? The Spirit Of Haida Gwaii | Main | Medulla ?
August 26, 2004
Queen
Freddie Mercury was not only gay, he was Zoroastrian. It seems doubly odd that "Queen ... has become the first rock act to receive an official seal of approval in Iran" with the release of a greatest hits album and (highly eBay collectible) explanatory leaflet.
It tells Queen fans that Bohemian Rhapsody is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil. On the night before his execution he calls God in Arabic, "Bismillah", and so regains his soul from Satan.
Posted by Ghost of a flea at August 26, 2004 08:43 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ghostofaflea.com/cgi-bin/mt/trackback-engine.cgi/1396
Comments
I thought that a wee bit odd too. I mean many Muslims believe Zoroastrians to be devil-worshippers.
Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge at August 26, 2004 01:57 PM
The "bismillah" was actually something Freddie picked up from his youth in Zanzibar, where it was a rallying cry by the Muslim-dominated independence movement. It's still not really known if he actually supported Zanzibar independence or just thought it was a cool word.
Posted by: myrick at August 27, 2004 12:17 PM