In one of Queen songs called "Crazy little thing called Love" you could hear a short question: "Ready Freddie?". That Freddie refers to the singer, Freddie Mercury and of course Freddie rhymes with Ready, obviously.
Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar to Parsi-Indian parents. He attended English-style boarding schools in India from the age of eight and returned to Zanzibar after secondary school. In 1964, his family fled the Zanzibar Revolution, moving to Middlesex, England. Having studied and written music for years, he formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. And the rest was history.
When did Farrokh became Freddie? When Farrokh was sent to a boarding school in Panchgani near Bombay, where he formed his first rock 'n' roll band, The Hectics. Its as during this period that Farrokh starting calling himself "Freddie". That means since relatively early age (before secondary school) young Farrokh saw himself more a Freddie than a Farrokh. More a Mercury than a Bulsara.
Shakespeare asked what is in a name? Apparently what someone or something is called or labeled is arbitrary compared to their or its intrinsic qualities. If that is the case then we might as well pick a name that would suit us better in achieving our goals.
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons. A performer will often take a stage name because their real name is considered unattractive, dull, or unintentionally amusing; projects an undesired image; is difficult to pronounce or spell; or is already being used by another notable individual, including names that are not exactly the same but still too similar.
I am sure to his mom Freddie was still her little Farrokh. At home even a prophet is known with his boyhood name. He might be famous to the rest of the world but still he is our little Farrokh. However little Farrokh new that he was destined to become Freddie the superstar.
Our name is not our boundary. Our heritages should not limit us to achieve our maximum potential. We are all mercurial inside!
Ready Freddie?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury
https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/queen/what-was-freddie-mercurys-real-name-and-why-did-he-change-it/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage_name
