Frank
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Post by Frank on Sept 19, 2020 12:30:16 GMT
I've read several books about Queen (and Freddie Mercury). As It Began, Is This The Real Life? The Untold Story of Queen, Somebody To Love: The Life, Legacy, and Death of Freddie Mercury, etc. What book, in your opinion, told the story best?
It's been probably a decade since I've read As It Began. So I'm very fuzzy with that one and have been tempted to read it again. But I suspect the book doesn't go into much detail, for example, regarding arguments within the band. I'm mostly interested in reading up on stuff like that. The band's working and personal relationships have always fascinated me, and the movie stirred those thoughts for me. I've sneered at its depiction, but then some fans argue it was more or less accurate.
So I ask, which books do you feel are best in terms of accuracy and honesty? The ones that get deep into the relationships and they aren't overdramatizing making stuff up. They're simply reporting what we know to be true. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
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pg
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Post by pg on Sept 21, 2020 18:10:41 GMT
genuinely, your best bet is to read as many as possible and judge for yourself where the truth lies.
The vast majority were written years after the fact, and generally rely on the perceptions of a handful of witnesses, often secondhand.
There are many contradictions, as well as corrections as new information is found.
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Sept 21, 2020 23:34:09 GMT
genuinely, your best bet is to read as many as possible and judge for yourself where the truth lies. The vast majority were written years after the fact, and generally rely on the perceptions of a handful of witnesses, often secondhand. There are many contradictions, as well as corrections as new information is found. Of course, you're absolutely right. Just curious if anyone had an overall favorite book they felt did the best job. Personally, I just started re-reading Somebody To Love by Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne, and while it makes some pretty staggering theories, it's one of the more thought provoking books about Freddie Mercury. For example, the authors spend a lot of time talking about AIDS and when Freddie probably contracted the disease, even narrowing it down to who might have exposed him to it. But I don't take any of it as 'fact'. Just a very thought provoking read, particularly when it tries to get into Freddie's psyche. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2020 20:34:23 GMT
I like the two competing books from 1976 as they're two sides of the same coin: one's officially sanctioned, the other one isn't. Interesting to say the least.
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Rainbow61
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Post by Rainbow61 on Oct 10, 2020 8:50:27 GMT
Sebastian,
Are you referring to the books by George Tremlett and Larry Pryce? I purchased both of those through Amazon on your suggestion back in 2018...each was under $5.00 at the time, before the price gouging began, so I am most grateful for that timely recommendation. The Pryce book on Amazon is now $167.99. That's crazy! I confess that I have only read bits and pieces of both, but am glad to have them in my "Queen Library". I just pulled them off my bookshelf...thanks for the reminder.
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Post by Sakura4anime25 on Oct 10, 2020 19:37:02 GMT
Yeah, I have been wondering what best Freddie or Queen biography is too, but I guess it would probably be hard to judge which ones are the "best" or "most accurate"
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Golden Salmon
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Post by Golden Salmon on Oct 10, 2020 20:40:04 GMT
The one I enjoyed the most was "Queen Unseen" by Peter Hince (AKA Ratty, longtime roadie and occasional photographer). The detail is not extreme but he talks about a lot of stuff behind the scenes, drugs, violent fits and tantrums, etc. Plenty of funny stories too! I think Roger Taylor said that it was one of the most authentic biographies out there.
"Mercury and me" by Jim Hutton goes in depth about Freddie and their relationship, although it hardly touches Queen. It's quite graphic sometimes, but not scandalous IMO.
"As It Began"... it paints a much less realistic picture. It mostly talks about the inocent stuff and grazes over or omits the controversial moments.
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georg
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Post by georg on Oct 10, 2020 22:15:20 GMT
Is This the Real Life? by Mark Blake is probably one of the best biographies out there that tries to present as warts-and-all a history as possible. It’s very well-written, as all of his books are, and very fair and well-researched. Highly recommended.
