Any recommendation for a good book (or two or three) about Queen and/or Freddie Mercury? Biography, autobiography, history book, etc.
Something factually accurate that I can read to learn more about this amazing group and their history.
Thanks!
(ps - I know about the recent film, but any additional documentary recommendations are appreciated as well, as long as they're legit)
I'd like to second this request, but with a small addition that it would be nice if the books were currently in print and easily available to purchase! It seems most of the books people recommend are OOP and go for rather unpleasant prices...could be looking in the wrong places though.
Perhaps I should invest in some sort of digital book app...seems most of the books are available that way...definitely prefer hardcopies though
Just out of interest, what age bracket do you two fit into? Genuine question.
I enjoyed As It Began by Jackie Gunn & Jim Jenkins.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6990226-queen
Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock
by Phil Sutcliffe
When I first read this back in 2009/10 because most of the pictures were largely unpublished and the text was written from several different perspectives it gave a whole new spin on the band and rekindled my love from them which was (at that point) at rock bottom.
You imply the film is a good starting point. Don't. There is so much in the film that is simply untrue and did not happen. Do not think a book will elaborate on the story the film told. It won't because that story isn't real
I would recommend "Mercury And Me" by Jim Hutton.Jim was Freddie's lover for seven years before Freddie passed away on 24th November 1991.A good insight into Freddie's life and still available in paperback from Amazon.I also like "Freddie Mercury" by Peter Freestone which is a good in depth account of Freddie's life.
The first I've ever read was "Queen Freddie Mercury" by Rick Sky, written a long time ago. Stan Cuesta "Queen, l'opéra rock" (French title) was interesting. I didn't like "Queen" by Mick St Michael, it was about things I already knew from my previous readings.
Jim and Phoebe's books
Stay away from that liar Lesley Ann Jones
Also the film is extremely inaccurate so do not use that
My recommendation is: read everything you could find. I think it's good to read more sources and then have own opinion.
Not many people know that "40 years of Queen" was initially a subtitle, that's why it sounds like one.
The original book title is "Brian May – The Power Behind Queen's Throne". I hope the next edition will correct this.
It's a long time since I read it, but I enjoyed Queen: The Early Years by Mark Hodkinson. If you're interested in Queen in general, I found it really interesting to read how everything began for them all.
People might not know but Jim's and Peter's books are like gold dust I think?! I also read Mercury and Me back in the day so already own that, but I have never read any of Peter's books and am finding it incredibly difficult to even source any of his books (for a reasonable price) to read!
For a Freddie book, recently I've loved The Real Life by David Minns and Evans (I'd love to read more from these two and more about Freddie from David Minns' perspective, but I guess there's the voyeur in me, sigh - boo to me.) which is easy and cheapish to find a second hand copy. It is small fragments of stories about Freddie by friends and people who knew him - briefly or well - their first impressions and meetings, then also they each speak about later in their acquaintance and final thoughts. I've found it super-poignant. I always think a biography says as much if not more about the writer as the subject, but when you have fragments from here and there, you really gather some sort of a sense of the person they speak of from how they all talk about and feel about him and from the ways in which accounts contradict or agree. I love it. David Evans made me cry just with the introduction!!
I haven't read it yet, but Peter Hince's book, Queen Unseen is easy to get new & I look forward to reading that.
