At St Peter’s School in Panchgani, classmates remember Farrokh Bulsara—later known as Freddie Mercury—as a quick-learning musician who sang and played with a school band called the Hectics. One bandmate called him “a prodigy”; that is a former classmate’s judgment, grounded in memories of Mercury picking up songs by ear, not a formal assessment or a contemporaneous record.
Who were the Hectics?
The Hectics were a school band formed by Mercury and classmates at St Peter’s School in Panchgani, Maharashtra. In a 2016 interview with Scroll, bandmate Victory Rana credited Bruce Murray with the idea of starting the group. The boys made music with the instruments they could get: a guitar, the school piano, a drum, and a tea chest turned into a bass.
The former bandmates’ accounts do not give one settled list of Mercury’s duties in the group. They recall him singing and playing piano, and describe him learning chords for songs; those roles are best understood as memories from different speakers rather than a definitive inventory.
Why did his bandmates call him a prodigy?
Murray remembered Mercury as the group’s standout musician. “He was a prodigy. He could play anything!” he told Scroll. He also described how the band worked up new songs: “If we heard a new song and liked it, Freddie would quickly learn the chords, and I would scribble down the words.”
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Rana likewise called Mercury “a natural musician” with “an amazing voice.” These are the bandmates’ recollections, not measured comparisons with other pupils. Their specific example is that Mercury could hear a song on the radio and play it, helping the group add music it liked to its repertoire.
What music did the Hectics play?
Murray recalled the group drawing on Western pop performers including Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Ricky Nelson, and Fabian. Songs he named included “Yakkety Yak,” “Ramona,” “Girl of My Best Friend,” “Rock Around the Clock,” and “Tutti Frutti.”
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Rana rejected the idea that Bollywood music or Lata Mangeshkar inspired the Hectics, saying their repertoire was Western pop. That is his account of the band’s music, not independent proof of everything Mercury listened to.
How did the school react to the band?
Former bandmates Farang Irani and Choksi recalled the Hectics attracting fans at school functions, socials, and fetes. Rana remembered that the school initially disapproved of the boys’ pop music and appearance. He also recalled them slipping away to listen to Radio Ceylon. According to the feature, staff later relented as the band played at fetes and raised money.
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Why was Mercury called “Bucky”?
Irani recalled that “Bucky” referred to Mercury’s protruding teeth and was used at school. Choksi said old friends continued to use the nickname affectionately: “You know, we old friends still call him Bucky after all these years. For us it’s just a term of affection.” A separate 2018 Hindustan Times feature quoted former classmate Ajay Goyal recalling the same nickname and its connection to Mercury’s teeth. These are classmates’ memories; they do not establish how Mercury himself felt about the name.
Was he shy or a showman?
The recollections describe more than one side of Mercury. Rana and Choksi remembered him as shy or introverted. Shah, by contrast, recalled seeing him dance with teenagers on a Zanzibar beach. Those accounts need not conflict: they concern different situations and come from different witnesses, rather than offering a single agreed portrait of his temperament.
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What other school memories did classmates share?
- Choksi recalled Mercury receiving a school all-rounder prize and a double promotion at about age 12.
- Murray remembered him persisting through a school boxing match.
- Irani recalled cycling between Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, estimating the distance at about 20 kilometres. That figure is his recollection, not an independently measured route distance.
These details come from classmates interviewed decades later, rather than contemporaneous school records presented in the accounts. They add texture to the memories but should be read as attributed recollections.
What do the two classmates’ features establish?
Scroll’s 2016 feature focuses on detailed testimony from Hectics members and other schoolmates. Hindustan Times published a separate classmates’ feature in 2018, including Goyal and Subhash Gudka. Together, the articles document how former pupils remembered Mercury and the band; neither is a contemporaneous school record or independently verifies every childhood anecdote.
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