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Post by Sakura4anime25 on Oct 11, 2020 12:56:57 GMT
Is This the Real Life? by Mark Blake is probably one of the best biographies out there that tries to present as warts-and-all a history as possible. It’s very well-written, as all of his books are, and very fair and well-researched. Highly recommended. Hm ok thanks, I'll look into that one, sounds interesting |
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Oct 11, 2020 19:58:45 GMT
Is This the Real Life? by Mark Blake is probably one of the best biographies out there that tries to present as warts-and-all a history as possible. It’s very well-written, as all of his books are, and very fair and well-researched. Highly recommended. I've read that one too. I'll probably go back to that one after I finish Somebody To Love by Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne. Did you read that one? |
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Post by staysweet on Oct 13, 2020 2:32:10 GMT
I have read many of them, and I think I am with PG, you just have to read a bunch and extrapolate to make your own assumptions. With each author coming from their own perspective..and let’s be honest...motivation, be it sensationalizing for profit, or downplaying things due to personal relationships...the real story is just somewhere in-between,
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Post by Doughnut on Oct 14, 2020 9:14:05 GMT
I have read many of them, and I think I am with PG, you just have to read a bunch and extrapolate to make your own assumptions. With each author coming from their own perspective..and let’s be honest...motivation, be it sensationalizing for profit, or downplaying things due to personal relationships...the real story is just somewhere in-between, I totally agree with this . After reading several books I feel I can come to my own conclusion . Freddie seemed so complicated that people who knew him professionally or in his private life definitely have different perspectives |
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 9, 2021 3:45:03 GMT
Queen and Freddie Mercury Books
- exactly the field of my study and collecting subject -
I will just come up with something like the list of best ones IMHO,
if anyone is interested I will go into more details on the ones you are interested in.
I give the titles and a short description:
Freddie Mercury
by Peter Freestone with David Evans - 1 of the best and most detailed and honest books about Freddie ever.
Freddie Mercury - That Was The Real Life
by David Evans and David Minns - also a good one as it is written by Freddie's friends.
Freddie Mercury - The Definitive Biography
by Lesley-Ann Jones - a good biography, quite a detailed one (though it has some misinformation, like for example, Mercury/Nureyev myth, is still holds a lot of unique and interesting info)
Mercury and Me
by Jim Hutton with Tim Wapshott - written by Freddie's deovted one, Jim, it says it all in itself, a must-read for all Freddie's fans and friends
Queen
by George Tremlett - historic document
Queen - An Official Biography Plus Their Recent U.S. Royal Tour
by Larry Pryce - historic document
Queen - As It Began
by Jacky Gunn & Jim Jenkins - classic, highly recommend this one
Queen - The Early Years
by Mark Hodkinson - fundamental work, a great read
Queen Live - A Concert Documentary
by Greg Brooks - a great Queen concert stories account
Queen: Complete Works by Georg Purvis - an anthology, truly a work of art
Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen by Mark Blake - masterpiece
These are the main ones as I consider
I hope it is helpful for anyone ; )
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Post by herebemonsters on Dec 9, 2021 12:04:00 GMT
Two real stand-outs for me - Peter Hince's book is a nice alternative viewpoint but the real winner is Rupert White's extraordinary, 'Queen in Cornwall'. Incredible research and detail of the most under-covered era of the band.
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 10, 2021 0:34:51 GMT
I have a question for Queen/Freddie Mercury Literature Specialists
- there are two books about Freddie, written by Laura Jackson
- one being 'Mercury: The King Of Queen',
and the other one being 'F.Mercury The Biography Revised and updated' -
can anyone please say, is there a big difference between these two books?
They seem to differ at least in a context chapter titles,
but on the inside is the second one is just an update and revision of the first one?,
or are they two different books in itself from the start?
Thank you in advance, fellow Queen/FM Literature Specialists
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 15, 2021 3:28:19 GMT
Any information on the difference between 2 Laura Jackson books, please, anyone?
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pg
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Post by pg on Dec 15, 2021 8:39:52 GMT
Revised = "we took out some of the obvious errors"
Updated = "we put in some new ones"
I think I can confidently say that one of the two is the maximum number that need be read
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 15, 2021 22:25:11 GMT
pg, thank you for your reply and thank you for clearing out this matter ; )
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 21, 2021 0:36:31 GMT
I have a question for Queen/Freddie Mercury Literature Specialists
pre-history
- long story short I had almost a complete collection of Queen/FM books, but stopped following the new releases from 2012
- the question is simple, for those who continued to follow the new releases in the past decaded
- what in yor opinion are the best new books (especially 2 categories: mostly text, and opposite - photobooks),
that came out to see the light of the day in 2012-2022 timeline?
Countries and languages are England, USA, Japan - English, Japanese
Sincerely hope to hear some answers from you,
dear Queen/Freddie Mercury Literature Specialists
MR
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on Dec 21, 2021 19:18:47 GMT
More seriously, on the Laura Jackson books - if you've got the first one, the second one probably falls under the heading of "get it if you're a completist".
I imagine you're not, otherwise you wouldn't have asked about differences, you'd just have bought it.
