Raising the Mercury

Freddie Mercury gets a memorial in London

Raising the Mercury

Freddie Mercury gets a memorial in London

From distant Old Blighty comes news Down Under that will surely delight fans of aapro Freddie Mercury, the rock music legend of the famed Queen group.

Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, East Africa.

Last week Feltham, the unprepossessing London suburb where the then shy Balsara settled at the age of 17 after boarding school studies in India, memorialised Mercury 18 years after his death.

Residents of theu00a0 suburb,u00a0 where Balsara's family settled after fleeing the 1964 Tanzanian revolution, adopted Mercury as one of their own, unveiling a quartz memorial star in the shopping precinct.

Mercury's 87-year old mother and Queen guitarist Brian May were present on the occasion, which was attended by a large number of Indians, who constitute 17 per cent of the population of the borough.

"I'm Jer Balsara and Freddie was my boy," Mercury's mother proudly told the 2000-strong crowd.

"Feltham was his first home in England after we arrived here. It was a place where he began to explore his musical future."

"We just thought it was a passing phase but he carried it on and showed the world what he was made of."

Mercury's sister Kashmira said, "I am so charmed by it all. I could not believe he's become an icon, and I am so happy for that."

Brian May said, "Feltham's a fairly unglamorous place, then and now, and I think it's rather nice that they're proud of one of their sons."

Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer in the UK said Mercury's story embodied the best of Britain.

"There was a glass ceiling in this country but it's people like Freddie Mercury who smashed through it...

Hounslow is a shining example of multiculturism and the opportunity that Britain offers," Bilimoria said.

The Indian community of the area now hopes that Mercury's example will inspire other budding musicians.

Twenty-eight year old Jay Sean, a resident, topped the US charts with his hit number Down.

Councillor Paul Jabbal is quoted as saying, "Now we've got youngsters coming through and I have no doubt we will see many, many more Freddie Mercuries coming out of this area."

Source: Agence France Presse

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