Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography cover art

Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography

By: Lesley-Ann Jones
Narrated by: Jane Collingwood, Lesley-Ann Jones, Hugh Lee, Kristopher Milnes, Kevin Shenn
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Robin Williams cover art
David Jason: My Life cover art
Oh Miriam! cover art
Rambling Man cover art
A Royal Duty cover art
I Am Ozzy cover art
Over the Moon cover art
Nilsson cover art
Backtrack cover art
Bright Lights, Dark Shadows cover art
Keith Richards cover art
Bedsit Disco Queen cover art
Luther cover art

Summary

This is the definitive biography of Freddie Mercury. Written by an award-winning rock journalist, Lesley-Ann Jones toured widely with Queen forming lasting friendships with the band. Now, having secured access to the remaining band members and those who were closest to Freddie, from childhood to death, Lesley-Ann has written the most in depth account of one of music's best loved and most complex figures. Meticulously researched, sympathetic, unsensational, the audiobook - like the forthcoming film - will focus on the period in the 1980s when Queen began to fragment, before their Live Aid performance put them back in the frame. In her journey to understand the man behind the legend, Lesley-Ann Jones has travelled from London to Zanzibar to India. Packed with exclusive interviews and told with the invaluable perspective that the twenty years since Mercury's death presents, Freddie Mercury is the most up to date portrait of a legendary man.

©2011 Lesley-Ann Jones (P)2012 Hodder & Stoughton

Critic reviews

"No one has captured better than Lesley-Ann Jones the magical, enchanting dualism of Freddie Mercury." ( The Times)

What listeners say about Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    105
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    8
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    88
  • 4 Stars
    24
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    103
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

It’s a kind of magic

Loved this book from start to finish .
I hope that it will be updated at some point to include the success of the film Bohemian Rhapsody , as I appreciate at the time of writing Rami Malek was not cast to play Freddie .Also how Adam Lambert has performed with Queen , giving new life to the legacy & bringing the Magic of Queens music to a new generation .
However the history of Queen & Freddie Mercury is so well documented
here , I preferred this book to the recently published Somebody to Love , although I enjoyed that immensely too .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Rock lifestyle stories

Entertaining stories about Freddie Mercury as an icon of the rock lifestyle of the 1980s. But is this really Freddie Mercury the person and musician? Probably not, he is observed from a distance. As a viewpoint of the music press, though, it is a warm portrait of an extraordinarily talented star.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

worth listening

this is a fantastic book to listen to.
really enjoyed it. I loved this book so much

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not enough about Freddie

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would if the person was more interested in the music and groups of the time.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Freddie's childhood was the most interesting.
I got bored with the details of all the music and other bands.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I did not like the voices used especially that of "Freddie's mother" she sounded as if she was permanently crying and it was irritating and whiny.

Was Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography worth the listening time?

Yes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible book, Queen fans will approve.

Very well paced and incredibly interesting. As a mega Queen fan I was optimistic about this book and thankfully I haven't been disappointed. Must listen for any Queen/Freddie Mercury fan!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting book but irritating listen

The main narrator makes this book an interesting listen but it's let down by the other voices who imitate members of the band and also people who had been interviewed by the author.



The imitated American accents are an insult to the ear and sound like chalk on a blackboard.



Also, the author has tried to cleverly shoehorn in Queen song titles into sentences but it is also an irritant



On the whole , it's full of interesting trivia but you're better off reading the book rather than listening to it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

Just wish the film and the book would some how play the same song……still worth reading

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great read

Good insight into the life of freddie mercury highly recommend it as a queen fan it is perfect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging and fascinating life of FM

it was well narrated and spoken. the delivery was engaging. the story of Freddie Mercury was fascinating.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I loved it. It seemed very objective and factual.

Loved it. It seemed very objective and factual and at the same time entertaining to listen too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!