Queen star’s Zanzibar rhapsodies over Freddie

JUST months after the Oscars success of Bohemian Rhapsody, the blockbuster about Queen’s lead singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May has been inspired to embark on a pilgrimage to his former bandmate’s birthplace.

The 71- year- old, who was a consultant on the film starring Rami Malek as Freddie, was spotted this week with his wife, Anita Dobson, in Zanzibar, the island off the East African coast where the late musician grew up.

My man in the safari suit saw him stop off at Freddie’s old family home, now called Mercury House, and later visit Zanzibar Missionary School, where the future rock star was taught by Anglican nuns.

‘Under guidance from Freddie’s lovely sister Kashmira, and Abdul, our excellent guide, we managed to retrace many of Freddie’s childhood steps,’ says Brian.

‘This is something I dreamed of doing for many years.’

The life of the flamboyant performer, who died of an Aids-related illness at the age of 45 in 1991, was captured in the recent film, but Zanzibar was barely mentioned.

While Freddie did not often speak publicly about his upbringing there, that has not stopped a lucrative

tourist trade thriving in his ramshackle home town.

The singer — originally named Farrokh Bulsara — was born to Indian parents, Bomi and Jer, in Stone Town in the British protectorate of Zanzibar.

His father, a middle-ranking cashier at the High Court, hoped his son might become a doctor, lawyer or even an airline epilot. But the family were forced to flee Zanzibar in 1964 to escape the violence of the revolution for independence.

They moved into a small house at 22 Gladstone Avenue in Middlesex when Freddie was 17.

He enrolled as an art student at Isleworth Polytechnic in West London and then studied graphic art and design at Ealing Art College, where he met his future bandmates Brian and drummer Roger Taylor.

The rest, as they say, is rock history.