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50 free Freddie Mercury trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, learned piano in an Indian boarding school, fled a revolution to Feltham and sold second-hand clothes in Kensington Market before he chose the name Queen and designed its crest. Then came a four-octave voice, Bohemian Rhapsody, the 1985 Live Aid set voted the greatest live performance in rock, and a final decade lived largely in private. These 50 questions cover his life and legacy: the Hectics and Ibex, Ealing Art College, Mary Austin, Munich and Jim Hutton, Mr. Bad Guy and Barcelona with Montserrat Caballé, the Great Pretender, Kenny Everett's radio stunt, the cats he had painted, the Ibiza birthday, the Knebworth farewell, Made in Heaven, the Montreux statue, the 1992 tribute concert and the Rami Malek biopic. Easy questions stick to the famous moments; the hard tier asks about stamp albums, pseudonyms and who chose his house. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a music night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What was Freddie Mercury's birth name?
Farrokh Bulsara
He legally changed his surname around the time Queen formed in 1970.
Q 02On which island was Mercury born in 1946?
Zanzibar
It was a British protectorate then and is now part of Tanzania.
Q 03Mercury's parents belonged to which religious community?
Parsi
The family practised Zoroastrianism, and a Zoroastrian priest conducted his funeral.
Q 04Mercury was born with four extra what, which he credited for his vocal range?
Incisors
He was self-conscious about the overbite and often covered his mouth when he laughed.
Q 05At which Indian boarding school did Mercury form his first band, the Hectics?
St. Peter's
It was in Panchgani, near Bombay, and it was there he started calling himself Freddie.
Q 06Which London institution displays Mercury's childhood stamp album?
The Postal Museum
He inherited his father's interest in philately and collected between ages 9 and 12.
Q 07The Bulsaras fled to England in 1964 to escape a revolution against whom?
The Sultan of Zanzibar
Thousands of ethnic Arabs and Indians were killed in the uprising.
Q 08In which west London town did the family settle after arriving in England?
Feltham
A commemorative star was unveiled on the town's High Street in 2009.
Q 09Where did Mercury earn his 1969 diploma in graphic art and design?
Ealing Art College
He put the training to use designing heraldic arms for the band.
Q 10Mercury sold second-hand clothes in Kensington Market with which future bandmate?
Roger Taylor
He also worked as a baggage handler at Heathrow around the same time.
Q 11Which Liverpool-based band did Mercury join in 1969?
Ibex
It was later renamed Wreckage and played 'very Hendrix-style, heavy blues'.
Q 12Mercury joined May and Taylor's band in April 1970; what was it called before he renamed it?
Smile
John Deacon completed the line-up in 1971.
Q 13The Queen crest Mercury designed represents the members by what?
Their zodiac signs
Two lions for the Leos, a crab for May the Cancer, and two fairies for Mercury the Virgo.
Q 14Which creature looms over the whole Queen crest?
Q 21Queen's 1986 concert behind the Iron Curtain drew 80,000 people in which city?
Budapest
It was one of the biggest rock concerts ever held in Eastern Europe.
Q 22Under what pseudonym did Mercury release a single in 1973?
Larry Lurex
He sang lead on covers of 'I Can Hear Music' and 'Goin' Back' for a Trident Studios engineer.
Q 23Mercury's 1984 single 'Love Kills' was written with which producer for a film restoration?
Giorgio Moroder
It was for the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis and reached number 10 in the UK.
A phoenix
The phoenix later gave its name to the AIDS charity set up in his memory.
Q 15Mercury's speaking voice fell in which range?
Baritone
He nonetheless delivered most songs as a tenor and could reach soprano high F.
Q 16How many of the 17 songs on Queen's Greatest Hits did Mercury write?
10
They include Killer Queen, Somebody to Love and Don't Stop Me Now.
Q 17Which Queen hit did Mercury compose on guitar and play rhythm guitar on?
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
He admitted he could barely read music and had only rudimentary guitar skills.
Q 18What was Mercury's signature stage prop?
A broken microphone stand
He snapped it off its heavy base by accident early on and kept using it.
Q 19Queen's set at which 1985 event was voted the greatest gig in rock history?
Live Aid
His sustained a cappella note became known as 'The Note Heard Round the World'.
Q 20Where did Mercury give his final live performance with Queen, in August 1986?
Knebworth Park
He left the stage draped in a robe, holding a golden crown aloft.
Q 24What was the title of Mercury's first solo album, released in 1985?
Mr. Bad Guy
Its liner notes are dedicated to his cat Jerry 'and all the cat lovers across the universe'.
Q 25Which single from Mercury's first album hit UK number one as a 1993 remix?
Living on My Own
It earned him a posthumous Ivor Novello Award.
Q 26With which Spanish soprano did Mercury record the 1988 album Barcelona?
Montserrat Caballé
She sang the title track at the 1992 Olympic opening with his part played on a screen.
Q 27Mercury's 1987 cover of 'The Great Pretender' was originally a hit for which group?
The Platters
His version peaked at number four in the UK.
Q 28Between 1981 and 1983 Mercury recorded unreleased tracks with which pop superstar?
Michael Jackson
Their demos included 'State of Shock', which Jackson later cut with Mick Jagger instead.
Q 29Who was the woman Mercury called his 'common-law wife' and left his home to?
Mary Austin
They met in 1969 through Brian May when she worked at the boutique Biba.
Q 30What was the name of Mercury's Kensington mansion?
Garden Lodge
After his death its outer wall became London's biggest rock-and-roll shrine.