London street named after Freddie Mercury

A quiet corner of south-west London has been named Freddie Mercury Close in memory of the famous Indian-origin singer-songwriter who lived in the area with his family. Mercury, the lead vocalist of the popular band Queen, was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar before his Indian Parsi family moved to the UK to live at Gladstone Avenue in Feltham.

His sister, Kashmira Bulsara, formally unveiled the street sign for Freddie Mercury Close alongside Mayor of the local borough of Hounslow Tony Louki on Monday.

“Although Freddie Mercury died in 1991 (at the age of 45), his legacy lives on through his wonderful music, a blue plaque at Gladstone Avenue as well as his being fondly remembered by fans worldwide that especially visit this town,” said Councillor Louki.

“I must thank the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) for organising the event and salute its now most appropriate and unique address of 1 Freddie Mercury Close, Feltham, Middlesex, TW13 5DF,” he said.

The street name change came about after a conversation between Louki and Darayus S Motivala, Joint Honorary Secretary of WZO, at an inter-faith event in July when many guests were delayed as they could not find the venue.

It led to discussions on acquiring a unique name and postal code for the as-yet unnamed corner of Hanworth Road.

The street sign itself has been placed outside the head office of WZO, a faith group into which Mercury was born.“Freddie was born into the Zoroastrian faith and had a home in Feltham. He is one of a number of Zoroastrians who have excelled themselves in the world of arts, as in other fields,” said the WZO, a faith-based charity in the UK.

“It is therefore very fitting that the Mayor and Freddie’s sister, Kashmira Bulsara, are unveiling the street sign today in the presence of so many dignitaries, including Lord Karan Bilimoria and local MP Seema Malhotra,” the statement added.

Mercury is also remembered in his old neighbourhood by local residents who maintain a recently-refurbished memorial space around a tree on Feltham High Street planted by the late Jer Bulsara, the singer’s mother.

“Personally, I have always been a huge fan of Queen – who can forget their powerful performance at Live Aid in July 1985 just six years before he died. It was also a great pleasure to meet Kashmira, his sister, so a big thanks is due to her for coming here today and helping ensure that Freddie’s legacy lives on,” said Councillor Samia Chaudhary.

Mercury, who died of AIDS, was closely associated with south-west London as he studied in the area, including graphic art and design at Ealing Art College, now a part of University of West London.

He graduated with a diploma in 1969, a year before he went on to form the band Queen and record major worldwide hits such as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are the Champions’.