QZ Book Club: Books & Discussion About Freddie/Queen

oh my...nobody mentioned the sex in Virtuoso lol

Doughnut

This is another one, BUT he says something very similar. My interview was really done in 1985 and most famous quotes are "the bigger the better" and "I can make bigger bang than that" and "not easy to replace me" It was acutally pretty long I think :)
It seems David Wigg offered this toppic quite often and Freddie really opened up sometimes.

Laura Jackson´s book - is to worth to read? Or is it the same crap as Leslie Jones? This one is missing in my collection.

Almost all my books are e-books except for Peter Hince, which I have as a paperbook edition with 0 (zero!!!) photographs - I think it´s quite a shame considering it was written by a photographer. But I know there are some very interesting photos in other editions.

Some of printed versions are available here, but all in Czech language. I have made my experience and I´m definitely not interested, because the translation is simply horrible.
I had to buy a Czech version of "As it began" Jackie Gunn as there is no ebook available. There were several flops, the biggest at the end, when Freddie himself makes a statement about his AIDS status in front of his house to all journalists 24 hours before he died. I culdn´t believe my eyes.

I also read Phoebe´s first book in Czech before I bought the English version and it was even worse. After reading several chapters I thought - "this is the person who knew him the best?" There were several contradictory statemens, factual errors and absolute rubbish e.g. "Queen always wanted to play their songs in concerts exactly the same as on the records". And you think what??? You spent 12 years with them and you write this? I was totally dissappointed. Then I found the blog and found out Phoebe is really very nice and well informed guy. Then I bough the English version and it was completely different.
So not even you have to be carefull when picking up the right author, you also have to learn English because there is always a big danger that many things get lost in translation.

I'd like to suggest we keep the fan fiction type stories off of this thread and just stick to published books, if that's okay with everyone?

I love ebooks as I can start reading on one device and bookmark the page and pick right up from another device. I make notes, I highlight passages, which are captured in a notes section and link back to the original place in the book, I can look up any words I don't know, and I can have hundreds (actually thousands) of books on a small eReader or tablet or any device that allows the loading of ebook software.

I'm in the first few chapters of "This Was The Real Life," specifically the David Evans section at the beginning of the book.

I would skip Laura Jackson as she is another one who didn't really know Freddie, I bought the book before I realized .

My Peter HInce book has no photos even though it should have...I'm annoyed about this

I would like 'Queen - as it began but it is out of print and versions for sale are really expensive. I'm hoping it will be reprinted since Queen have become very popular since the film came out.

I noticed that David Wigg seems to ask him about relationships a lot. There is a clip of a david wigg interview where he asks Freddie if he can print that his relationship is with a man. Freddie says 'no, you mustn't, I said I'm happy in my relationship and that's it'.

It seems Freddie wasn't happy with what the Express printed from the 1987 Ibiza interview. Peter and Jim both said it put a spanner in the works of their friendship and he didn't do another interview with him.

NeverToo Late I am not really into fan fiction but the books recommended are helping me understand better what Freddie must have been going through when he was with Mary and hiding his sexuality.

I like old books, the ones from 1976. I find them less 'infected' by fanon and less into blowing up legends and rumours to make them look more spectacular. For instance, one of those early band bios mentions Everett played 'Bo Rhap' four times - not fourteen - as they were saying what actually happened instead of perpetuating the false myth (which, at the time, didn't yet exist).

There's this very droll passage in David Evans' book where he describes meeting Freddie for the first time:

"One night in 1974, a large boat-like Daimler limousine pulled up outside my house in Werter Road, off Putney High Street. Werter Road only saw limousines at funerals. David, my flat mate, came in with a very exotic flower. Thin and pinched with nervous lips covering a positive horde of unmissable ivory gnashers, long stringy back-combed blue-black hair, eye make-up, one hand painted with black nail varnish, this visitor arrived wearing a raggedy grey fox-fur jacket which he didn’t take off. Tacky beyond belief, the new arrival was heralded as lead singer in a rock band. I’m glad he was. He looked as though he was still wearing his stage clothes. Surprisingly and rather awkwardly, we shook hands and in his there was a prickly hairbrush. I felt like Queen Mary receiving a rather confused and embarrassed Indian Maharani.”

