Both Freddie and I were extremely shy. So when I used to see him on stage, it wasn’t like watching the real Freddie. To me, it was watching my brother acting the part.’

‘He was six when I was born, so I only had a year of him, yet I was always aware of my proud older brother protecting me.’ says Kashmira. ‘He didn’t always come home for the holidays – sometimes he’d stay with my dad’s sister in Bombay, or with my mum’s sister, and it was she who got him started on playing the piano and drawing. He was talented in all areas. It made me feel sick, of course. Even now, Mum and Dad have got all his school reports.’

‘He always used to take hours in front of the mirror, looking after his locks. He’d go out a lot, too, and stay out all night. My mum and he used to argue about it constantly. And she was always going on at him to make sure he got a degree, but he was determined to do what he wanted. There was quite a lot of door-slamming, but when Freddie made it, Mum was very proud!’

‘Every morning when I wake up, there’s a Queen song on the radio and people ask me if it makes me sad. My answer is No!

How can I remain sad if my brother wakes me up singing!’

‘He was my brother, but a megastar too. Simply speaking, I don’t know what it was like to have an ordinary brother because my own brother was so extraordinary.’

Kashmira Bulsara Cooke

November 2000

Did Freddie have a workout routine…

“Freddie had no fitness regime as such. He was the only person I have ever met who had two complete home gyms, one in New York and one in Los Angeles, who never used them. Freddie had no specific workout schedule. He was one of those very lucky people whose body was naturally fit. He had a very fast metabolism, so he burned fat quickly. He was also very active and didn’t like spending time lying in bed or sitting on the sofa.

You’ve seen in video shots from shows that he did some running on the spot and small jumps before a show, which was really just to warm up his body for what would essentially be a 2-hour workout on the stage. If you think Queen toured the world each year, there were a lot of intense exercises.” (Peter Freestone)

A funny anecdote from this specific time period; June 1970 provided by Pat Johnstone. Sue and her sister Pat were dear friends with the band from Truro. The sisters actually started the official International Queen Fan Club!

Queen’s first ever concert was planned for the City Hall, Truro on 27th June 1970. It was a benefit concert organized by Roger’s mother, and booked originally for Smile.

Pat and Sue Johnstone provided accommodation for half of Queen on that historic weekend.

“Brian and John Harris and Freddie certainly stayed with us in Rosedale up past the City Inn when they played their first gig at the City Hall. They stayed in our attic room and Freddie would stand on his head with his legs crossed doing yoga against the wall. He had long hair and would use our heating tongs to curl his hair in the way he wanted. And my Dad was completely taken aback and initially thought they were all a bit weird.” – Pat Johnstone

Pat also said her dad wanted to get their garden sorted but he worked so much that he didn’t get around to it. The boys said they would take care of it with such enthusiasm. They spent the weekend digging the whole garden, planting, taking care of the flowerbeds. They were lovely and they adored her Dad. When he came home from work and saw all the work in the garden, he was so emotional and grateful. He thanked the boys and told them how lovely of them. He said, “I’m very touched.”

Source: ‘Queen In Cornwall’ by Rupert White

The Same Old Bulsara Eyes ….

“My uncle and Freddie were classmates at St. Peter’s in Panchgani. They were very good friends and Freddie spent quite some time with my uncle’s relatives in Mumbai during the holidays. Then they went their separate ways.

Years later, around 1974, he happened to be in London and was having a meal at a restaurant. A man detached himself from a small group nearby, and came up to him, and asked if he was ‘X’. It was Freddie. My uncle did not recognise him at all – he looked completely different from school-boy Freddie.

Naturally once he said he was Freddie Bulsara, my uncle was delighted and they chatted for a few minutes, Freddie asked about his family, catching up on old times a bit. And then he left with his friends.

The funny thing about this is that my uncle had absolutely no clue that Freddie Bulsara WAS Freddie Mercury. He was not into rock music, and this was way before the internet. He was just happy to meet his good friend from school.

Freddie never, ever mentioned the Mercury name that day either. When he asked for the check, the waiter told him Freddie had paid his bill, my uncle was pleasantly surprised.

Few months later, when he went to a record store to buy some albums, he saw Freddie’s face on an album cover. Only after asking the clerk at the store did he realise that his old school friend was now the rock star Freddie Mercury. He still had the same old innocent Bulsara eyes.”

Noorie (fan)
.
A wonderful memory. Freddie was always so warm and of course, generous! His status changed, but never his heart, same old Farrokh!

“I change when I walk out on stage. I totally transform into this ‘Ultimate Showman.’ I say that because that’s what I must be. I can’t be second best. I know I have to strut. I know I have to hold the mic and stand a certain way. And I love it!”

Freddie Mercury