Freddie Mercury Offstage: Life Beyond the Spotlight

Mary Austin first met Freddie Mercury in 1970, sparking a relationship that would shape both of their lives. They became engaged at Christmas in 1973. That same year Queen released their debut album. Even after Austin and Mercury split in the mid-1970s, they remained closely connected. She remained his closest confidante up until his death.
With his distinctive voice and his electrifying stage presence, Mercury became one of the era’s most recognizable showmen. Behind the glamour lay a musician and lyricist whose ideas helped define Queen’s musical diversity. His notebooks and drawings offer a window into the work that went into the finished songs.

Rejected Verses and Never-Recorded Songs

Mercury left Austin not only his Kensington house but also an artistic archive that spans nearly two decades. The notebooks and sketches stored there range from his early work before Queen’s formation to the end of his solo career.
They contain previously unreleased material, including alternate lyrics and discarded verses for “Bohemian Rhapsody” as well as various drafts of “Don’t Stop Me Now.” There are also entire songs that were never recorded. The collection thus documents ideas Mercury revised or discarded.
In “A Life in Lyrics” these works are accompanied by Austin’s memories. Her stories and anecdotes illuminate the artist and the man Freddie Mercury, with whom she was connected for more than two decades. The volume is complemented by photographs from her personal collection, many of which are published here for the first time.

“A Life in Lyrics” is published as a fully illustrated hardcover edition with 320 pages for 38 euros (Amazon affiliate link) by C.H.Beck. The German translation is by Cornelius Hartz. A look inside the book is available in the image gallery linked below. (dd/pm)