Queen's Roger Taylor expressed his shock after discovering something unexpected in the late Freddie Mercury's lyrics.
At the Queen 1 boxset launch at Soho's Ham Yard Hotel, the drummer shared his puzzlement over his bandmate's lyrical content with Richard Eden of the Daily Mail.
Roger found something startling in Freddie's early works, so much so that he said "God knows" what Freddie had been "reading".
He said: "I am horrified at how religious a lot of Freddie's lyrics are. Freddie was not religious in the slightest way, so God knows what he had been reading."
It has been noted before that Freddie was a Zoroastrian, a follower of an ancient Persian religion established by Prophet Zoroaster around 3,500 years ago.
Zoroastrianism is one of the earliest monotheistic religions, where believers worship a single god, like Christianity. According to the BBC, Freddie was a devout Zoroastrian during his school days in Panchgani, India.
However, in 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that while Freddie wasn't "formally" religious but was "fiercely protective" of his parents and held deep respect for their faith.
Freddie was born in Zanzibar, Africa, to Bomi and Jer Bulsara, who were Zoroastrians. Bomi originally hailed from Bulsar in Gujarat and relocated to Zanzibar for work.
The Queen frontman tragically passed away on November 24, 1991, succumbing to bronchial pneumonia as a complication of AIDS, just two months after his 45th birthday.
His funeral service was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest at the West London Crematorium three days after he died, with his remains being entrusted to his ex-partner, Mary Austin.
Speculation has swirled over the years that Freddie's personal items were burnt in line with his religious practices, but these rumours were quashed by his sister, Kashmira Bulsara.
In a statement issued in 2022 on her behalf, she clarified that it was "not correct" and affirmed that the possessions they had have been "kept in memory of Freddie and is still with Kashmira today".
Furthermore, the statement asserted: "Nothing was burnt due to the family's beliefs and this is not part of the Zoroastrian faith."
English (US) ·