Freddie Mercury (real name: Farrokh Bulsara) was a British singer, songwriter, record producer, and lead vocalist of the highly successful rock group Queen. Queen was a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury as the lead vocal with piano, Brian May as lead guitar and vocals, Roger Taylor as drums and vocals, and John Deacon as bass. Their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually shifted into wider audience styles and radio-friendly works by incorporating more mainstream arena rock and pop rock. At the time of his death, AIDS was relatively new to the medical world and treatments were limited compared to today. Queen popularized multiple top hit songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, and We Are the Champions – songs that many people know around the world due their stellar success.
A common question for the casual moviegoer or Queen fan is likely to be: How did Freddie Mercury die?
Freddie suffered from AIDS for a prolonged period and eventually succumbed to his death due to bronchopneumonia, a lung complication as a result of AIDS in 1991.
Mercury has been aware of his HIV-positive status since 1987, but people around him had no idea. In a documentary, producer Dave Richards stated, "There was absolutely no evidence from me that he could've been ill."
While it is now widely known that Mercury had HIV/AIDS, the great singer and musician only officially announced his illness the day before his tragically early death on November 24, 1991, at the age of 45.