Touchstone books have set a July 3rd release date for Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury by rock journalist Lesley-Ann Jones. We were sent over this background info:
In Mercury Lesley-Ann Jones presents the full portrait of both the complex man and the myth. Jones toured widely with Queen and has unrivalled access to the band. She has secured more than 100 interviews with those closest to Mercury, many of who are only opening up now, twenty years after his tragic death. He was the first major rock star to die from AIDS.
Meticulously researched, sympathetic yet not sensational, Mercury offers an unvarnished, revealing look at the extreme highs and lows of life in the fast lane. Jones details it all from Queen's slow but steady rise to fame, to the creation of ground breaking songs like 'Bohemian Rhapsody', to the decadent, raucous after parties Queen became infamous for, to the band's creative process and their perpetual quest to challenge themselves musically.
To gain a better understanding of Mercury's early life and his somewhat fraught relationship with his traditional, conservative past Jones traveled to Zanzibar, his birthplace, and India, where he attended boarding school. Jones also provides new insights into the great loves of Mercury's life—long-time girlfriend Mary Austin, chef Joe Fanelli, German soft-porn star Barbara Valentin, live-in-lover Jim Hutton—and what those relationships meant to him. In MERCURY a compelling, definitive portrait emerges of this enigmatic entertainer who thrilled audiences around the world with a magnetism matched by few performers. link
Pretty sure I already have this book from a few months ago.
Isn't it this one? link
I've read maybe a quarter of it. I plan to get around to finishing it - seems OK. To me, Freddie just wasn't that interesting a guy - at least on the outside looking in. I wish he would have written an autobiography. THAT would be a lot more interesting.