Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words
Product ID: 154130882
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"Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words" is the nearest thing to Freddie’s 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 Queen’s 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 music’s most endearing and enduring performers. Freddie rarely talked about himself to others, and so the relatively few interviews he did agree to—carefully compiled for this book, and some of them unpublished until now—provide an intriguing insight into a man who outwardly exuded confidence and arrogance, but behind the public perception, spent periods alone and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 Freddie’s 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. Freddie’s 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 audience—“I love the feeling of it. It’s 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 wasn’t Freddie Mercury today.” In 20 chapters, 194 pages and nearly 73,000 words—and 45 years in the making—Freddie 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 it’s 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.” Review: ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! - I downloaded a sample of it from Kindle before buying and that was enough to know, it was wonderful. Not to be mistaken as authored by him, the description is a bit misleading at times. But it does seem to be in his own words and style, taken from interviews, but without the questions being asked. It feels like he is just earnestly talking right to you. Really authentic. Truly Freddy! And often funny, throwing in a few personal tidbits, here and there. Halfway through it and trying to slow down my pace, so I can savor the joy longer. I take it with me , I always have a book, but this time people see HIS picture on the front and apparently I am walking around with a natural conversation starter, EVERYWHERE! Always the same, someone sees my book and says “Oh!, I just love Freddy”. They don’t even ask if it’s good! It’s all about loving Freddy. My only complaint, I wish it was longer!! It’s good reading, with a nice pace to it and the authors did quite a good job of editing. They didn’t bleep out much of Freddy’s language, if any. Keeps it authentic. Just so you know, the man was a cusser, yet never sounded particularly vulgar, more like, he was just stating a fact. He has a good vocabulary and uses terms, probably from England, that make me laugh. Like he doesn’t use “aerosols“ (deodorant, I think?) because that is followed up with “my armpits are my own”. TMI, but that too, is Freddy. No boundaries, no filters. He is such a genuinely like-able fellow and this view of him only reinforces that. If you enjoy Freddy, this is an interesting perspective. He is really smart and interesting, talking about many things, touring, band member relationships, writing music, what it means or doesn’t mean to him, and sure, some of it we've either already seen or heard on occasion. But this feels very conversational. And it is easy reading. Going by way too fast!!! 10 stars!!! Review: wonderful book but missing dates of interviews - I found this to be a lovely collection of Freddie's own words and thus free from an interviewer's interpretation. It reads like an autobiography and I think the authors are to be commended for organizing his comments to flow with each topic. His outlook changes over time, as do all of ours, but because there are no dates of the interviews used to compile each chapter, I wasn't able to understand his feelings within the context of what was happening in his life at the time. Freddie comes across as very intelligent, insightful, and happy with his accomplishments leaving me to think that he really did live the life he wanted. I sure hope so. He gave us all so much. Rest in peace, Freddie.
| Best Sellers Rank | #195,940 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #847 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 6,216 Reviews |
K**S
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!
I downloaded a sample of it from Kindle before buying and that was enough to know, it was wonderful. Not to be mistaken as authored by him, the description is a bit misleading at times. But it does seem to be in his own words and style, taken from interviews, but without the questions being asked. It feels like he is just earnestly talking right to you. Really authentic. Truly Freddy! And often funny, throwing in a few personal tidbits, here and there. Halfway through it and trying to slow down my pace, so I can savor the joy longer. I take it with me , I always have a book, but this time people see HIS picture on the front and apparently I am walking around with a natural conversation starter, EVERYWHERE! Always the same, someone sees my book and says “Oh!, I just love Freddy”. They don’t even ask if it’s good! It’s all about loving Freddy. My only complaint, I wish it was longer!! It’s good reading, with a nice pace to it and the authors did quite a good job of editing. They didn’t bleep out much of Freddy’s language, if any. Keeps it authentic. Just so you know, the man was a cusser, yet never sounded particularly vulgar, more like, he was just stating a fact. He has a good vocabulary and uses terms, probably from England, that make me laugh. Like he doesn’t use “aerosols“ (deodorant, I think?) because that is followed up with “my armpits are my own”. TMI, but that too, is Freddy. No boundaries, no filters. He is such a genuinely like-able fellow and this view of him only reinforces that. If you enjoy Freddy, this is an interesting perspective. He is really smart and interesting, talking about many things, touring, band member relationships, writing music, what it means or doesn’t mean to him, and sure, some of it we've either already seen or heard on occasion. But this feels very conversational. And it is easy reading. Going by way too fast!!! 10 stars!!!
