{"title":"Queen","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"mercury-freddie-an-intimate-memoir","title":"Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir by the Man Who Knew Him Best","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBy Peter Freestone, with David Evans\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeter Freestone was Freddie Mercury’s Personal Assistant for the last 12 years of his life. He lived with Mercury in London, Munich and New York, and he was with him when he died.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this book, the most intimate account of Mercury’s life ever written, he reveals the truth behind the scandalous rumours, the outrageous lifestyle and Mercury’s relationships with men, women and the other members of Queen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the famous names – including Elton John, Kenny Everett, Elizabeth Taylor and Rod Stewart – to the shadowy army of lovers, fixers and hangers-on, Peter Freestone saw them all play their part in the tragi-comedy that was Freddie Mercury’s life. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFreestone lived with Mercury in Europe and America for over a decade. From the East 50s apartment in New York to Kensington Lodge, the house in London where Mercury died – not to mention innumerable international hotel rooms and apartments in between – Freestone was always on hand to serve and protect the man he had first met in the Biba department store in the early 1970s. Then, Queen was a largely unknown band. Soon it would be the most glitzy of glam rock bands. Freestone saw the fame arrive and with it the generosity, the excess, and the celebrity friends who came and went.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I was chief cook and bottle washer, waiter, butler, valet, secretary, amanuensis, cleaner, baby-sitter… and agony aunt,” he writes. “I shopped for him both at supermarkets and art markets, I travelled the world with him, I was with him at the highs and came through the lows with him. I saw the creative juices flow and I also saw the frustration when life wasn’t going well. I acted as his bodyguard when needed and in the end, of course, I was one of his nurses.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFreestone’s best-selling account of a talented and extravagant star’s life and death is compelling, entertaining and ultimately, very touching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIllustrated with many photos from personal and Freestone’s own archives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date: 05.11.01\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN: 9780711986749\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExtent: 256 pages\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e***Please note, if out of stock at our warehouse, this title can be purchased at all good high street and online booksellers***\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Omnibus Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31522672181327,"sku":"9780711986749","price":9.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0284\/5379\/7967\/files\/9780711986749_cdc52a58-fb45-412c-a1e4-a7c77aa99b32.jpg?v=1682691750"},{"product_id":"freddie-mercury-an-illustrated-lif","title":"Freddie Mercury: An Illustrated Life","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBy Mark Blake\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFreddie Mercury was rock’s most dazzling showman, a legendary entertainer who in 1991, at the age of just forty-five, became the first major music star to die of AIDS. Mercury’s soaring four-octave voice was a defining element in Queen’s unique sound, crucial to the success of the band’s fifteen studio albums, from Queen (1973) to Made in Heaven (1995). He was also a supremely talented songwriter and musician who wrote many of the band’s greatest hits, including ‘Killer Queen’, ‘We Are the Champions’ and their biggest triumph, the epic anthem ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. As a solo artist he released two acclaimed albums: Mr. Bad Guy in 1985 and the operatic 'Barcelona' with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé in 1988.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMercury’s extraordinary charisma was perhaps best seen in his imperious live performances, in which he’d hold vast stadium crowds to rapturous attention. His outrageous theatrics, physicality and over-the-top costumes led one commentator to describe him as ‘a performer out to tease, shock, and ultimately charm his audience with various extravagant versions of himself’. He pushed the limits of camp in everything he did. His extreme behaviour, in a society in which being gay was only starting to be accepted, just added to Freddie Mercury’s allure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith expert understanding, Mark Blake traces Mercury’s life from his childhood in Zanzibar and India to his untimely death, and charts his astonishing achievements including in Queen’s world-conquering performance at Live Aid in 1985.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the year that marks what would have been his seventieth birthday, Freddie Mercury: A Life celebrates a remarkable life, lived to the fullest. Featuring revealing interviews with fellow musicians, producers and collaborators, and a detailed discography and timeline, this is a memorable tribute to a unique recording artist and an irreplaceable performer who rocked the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date: 08.08.16\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN: 9781783059706\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExtent: 224 pages\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat: Large Hardback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e***Please note, if out of stock at our warehouse, this title can be purchased at all good high street and online booksellers***\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Omnibus Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31522878095439,"sku":"9781783059706","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0284\/5379\/7967\/products\/9781783059706_7d303d4e-76bb-4be7-ab6f-37e2ad7f7e15.jpg?v=1673280254"},{"product_id":"queen-as-it-began-revised-and-updated-edition-published-on-24th-march-2022","title":"Queen: As It Began","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBy \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/omnibuspress.com\/blogs\/authors\/jacky-smith\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eJacky Smith\u003c\/a\u003e \u0026amp; \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/omnibuspress.com\/blogs\/authors\/jim-jenkins\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eJim Jenkins\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSigned by Jacky Smith and Jim Jenkins.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe original edition of this revered and authorised Queen biography explored every aspect of the legendary group’s career from inception to 1992. Newly revised and updated with cooperation and insight from Brian May and Roger Taylor – and drawing on exclusive interviews with the bandmembers – this book completes the story of the Mercury era and the immediate years after his death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith numerous extra photographs and a new Foreword from Brian May, \u003cem\u003eQueen – As It Began: Revised and Authorised \u003c\/em\u003eis an informative and authoritative portrait of Queen’s most fundamental period.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/strong\u003e14.11.24\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN: \u003c\/strong\u003e9781915841605\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExtent: \u003c\/strong\u003e400 pages\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat: \u003c\/strong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e***Please note, if out of stock at our warehouse, this title can be purchased at all good high street and online booksellers***\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBy buying directly from our site, you're supporting your publisher and authors. 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A valuable addition to the Queen bookshelf for all their fans.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e09.01.04\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN: \u003c\/strong\u003e9781844490127\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExtent: \u003c\/strong\u003e222 pages\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e***Please note, if out of stock at our warehouse, this title can be purchased at all good high street and online booksellers***\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Omnibus Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42465151451361,"sku":"9781844490127","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0284\/5379\/7967\/files\/9781844490127.jpg?v=1716196205"}],"url":"https:\/\/omnibuspress.com\/collections\/queen\/biography.oembed","provider":"omnibuspress.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}