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Queen: The Definitive Biography (Paperback)

by Laura Jackson (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £10.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Piatkus Books; New edition edition (25 April 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0749923172
  • ISBN-13: 978-0749923174
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13.2 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 60,068 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

With a career spanning three decades and album sales topping 150 million worldwide, they continue to fascinate fans and music lovers with their stories of legendary parties, outrageous lifestyles, turbulent affairs and outstanding musical achievements. Queen: The definitive biography is a comprehensive history of this important band. Laura Jackson has carried out exclusive interviews with members of Queen, many of their close friends, and several of the world's leading rock musicians including Sir Cliff Richard, Richie Sambora, Gary Glitter, John Peel, Malcolm McLaren, Bruce Dickenson, Peter Stringfellow, Richard Branson, Trevor Francis and Nigel Planer. She turns the spotlight onto the private lives, professional struggles and personal triumphs of all four band members, from Freddie Mercury's reckless affairs and flamboyantly gay lifestyle to the intensely private bass player John Deacon, and from Brian May's emotional excesses to Roger Taylor's sexual scandals. Laura Jackson includes a frank and compelling account of Mercury's illness and eventual death from AIDS and examines the impact this had on his friends and family and what it meant for the band.


About the Author

Laura Jackson is an acknowledged authority on Queen and a highly regarded biographer. She is the author of several pop culture books including Bono: the biography (Piatkus). Laura lives in Scotland.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Definitively Dull, 28 Oct 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: "Queen": The Definitive Biography (Hardcover)
Oh, the frustrations of the literate Queen fan. Recklessly, I purchased Jackson's latest Queen-related tome (her third). Verdict: yet another expensive disappointment. Perhaps I should have anticipated it. After all, it comes with the territory. Books for the masses about music for the masses - 'disposable pop', as Freddie might have said.

Perhaps this one is different, I naively thought. A "definitive" biography, no less. Alas, this is nothing more than publishers' hyperbole. Shame on you, Piatkus. The harsh truth is that our "acknowledged Queen expert" has churned out yet another lightweight mix of cliche, received truths and badly researched narrative.

The factual errors are numerous, inexcusable and frankly symptomatic of the sloppy nature of Jackson's approach. Examples? Deacon's near skinhead look was winter '78 not '77. Giorgio Moroder didn't "remake" Metropolis. How could the ALBUM Made In Heaven have kept the SINGLE Wonderwall at Number 2. The image of Freddie "trashing the stage" is an obvious reference to footage shot in Paris on the '79 European tour, not '78.

Still, if I want an encyclopaedic history, I can refer to Jim Jenkins/Jacky Gunn's As It Began. Because even more depressing is the superficiality of Jackson's writing. Lengthy narrative. A dearth of considered comment and analysis. Over-reliance on well-worn interviews. Horrendous cliches ("the gods smiled on them"). A complete lack of objectivity. Truly, this is writing for a soap-opera generation.

What is so desperately needed is a Johnny Rogan of the Queen world to give us a sympathetic yet objective account; yes, to unearth the obscure but also to offer us much more. Someone to detail the downs as comprehensively as the ups, the mistakes as well as the triumphs. Someone to probe, to question, to challenge.

Somebody to tell us honestly about the row with the Sheffield brothers that resulted in the embittered brilliance of Death On Two Legs. And what about the Torpedo Twins, who surely deserve summary execution for their criminal misuse of literally miles of rare Queen footage? And the enigmatic, troubled guitarist who writes lyrics as sensitive as White Man and as crass as Fat Bottomed Girls. The staleness of the We Will Rock You Canada concerts. The dreary quality of the Rock in Rio sound mix on video. The naffness of the Live Magic editing. And so on.

Queen rank as one of the greatest bands in history. There is a balanced story still to be told. They deserve better than this. And so do their fans.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have read in years!!!!!!!!, 15 Jan 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: "Queen": The Definitive Biography (Paperback)
This book is the best I just could not put it down. It covers the lives of all the members of Queen, from there childhood days into there personal matters. The book mainly focuses on Freddie Mercury from his love life never a straght forward matter to his struggle with AIDS. One thing that did make me laugh was Freddie's crude comments to the press, on the other hand the sad event of Freddie's death and the effect it had on those who new him best. Don't worry its not all Freddie the others had problems too which this book also covers. I could go on and on telling you about this book lets just say that it clearly states any thing you ever wanted to know about Queen right up to the present day. It is a must bye even if you are not a true fan I think it would still be a joy to read!!!!!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, 11 Jun 2006
I'm a huge Queen fan and found this book really good. It's full of little facts that I didn't know, and I loved finding out more about the band. I also really liked Jackson's style of writing.

Didn't find a single part of the book boring and enjoyed every single page. I'd recommend this one!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor tabloid-style biography of a great band
Very disappointed by this book. Factual errors are all over the place (see a previous reviewer's comments) and the writing style doesn't inspire much confidence... Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2007 by Chris O

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