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Somebody to Love
- The Life, Death and Legacy of Freddie Mercury
- Narrated by: Tim Bruce
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
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Somebody to Love
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Summary
For the first time, the final years of one of the world's most captivating rock showmen are laid bare.
When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, aged just 45, the world was rocked by the vibrant and flamboyant star's tragic secret that he had been battling AIDS. That Mercury had even been diagnosed came as a shock to his millions of fans, with his announcement coming less than 24 hours before his death.
In Somebody to Love, biographers Mark Langthorne and Matt Richards skilfully weave Freddie Mercury's incredible pursuit of musical greatness with Queen, his upbringing and his endless search for love with the story of a terrible disease that swept across the world in the 1980s, as medical treatment fought to catch up with it despite underfunding, social ignorance and homophobia.
With brand-new perspectives from Mercury's closest friends and fellow musicians, this unique and deeply moving tribute casts a very different light on both his death and the origins of AIDS itself.
An intimate listen, like Freddie and his art, it will stay with you for a long time.
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What listeners say about Somebody to Love
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- JJ Model Making
- 23-05-19
Epic, in every sense of the word.
If you've ever listened to music from the 1970s or 80s, odds are you would have heard of Queen. Freddie Mercury was the ultimate performer and showman. Remember who won The X Factor last year? No, me neither. Remember the legend that is Freddie Mercury and Queen? Absolutely. If you like the band Queen, listen to this.
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- Magdalena Stasiak
- 07-03-19
loved it
I love Freddie and I loved this story.it was like stepping, just for a moment in Freddie's life
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- Andy M
- 19-05-19
Excellent - A Must Read for any Queen Fan
Having been lucky enough to see Queen around 20 times all over Europe. This gives a stunning insight to what happened behind the scenes. Some tough reading for Freddie fans - but over all a very well written, narrated and balanced biography of Farouq/Freddie from Zanzibar through to his life at the peak of his fame and final days in London.
The film Bohemian Rhapsody provides a somewhat stilted version of Queen's career but in itself is a valid story with many aspects of reality augmented by some bits to pep up the story in line with what cinema audiences want.
One precautionary note - within the book there is a huge amount of information about how Aids is thought to have started and a good hypothesis as to how it spread across the Globe. OI found this very interesting, but some may find it takes over from the main theme of the story
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- Colin Smith
- 22-11-18
One of the best audiobooks I've ever listen to
I'm not a massive Queen fan and always found the story of Freddie Mercury a bit depressing if honest. I listened to this on a whim and glad I did. This is genuinely one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. This really is 2 stories, the story of Freddie from his emigration to rockstar and untimely death and the history of the HIV virus from origin to eventual medical detection. It's an odd combination, but is a captivating listen. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone.
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24 people found this helpful
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- Brian
- 23-05-19
More detailed than the film
I brought this not because I am a Queen fan or into rock biographies but because I enjoyed the film Bohemian Rhapsody and wanted to understand more about Freddie Mercury and in particular how the story develops after Live Aid. I wasn't disappointed. The book follows Freddies life in parallel to the spread of HIV and from that point of view I learned a lot about the history of HIV and the significance that Freddie played in changing perceptions about people with HIV. There is also an interesting Audible Session available with Mark Lanthorne which provides useful background on the book . So if you enjoyed the movie, have a listen to this!
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- Sandy mg
- 20-07-19
Very good
Enjoyed finding out about every aspect of Queen and Freddie Mercury’s life. The story of how hiv and aids developed is very interesting but disturbing !! I found the narrators pronunciation of foreign names and places somewhat over the top at times!!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jamickle
- 10-06-19
very imformative
concise telling of Freddie Mercury story in reverse. Beginning with date close to his death going full circle via his early life interjected with story of HIV/AIDS. Few quotes from people in his life/ band members. It is primarily about Freddie so apart from info about songs, touring, recording you don't hear much about remaining band members. Maybe that is in another book
Would recommend
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1 person found this helpful
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- Laura
- 21-11-18
Loved it
After watching Bohemian Rhapsody (amazing film) I have become slightly addicted to learning all I can about the star. This book was a great insight and a really interesting read.
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- Amazon Customer
- 21-02-19
amazing
loved this book so much. very interesting and so insightful on the aids epidemic and Freddy. one of the best books i have brought this year.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- James
- 22-09-20
Brilliant
A remarkable story of a remarkable character, just shows what self belief and determination can bring, a great insight into the man who clearly made queen greater than the sum of its parts, well narrated and put together, only drawback was a lack of detailed insight into his family, there characters and input and thoughts, would have filled in some missing aspects of his life otherwise a great listen.
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