There are a number of new Zanzibar banknotes designed as specimens to honour the world’s rock legend, Freddy Mercury, who was born in the Isles around this time, 77 years ago.
It is still not known who is the designer behind the rather attractive paper currencies of different denominations, but they are going viral on the internet and other social media platforms around the world.
The banknotes however are in ‘Rupee’ the currency used in India, while Zanzibar uses the Tanzanian Shillings.
All the same, it seems the designers want to simply use them for decorations.
Even now 22 years after his death, Freddy Mercury remains as famous as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson are, posthumously.
Freddy, who happens to be one of the world’s top international pop stars, was born in Zanzibar and would have celebrated 77 years this September.
Mercury, who was born as Farouk Bulsara on September 5, 1946 however passed away in November 1991.
Freddy Mercury was the frontman of Britain’s most popular group, ‘Queen,’ and regarded as UK’s favourite high-octave import.
Named Farrokh (Farouk) Bulsara at birth, his parents, Bom and Jer, originated from India. They were Parsi who followed the Zoroastrian faith, which is one of the world’s oldest religions.
Like many other South Asian people at the time, the Bulsara family had immigrated to Zanzibar to work.
The Island was then under British rule, with a proxy Sultan (Jamshid bin Abdullah Al Said) at the helm.
Freddie’s father served in the colonial government, in what was said to be a lucrative job enough to provide his family with a comfortable lifestyle.
During their time in Unguja, the Bulsaras reportedly lived in a number of different apartments in the Old Stone Town.
But things changed for the worse in 1964 following the Zanzibar Revolution which forced them to flee from the Island to save their lives.
It was just a month after Zanzibar gained independence from British colonial rule.
Apparently the Arabic and South Asian settlers were said to be targeted by local African revolutionaries, especially after the Sultan of Zanzibar was overthrown.
It is reported that more than 20,000 people, mostly settlers, were killed in the Isles.
Freddy Mercury’s family, the Bulsaras, were among those that managed to escape the wrath of revolution, fleeing to the United Kingdom as refugees.
They eventually settled in London, where Freddie enrolled in the Ealing College of Art.
Through friends at the school, he ended up meeting Roger Taylor and Brian May of Smile. In time, they formed a new band, Queen, which exists to date.
Throughout his life however, Farouk, who changed his first name to Freddy and attached the ‘Mercury,’ moniker to it, sometimes in the 70s, did not like to speak about his Zanzibar roots.
Of course he occasionally claimed to have had exotic roots, but he preferred to maintain an air of mystery on what they specifically were.
One of the Queen’s band members, Brian May, however took an interest in visiting Stone Town earlier in 2019.
People of Zanzibar are also keen to promote Freddie’s links to the islands.
On the Island you will find the first ever Museum dedicated to Freddie Mercury.
Officially inaugurated on Sunday the 24th of November 2019, to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the death of the global rock legend, the Museum is located in Shangani, in the heart of Zanzibar.
The Freddie Mercury Museum is officially partnered with Queen Productions Limited, in the United Kingdom, that has provided the facility with exclusive pictures of Freddie Mercury throughout different stages in his life.
Freddy Mercury Museum aims to showcase a detailed accord of the birth town of Farrokh Bulsara, his roots with the Zoroastrian religion, his childhood and upbringing in Zanzibar, followed by his schooling in Panchgani, and then the rest of his journey to becoming one of the greatest pop stars of all time.
Elsewhere Freddie Mercury fever has been heating up. A special exhibition held in London attracted thousands of fans in the City’s West End.
The queue for Sotheby’s exhibition of his art and objects was long and snaking around the block when the display was opened to the public on August 17, 2023 and supposed to climax on September 5, 2023.
Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own was featuring artefacts and objects that the Queen frontman collected throughout his life: from his Yamaha Grand piano to various stage costumes and Japanese works of art.
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