As one of the definitive rock icons of our age, the late great QUEEN frontman Freddie Mercury’s extraordinary talents and influence are still felt in the entertainment world to this day, an unreal 20 years after his sad and untimely death. Only months ago rock fans voted him the Greatest Rock Legend Of All Time, ahead of ELVIS PRESLEY, DAVID BOWIE, JON BON JOVI, and JIMI HENDRIX.

September 5th, 2011 would have been Freddie’s 65th birthday and to mark the occasion, family, friends, guests and celebrities from the world over will come together for a suitably lavish night at the Savoy, London, to celebrate this landmark date and to raise funds for the Mercury Phoenix Trust , the charity established in Freddie’s name by fellow band members Brian May and Roger Taylor together with manager Jim Beach, to fight HIV AIDS worldwide. May and Taylor are among the hosts of the night which will be an evening of comedy and rock and roll.

In keeping with the spirit of Freddie – a man famed for his love of a good party – guests are to be advised that it will be mandatory to come dressed in appropriate Freddie attire, with moustaches absolutely de rigueur.

The birthday event will also act as a key focal point in the worldwide campaign Freddie For A Day, which launched last year through the global Queen fan base. Started by a handful of fans who decided it would be fun to dress as Freddie for a day and coerce sponsorship from family and friends for doing so, donating whatever they would raise to the MPT, no one could have imagined the extraordinary response which followed. Fans from 24 countries around the world - from Argentina to Ukraine, jumped on the idea to join in.

Some sent pictures strutting their stuff at home, singing into a microphone in their bedrooms. Others took the full plunge and spent the whole day as Freddie, including one US fan who dressed herself as ‘Slightly Mad’ Freddie and then spent her day at Columbus Zoo in Ohio with a penguin and a gorilla. Another took a TGV trip from France to Switzerland her entire journey dressed in a harlequin leotard.

But it seems it is not only die-hard fans who have taken to the idea. In recent months a host of celebrities have been name-checking Freddie and even dressing like him. Katie Price donned Freddie’s ‘I Want To Break Free’ over-the-top drag outfit for Comic Relief recently - complete with the body hair. Katy Perry wore Freddie’s trademark white slacks and yellow leather jacket for her 24th birthday celebrations. The same outfit was adopted by BBC Radio 1’s Chris Moyles when he lately dressed up as Freddie for Channel 4 TV’s Comedy Gala.

Further Freddie fans joining the wave include Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, quoted recently as saying he plans to take inspiration from the Queen singer when the band headline the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August. No doubt by the time we reach September 5th we can expect to see even more celebrities paying tribute to Freddie in their own unique way, each helping to support The Mercury Phoenix Trust.

But It doesn’t take being famous to be a part in Freddie For A Day. All you need to decide is whether you are brave enough to go for a full sparkly body leotard, head-to-toe PVC biker leathers, or simply to stick with aviator sunglasses and of course.... that ‘tache! Comic Relief has the red nose, Freddie For A Day has the famous bristles.

Become part of a world going Freddie For A Day by going online and snapping up your Freddie moustache now – and in doing so helping a very worthy cause.

The coming weeks will see further announcements about the fabulous September 5th event at The Savoy, including a truly remarkable list of auction items.

Absolute 80s will also be supporting Freddie For A Day by running a nationwide competition to ‘Find a Freddie’ look-alike. Listeners will send in images of themselves donned in their greatest ‘Freddie’ attire to win two priceless tickets to Freddie’s 65th birthday event at the Savoy, London on September 5th. Go to Absolute80s.com for more details.

For more information on how to buy a moustache and support Freddie For A Day and The Mercury Phoenix Trust check out: Freddieforaday.com.