On September 5, 1946, a future music icon called Farrokh Bulsara was born in Zanzibar to his Parsi parents.

Taking on the stage name of Freddie Mercury, he would go on to become one of the greatest singers in the history of rock as the frontman of Queen.

Tragically, he died at just 45 in 1991 from complications of AIDS, which he was diagnosed with in 1987.

Today would have been Freddie’s 78th birthday and his old pal and Queen bandmate Roger Taylor has paid tribute.

The Queen drummer posted a number of black and white photos having fun with Freddie over the years.

He simply captioned the post: “Happy birthday old friend. R”