Imagine being alongside one of the greatest bands in the history of rock, touring the world and being there as they perform at some of the best and biggest music venues in the world. Peter Hince didn't have to imagine: for more than a decade, he lived a life that other people can only dream of as he worked with Queen as head of their road crew. In 1973, Queen was the support act for Mott the Hoople, for whom Peter was a roadie. Back then, Queen had to content themselves with being second on the bill and the world had not yet woken up to the flamboyant talent of Freddie Mercury. Peter started working full time for Queen just as they were making A Night at the Opera, the album which catapulted them to international stardom. In this intimate and affectionate book, Peter recalls the highlights of his years with the band. He was with Freddie when he composed 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'; he was responsible for making sure that Freddie's stage performances went without a hitch - and was often there to witness his famed tantrums! He was also party to the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll which are invariably part of life on the road with a rock band.
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"A deeply personal page-turner, being one man's intimate diary of a lost time in the music industry, spent working for one of the greatest and most renowned bands in Rock history." --Worleygig.com
From the Author
Queen Unseen is a unique account of the many exciting years as a young man I spent on tour, in the recording studio, on video shoots and day to day life at home with one of the world's biggest and best ever rock bands. It is an insightful, enlightening and mostly humorous account for anybody who has ever wondered what working for Queen, or indeed most rock bands of that era really entailed..... the highs and the lows. It is not a chronological history or definitive biography of the band, but a personal story of what it was like to spend your youth travelling the world and living the rock and roll lifestyle - to the full!
There is plenty of sex and drugs and rock and roll - as everybody knows that's what happened....
I make observations and comments about all the fantastic places we visited and played, and what it was like living, at times, a crazy and surreal existence.
The book covers all the areas that were relevant in Queen's working life, during my time as Queen's longest serving roadie and head of their crew. There is lots of new material and surprises for Queen fans and it is a book to interest anybody who likes stories of rock and roll life in the 1970s & 1980s.
Mine is a truly unique book on Queen - no journalist or author could have written it - they were not there. I was, and I remember it all like it was yesterday.....
Wonderful memories.
There will be photo sections in the book that contain colour and black & white images from my successful Queen The Unseen Archive show that was exhibited in London and Australia recently. There will be additional rare and unseen photos and other images items of interest.
I hope you will join me on an Access All Areas journey through a magical era when we were young; feeling we could take on the world and win. Invariably we did.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Di Bragg
Format:Hardcover
I know a book is going to be a great read when you can open it on any page and before you know it you have turned over 3!
What makes this book so refreshing is that of course it is part of the Queen story but is taken from a completely different view point. Books in the past have mostly been written by people who did not know the band so were bad impersonations of each others work.
Peter is telling his story of being a roadie in the 70's and 80's with great humour (believe me.....insert Spinal Tap instead of Queen!! His self depreciating sense of humour and talking about his country origins makes you believe that anyone could travel the world and be part of the biggest band that ever was.
The book also gives character to the band as individuals...something that we seem to forget when we class people as icons is that they were flesh and blood.
What comes out most about the book is Peter's genuine love of his job, his affection for his 'bosses' and their respect of him.
One of the great added bonuses of this book are the pages of rare and mostly unseen images of the band all taken by Peter himself.....
Enjoy......I certainly did!
What makes this book so refreshing is that of course it is part of the Queen story but is taken from a completely different view point. Books in the past have mostly been written by people who did not know the band so were bad impersonations of each others work.
Peter is telling his story of being a roadie in the 70's and 80's with great humour (believe me.....insert Spinal Tap instead of Queen!! His self depreciating sense of humour and talking about his country origins makes you believe that anyone could travel the world and be part of the biggest band that ever was.
The book also gives character to the band as individuals...something that we seem to forget when we class people as icons is that they were flesh and blood.
What comes out most about the book is Peter's genuine love of his job, his affection for his 'bosses' and their respect of him.
One of the great added bonuses of this book are the pages of rare and mostly unseen images of the band all taken by Peter himself.....
Enjoy......I certainly did!
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I received this book as a present yesterday evening - and finished it on the train this morning. That's how gripping and easy-flowing Peter Hince's account of his whirlwind decade with Queen is. Starting in the 1970s as a typical provincial teenager, a `mad-for-it' general gofer and plugger-inner, living on `Thousand on a Raft' (beans on toast) and copious amounts of sniff, blow, gargle, snort, suck and other rock enliveners, the roadie known as `Ratty' ended his stint with the world's most flamboyant band as the man they relied on to get their multi-million-dollar show round the world and on the boards, on time and in place, while still being at his overlords' command at the drop of a tiara, with trusty screw-driver and book of contacts at the ready. You don't do that by frying your brains, and Hince had the sense to get out and get on with his artistic calling as a photographer while everything synaptic was still more or less intact.