If you haven't bought the first one get the new one. It's unlikely to be worse (meant genuinely)
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 22, 2021 3:11:22 GMT
pg, thank you for your reply, in my case I otherwise have the new updated and revised version, so I guess in case of information I don't miss anything as the first one is basically the same, right? It's just that different titles "Mercury King of Queen" and "The Biography" and more than this different titles of chapters that bring a bit of misunderstanding, though it can be gathered that they share the same content because of 'revised and updated' bit in a title
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on Dec 22, 2021 19:09:45 GMT
I've got the first one, so we can compare a random page if you like
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 22, 2021 21:28:56 GMT
That's a lucky coincidence we have different versions - I'll send you the PM and we'll post about the results of comparing later on here for the readers of this thread and fellow Queen fans to know the results of comparing too ; )
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on Dec 24, 2021 22:55:32 GMT
Chapter 1 - a couple of pages of intro are reduced to a paragraph. Nothing of note is removed, it just gets to "born Farrookh Bulsara..." a bit quicker. Rest of chapter appears untouched.
Chapter 2 - retitled. No discernible changes.
Chapter 3 - retitled. "The start of the 70s" is revised to "the beginning of the seventies", no other changes obvious in the first couple of pages.
At this point, I REALLY lost interest.
The inside jacket says (claims) "the selection of photographs in this book includes many previously unseen images of Freddie Mercury, supplied exclusively to the author by his personal friends"
There are a total of 26 photos, not including the one of the author. Front and back covers are inevitably Magic tour shots, and a further 9 don't have Freddie in at all - buildings or other people.
Two are official publicity shots, four are various live shots, two are public events (Brits 1990, Barcelona miming".
For those not keeping up, we're down to 7. One is Freddie signing a strippers backside at the Jazz party. That leaves two from the 1987 Party at Pikes, two from a claimed 1989 trip to the same place, and two with Barbara Valentin in 1985 & 1989.
In short...don't believe the hype.
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 25, 2021 10:24:42 GMT
pg, thank you for your time, resource and comparing 2 books, looks like I wouldn't miss anything having an updated and revised edition, thank you for clearing this out for me and the others who may be interested in the differences. Cheers. MR
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 26, 2021 16:34:02 GMT
Hello, dear friends
Does anyone know anything about this book?:
Egan, Sean
The Mammoth Book of Freddie Mercury and Queen
ISBN: 9781472109262 / 1472109260
- it seem to have a lot of pages (512),
but haven't managed to find a lot of info about it
Any info would be helpful,
thanks in advance
MR
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Dec 26, 2021 16:35:32 GMT
Also, if it is okay (and if it is not, I'm sorry),
I second my question about Queen/FM books 2012-2022:
I have a question for Queen/Freddie Mercury Literature Specialists
pre-history
- long story short I had almost a complete collection of Queen/FM books, but stopped following the new releases from 2012
- the question is simple, for those who continued to follow the new releases in the past decaded
- what in yor opinion are the best new books (especially 2 categories: mostly text, and opposite - photobooks),
that came out to see the light of the day in 2012-2022 timeline?
Countries and languages are England, USA, Japan - English, Japanese
Sincerely hope to hear some answers from you,
dear Queen/Freddie Mercury Literature Specialists
MR
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Post by Mercury Roadrunner on Mar 6, 2022 22:07:35 GMT
Also, if it is okay (and if it is not, I'm sorry), I second my question about Queen/FM books 2012-2022: I have a question for Queen/Freddie Mercury Literature Specialists pre-history - long story short I had almost a complete collection of Queen/FM books, but stopped following the new releases from 2012 - the question is simple, for those who continued to follow the new releases in the past decaded - what in yor opinion are the best new books (especially 2 categories: mostly text, and opposite - photobooks), that came out to see the light of the day in 2012-2022 timeline? Countries and languages are England, USA, Japan - English, Japanese Sincerely hope to hear some answers from you, dear Queen/Freddie Mercury Literature Specialists MR Hello, everyone, any chances for anyone to answer anything on a question about new Queen/FM books 2012-2022, please? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2022 1:32:40 GMT
Is This the Real Life? by Mark Blake is probably one of the best biographies out there that tries to present as warts-and-all a history as possible. It’s very well-written, as all of his books are, and very fair and well-researched. Highly recommended. I recently came into possession of Blake's "The A to Z of Queen" which was first released last year, I believe. Is this one good, too? |
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georg
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Post by georg on Dec 10, 2022 2:09:40 GMT
Is This the Real Life? by Mark Blake is probably one of the best biographies out there that tries to present as warts-and-all a history as possible. It’s very well-written, as all of his books are, and very fair and well-researched. Highly recommended. I recently came into possession of Blake's "The A to Z of Queen" which was first released last year, I believe. Is this one good, too? To be honest I don’t think I’ve bought a Queen book in a decade, if not longer, so I can’t answer that definitively but if it’s by Mark Blake, it’s probably worth the purchase. |
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