R**E
wonderful book but missing dates of interviews
I found this to be a lovely collection of Freddie's own words and thus free from an interviewer's interpretation. It reads like an autobiography and I think the authors are to be commended for organizing his comments to flow with each topic. His outlook changes over time, as do all of ours, but because there are no dates of the interviews used to compile each chapter, I wasn't able to understand his feelings within the context of what was happening in his life at the time. Freddie comes across as very intelligent, insightful, and happy with his accomplishments leaving me to think that he really did live the life he wanted. I sure hope so. He gave us all so much. Rest in peace, Freddie.
P**R
Great read
Great read fast shipping this is perfect for that Queen fan
B**H
As close to an autobiography as we are going to get
Great book as it is a collection of all the statements & interviews this great artist gave throughout his life. The only thing lacking is that the references aren’t given. I’d like to know the years of the statements as they are grouped by subject. I have read/seen many Freddie interviews & he tends to be inconsistent over time. To try to understand the man it is helpful to know when he said what & the context. In viewing the original interviews he clearly is being flippant at times & not 100% serious so in a funny way you can’t always trust even his own words! This is also heartbreaking at times like when he discusses AIDS & fears of it. Probably he knew he was infected at the time he made the statements so tragic he had to live with that & couldn’t really talk openly due to the stigma & prejudice at that time. Always love Freddie & his music. Such a treasure.
S**L
Freddie Mercury forever
A fun read on the greatest frontman EVER.
T**S
Love it
Fantastic 😍. Can not put the book down. I bought it for my roommate, but I read it first. Great book about a very talented man .
V**E
A beautiful tribute to a fascinating man
This book was a wonderful joy to read. I thought it would be a collection of quotes that were isolated from each other, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the book to see that the quotes were merged to form an actual coherent story. It brought tears to my eyes because it wasn’t just a snapshot of words from a man that has passed on, it was as if Freddie was telling you his life story over a span of decades. Freddie was candid and honest in parts, and vague and misleading in others. I could hear each word in his voice because I have watched many many old interviews with him online. Freddie was so funny and charismatic and full of life, love, and emotion. This book is a beautiful tribute to the greatest frontman and singer in rock history.
D**R
I believe this is a compilation of honest answers given to a person(s) he trusted. Very RARE.
I have read 8 books and I'm on book no. 9 about Queen and Freddie Mercury. I like this book the most. Why? The information in this book comes from interviews done with Freddie directly. Although he didn't like the press or giving interviews, there were a couple of people he liked enough to give real interviews to. I believe the interviews in this book were done honestly by Freddie, who at the time was comfortable enough with the people he talked to so that he was able to let his guard down to give real and honest answers. This sounds like REAL WORDS and OPINIONS from Freddie himself. Whether I'm right or wrong in my thinking about this book doesn't really matter as long as I believe what I feel about this book. Everything is up for 'interpretation' and 'disection' by the person reading this book. I have given you my thoughts based on what I've read and believe.
M**U
Freddy was and always be the best frontman and entertainer.
Absolutely the best book I have read so far. If you have seen videos of Freddy's rare interviews, you will read the book and it will sound as if he is talking. Very personal, very real, very Freddy ❤️❤️❤️
N**B
Tres interessant pour les fans
Ce livre est must have pour tous les fans du chanteur. Il permet de connaitre les points de vue de FM sur sa vie perso et sur la vie du groupe, sa vision des choses et finalement le recul qu'il prenait à la fin face sa célébrité. Les citations sont classées par thème ce qui est très bien, mais j'aurais bien aimé cependant que les auteurs nous citent les sources et surtout les dates, car cela aurait permis de mieux comprendre le contexte des citations par rapport à la période concernée où elles se situent.
C**N
Genial
100% estupendo
M**N
Excellent condition , He is the regend .
綺麗な美品でした。ありがとうございました。大切にします。 It was in excellent condition. Thank you very much. I will treasure it.
A**R
Fantástico libro
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