At show-time in stadiums across the world the author would crouch in the shadow of Freddie Mercury's grand piano, ready to pass his master a glass of water, a phallic microphone or a reassuring grin. But unquestioning sycophancy was never going be the right way to deal with a man like Fred, who could be as cold and monstrous as the next superstar when things didn't go just as he wanted. Mercury desperately needed proper friends - ones who could tell him when he was being too much of a princess. By his own account Hince did that when he needed to. What comes across in bold in this humorous and rollicking story is the hard-bitten roadie's love for the complicated and ultimately lonely man who acted towards him like a kind of rascally uncle. Rarely does a roadie write a book - far more rarely one that gets this close and personal.
At show-time in stadiums across the world the author would crouch in the shadow of Freddie Mercury's grand piano, ready to pass his master a glass of water, a phallic microphone or a reassuring grin. But unquestioning sycophancy was never going be the right way to deal with a man like Fred, who could be as cold and monstrous as the next superstar when things didn't go just as he wanted. Mercury desperately needed proper friends - ones who could tell him when he was being too much of a princess. By his own account Hince did that when he needed to. What comes across in bold in this humorous and rollicking story is the hard-bitten roadie's love for the complicated and ultimately lonely man who acted towards him like a kind of rascally uncle. Rarely does a roadie write a book - far more rarely one that gets this close and personal.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Jane
Format:Hardcover
Wow. This was worth the wait!
This book is one of the best damn books about rock & roll and touring, ever.
In fact it is THE best book about the band Queen, written from inside the QProds organization and covering 12 years of triumphs and glory. The lows and mistakes are covered too and are recounted honestly yet not dwelt upon long - too much fun to be had really.
It is packed full of stories: fresh, new and untold tales of band and crew, life on the road and in the studio. The humour, derived from the serious business of touring, (long hours, hard work, set backs and occasional frustrations), comes across immediately: the (very) funny irreverent banter between crew and band, served the purpose of keeping everyone going and upbeat, sometimes in the face of adversity. In the territory of rock and roll, it's an honest account of crew and band lifestyle, without being tabloid in any way. No sleazy revelations here.
Peter Hince's new book is a well-constructed, interesting and highly engaging read - a definite must have. His style is effortless, and it's a joy to read. I actually couldn't put it down and read it one long go, bursting out laughing at regular intervals. The opening chapter - inspired, which I won't spoil for you - sets the book up for intrepid band and crew forays into different worldwide territories, cultures and experiences. The chapter on Japan was particularly entertaining! The book is a journey and one that you feel included in.
It's accurate: this is what it was really like to work with the greatest rock band of the 20th century.
It's also brilliant. Go and buy it.
This book is one of the best damn books about rock & roll and touring, ever.
In fact it is THE best book about the band Queen, written from inside the QProds organization and covering 12 years of triumphs and glory. The lows and mistakes are covered too and are recounted honestly yet not dwelt upon long - too much fun to be had really.
It is packed full of stories: fresh, new and untold tales of band and crew, life on the road and in the studio. The humour, derived from the serious business of touring, (long hours, hard work, set backs and occasional frustrations), comes across immediately: the (very) funny irreverent banter between crew and band, served the purpose of keeping everyone going and upbeat, sometimes in the face of adversity. In the territory of rock and roll, it's an honest account of crew and band lifestyle, without being tabloid in any way. No sleazy revelations here.
Peter Hince's new book is a well-constructed, interesting and highly engaging read - a definite must have. His style is effortless, and it's a joy to read. I actually couldn't put it down and read it one long go, bursting out laughing at regular intervals. The opening chapter - inspired, which I won't spoil for you - sets the book up for intrepid band and crew forays into different worldwide territories, cultures and experiences. The chapter on Japan was particularly entertaining! The book is a journey and one that you feel included in.
It's accurate: this is what it was really like to work with the greatest rock band of the 20th century.
It's also brilliant. Go and buy it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the money
Peter really takes us behind the curtains of how it was to be on tour with one of the worlds greatest rock bands of all time. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Betina
5.0 out of 5 stars
QUEEN UNSEEN
I have been waiting for a book like this for some time and always knew it would be an excellent read. It shows another side of the band. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Robert Jenkins
4.0 out of 5 stars
freddie the great
i enjoyed reading the book, but i read the other one written by peter
it was a good read, very entertaining
it was a good read, very entertaining
Published 1 month ago by kirkye
3.0 out of 5 stars
Christmas present
Did not read myself but recipient who is a big fan of Queen said it was a different view point and enjoyed the read.
Published 3 months ago by louise
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Queen book
Great gift - bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas and he loved it. Fantastic book - recommend buying this!
Published 3 months ago by M. Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a great book
I'm not a big reader, but found this book captivating right from the start and could not put it down. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Craig Lester
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a read
An in depth incite to the hardships and fun of a roadie for one of the greatest bands of all time
Published 4 months ago by Stevie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sex n' drugs' rock n' roll: the insider's view
A refreshing, down to earth, entertaining and highly readable collection of memoirs from a roadie with a rock band. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Stuart Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
What we've all been waiting for...
I've been a Queen fan since 1978 (when I was 6) and am as much fascinated by their live work as I am their studio stuff. When Mercury died I kind of lost interest a bit. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. A. Hogg
1.0 out of 5 stars
Best unseen
Well, Peter Hince must have 52 good friends, or there are a lot of diehard Queen fans out there. This is a pretty bad book. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Kitty G
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