We Are All From Somewhere Else: The Story of Farrokh Bulsara

Farrokh Bulsara was born in the Sultanate of Zanzibar on September 5th, 1946.

At the time of Farrokh’s birth the island of Zanzibar was a British protectorate. His father worked as a civil administrator.

Farrokh’s family were Parsis, a Zoroastrian community based in the Gujarat and Sindh areas of India who originally emigrated from Persia during the 9th and 10th Centuries to escape religious persecution.

The family lived for a time in this building in Stone Town.

When he was eight years old, Farrokh was sent to St. Peter’s School, a British boarding school outside of Bombay (now Mumbai). He returned to his home in Zanzibar when he was 17.

Zanzibar went through a violent revolution of independence in 1964. Farrokh’s family fled, along with thousands of other Arabs and Indians.

Farrokh, his sister, and his parents moved to Feltham, Middlesex, a south London community near Heathrow airport. His father secured work at the airport as an accountant.

Farrokh enrolled at Isleworth Polytechnic Polytechnic, where he studied art. He later earned a diploma in graphic design from Ealing Art College, and started singing in bands.

Farrokh became Freddy Mercury.

Unless you’re indigenous, you’re from somewhere else.

Why can’t we give ourselves one more chance?