Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words
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- Create Date：2021-03-30 14:15:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Freddie Mercury
- ISBN：1688967486
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Summary
"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to others， and so the relatively few interviews he did agree to—carefully compiled for this book， and some of them unpublished until now—provide an intriguing insight into a man who outwardly exuded confidence and arrogance， but behind the public perception， spent periods alone and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。”
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。”
Reviews
Cindy Lea
，
An amazing accountI love that this story of Freddie's life was told with a compilation of his own words。 I loved it！ An amazing accountI love that this story of Freddie's life was told with a compilation of his own words。 I loved it！ 。。。more
Jorge Mantilla
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If you like Queen and Freddie， this book is for youFreddie Mercury didn’t write this book， but he did。 An amazing compilation of his statements that give us more details about the life and feelings of this tremendous artist。
Lynn Schlanger
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Not interesting This is supposedly all Freddy’s words therefore it is just a bunch of quotes put together to form a book。 It comes across as repetitive and discombobulated， not at all interesting。
アルビナ
，
I thought that this book would be in interview format: That we would get information on the interview and a dialog between the interviewer and Freddie。 Instead the text was a continuous one and devided in chapters。 The idea to make it look like Freddie wrote it himself isn't a bad one， my only problem was that we didn't get dates。 I'd have loved to know when exactly Freddie said certain things and how his opinions evolved。 Because at the beginning of the book we're told that the interviews are g I thought that this book would be in interview format: That we would get information on the interview and a dialog between the interviewer and Freddie。 Instead the text was a continuous one and devided in chapters。 The idea to make it look like Freddie wrote it himself isn't a bad one， my only problem was that we didn't get dates。 I'd have loved to know when exactly Freddie said certain things and how his opinions evolved。 Because at the beginning of the book we're told that the interviews are gathered from the 70s and 80s and that we should be aware that his views changed like every person would。 But I had difficulty catching that because the book wasn't in any particular time line。 Or maybe I just missed it？ I felt like one paragraph was from the early 80s and the next was from the late 80s。 It was confusing sometimes。But overall， I enjoyed reading Freddie in his own words。 I was happy to get to know the man better and find out more about the Queen dynamics。 But I guess we should be aware that those are interviews and that Freddie was a very private and filtered person in public。 。。。more
Natalie
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Interesting format， but ultimately very repetitive。
James S Cofer
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Interesting bookIf you like Queen， this will be an interesting book。 Since it’s compiled interviews， it is choppy and somewhat redundant， but it’s straight out fo Freddie’s mouth。 It will give you some sense of what the man is like。
Maria
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As much as I like Queen and Freddie Mercury in general， I liked the book but didn't necessarily love it。 As much as I like Queen and Freddie Mercury in general， I liked the book but didn't necessarily love it。 。。。more
Kath
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Had this on my list and rested to using it as my book so I could distract myself and sleep。 I find my attention riveted to it rather than drifting off。 Many familiar moments captured。
Robert Mynatt
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Easy interestingA good read overall。 A bit pseudo inspirational since obviously it seems like it would be easy to be all positive and blase about responsibility when you had the wealth and fame if freddie mercury。 But nonetheless， it had a good bit of moments。
Frank
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What a colossally terrible book。 If you enjoy meandering thoughts being repeated over and over， jumping around and contradicting themself then you will love this book。 The author should have interviewed him when he wasn’t high。 Hard pass on this one。
Angelo C Bonanno
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Too much repetitiveI found the mostly interview excerpts to be rehashed a bit much。 Is therefore some good things to discover， but if just from interviews can they actually be fact ？
Natasha Glerup
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Lover Of Life， Singer Of Songs。 5 stars <3
John Morton
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just a collection of anecdotes really， suppose I was expecting more。
