He later had relationships with German restaurateur Winfried Kirchberger and hairdresser Jim Hutton.

At the time of his death in 1991, Freddie owned real estate worth the inflation-adjusted equivalent of 40 million and had 13 million worth of other liquid assets.

Mercury is best known for being the lead singer of the rock band Queen.

He had a four-octave vocal range and was known for his flamboyant and theatrical stage persona.

As a songwriter, he composed many hits for Queen, including Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer Queen, Somebody to Love, Dont Stop Me Now, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and We Are the Champions.

In addition to his work with Queen, Freddie led a solo career, and occasionally produced music and guest-starred as a musician (piano or vocals) for other artists.

Since Mercurys death from AIDS complications in 1991, he has been posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2001), the UK Music Hall of Fame (2004), and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2003) as a member of Queen, and the band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002.

Also in 2002, Freddie was placed at 58 in the BBCs poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.

In 2005, a poll organized by Blender and MTV2 ranked Mercury as the greatest male singer of all time.

In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him 18 on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, and a Classic Rock poll voted him the greatest rock singer of all time.

Early Life: Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Stone Town, Sultanate of Zanzibar (now Tanzania).

Freddie grew up in India with parents Bomi and Jer and sister Kashmira and started taking piano lessons when he was 7 years old.

Peters School, a boarding school near Bombay, at the age of 8, and at 12, he formed a rock and roll cover band called the Hectics.

In 1964, the Bulsara family emigrated to Middlesex, England, and Freddie attended Isleworth Polytechnic and graduated from Ealing Art College with a diploma in Art Graphic Design in 1969.

Mercury then worked at Kensington Market, where future Queen drummer Roger Taylor was one of his coworkers.

Freddie joined a few bands, including Ibex and Sour Milk Tea, before becoming the lead vocalist of Smile, a band formed by Taylor and guitarist Brian May, in April 1970.

Bassist John Deacon joined the band in 1971, and Mercury decided the new band should be called Queen and designed their logo, the Queen crest.

Career: During his lifetime, Mercury released 14 studio albums with Queen, including Queen II (1972), Sheer Heart Attack (1974), and News of the World (1977), and two solo albums, 1985s Mr.

Bad Guy and 1988s Barcelona.

Queens Greatest Hits (1981) is the U.K.s highest-selling album, and it has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide; it was certified 22x Platinum in the U.K.

Platinum in the U.S.

Queens debut self-titled album was released in July 1973, and all their albums have been certified Gold or higher in the U.K.

A Night at the Opera (1975) included the bands biggest hit, Bohemian Rhapsody, which reached 1 on the charts in seven countries.

Queen also composed the score for the 1980 film Flash Gordon, releasing a soundtrack album in December of that year.

Most of the tracks were instrumental, but the single Flash, sung by Mercury and May, broke the top ten on charts in three countries.

The band released the album in November 1995, and they dedicated it to the immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury.

Photo by Michael MontfortMichael Ochs ArchivesGetty Images) Personal Life: Freddie was in a relationship with Mary Austin from 1970 to 1976, and they lived together in West Kensington.

During the relationship, Mercury had an affair with Elektra Records executive David Minns, and his romantic relationship with Austin ended after he told her about his sexuality.

Freddie and Mary remained good friends, and he said that he considered Austin the only true friend he had.

Freddie Mercury Torrent