Customer Reviews

Queen: The Early Years

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

"Queen: The Early Years" details the lives of the four members of Queen before they were stars. It follows John Deacon, Roger Taylor, Brian May, and Freddie Mercury from their respective births and childhoods to the release that got them world-wide acclaim: Bohemian Rhapsody. Be warned though, if your not a die hard fan, I don't reccomend this book. It, at times, relies heavily on knowledge of the music business and English geography. Overall, it's a marvelous book which provides insight on what events formed Queen and it's four diverse personas. As the author says many times, "Your not going to see any of this in the authorized biography".

...then you will enjoy this insight to the early years. If you're looking for a more in depth bio after they became the royalty of rock, then you might want to look elsewhere.

I've been a fan since 1980 and thought I knew pretty much everything. It was very interesting to read up on the pre-Queen era. I especially enjoyed reading up on Freddie and being able to see him evolve into the rock icon he became. It would have been nice if there were more photos, but over all I found this a nice addition to my collection.

I am a major Queen and Freddie fan. I've read a few books about my favorite subjects with disappointing results.
In "Queen: The Early Years" the author actually delivers.
Although this is not an in depth account it is the "early years" summary background of Freddie, Brian, Roger and John becoming Queen. Mark Hodkinson (the author) obviously did a lot of research and interviews to provide the material. He did such a great job, quotes and excerpts from this book are often used in other author's books regarding Queen or its members.

In "Queen: The Early Years" each band member's early biography highlights are documented in four separate sections. Most noteworthy is each member's music background and experience as they progress. Most information is provided by previous band and class mates. Then the final section brings all four members together to the early years of Queen.

This book gives you a feel for what the music and the culture was like then. The early bands Queen members performed with and the determination of four guys that would change the world.

There are a lot of, this band became that band and this artist now works at this profession, but I think it's significant. You wonder if the lead singer of Smile hadn't quit, would there have been a Queen?
The negatives are the photos. Some are too small or not labeled well. Only one photo of Freddie with a previous band and some others are group pictures you have to really search to find Brian, Roger or John.

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!

A bit dry in spots, and if you're not a die-hard Queen fan, the diversions into people & bands peripheral to Queen's beginnings can be a bit tedious. But overall, it's a straight-forward book, devoid of the cheap, gossipy tone found in many other books on Queen and very informative about the band's genesis.

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.

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

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!!!!

If you want to know who and how Queen was formed and a little about each member in their early, formative years, this is a good book.If you want salacious details about Freddie Mercury, pass on it.
I found it interesting to see the genesis of this intriguing band that would, to a large extent, change the face (and voice) of rock! A little of Freddie's "star" attitude and his mannerisms early on are also revealed.His on stage persona was in stark contrast, often, to his private one.It is worth a read for fans of the band. That would include yours, truly.