Queen: The Early Years

By Mark Hodkinson

Book Overview

(Omnibus Press). This classic account of the birth of a legendary group is the truly authentic version of Queen's rise to stardom. Author Mark Hodkinson interviewed over 60 friends and colleagues of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon to piece together a fascinating jigsaw of anecdotes from the days when the future superstars were playing with bands like The Reaction, The Opposition, 1984 and Sour Milk. Intimate, suprising, and meticulously researched, Queen: The Early Years is a riveting read accompanied by many previously unseen early photographs of the four band members.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1844490122
• ISBN13: 9781844490127
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Omnibus Press
• Length: 198 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

A testament to the development of a great band and of a great period in time

The first comprehensive biography of the supergroup Queen to focus on the band's formative years and the early lives of the four talented musicians who made up the band. From Truro in Cornwall , and Oadby, Lecestershire to Zanzibar, we learn of the early lives Freddie Mercury, Brian May, roger Taylor and John Deacon. While many of the details will only be of interest to die-hard Queen fans, the book also gives us a strong feel of the youth and music culture in England in the 1960s and early 70s. The book takes us on a journey into the desperate days of pre-stardom when members of the quartet played in bands such as The Reaction, The Opposition 1984, , Sour Milk Sea , Wreckage and Smile Ghost of a Smile. The book brings together hundreds of interviews including musicians such as Mike Bersin and Tim Staffell who worked with Freddie, Roger and Brian on the local music gig scenes in those heady days of the 60s and early 70s. We can read of Brian's early love for sci fi which influenced so much of his own compositions such as we can clearly identify on the all time classic album A Night at the Opera. more on Brian May can be found in Queen and I: The Brian May Story, of Roger Taylor's gigs with school friends in Truro, Cornwall metamorphosing into several local bands, of the unassuming and quiet John Deacon from Oadby, Leicesterhsire, and of Freddie Mercury's childhood in Zanzibar and Poona in India. It is very interesting to read how Freddie (Born Farouk Bulsara) was brought up in the Zoroastrian religion and much of Queen's splendour and ceremony may have been due to Freddie's Zoroastrian upbringing. We learn of all the early influences of the band and their first real taste of fame as the supporting act for Mott the Hoople, before the bands first hit Seven Seas of Rhye, their first album Queen and first tours.Of Freddie's flamboyant personality and dress from the beginning as well as his generosity. The bands relationships and Freddie's campness and discovery of his homosexuality. Much of the book details Queen's musical influence y bands such as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Cream, And Jimmi Hendrix (the idol of all the bands members in their youth). A good introduction before reading this would be Queen: As It Began.

The very early years..

Queen fans know the story but what about the rest of the world ...buy this and find out!! Need i say more, the Band before the hype, working the clubs..the cavern..yes they did play find out more buy this book..10/10

loved it

this book was amazing and i urge any queen fan to buy it. it tells of the band members child life, bands they were in before queen (not just smile) it has amazing photos, excellent storytelling and by the end you will have jerked a couple of tears because of the tragic death of freddie mercury. you should really buy this book!!!!

For true fans.......

This is a good book, an interesting book about how queen came to be. Not a complete biography this book focuses primarily on the music careers of the four members prior to the formation of the band and then in the early period leading up to the first album. The first three chapters are brief individual scetches about john, roger and then brian. Were they were born, how they grew up, their education and most significantly their musical development from the first time they picked up an instrument to their first garage band. The author then moves smoothly from brians early development to the seminal formation of smile which encompasses chapter 4. Chapter 5 introduces you to the early years of freddie mercury. "A messenger of the gods". Then to the incidents that lead to the formation and name of the band "queen". How regal it sounded! As i said this is a very interesting book and you'll learn how a great rock band came to be but the details will only interest the most serious die hard queen fans. Only a real fan will want to know that john deacon's first band "the opposition" had to fire their bass player named clive because he simply wasn't god enough and it was that firing that moved john from lead quitar to bass. And how many people care that freddie played with a band from liverpool called ibex and then a jazzrock outfit called sour milk sea? You get to read how roger became something of a musical legend in his home county in cornwall and how flyers adverising smile and later queen concerts in cornwall would mention that the band "featured roger taylor the legendary drummer from cornwall". Plenty of little facts are thrown about concerning early gigs in the teenage years and how much or rather how little money was made in those days. Of course you read about the creation of the red special and brian's adventures into astronomy. A good book like i said but the question is whether this volume provides that much more than a more complete biography of the band does. At (its price) it is hardly a bargain for a 200 page paperback with just 12 pages of B & W photos. That's why i give it just 4 stars. Still a good book. For a more complete biography i recommend "Queen as it began" which contains many more photos(some color), 50 more pages of text and a complete discography. ......................socks

Loved it! -- You must read if you Love Queen

It goes through the Main Steps of the life of each member from the beginning to the end of the group of Queen. It is a very informative book!