Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury was a Zanzibar-born British musician, best known as the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Queen. He was noted for his vocal abilities and for his live performances. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "We Are the Champions" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". In addition to his work with Queen, he also led a solo career with minor success, and was occasionally a producer and guest musician for other artists. Mercury, who was of Indian Parsi descent and who grew up in India, has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star." He died of bronchopneumonia induced by HIV on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease. In 2006, Time Asia named Mercury as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years. However, he has also been criticised for having kept his ethnicity, as well as his sexual orientation and HIV status, a secret from the public.