Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words

Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words" is the nearest thing to Freddies autobiography as it is possible to achieve. A moving, witty, often irreverent collection of quotes (or interview transcript) from the man himself, covering an extraordinary life, meticulously edited together by Queens long time archivists, with a Foreword by Freddie's mum. An essential read not just for fans of Queen and their iconic frontman, but anyone intrigued to know more about one of musics most endearing and enduring performers. Freddie rarely talked about himself to others, and so the relatively few interviews he did agree tocarefully compiled for this book, and some of them unpublished until nowprovide an intriguing insight into a man who outwardly exuded confidence and arrogance, but behind the public perception, spent periods alone and searching for happiness. The truth was that Freddie was painfully shy and uncomfortable in the company of anyone who might intrude upon his famous royal family of close friends and invited guests. The book covers Freddies origins and history, many and various subjects in between, and of course covers the fascinating journey of Queen, all from his unique perspective. Spurred on by their almost uncontrollable ambitious and forthright front man, Queen succeeded in becoming one of the biggest bands on the planet. The story describes how on many occasions the group almost broke up, but was always kept together by their shared love of breaching musical boundaries. Freddies own personal story is one of pursuing a dream, dealing with wealth and fame, looking back and having no regrets, reflecting on getting old, his legacy, and death. A man determined to succeed to the point of willing to be frivolous and preposterous to win over an audienceI love the feeling of it. Its greater than sex! But as the pages turn, we see a Freddie Mercury gradually changing the priorities in his life to one more sedate and necessarily changed by the cloud of the HIV/AIDS virus beginning to shadow the gay community. For a man who seldom spoke, in "A Life, In His Own Words", Freddie says it all: There are times when I wake up and I think, My God! I wish I wasnt Freddie Mercury today. In 20 chapters, 194 pages and nearly 73,000 wordsand 45 years in the makingFreddie covers it all, and then some! And he does it, of course, in his own inimitable, unpredictable, invariably funny, often poignant, and always entertaining way. I love the fact that I make people happy, in any form. Even if its just half an hour of their lives, if I can make them feel lucky or make them feel good, or bring a smile to a sour face, that to me is worthwhile.