Before Freddie Mercury became the rock icon that we all know and love, he was Farrokh Bulsara, a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport in London, England. In honor of what would have been the late singer’s 72nd birthday, the staff at the British airport — where Mercury worked almost 50 years ago — joined in on the “Freddie for a Day” celebrations by partnering with British Airways and performing Queen‘s 1984 hit “I Want to Break Free” on Wednesday (Sept. 5).
The airport employees, donning vibrant, fluorescent yellow versions of Mercury’s iconic yellow jacket and rocking thick, black mustaches and his signature half microphone stand, worked with choreographer Lyndon Lloyd of Strictly Come Dancing fame for weeks to nail their sweet dance moves for this endearing tribute.
The homage comes a month before the release of the highly anticipated Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Rami Malek as Mercury; the biopic opens in the U.S. on Nov. 2.
Check out Heathrow Airports heartwarming birthday tribute below.