Things You May or May Not Know About...Freddie Mercury

Everyone knows this high vocal, flamboyant front man for Queen. Some think they know all about him. Others have a casual knowledge of who he is. Here are some facts you may or may not know about Freddie Mercury.

1. He worked as a life model in art school

-Freddie had attended Ealing Art School in the 1960s. He was also hard up for cash. To earn some money to put towards a pair of Levi's, he worked as a life model for an evening drawing class. He recalls, during one interview "We were given a towel to protect our modesty. But I often think of all those old ladies who drew pictures of a half-naked Freddie Mercury."

2. He was a roadie for David Bowie
-April 1969 seen young Freddie Bulsara, as he was known in the days before Queen, working as a roadie for then unknown singer-songwriter David Bowie. When young David Bowie had played a lunchtime gig at the Ealing Art School, Freddie helped carry one of the amps and even helped design a makeshift stage out of tables.

3. He had more teeth than most people

-For one thing, people often make fun of him for his famous overbite. His trademark overbite was the result of having four extra teeth in the back of his mouth pushing the teeth in front forward. He refused in every sense of the word to have dental surgery to correct it. He feared it would destroy his incredible vocal abilities

4. He was responsible for the Sex Pistols
-Queen were scheduled to play a live gig on Tonight with Bill Grundy on 12/1/1976, in honor of their album A Day at the Races. Freddie had an appointment with the dentist, his first in 15 years and the band had to cancel. The replacement band was a then unknown punk band called The Sex Pistols

5. Bohemian Rhapsody was written by him while still a college student

-Using the school piano, Freddie had written and composed one of Queen's best known songs. It took him five years to finish this song. One classmate remarked "He called it ‘The Cowboy Song’. But he could never get beyond ‘Mama, just killed a man…'"

6. Brian May's guitar solos bored him

-With Brian's guitar solos lasting 10+ minutes, Freddie once went into the wings of the stage and declared "For God’s sake, let’s go shopping, get me out of here!"

7. He had female nicknames for friends and bandmates-except one
-John Deacon was too masculine, so he was exempt. Other than him, he called himself "Melina", Brian May was "Maggie", Roger Taylor was "Liz", Elton John was "Sharon", Rod Stewart was "Phyllis". Mary Austin, Freddie's former girlfriend was "Steve", after The Six Million Dollar Man actor Steve Austin

8. He once put Status Quo's Francis Rossi in a headlock

-There has seemed to always be a rivalry between Queen and Status Quo. Could it be because their music was considered too similar to each other? Who knows. The stand-off occurred backstage at Live Aid. Mercury and Rossi were joking around when Rossi made a joke about Freddie's sexuality. Mercury put him a headlock. "If he’d wanted to have me, he’d have had me. I couldn’t move." admitted Rossie

9. He sent a posthumous Christmas gift to Elton John
-In 1991, after he had passed, Freddie Mercury had sent a Christmas gift to his good friend Elton John. It was wrapped in a pillowcase and it was a painting Henry Scott Tuke, one of Elton John's favorite artists. Included was a handwritten note that read "Dear Sharon, thought you’d like this. Love Melina."

10. He never thought he would get old
-Everyone thinks that. Everyone who ends up being a musician dreads the old age bus hitting them head on. But it happens. In 1987, Freddie said in an interview "It would be so boring to be seventy. I’ve lived a full life and if I’m dead tomorrow, I don’t give a damn."