Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (5 September 1946 ? 24 November 1991) was a British musician, best known as the frontman of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his vocal prowess and flamboyant performances. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "? Bohemian Rhapsody", "? Killer Queen", "? Somebody to Love", "? Don... more »'t Stop Me Now", "? Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "? We Are the Champions". Fronted by Mercury, Queen went on to sell more than 300 million albums internationally as of 2009. In addition to his work with Queen, he also led a solo career and was occasionally a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. Mercury, who was a Parsi and grew up in India, has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star". He died of bronchopneumonia induced by HIV (AIDS) on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease.« less