Mercury

June 18, 2012
As lead singer of the band Queen, Freddy Mercury was a pure showman, fusing opera, theater, pop, and rock. Jones presents a candid life story of this rare phenomenon and chronicles Queen’s ascendance to musical superstardom. Born Farrokh “Fred” Bulsara in Zanzibar and raised a Zoroastrian Parsee (a religious community that abhors homosexuality), Mercury’s family moved to “swinging” London where his musical talents flourished. There he developed his “flamboyant and melodramatic” stage persona to counter the shy and insecure self later epitomized in his recording of “The Great Pretender.” Though he “preferred sex without any involvement,” his relations with women and sexual exploits with men “embroiled him in a distressing tangle of love affairs.” Mercury’s story is the tragedy of music royalty descending into dark excesses, the escalation of drug and drink usage that culminated in the worldwide news of his death from AIDS. Though it will appeal to more than just Queen obsessives, Jones’s band history proves to be the ultimate fan’s resource: she thoroughly documents the development of each album’s release, promotion, reviews, and infamous tours—including the background and production of their classic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” In this exhaustively enjoyable read, Jones combines her own detailed research with the brutal honesty of family and friends, media and music insiders, bandmates and bedmates. Agent: Ivan Mulcahy, Mulcahy Conway Associates.

May 15, 2012
The celebrity bio of a one-of-a-kind rock 'n' roll impresario, equal parts fawning and dreary. Rock journalist Jones (Naomi: The Rise and Rise of the Girl from Nowhere, 1993) spares no backstage details in her wide-eyed portrait of outrageous Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (1946-1991). Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar to a family with both African and Indian roots, he fled his strict Zoroastrian upbringing for swinging London, where he was an art student whose dreams of rock glory would be realized when he met a talented band in need of an over-the-top lead singer. Fully intent on being a legend, Mercury was campy and outrageous from the beginning and soon rich enough to indulge a lifestyle that was as excessive as his vocal style. Due in part to his religious upbringing, he was sexually confused into early adulthood; his longtime female lover, Mary Austin, seems to have figured out his gay orientation well before he did. Although Mercury never officially came out during his lifetime, songwriter Tim Rice fascinatingly suggests that Queen's signature hit, "Bohemian Rhapsody," can be read as Mercury's own coming-out song: "He's killed the old Freddy he was trying to be: the former image." Jones dutifully follows the shaping of Mercury's persona and the backstage goings-on of the "most debauched party-givers in rock." Although Mercury often comes across as shallow and irresponsible--he didn't let the growing threat of AIDS slow down his promiscuity until he was diagnosed in 1987--he was apparently generous and kind. Jones and her many interviewees recall him in numbingly glowing terms. While devoted fans will likely swallow this hagiography whole, anyone looking for more than just a little silhouetto of a man is likely to be disappointed.

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Starred review from June 1, 2012
How did a shy little Parsi boy from Zanzibar named Farrokh Bulsara become one of the world's most legendary rock superstars? The answer is painstakingly detailed in this stunning biography of the late Queen front man, who died tragically in 1991 of AIDS at the age of 45, just one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease. In hindsight, with his exotic looks and a flair for the outrageous, Mercury certainly seemed poised for artistic greatness. But as veteran journalist Jones, who toured with Queen and had enviable access to the band, points out, Mercury was insecure about his appearance and often seemed fragile and vulnerable offstage. He was also struggling to come to terms with his mostly gay sexuality in the macho world of hard rock, even as he dialed the camp side of his personality up to 10. The one thing Mercury never doubted was his own musical genius and the inevitability of fame. Jones delves deep into Mercury's decadent and promiscuous life after spending years interviewing the flamboyant star and his inner circle of family members, bandmates, long-term lovers, close friends, and music-industry insiders. She also burrows deep into the Queen Machine to examine the band's historic tours and the recording process behind their many classic albums. This is an updated version of Jones' 1997 book, Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)