Freddie Mercury was a British singer, songwriter, record producer, and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Closeted throughout his life, Mercury, who was bisexual, engaged in affairs with men but referred to a woman he loved in his youth, Mary Austin, as ‘the love of his life,’ according to the biography Somebody to Love: The Life, Death, and Legacy of Freddie Mercury. Mercury died of an AIDS-related illness at the age of 45, taking his personal insights into his sexuality to the grave