Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury

I avoided reading this book for several years and several reasons. I should have left it that way. According to this book, the music is negligible. The scandals are what is important. Reads rather like a British tabloid.

I have read a lot of negative reviews about this book, one even said it is a pack of lies. I really enjoyed this book. It does not just go along chronologically, but it goes by subject matter. Some people have said it's boring, I think it is an excellent read. The author has researched and has done a spectacular job of telling about the life of Freddie Mercury. Some details will probably never be known, which is sad. I truly wish Freddie had done an autobiography before his passing, but that wasn't his style. One subject matter I am curious about and wish more had been talked about is Barbara Valentin. I think there is more to that relationship than people know. The Queen camp always wanted to keep Mary Austin as the only woman in his life. He had another girlfriend that he went to college with, Rosemary Pearson and she also wrote a book about Freddie, Life, Art and Freddie Mercury, which is an interesting read if it's true. I think Freddie was bisexual. I miss Freddie terribly and a day does not go by that I do not read about him or listen to him. There will never be another like him. The movie Bohemian Rhapsody was OK, have watched it several times, but I just don't like the way Freddie was portrayed. Rami Malek did a great job though, but there were a lot of inaccuracies in the movie. But that is Hollywood attempting to put a biopic story into a couple of hours. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Some reviewers have complained that the author “spent too much time” rebutting untruths that grow up like weeds and vines and become entwined into the lives of famous people. I think Ms. Jones does us all a great service by cutting these back and presenting a Freddie known by his friends, band mates, and the author and other colleagues.Her research is outstanding. I do wish there were more first person accounts from the ‘lost weekend’ years in Munich, and I did get the sense that Jones had to be nice to Mary Austin to get some access (Austin still comes off not as well as she may think she does because of the way she treated Freddie’s friends and lovers after his death.All in all, though, this is a fine piece of research, written in an elegant, flowing style. If you’ve seen the movie Bohemian Rhapsody year you’ll note that its basic construction (starting with the pinnacle of the Live Aid performance and then flashing back) follows the construction of Jones’ excellent book.

I found "Awesome"'s review of Mercury spot on and loved this book for all the same reasons, among others. I had a hard time putting it down! It is a personal favorite out of the many books I've read about Freddie. Of course, I was very interested in the content, but it was also presented in a way that I felt I could follow chronologically. I loved the fact that the author went to Zanzibar and Panchgani and spoke with people there who knew Freddie. That is such a murky area, so I was really engrossed with those chapters. Ms. Jones demonstrates her skills as a seasoned writer and thorough researcher. I think she did a fantastic job of bringing to us readers the Freddie she knew and obviously loved and admired. After reading this book, I was interested to know more about the author and am now reading her new personal memoir, Tumbling Dice - a great read so far!

So this bio is mostly tour dates and parties. It was a fast and easy read and there were a lot of interesting parts in it. The author was surely around the band alot but I felt most of it to b easily checked out and the facts were everywhere out there. In other words there were no new things in here I didnt know just from elsewhere and from being a fan since 1973. The thing I really disliked was the author delving into Freddie's last few breaths. There were things shared by her that unless she was in the room (she was not) are not provable unless someone that was there shared it publicly elsewhere. Which they have not . In fact there are at least 3 stories out there about literally his last 5 minutes on earth of which hers is only one .True or untrue her detailed info of this tragic loss is disrespectful to say the least..intrusive for sure. This man was a human being who suffered greatly and bravely. He deserved and continues to deserve our respect and his privacy. Shame on her for publishing those things. I give it three stars for the interesting read it was. But I take two stars for her lack of common decency.

This was the most comprehensive. Enjoyed it. Also read the book by Jim Hutton and another that I cannot remember the title.

This is a fine biography of an interesting man who was two generations ahead of his time....as time today has discovered. From Zanzibar to the shadow of Heathrow to global superstar, one of the greatest frontmen to ever live is shared in an interesting manner through this interesting blend of compilation and revelation.

cant put the book down once started

I really like this book. It is well informed and I enjoyed reading it. At times I couldn't put it down. Well worth having.

It's Freddie Mercury. One can never go wrong with Freddie. Ever. About the book...there really wasn't much in here that a fan would not have known. A good read, but nothing new.

Thank you.

I enjoyed reading this biography. It really gave insight into the man and his influences. A must-read for anyone wanting to know more about Freddie Mercury.