Editing Freddie Mercury (section)

===Fleeing to England===
[[File:FREDDIE MERCURY (FRED BULSARA) 1946-1991 Singer and Songwriter lived here.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[English Heritage]] [[blue plaque]] at 22 Gladstone Avenue, Feltham, London]]

In the spring of 1964, Mercury and his family fled to England from Zanzibar to escape the violence of the [[Zanzibar Revolution|revolution]] against the [[Sultan of Zanzibar]] and his mainly Arab government,<ref name="Januszczak_1996"/> in which thousands of ethnic Arabs and Indians were killed.<ref name=Plekhanov/> They moved to 19 Hamilton Close, [[Feltham]], [[Middlesex]], a town {{convert|13|mi|km}} west of central London. The Bulsaras briefly relocated to 122 Hamilton Road, before settling into a small house at 22 Gladstone Avenue in late October.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=UkNatArchives |number=1141345508939784193 |date=19 June 2019 |title=Farrokh Bulsara fled to England from Zanzibar in 1964 as a refugee to escape the violence of the revolution for independence. He's more widely known as #FreddieMercury, lead singer of the band #Queen. This is his registration of British citizenship from 1969 #RefugeeWeek |link=https://twitter.com/UkNatArchives/status/1141345508939784193}}</ref> After first studying art at [[Isleworth Polytechnic]] in [[West London]], Mercury studied graphic art and design at [[Ealing Art College]], graduating with a diploma in 1969.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica2">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Freddie Mercury, British singer and songwriter|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Freddie-Mercury|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]|access-date=11 June 2015|archive-date=10 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410013217/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Freddie-Mercury|url-status=live}}</ref> He later used these skills to design heraldic arms for his band Queen.<ref name="Queen logo">{{cite web |last1=Garlak |title=10 The best Rock/Metal Bands Logos |url=https://www.tooft.com/10-rockmetal-bands-logos/ |website=Tooft Design |access-date=30 January 2021 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306074906/https://www.tooft.com/10-rockmetal-bands-logos/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following graduation, Mercury joined a series of bands and sold second-hand Edwardian clothes and scarves in [[Kensington Market, London|Kensington Market]] in London with [[Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)|Roger Taylor]]. Taylor recalls, "Back then, I didn't really know him as a singer—he was just my mate. My crazy mate! If there was fun to be had, Freddie and I were usually involved."<ref>{{cite news |title=Roger Taylor 'I remember' |url=https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/celebrities/roger-taylor-i-remember |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=Reader's Digest |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731203646/https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/celebrities/roger-taylor-i-remember |url-status=dead }}</ref> He also held a job as a baggage handler at [[Heathrow Airport]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Freddie Mercury fans hit Heathrow to celebrate Queen star's stint as a baggage handler |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/freddie-mercury-fans-hit-heathrow-to-celebrate-queen-star-s-stint-as-a-baggage-handler-bg5jkmjrv |access-date=5 September 2018 |newspaper=[[The Times]] |archive-date=16 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616170613/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/freddie-mercury-fans-hit-heathrow-to-celebrate-queen-star-s-stint-as-a-baggage-handler-bg5jkmjrv |url-status=live }}</ref> Other friends from the time remember him as a quiet and shy young man with a great interest in music.<ref name=student/> In 1969, he joined [[Liverpool]]-based band Ibex, later renamed Wreckage, which played "very [[Hendrix]]-style, heavy blues".<ref>{{cite book |last=Tremlett |first=George |date=1976 |title=The Queen Story |publisher=Futura Publications |page=38 |isbn=0860074129}}</ref> He briefly lived in a flat above the Dovedale Towers, a pub on [[Penny Lane, Liverpool|Penny Lane]] in Liverpool's [[Mossley Hill]] district.<ref>{{citation|last=Hodkinson|first=Mark|title=Queen The Early Years|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=1995|isbn=978-0-7119-6012-1|page=117}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://musicblog.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/07/the-pub-that-hosted-john-lenno.html |title=The pub that hosted John Lennon and Freddie Mercury needs your band...<!-- ellipsis in the original --> |work=[[Liverpool Echo]] |department=Jade's Music Blog |publisher=Musicblog.merseyblogs.co.uk |date=8 August 2008 |access-date=8 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202112938/http://musicblog.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/07/the-pub-that-hosted-john-lenno.html |archive-date=2 February 2014}}</ref> When this band failed to take off, he joined an [[Oxford]]-based band, [[Sour Milk Sea (band)|Sour Milk Sea]], but by early 1970 this group had broken up as well.<ref name="Skala_2006"/>

In April 1970, Mercury teamed up with guitarist [[Brian May]] and drummer Roger Taylor, to become lead singer of their band [[Smile (band)|Smile]].<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica2"/> They were joined by bassist [[John Deacon]] in 1971. Despite the reservations of the other members and [[Trident Studios]], the band's initial management, Mercury chose the name "Queen" for the new band. He later said, "It's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."<ref name="Highleyman_2005"/> At about the same time, he legally [[Name change#United Kingdom|changed his surname]], Bulsara, to Mercury.<ref name=Sutcliffe/>

Shortly before the release of Queen's [[Queen (Queen album)|self-titled first album]], Mercury designed the band's logo, known as the "Queen crest".<ref name="Queen logo"/> The logo combines the [[zodiac]] signs of the four band members: two lions for Deacon and Taylor (sign [[Leo (astrology)|Leo]]), a crab for May ([[Cancer (astrology)|Cancer]]), and two fairies for Mercury ([[Virgo (astrology)|Virgo]]).<ref name="Queen logo"/> The lions embrace a stylised letter Q, the crab rests atop the letter with flames rising directly above it, and the fairies are each sheltering below a lion.<ref name="Queen logo"/> A crown is shown inside the Q, and the whole logo is over-shadowed by an enormous [[phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]]. The Queen crest bears a passing resemblance to the [[Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom]], particularly with the lion supporters.<ref name="Queen logo"/>