Mercury

An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury

By: Lesley-Ann Jones

Narrated by: Jane Collingwood

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

A revealing, intimate look at the man who would be Queen

As lead vocalist for the iconic rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury's unmatched skills as a songwriter and his flamboyant showmanship made him a superstar and Queen a household name. But despite his worldwide fame, few people ever really glimpsed the man behind the glittering facade.

Now, more than 20 years after his death, those closest to Mercury are finally opening up about this pivotal figure in rock 'n' roll. Based on more than a hundred interviews with key figures in his life, Mercury offers the definitive account of one man's legendary life in the spotlight and behind the scenes. Rock journalist Lesley-Ann Jones gained unprecedented access to Mercury's tribe, and she details Queen's slow but steady rise to fame and Mercury's descent into dangerous, pleasure-seeking excesses - this was, after all, a man who once declared, "Darling, I'm doing everything with everyone."

In her journey to understand Mercury, Jones traveled to London, Zanzibar, and India - talking with everyone from Mercury's closest friends to the sound engineer at Band Aid (who was responsible for making Queen even louder than the other bands) to second cousins halfway around the world. In the process, an intimate and complicated portrait emerges. Meticulously researched, sympathetic yet not sensational, Mercury offers an unvarnished look at the extreme highs and lows of life in the fast lane. At the heart of this story is a man...and the music he loved.

©2011 Lesley-Ann Jones (P)2012 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

" Mercury goes beyond the glittering facade to get an unvarnished look at Queen's rise to fame, the loves of Mercury's life, and his fraught relationship with his conservative past, creating a complete portrait of this magnetic musician." ( MetroSource)

excellent!

A must read for fans of Freddie Mercury! Couldn't put it down! You will not regret this purchase!

Overall Really Good! Only One Complaint...

Overall this biography was very well done and the performance was excellent. The only issue I have with the book is the blatant Bi-erasure about Freddie's sexuality. In today's times, he would have been celebrated as a Bisexual, but in his time he was labeled "Gay" or "Homosexual" because the mindset in those times was "You can't possibly be attracted to both!" When infact he was.

Still a 5 Star book and one of the better Freddie Biographies I've listened to.

Love Freddie

Detailed conf of what I expected Freddie was as a whole hearted kind person looking to be in the right.

A tattler, not well-written, yet a guilty pleasure

Let's just bite the big bad truth at the outset: This is a gossipy tattle sheet about Freddy Mercury & by extension, Queen. I was initially quite irked by the author's voice, which is that of a self-loathing hack journalist whose greatest ambition is to gawk at famous people. She boasts of having "worked as a columnist on The Sun, The Daily Mail, The News Of The World and The Sunday Express." I was about to bail on this, when I suddenly realized that I was getting direct access to a personality I've never myself encountered, and although I can't say she's at all attractive, she does channel the British underclass obsessions and anxieties. Armed with this realization, I kicked back into enjoying this guilty pleasure. Unfortunately, the book doesn't give a great deal of insight into Freddy Mercury, who remains rather enigmatic. But there's lots of quotes (the audiobook's additional quirk is that multiple actors voice the different persons quoted). There's some interesting info about Queen, e.g., that they're the only band to ever have more than one #1 single written by each of the 4 members (so, there, they're better than the Beatles, and indeed, Ms Jones states that Queen has sold more albums than the Fab 4). I was fascinated to learn that Freddy developed a close relationship with Barbara Valentin, an actress in Germany who'd been in several Fassbinder films. I ended up enjoying this romp, although it's not at all a well written book.

Great info

This was a great perspective on Freddy. Not new info but a great read anyway.

Very Informative

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

the final days of Freddie's life were told very well. it made me cry as if I had been there.

Touching memories n blunt realistic story

This is both a touching n traumatizing story of dedication to your art form and the trappings of achieving your goals

The show must go on

'Mercury' presents an intimate look at the life of the legendary singer and performer of Queen. It includes interviews with many of the people that were closest to him, including his bandmates and some of his romantic partners. As a fan of the band, I enjoyed getting a sense of what took place behind the scenes, both at work and in daily life. Author Lesley-Ann Jones has focused her journalistic career on the world of celebrities. The book does sometimes feel a little bit like the gossip column of a magazine, but I wouldn't say it's sensationalistic. It's respectful and sympathetic towards its subject. I finished the book feeling like I had a better understanding of the artist, the band and their music.

Unlike most audiobooks that I've listened to, this one is read by several narrators. And it mostly works. The majority of the actors read their lines in a very naturalistic style, which makes it all sound like a documentary. Only one or two of the characters sound somewhat fake. But over all, I am happy with the narration. It suits this particular book.

Awesome

I loved the book. It was very accurate and well written. It was also very interesting and informative.

Felt very authentic

With the author as one who had first-hand knowledge of the life of Freddie Mercury, I felt confident in the validity of the content. It flowed well, and it was one book that was hard to 'put down'. I felt enlightened about him as well as saddened by his struggles. A musical genius who will always be missed and remembered.