Freddie Mercury was born
Farrokh Bulsara in
Stone Town,
Zanzibar to Indian (
Parsi) parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara (see
[1]).A Parsi is a member of the close-knit Zoroastrian community in or from the Indian subcontinent, and is a descendant of people who, in the 8th century, emigrated to the west coast of India from Persia to escape religious persecution after the Islamic conquest. His parents practiced the ancient Persian religion,
Zoroastrianism. The family had emigrated to Zanzibar in order for Bomi to continue his job as a middle-ranking cashier at the
British Colonial Office. Mercury also had one sister, Kashmira. He was educated at St. Peter's
boarding school in
Panchgani (Satara) near Bombay (now
Mumbai) in
India, where he gave his first onstage performances in a five-member school band called The Hectics. It was also at St. Peter's where he was given the name Freddie. He completed his education in India at St. Mary's High School in
Mazagon, Mumbai and was 17 when he and his family fled to
England as a result of a 1964 revolution in Zanzibar. In England, he pursued a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at
Ealing Art College, following in the footsteps of
Pete Townshend. He later used these skills in order to design the famous Queen crest.