Excerpt From: David Evans. “THIS WAS THE REAL LIFE”

You can't go wrong with Phil Sutcliffe's huge illustrated unofficial book - great objective criticism from different writers, celeb inserts and eyewitness stories, useful timelines and

Oh, you're only interested in how much dick Freddie got.

*leaves thread*

"There is a clip of a david wigg interview where he asks Freddie if he can print that his relationship is with a man. Freddie says 'no, you mustn't, I said I'm happy in my relationship and that's it'.

Doughnut, were you able to find an audio of this particular conversation? Because it isn´t in 1987 Ibiza interview in Solo box where he is speaking about his "niche" so it was probably cut off.
I have read about it somwhere but I didn´t find the primary source.
And yes, that was sadly the last interview with David and I think there was only one interview with Queen in 1989 and that´s it.
I was also trying to find the article which made Freddie so upset but not success. Queenarchives.com is not working anymore.

As it began in English is out of stock. It is on my list too, meanwhile I have purchased a Czech version. Phoebe mentioned this is the only Queen - biography Freddie read. It is very interesting reading as it was written before his death but finished right after so there is no single hint about his health issue except for the last chapter. Quite schizofrenic :)

I like very much "Mercury And Me".
I also like "Ask Phoebe" blog.

Not a book but I recently read blog by girl from Prague, (Mika, she is from your country, maybe you know her?), fan of Freddie and Queen. She wrote interesting things about meeting Jim and Phoebe. I like it. Blog about Jim is very interesting and sad.
If anyone has not read this blog, here is the link: [url]http://terezavin.blogspot.com/?m=1[/url]

Freddie pulled a stunt (2x) with Jim, about 4 years apart, in which he told him to leave/move out of his house. Now that's fine, it was Freddie's house, afterall, but each time Jim came back and they continued on and they worked it out or at least let it go.

What bothered me about it is having a domicile at risk, the risk being the whims of the owner of said house, an owner who was known to be emotional and "mercurial" seems like a lot of risk. Yes all's fair in love, etc., I certainly do know that, and I have no doubt F & J loved each other.

HOWEVER, I don't think I would have ever fully been able to trust someone had they done that to me once, let alone twice. I'd at least want my own pad, be it a rental of some kind, or ownership of a flat, but *something* so that I wouldn't have to worry if the winds of whim blew again and I was told to get out. Plus the whole, "oh and you can't use the car that was purchased for you."

And consider Jim was kicked out of Garden Lodge 3 times (twice from Freddie, albeit temporarily) and then finally forever after Freddie died, by Mary. They had their reasons, but thinking of it from Jim's standpoint, that's a lot of being "kicked out," ya know?

https://www.facebook.com/2169269693130691/videos/317671779102383/

Mika... click on this link and it should give you the short clip of David and Freddie. I think the clip is from that awful documentary with the Australian Freddie lookalike.

NeverTooLate...not sure if you saw my comments yesterday but I was quite cross that Jim got chucked out . It annoyed me as it seemed Jim just went running back so easily although I appreciate that there was probably more to it, at least I hope so ! On one occasion Freddie employed double standards when he chucked Jim out for not making it home. Gosh that really got me cross.

I wouldn't be able to trust someone if they did that to me which I feel is why I got so cross. I am pleased to note that he did seem to keep the car after Freddie's death.

If I could speak with Jim I would like to ask him why he put up with it. Why did he put himself through the emotional heartache.

PS I am a big Jim fan for anyone reading, I am not anti Jim, I have a big soft spot for him.

Invisible woman I just read the blog about Jim, gosh it made me sad. I am sure I read that Freddie had told someone during a phone call that Jim was happy to die. The poor guy :(

Nevertoo late

What do you think of 'is this the real life'?

Peter not Freddie

[QUOTE] [b]Invisible Woman wrote:[/b]

I recently read blog by girl from Prague, (Mika, she is from your country, maybe you know her?), fan of Freddie and Queen. She wrote interesting things about meeting Jim and Phoebe.[/QUOTE]

Thank you, Invisible Woman! I read the 2 entries that young woman wrote about meeting Jim and getting to know him a little more over the next few years. How sad it was for him that last year of his life; I hope he and Freddie have been reunited.