Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Stone Town, British protectorate of Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania). Bomi (1908-2003) and Jer Bulsara (1922-2016) were members of the Parsi community in western India. The Bulsaras originated in the Gujarati city of Bulsar (now Valsad). Kashmira was his younger sister (b. 1952). Bomi and his family had relocated to Zanzibar so that he could continue working as a cashier at the British Colonial Office.
The Bulsaras were Parsis who practiced Zoroastrianism. Mercury was born with four extra incisors, which he credits for his increased vocal range. Mercury was born a British subject because Zanzibar was a British protectorate until 1963, and on 2 June 1969 was registered as a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies after the family emigrated to England.
Freddie Mercury’s wife and children
Freddie Mercury never married and had no children. He had a long-term relationship with a woman, Mary Austin, and they lived together for several years until he came out as gay to her in 1976, after beginning a romantic relationship with US record executive David Minns.
Freddie Mercury’s parents and siblings
Bomi (1908–2003) and Jer Bulsara (1922–2016), his parents, belonged to the Parsi ethnic group in western India. The Bulsaras originated in the Gujarati city of Bulsar, which is today known as Valsad. Kashmira was his younger sister (born in 1952).
Mercury spent the majority of his childhood in India, where he began taking piano lessons when he was seven years old while living with relatives. Mercury was sent to St. Peter’s School, a British-style boarding school for boys in Panchgani, near Bombay when he was eight years old.
At the age of 12, he formed the Hectics, a school band that covered rock and roll artists such as Cliff Richard and Little Richard. One of Mercury’s former bandmates from the Hectics has said “the only music he listened to and played, was Western pop music”.
He had “an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano,” according to a friend. He also started calling himself “Freddie” at St. Peter’s. In February 1963, he returned to Zanzibar and joined his parents in their flat.
