The first Asian truly world-class rock star

Who else but the late Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), lead singer of world-famous group Queen? Born Farrokh Bulsara, his parents were both Parsis from the province of Gujarat in India. He was born in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of eastern Africa because his father worked with the British Colonial Office.

Mr Bulsara legally changed his name to Freddie Mercury sometime in the early 1970s.

As well as an acclaimed rock vocalist and world-class showman, Mercury was a formidable songwriter, having composed international hits and all-time classics like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Are the Champions”.

At the age of 17, Mercury and his family fled Zanzibar, because of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution, and moved to Britain. He became a British citizen.

Just look at this list of achievements, can any other Asian mega/rock/pop star beat this:

- Queen has apparently sold 300 million albums;
- As of 2005, Queen albums have spent a total of 1,322 weeks (27 years!) on the UK album charts; even more than The Beatles or Elvis Presley!
- Their album “A Night At The Opera” (1975), which contains “Bohemian Rhapsody” is ranked number 230 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
- Their compilation album “Greatest Hits” (1981) has sold 25 million copies worldwide.
- In 2006, Time Asia named Mercury as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years.
- Their performance during Live Aid (1985) is considered the greatest gig in the history of rock.

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