Freddie Mercury - The Definitive Biography by Lesley-Ann Jones Hodder managed to encompass diverse talents and egos without succumbing to destructive tensions - he was always the star turn. Morphing Farrokh Bulsara into Freddie Mercury he was needy, self-conscious and shy in a crowd or amongst strangers. But when he strode out onto the stage he became a superman of staduim rock, riveting and utterly compelling. Rock's ultimate showman. Biographer Jones is a music journalist who had plenty of 'access all areas' passes to the BritRock scene in the late 60s, 70s and 80s. She knew Freddie and the rest of Queen plus many of the other big names of the day. So she paints an insightful and colourful picture not only of Mercury but of Queen and a diverse collection of other high-powered global entertainers. It would be hard to get this book wrong... Mercury was vivid, intensely talented, he exploded like a firecracker on stage and was slowly and innexorably heading for a tragic end in his complex personal life. Was he gay or bi? Probably both at varying times, he needed the company of women but his deepest loves were men. His magnetic personality, striking looks (though he was always excruciatingly self-conscionsious about his buck teeth) and status as a celebrity superpower gave him access to unlimited drugs and sexual partners - some of a sado-masochistic bent - and many totally anonymous. As Queen peaked Freddie also peaked. Although he would never formally come out publicly he rode the wave of gay liberation and, tragically, the avalanche of the HIV epidemic too. HIV killed him and, in that deep irony reserved for the fabulous who die young (think Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Princess Di) preserved him in our memory as an entertainer embracing the power of adulthood without quite leaving behind the yearing of the teenager within. Jones tells much about Mercury that we didn't know or understand before. Now I know that he was even drunker (and the story behind it) than he seemed when performing at Mt Smart Stadium in 1985. Athough this feels somewhat short of "definitive biography," with Jones pitching her style just a little above magazine article familiarity and, thank goodness, way below learned treatise, its a very good read. Jay Bennie - 30th October 2011