# Do you know who Freddie Mercury is/was? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718 "2012-04-23T18:08:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/1 "2012-04-23T18:08:45Z")
Without Googling, asking a friend, or reading the responses in this thread. A couple days ago I posted this on my FB page: > [@](#): > > It must be springtime, for it appears the majority of the student population have brought their guitars to campus. Every two-bit hipster who can play only three chords and think they sound like Freddie Mercury is parked somewhere on the lawn, dressed in the City of Eugene summer uniform while playing and caterwauling their heart out… Suddenly, I started getting the most bizarre responses: > [@](#): > > “Who?” > > “Isn’t he one of those 80’s hair band guys?” > > “No, he sang for Bon Jovi” > > “No, he was one of those one-hit wonders from California. [Lancia], you don’t listen to that crap, do you?” > > “Bullshit, Mercury was the front man for Boston” 😕 Now, I only have about 30 people on my FB list – just family members, with which I use FB to keep in touch. I wouldn’t have guessed there was that much ignorance in such a small group of people, especially considering that group of people is predominately college-educated 30-somethings. Has it really been that long? Do _you_ know who Freddie Mercury is/was? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/2 "2012-04-23T18:10:22Z")
Yes, and I think the Dope will more or less all know who he was. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/3 "2012-04-23T18:10:27Z")
Yes. You couldn’t be a high school student in the 70’s and not know who Freddie Mercury was. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/4 "2012-04-23T18:10:32Z")
He sang Rio. Everyone knows that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/5 "2012-04-23T18:12:48Z")
Anybody who has listened to rock music since the 70s knows who Freddie Fucking Mercury is. They may not know his cultural background, but the band was iconic and their hits many. It’s like saying you never heard of The Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![SnakeBabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SnakeBabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeBabe)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/6 "2012-04-23T18:13:07Z")
One of the greatest ! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/7 "2012-04-23T18:13:13Z")
Wasn’t he married to Venus Williams? I think he also was in Rare Earth with Kennth Mars, singing their version of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony that was used in ads for the 1994 Saturn. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/8 "2012-04-23T18:14:24Z")
Born in 1980, and of course I know who he was. Your FB friends are {checks forum, removes expletives and insults} odd. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/9 "2012-04-23T18:15:49Z")
Well, yes, but I also know who Ada Jones and Lillian Russell were. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/10 "2012-04-23T18:16:31Z")
Born in '84. Couldn’t imagine not knowing. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/11 "2012-04-23T18:16:51Z")
This doesn’t surprise me. A few months ago I mentioned Dr. Who in a staff meeting. No one had any idea what I was talking about. We had a thread a little while back on things people didn’t know. It can be shocking when you realize that things that are common knowledge in your social/intellectual/chronological stratum are unknown outside of it. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/12 "2012-04-23T18:17:34Z")
I was in college in the 70s; knew the band Queen, but didn’t know Freddie Mercury’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/13 "2012-04-23T18:18:32Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Anybody who has listened to rock music since the 70s knows who Freddie Fucking Mercury is. They may not know his cultural background, but the band was iconic and their hits many. It’s like saying you never heard of The Beatles. I wouldn’t say that, everybody knows **Queen** , not everybody is up on the names of the band members. While the Beatles are a special case, and while I’d be shocked if somebody didn’t know them, I’d be significantly less shocked if they didn’t know George or Ringo. I don’t really consider Mercury a name in the modern age. I would guess the following conversation is pretty plausible “You know Freddie Mercury?” “Who!?” “The lead singer and writer for Queen.” “Oh, yeah, I love Queen!” ETA: Born in 1989. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/14 "2012-04-23T18:18:41Z")
Born in 80. Yes I know who he was. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/15 "2012-04-23T18:18:47Z")
Who!? Never heard of him. Is he an actor? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/16 "2012-04-23T18:19:17Z")
Went to High School in the 70s. Had heard the name but couldn’t tell you a single thing about him (other than in the music arena). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/17 "2012-04-23T18:19:48Z")
Didn’t he used to make outboard motors? ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/18 "2012-04-23T18:21:03Z")
I think you need to find less culturally deficient friends. Even my 70 year old gospel listening mother, when queried moments ago, could identify Freddie Mercury as “that British singer died of AIDS, didn’t he sing that Bites the Dust song?” ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/19 "2012-04-23T18:21:12Z")
This thread hurts my feelings. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718/20 "2012-04-23T18:22:05Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > I think you need to find less culturally deficient friends. Even my 70 year old gospel listening mother, when queried moments ago, could identify Freddie Mercury as “that British singer died of AIDS, didn’t he sing that Bites the Dust song?” That’s a little harsh, I think the OP just needs friends that know how to use Google before they open their yap… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-freddie-mercury-is-was/619718.md?page=2)