Beth
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I loved hearing from Freddie's perspective。 He really was a talented， unique and complicated individual。 And funny！ I had a blast reading thru this book。 This is basically a compilation of interviews with Freddie by multiple sources。 The closest thing we will ever get to a first person biography。 Ill take it！ I loved hearing from Freddie's perspective。 He really was a talented， unique and complicated individual。 And funny！ I had a blast reading thru this book。 This is basically a compilation of interviews with Freddie by multiple sources。 The closest thing we will ever get to a first person biography。 Ill take it！ 。。。more
Pako Herrera
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It was interesting to read about Freddy Mercury and how Queen started， the only thing that I didn't like about this book was that it felt so repetitive， like you'll read something in a page and then you'll advance like 15 more pages and read the same thing。In general this books gives you the impression that Freddy was a lonely person and that even though he had money and fame， there was an emptiness that couldn't be filled with anything else but love。 It was interesting to read about Freddy Mercury and how Queen started， the only thing that I didn't like about this book was that it felt so repetitive， like you'll read something in a page and then you'll advance like 15 more pages and read the same thing。In general this books gives you the impression that Freddy was a lonely person and that even though he had money and fame， there was an emptiness that couldn't be filled with anything else but love。 。。。more
Tracey
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I have enjoyed reading this book about Freddie Mercury。 From the chapter titles， the opening quotes on each page of a new chapter to Freddie’s honest words written down in this book ， I have found this an intriguing read。 I can hear Freddie saying the quotes when I read them， his character and personality shining through 。 This wasn’t a goodbye ， this was a book that says here I am ， don’t forget me 。
Melissa Pennucci
，
I have become fascinated with Freddie Mercury since falling in love with the film Bohemian Rhapsody。 I really enjoyed this book because I could hear Freddie in my mind speaking - it truly is written i his own words。 Although at times， some of the excerpts from interviews felt a bit redundant， you could get a sense of exactly what Freddie was feeling at the time he was speaking。 He runs through just about every emotion - happiness， gratefulness， sadness， loneliness。。。 he was such an emotionally c I have become fascinated with Freddie Mercury since falling in love with the film Bohemian Rhapsody。 I really enjoyed this book because I could hear Freddie in my mind speaking - it truly is written i his own words。 Although at times， some of the excerpts from interviews felt a bit redundant， you could get a sense of exactly what Freddie was feeling at the time he was speaking。 He runs through just about every emotion - happiness， gratefulness， sadness， loneliness。。。 he was such an emotionally complex man and a musical genius。 。。。more
Brian Pangburn
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A tough book to reviewThis is difficult: how does one review a book about an unlikable person？ Make no mistake about it: Freddie Mercury is a narcissist， and IMO， a VERY unlikable person。 I'm glad I never met him。 Having said that， the author does a good job of letting Freddie be Freddie， warts and all （and there are plenty of them）。 Kudos to the author for not "putting lipstick on the pig"。 A tough book to reviewThis is difficult: how does one review a book about an unlikable person？ Make no mistake about it: Freddie Mercury is a narcissist， and IMO， a VERY unlikable person。 I'm glad I never met him。 Having said that， the author does a good job of letting Freddie be Freddie， warts and all （and there are plenty of them）。 Kudos to the author for not "putting lipstick on the pig"。 。。。more
Trey Thomas
，
Pretty good。 All of the book is Freddie "in his own words" so it's just compiled transcripts from various interviews and sometimes repetitive， but worth a read if you are a Freddie fan。 Sadly， towards the end when he speaks of his fear of AIDS， not knowing yet that he has or will contract it and it will end his life。。。it was spooky。 Freddie will always live on through the great music he left behind。 Pretty good。 All of the book is Freddie "in his own words" so it's just compiled transcripts from various interviews and sometimes repetitive， but worth a read if you are a Freddie fan。 Sadly， towards the end when he speaks of his fear of AIDS， not knowing yet that he has or will contract it and it will end his life。。。it was spooky。 Freddie will always live on through the great music he left behind。 。。。more
Gordon Ralph
