not forget that in the first place in all such cases should be innate giftedness. And pathological factors only give talent that unique originality that can turn a popular singer into a world famous performer.

Therefore, one cannot ignore both the innate talent of Mercury and his mental pathology. Freddie composed songs from an early age. He was an excellent graphic artist, most often portraying his idol Jimi Hendrix, an American singer and guitar virtuoso. Freddie had a unique gift: having listened to a song on the radio once, he could immediately play it on the piano.

First asian super star

It is impossible to talk about the creative successes of Mercury, leaving aside his famous group Queen, which he created and named, using a play on English words (queer - "fagot" and queen - "queen"). Played a positive role and such a rare case for rock groups, as the presence of all its members, in addition to musical talents, also higher education.

The group became world leaders thanks to "an original fusion of ballad lyrics, hard rock, swing and even operetta." Again, not every rock group was able to hold out on the top of the musical Olympus for so long (about 20 years) without changing the composition of its members.

Their success can be attributed to the fact that the Queen members were the first to turn to video music and make their performances theatrical. Here the merit belongs entirely to Freddie Mercury, who not only possessed impeccable vocals, but always chose extravagant costumes, showing theatrical poses and ballet jumps. English singer David Bowie said of him: "He was a star who could hold the audience in the palm of his hand."

As the band's regular guitarist Brian May recalls, "Freddie's songs were rich in complex chords … Our goal was to create spectacular new theatrical music." In the person of Mercury, the stage found the first Asian rock star, who brought something into the world of Western pop music that he had never dreamed of before.

In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Freddie Mercury 18th on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Vocalists of All Time. Queen's song “We Are the Champions” has been made by many football fans their anthem.

"Bohemian Rhapsody"

The Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), deservedly won four Oscars, is dedicated to the founder and frontman of the rock band Queen Freddie Mercury. Despite the fact that the film is a fictional (biopic), and not a documentary, it narrates with rare sincerity and accuracy about the life of a brilliant singer with all its vicissitudes, diseases and deserved worldwide fame.

The history of the famous Queen group is known to many pop music lovers. We are interested in a more specific question: how did the pathological features of his personality, sexual anomalies and dependence on psychoactive substances influence on Mercury's work.

All band members and friends good-naturedly laughed at the growing effeminacy of Freddie's image. Duran Duran bassist John Taylor recalls: “Freddie had a nickname in the band. He had a pretty feminine manner, and we took advantage of it. We called him “the old queen” … He always acted like he was in front of the audience, even when we were alone. His gestures were theatrical, and sometimes he suddenly began to sing right in the middle of the street. Freddie loved being in the spotlight.”

This is evidence of a hysterical personality type, thanks to which each number of the group was a small performance.

Sex without commitment

Until 1974, Mercury still did not find peace because of his unconventional sexual orientation. It was incredibly difficult to come out at the time

The society of both European states and the United States until the nineties was distinguished by homophobia. It was easier to declare oneself bisexual, which Freddie did.

Mercury "opened" gradually. In 1977, he either jokingly or seriously stated in an interview: “My sex drive is just enormous. I sleep with men, women, cats - you can continue the list yourself. I am ready to sleep with anything!.. I prefer sex without any commitment."

Besides sex, Mercury spent a lot of money on drugs. For example, cocaine, which stimulates him, sometimes went up to £ 29,000 a week. Of course, a lot of that dose went to his friends at the parties he liked to throw.

Addiction to pathological drives has developed quite rapidly. Mercury became a regular at the most expensive gay clubs in the Old and New Worlds. Changed lovers, drank, smoked weed and injected drugs. “Sometimes Freddie gave vent to his nerves and rolled a real hysteria - with tears, smashing dishes, absurd accusations”.

In 1981, Mercury continued to travel to gay bars in both hemispheres in search of adventure. And already knowing about the possibility of contracting HIV infection and the existence of such a disease as AIDS, he remained the same promiscuous in his connections. “Excess is part of my nature,” he would say. "For me, boredom is a disease … I'm definitely a sexually obsessed person."

The last chords of the disease

Biographers suggest that he contracted HIV infection in the United States in 1982. When friends began to warn him about the danger of contracting AIDS, which at that time did not know how and how to treat it, he replied with the words of his famous song, written back in 1978: “Don't stop me now”. The song said, "Don't stop me now, I'm having such a great time, I'm terribly good." Freddie tried to explain the emerging symptoms of HIV infection by excessive alcohol and drug use, as well as fatigue from frequent performances.

In 1982, Mercury consulted a doctor in New York about a white spot on his tongue. Three years later, he developed another HIV-related symptom: candidiasis ("thrush") in the mouth. However, even after that, he refused to take an AIDS test, but did not give up sex, so as not to "interrupt" the feeling of a happy and joyful life that he experienced at the height of his fame.

And only after 1985, returning to London to his refuge - Garden Lodge with his lover Jim, Freddie cut off all ties with his gay friends, many of whom died of AIDS in the coming years. He gave up casual relationships, stopped using cocaine and going to nightclubs. And in order to recharge with energy and adrenaline, he drank Stolichnaya vodka. Now he already felt growing fatigue and finally began to fear the way of life that he had led over the past years.

But it was too late. Mercury's last public performance at the huge stadium took place in August 1988. However, he did not stop composing and recording his songs for several years.

In 1986, rumors began to appear that Freddie Mercury had AIDS. Since 1989, everyone around him began to notice painful changes in Mercury's appearance - he lost a lot of weight and weakened. However, until the last days of his life, he denied rumors about his illness. Only close people knew about his terrible diagnosis.

“I don't know where he got his energy,” guitarist Brian May recalls of Mercury's penultimate year. "Perhaps vodka helped him." He took one or two sips of the icy "Stolichnaya", his spirits lifted, and he said: "Start recording." Freddie still had amazing strength in his lungs, he always sang with full dedication.

Fortunately, we can enjoy recording his songs to this day.

The question remains: if Freddie Mercury had only his own unique voice, could he achieve worldwide fame without using hysterical demonstrativeness?

How do you think? We are waiting for your comments

Presumptive diagnosis: hysterical personality disorder, dependence on psychoactive substances (alcohol, drugs, nicotine) and increased libido (satiriasis).

Sources:

• Menshikov V. G. Encyclopedia of rock music. Volume 1. English-language rock music. Tashkent: Uzbekiston, 1992.
• Music of our days / Vedas. ed. D. M. Volodikhin. M.: Avanta +, 2002.
• Matt R., Langthorn M. The Show Must Go On. Life, death and legacy of Freddie Mercury / Per. from English E. Mysak. M.: Eksmo, 2019.
• Nadezhdin N. Ya. Freddie Mercury. "I want to become a legend." M.: Major, 2008.