Brian May has been on a "pilgrimage" to Freddie Mercury’s childhood home.
The 71-year-old musician has fulfilled a long-held dream by travelling with his wife Anita Dobson to the African island of Zanzibar, where he’s taken time to visit his late Queen bandmate’s old abode, which is now a hotel and called Mercury House, and also Zanzibar Missionary School, where the ‘I Want To Break Free’ hitmaker was educated.
Brian shared a photo of himself and Anita outside the house on Instagram on Tuesday (11.06.19) and captioned it: "ZANZIBAR !!! Stone Town. This is the building where Freddie and his sister Kashmira lived when they were young. A pilgrimage !!! Bri (sic)"
He then shared another image at the school and wrote: "At Freddie’s school. Under guidance from Freddie’s lovely sister Kashmira, and Abdul, our excellent Zanzibarian guide, we managed to retrace many of Freddie’s childhood steps. This something I dreamed of doing for many years. Nice to share with you folks. Bri (sic)"
After his day of sightseeing, Brian reflected on the way he and bandmates Roger Taylor and John Deacon had changed the world with the help of a "shy boy".
He shared a childhood photo of Freddie and wrote: "We’ve enjoyed spending the day with this little boy in our minds. A small boy with big dreams. A young man who became a brother to Roger and John and me for 22 years. A shy boy with whom we shared an impossible vision of making music that would change the world. Little did we dare to believe it would actually happen.
"I’m happy that through Instagram I’ve been able to share some of the experiences of today. I’ll post some more pics and stuff when I get sorted. Meanwhile … Asante Sana Freddie. Cheers folks."
Before he shared his photos from Zanzibar, Brian has teased his followers with the fact he was embarking on a "special journey".
He posted: "Hi folks.today I want to share. I’m in a beautiful place, where people live simple lives – Muslim, Christian, Hindu all side by side in harmony. Crime is virtually non-existent. So why can’t the whole world be like this ? This morning I’m making a special journey – the real reason I came here. Bri.(sic)"
Freddie – who died in 1991 – and his family fled Zanzibar in 1964 to escape the violence of the revolution for independence and relocated to Middlesex when the singer was 17.
Brian May makes ‘pilgrimage’ to Freddie Mercury’s childhood home
