Queen’s Freddie Mercury tops a Herald Sun readers’ poll to decide rock’s all-time greatest frontman

HE is the champion, my friends.

Freddie is the champion

TODAY marks 70 years since the birth of the late, great and gregarious Freddie Mercury.

But though he may be gone, his spirit still feels alive and the world is turning out in droves to celebrate.

Switzerland is hosting his official birthday party, rock revellers in the US are flocking to Queen-themed concerts and dress-up events, and in London, his legacy is being honoured with the release of a collection of previously unseen photographs.

He is even burning through the sky with Asteroid17473, which was discovered in 1991 — the year of his death — officially named after him. It seems Freddie will now and forever be a shooting star leaping through the sky.

So don’t stop him now.

Perhaps his greatest gift of all was being bestowed rock music’s most coveted title.

In a Herald Sun readers’ poll to determine the greatest rock frontman of all time, Freddie (whose real name was Farrokh Bulsara, by the way) was this week crowned king of the stage.

More than 1700 votes were cast and no one came within a well-manicured whisker of the flamboyant performer.

Even Rolling Stone Mick Jagger couldn’t get no satisfaction.

The inimitable Queen singer soared above the pack, securing 49 per cent of the vote and leaving hip-swinging Hutchence (22 per cent) and Mick Swagger (11 per cent) well and truly in his unforgettable wake.

Other top ten contenders included AC/DC’s Bon Scott (6 per cent), Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant (4 per cent) and U2’s Bono (3 per cent).

The Mercury will remain in retrograde this month with Freddie’s incredible musical repertoire being recalled in the hit Queen-inspired musical We Will Rock You, featuring 24 of the band’s greatest hits, now raising the roof of Melbourne’s Regent Theatre.

In choosing Freddie as rock’s favourite frontman, readers differed from three Herald Sun music experts.

Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum nominated Mercury behind Jagger, Scott and Hutchence, while Nui Te Koha’s top three favoured Jagger, Hutchence and Bono.

Mikey Cahill chose Bono, Chrissie Amphlett (Divinyls) and Kevin Parker (Tame Impala).

Here’s how our expert’s voted:

Jimmy Barnes performs with Ian Moss during Cold Chisel's last concert at Qantas Credit Union Arena. Picture: Greggg Porteous

IAN ‘MOLLY’ MELDRUM

Very, very hard to pick the best ... so here’s my top 16’

1. Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones

2. Bon Scott, AC/DC

3. Michael Hutchence, INXS

4. Freddie Mercury, Queen

5. Jimmy Barnes, Cold Chisel

6. Stevie Wright, Easybeats

7. Jim Keays, Masters Apprentices

8. Kurt Cobain, Nirvana

9. Jim Morrison, The Doors

10. Bono, U2

11. Debbie Harry, Blondie

12. Roger Daltrey, The Who

13. Barry Gibb, Bee Gees

14. Chrissie Amphlett, Divinyls

15. Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters

16. David Lee Roth, Van Halen

Tame Impala lead singer Kevin Parker performing at Gold Coast’s Big Day Out. Picture: Luke Marsden.

MIKEY CAHILL

KEVIN PARKER, TAME IMPALA

Kevin Parker, a recluse from regional Western Australia, has now steered his psych rock band Tame Impala to wuthering heights and turned them into a dancefloor ready, music-as-healing-light-force group who played just before Adele (!) at Coachella. Parker is viewed as a Howard Hughes character in the studio, making all three records Innerspeaker, Lonersim and Currents entirely himself then emerging blinking into the day and onto stadium stages to mesmerise fans. He corrals crowds of 100,000+ with a flick of his scarf, a galvanising quip and the strum of his axe.

CHRISSIE AMPHLETT, DIVINYLS

It’s a neat coincidence Divinyls’ lead singer Chrissie Amphlett (RIP) had “Amp” in her name. The Geelong bruiser led her swashbuckling, scuzzy rock’n’roll band through the loudest of venues, often battling sexist and rowdy crowds, kicking men off stage with her spiky heels, even relieving herself at one particularly incendiary show. They don’t make ‘em like Chrissie anymore.

BONO, U2

Apart from U2 fans, who is pro-Bono these days? Not many.

People are free to make up their minds on a figure many view as a hypocrite but I grew up with the Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby and Zooropa albums and then saw the Irish foursome in my first concert at the MCG in 1993 on the Zoomerang tour. It was life-changing. Bono turned into his alter ago McPhisto halfway through the gig, did weird karate kick moves and sang Satellite of Love with Lou Reed via, yep, satellite. Sure, he needs to hang up the orange glasses and focus on humanitarian work, not the release of mediocre albums, but for a solid two decades he was a frontman par excellence.

Bono and U2 performing at Glastonbury Music Festival

NUI TE KOHA

MICK JAGGER

The Stones invented stadium rock. Sir Mick took it to the next level.

BONO, U2

U2’s live show at Red Rocks, Under A Blood Red Sky (1983), cemented Bono’s transition to showman.

MICHAEL HUTCHENCE, INXS

That footage of INXS performing New Sensation at Wembley Stadium shows Hutchence at the height of his powers.