Mapperley’s Memories Of Freddie Mercury

Mapperley will always be grateful to have been home to Freddie Mercury’s family for over 20 years. Some knew the family, some knew where they lived. Some had heard the rumours and weren’t sure it was true. It was true and we want to share some of the details.

Freddie Mercury – A Reminder

Freddie Mercury (birth name Farrokh Bulsara) is regarded by many to be one of the greatest showman ever to appear in the public eye. He was lead singer of the British rock group Queen, which dominated the music scene from the mid 1970s through to the early 1990s. His flamboyant stage appearances grabbed world attention. With the classic lineup of Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor, some of Queen’s famous songs include: “Killer Queen,” “We Will Rock You,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Somebody to Love,” “We Are the Champions,” “Under Pressure,” and “Another One Bites the Dust.” 

After announcing that he was suffering from AIDS, Freddie Mercury died at his Kensington, London home in November 1991. He was just 45 years old. Freddie was cremated at West London Crematorium in Kensal Green Cemetery, where there is now a cenotaph. Ashes were given to his former girlfriend Mary Austin. She buried them and vows never to reveal the location.

In 2001, Mercury was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Queen. 

In 2018, a biographical film about Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” was released by 20th Century Fox. It was a critical-box office smash, with Rami Malek winning the Academy Award Best Actor for his performance as Freddie Mercury.

We posted:

For those that don’t know. Freddie Mercury’s sister lived in Mapperley, as did his mother until her death a couple of years ago. Radio Nottingham had done a feature about the film Bohemian Rhapsody and a couple of things made us smile. His sister’s son was quoted saying how exciting it was when ‘Uncle Freddie’ came to visit. Apparently Freddie’s mother always went to see the Queen tribute acts at the old Miners Welfare. Wouldn’t it be great to see this film on Mapperley Top?

Freddie’s Family

Freddie’s parents were from the Gujarat region of the Bombay Presidency in British India. The family surname is derived from the town of Bulsar (now known as Valsad) in southern Gujarat. The Bulsara family had moved to Zanzibar so that Bomi could continue his job as a cashier at the British Colonial Office.

Freddie’s mother Jer married Bomi Bulsara, in 1946 and they had two children Farrokh (Freddie) born in 1946 and Kashmira. The family fled Zanzibar, Tanzania during the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, when the children were teenagers. They moved to Feltham in Middlesex.

Mapperley Connection

After Freddie’s death in November 1991 his parents moved from London to Nottingham to be close to their daughter Kashmira and their grandchildren.

Kashmira lived on Mapperley Plains with her husband Roger Cooke and their children Jamal and Nathalie. The grandparents moved into a new bungalow built for them on Newbury Close, just 100 metres from where Kashmira and Roger lived on Plains Road. They had a bungalow a couple of doors down from the Tree Tops Public House. It was also rumoured that Kashmira kept his treasured Rolls Royce in a specially built garage.

Taken from BrianMay.com, Roger Cooke reflected on Freddie:

“When I first knew him, he was just Freddie Bulsara. I used to run him around in my old banger. He was a family member and I like to think he relished the normality of family life that briefly took him away from the artificial world he lived in. He was a very affectionate uncle to the kids. When it was their birthday he’d do a great big personalised cake and he’d get them gigantic Easter eggs. He wasn’t very hands-on but he was a very generous person. I have always said I don’t know of anyone who actually knew him who’d speak ill of him because he was a genuinely decent guy. He was very intelligent, sensitive and cultured – he would be temperamental, as artists can be, but he never showed that within the family. He was just a great guy.”

Mapperley Memories

Bomi died in 2003 (aged 95) and Jer Jasi Behranji Khanj Bulsara (Born 1922) died on 13 Nov 2016 (aged 94). 

Kashmira and Roger have also moved away from the area.

Here are some of the comments and memories of the Bulsara family, taken from our Facebook Posts on the subject:

There was a Freddie Mercury tribute at the Mapperley Plains social club years ago and his mum and sister walked over and sat at the back of the room. 

Wow, I didn’t know FM’s family lived in Nottingham! 

Yes! David Guest was seen in Tesco Carlton once and everyone was trying to work out what on Earth he was doing there lol. He was visiting Freddie Mercury’s mum which he did for years until she passed away

I would never have known this lady was Freddie Mercury’s mum but as a teenager I had Saturday job on Mapperley top and she used to occasionally come in the shop. I only remember her because she was very small and so so polite. She also brought me a chocolate bar once when I told her it was my birthday that day. I was about 14 or 15 I suppose and it made my day – Aisha

His Mum and Dad are in Carlton Cemetery near my own parents – Liz

His sister lived in the bungalow across from the Miners welfare, I walked past every day. We also had George Michael’s sister work at Frank Weldon down Westdale lane, German teacher and Phil Tennent from Pet Shop boys brother worked at Gedling comp all 1.5 – 2 mile apart lol 😂 we had the best of best where we lived 😂😂as child x – Cathy

I used to work at Speeds on Mapperley Top and Mrs Bulsara had her car serviced with us for many years. A lovely lady. Before the premier of We Will Rock You, we serviced and valeted Freddies White Rolls Royce. – Richard

I went trick or treating at her house when I was a kid, she gave me a fiver once and at the age of 6/7 I literally felt like a millionaire haha – Jim

They had a bungalow built in a corner down a cul-de-sac with a shop on corner. My workmate and I put the new water service onto it. I remember it well. It was a pig of a job to do as we had to dig/mole right along the pavement to do it. Plus my famous dog J7 Mr Zag was born whilst I was working there in 1995 – John

When did Kashmira move? She came to Lowdham Pantomime Group and said our eldest Lake Brammer had a beautiful voice. We did a Queen number and she enjoyed James Atkin singing and found my partner Steve Misterb Brammer really funny. Good times – Natalie

What Happened To The Rolls Royce?

It seems that Kashmira looked after it until 2013, when it was sold at auction. Brian May (BrianMay.Com) gave an update in 2022.

Today in London, at Sotheby’s, Freddie Mercury’s Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 1974 was sold at auction (for £286k). The car was bought several years ago by Ukrainian pop singer Verka Serdyuchka (Andriy Danilko). Serdyuchka, who is a huge Queen fan, originally purchased the vehicle to help establish a Queen museum in Ukraine. The war in the region, however, changed his plans and he decided to auction Freddie’s former mode of transport and donate all proceeds to the Superhumans Center, a specialist hospital for prosthetics, reconstructive surgery, psychological support, and rehabilitation for people injured in Ukraine.