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i did enjoy this book for the fact you are listning to Freddie in your head as you are reading lots of new things that i never new about him and lots of inside gossip all in Freddies own words！。 I will say the producers of this book have done a lot of research and for that i commend them 。。。what i cant forgive and i think is a bit lazy of them is there is far too much repeating going on ， i know theyve explained that in their intro but there is too much to be forgivable it did spoil the book for i did enjoy this book for the fact you are listning to Freddie in your head as you are reading lots of new things that i never new about him and lots of inside gossip all in Freddies own words！。 I will say the producers of this book have done a lot of research and for that i commend them 。。。what i cant forgive and i think is a bit lazy of them is there is far too much repeating going on ， i know theyve explained that in their intro but there is too much to be forgivable it did spoil the book for me！， I was told a couple of times that i let out a sigh a few times whilst reading this and the repeatativeness of the book was to blame ！。。。。it is a shame if only theyd spent a bit more time on production this book would have been priceless instead it comes across as a get rich money making scheme riping off this Rock Gods great name 。。。shame ！ 。。。more
Lucía Marionsini
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Hermoso y triste。 Emocionante y atrapante。 Las fotos y los relatos son simplemente maravillosos。 Las frases te quedan resonando en tu cabeza por meses
Susan
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Looked forward to reading this， set aside my evening to do so， and experienced disappointment early on。 Not only was this an over-the-top “me， me， me” love fest， but the inclusion of vulgar language was also so incessant， that it took away the pleasure of reading。 This work is supposedly taken from interviews Mercury gave， but it still could have been cleaned up to reach a wider audience。Other readers might find this book valuable to them， and I will listen to Queen’s music instead。🗑🟣
Shelley Nathan May
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I loved this book， however there was a lot of repetition throughout， even from chapter to chapter。 I did enjoy leaning about Mr。 Mercury’s life and thoughts。 It also gave me a completely different perspective on the life of a rock star。
Wanda MacLean
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BoringThis was not a good book for me。 I tended to skip through this as it was a very ho hum boring book。
♦♣ Queen of Faerie ♠♥
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AHHHHHH TOO SHORT TOO SHORTReading this book just made me fall in love with Freddie and Queen even more。Has there been a better definition of glam， sass， and incredible talent？Answer: NO （I will fight you）Bye I'm off to listen to Queen now。→4。5 stars AHHHHHH TOO SHORT TOO SHORTReading this book just made me fall in love with Freddie and Queen even more。Has there been a better definition of glam， sass， and incredible talent？Answer: NO （I will fight you）Bye I'm off to listen to Queen now。→4。5 stars 。。。more
Katie Murphy
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FreddieHow could Freddie be gone for so long？ 1991 it seems unreal。Super book， great to hear "from his own lips" his life， his reality， his history。 I am very disappointed though there were no photographs。 FreddieHow could Freddie be gone for so long？ 1991 it seems unreal。Super book， great to hear "from his own lips" his life， his reality， his history。 I am very disappointed though there were no photographs。 。。。more
John
，
There was trend in scrapbooking where folks would take the photos out of their original time series/contextual groupings and organize them into albums based on a particular person or theme。 This book is sort of like that- curated excerpts of interviews pulled out of context and grouped into themes。 So while it is obviously great to hear Freddie's actual words on a given topic， there is absolutely no way to tell the context of a given passage。 This tends lead to repetitive （or sometimes contradic There was trend in scrapbooking where folks would take the photos out of their original time series/contextual groupings and organize them into albums based on a particular person or theme。 This book is sort of like that- curated excerpts of interviews pulled out of context and grouped into themes。 So while it is obviously great to hear Freddie's actual words on a given topic， there is absolutely no way to tell the context of a given passage。 This tends lead to repetitive （or sometimes contradictory） items where Freddie says basically the same thing in different interviews which are excerpted one after another in the book。A footnote （or even just a date stamp） along with each excerpt would have gone a long way towards addressing this issue。 。。。more
Claire Monaco
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Very nice insight into the life of a talented man。I love the music of Queen。 This is a nice look into the life of one of the quartet of men responsible for the music。
Phyllis Letterii
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If you are a fan of Freddie Mercury and Queen you will like this book。 The book is put together with quotes from different interviews he had done over the years。 It flows pretty well。
Fabienne
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