Freddie Mercury The Definitive Biography
Lesley Ann Jones
Hodder
Written by award winnning rock journalist Lesley-Ann Jones the book seems to be a personal account of Freddie Mercury, an enigmatic, tragic and charismatic figure that so personified the music and style of the 70’s.
Jones toured with Queen and had access to the remaining member of the band and those who could be called “closest” to Freddie. Well researched, sympathetic and easy to read, the book.
Mercury was born Farrokh Balsara in Zanzibar, the son of a Parsee court clerk and homemaker mother. When he was eight, his parents sent him away to a public school in the Indian hill town of Panchgani. At school, the shy and toothy boy grew up fast, excelling at sports, singing in the school choir, and was even rumoured to have a girlfriend (Gita Choksi, the girl in question, coyly tells the author that they were “just friends”). After a violent revolution rocked Zanzibar in the mid-1960s, the Balsaras packed their bags and moved to London. Living in London in the swinging 60s, Mercury went to art school, worked as a nude model, sang and then joined a few local groups that opened for Hendrix and Pink Floyd. Queen happened soon after, Balsara was dropped in favour of Mercury after the ancient Roman messenger of the Gods, and a showman was born.
Jones clearly explains how Freddie found consolation in songwriting, expressing his highs and lows in classic hits across the genres. She goes back to Live Aid, that pivotal moment in the 80’s when Queen’s legendary performance pitched them back into the music scene.
Jones goes into the AIDS scares of the 80’s and the cruel betrayl of Freddie by Paul Prenter to News of The World. His struggle to overcome his illness and his ultimate death.
What makes this biography so enjoyable is that through it, Jones avoids the “stars in your eyes” view that dogs so many biographers. Queen is a backdrop to Freddie Mercury the man and I think that personal touch enables the reader to enjoy the life of a very interesting personality that really encapsulates the 80’s music scene.
