Freddie mercury peter straker birthplace

British rock musician; frontman of Queen (1946–1991)

Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octavevocal range. Mercury defied the conventions of a rock frontman with his theatrical style, influencing the artistic direction of Queen.

Born in 1946 in Zanzibar to Parsi-Indian parents, Mercury attended British boarding schools in India from the age of eight and returned to Zanzibar after secondary school. In 1964, his family fled the Zanzibar Revolution, moving to Middlesex, England. Having previously studied and written music, he formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Mercury wrote numerous hits for Queen, including "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love", "We Are the Champions", "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". His charismatic stage performances often saw him interact with the audience, as displayed at the 1985 Live Aid concert. He also led a solo career and was a producer and guest musician for other artists.

Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. He continued to record with Queen, and was posthumously featured on their final album, Made in Heaven (1995). In 1991, the day after publicly announcing his diagnosis, he died from complications of the disease at the age of 45. In 1992, a concert in tribute to him was held at Wembley Stadium, in benefit of AIDS awareness.

As a member of Queen, Mercury was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1990, he and the other Queen members received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. One year after his death, M

PETER STRAKER

Born in Jamaica, Peter Straker is known to more than one generation of music fans and theatre goers. He first shot to fame in 1968 when he starred as Hud in the original London production of ‘Hair.’ Straker has starred in countless West End productions since, including Pete Townshend’s ‘Tommy’, Ken Hill’s ‘The Original Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Hot Stuff’, ‘Blues in the Night’, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’, ‘The Rat Pack’, ‘One Love’ and ‘Holding On’; these last two both with Ruby Turner. His classical roles include Cassius in ‘Julius Caesar’, at Bristol Old Vic, and Lucio in ‘Measure for Measure’ at the National Theatre.

Recently he reprised his role in ‘The Wiz’ with Birmingham Rep, and starred in The Hackney Empire’s ‘Cinderella’, The Landor Theatre’s ‘The Glorious One’s’. Lately Straker has performed in The Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, in a concert performance of ‘Piaf’ with The Matthew Jones Orchestra, and his critically acclaimed one man show ‘Peter Straker’s Brel’ returned to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013 after sold out performances earlier that year at the St. James Theatre in London. Peter has made several appearances in film and on TV and became a well-known face playing Dev in the hit series ‘Connie’ with Stephanie Beacham and is known to Doctor Who fans as Commander Sharrel, in ‘Destiny of the Daleks’. Peter Straker’s recording career has been no less notable, with projects for many major record labels including The Alan Parsons Project ‘I Robot’, Freddie Mercury’s memorable ‘Barcelona’ with Montserrat Caballé and backing vocals in The Great Pretender. Straker has an extensive back catalogue of recordings and solo albums, two of which were produced by Freddie Mercury,

Jamaican-born singer and actor (born 1943)

Peter Straker (born 7 November 1943) is a Jamaican-born British singer and actor.

Life and career

Straker was born in Jamaica, and moved to London in his early childhood. He first became known in 1968, when he starred as Hud in the original London production of Hair. Over the next three years, he released a succession of singles on the Polydor label, though none became commercially successful. In 1971 (credited mononymously as Straker), he appeared in the comedy-drama film Girl Stroke Boy, co-written and co-produced by Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrin.

In 1972, he signed with RCA Victor, and had a minor hit with the song "The Spirit is Willing", based on "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J. S. Bach, and adapted by the songwriting duo of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who also produced the single. Credited to "Peter Straker – The Hands of Dr. Teleny", it entered the charts on 19 February 1972, had a chart life of 4 weeks and peaked at No.40. Howard and Blaikley wrote and produced Straker's first album in 1972, Private Parts, based around Straker's reminiscences of his life.

In the mid-1970s he moved to Pye Records, and toured as a singer. He met Freddie Mercury, and they became close friends. Mercury was instrumental in winning Straker a new recording deal with EMI, and co-produced his first album for the label, This One's On Me, with Roy Thomas Baker. Straker's 1978 album, Changeling, produced by Tim Friese-Greene, with most of the songs written by guitarist Mike Allison though several were written or co-written by Straker. In 1979, Straker released the album Real Natural Man, released on Rocket Records. However, the record again found little success, and Straker reconsidered his career direction.

Straker subsequently featured in countless West End productions, including Pete Townshend's Tommy, Ken Hill's Ph