50 Queers Who Changed the World by
LGBT people are some of the coolest in history - Freddie Mercury, Divine, Virginia Woolf, Marlene Dietrich, Andy Warhol... the list goes on. Queer subculture has had an enormous impact on style, music, science, art and literature. From Oscar Wilde, who defended his homosexual relationships in court, to Rupaul acting as an ambassador for drag on network television, queer people have fought to express their identities and make a difference. This book will celebrate the lives, work, and unique perspectives of the icons who changed the world. Featuring beautifully illustrated portraits and profiles, 50 Queers Who Changed the World is a tribute to some of the most inspirational people of all time
David Bowie Made Me Gay by
LGBT musicians have shaped the development of music over the last century, with a sexually progressive soundtrack in the background of the gay community's struggle for acceptance. With the advent of recording technology, LGBT messages were for the first time brought to the forefront of popular music. David Bowie Made Me Gay is the first book to cover the breadth of history of recorded music by and for the LGBT community and how those records influenced the evolution of the music we listen to today.David Bowie Made Me Gay uncovers the lives of the people who made these records, and offers a lively canter through the scarcely documented history of LGBT music-makers. Darryl W. Bullock discusses how gay, lesbian, and bisexual performers influenced Jazz and Blues; examines the almost forgotten Pansy Craze in the years between the two World Wars (when many LGBT performers were fêted by royalty and Hollywood alike); chronicles the dark years after the depression when gay life was driven deep underground; celebrates the re-emergence of LGBT performers in the post-Stonewall years; and highlights today's most legendary out-gay pop stars: Elton John, Boy George, Freddie Mercury, and George Michael. "Popular music is the great stealth art form, able to slip past our censors and explore all kinds of sexuality in ways closed to print or movies. Darryl Bullock's book is a wonderful encyclopedia of queer music, an encyclopedia with a plot: the history of one hundred years of social change. He not only connects the musical dots, but reveals dots I didn't know existed. Ambitious, wide-ranging, unpredictable, fast-paced, and highly informative, David Bowie Made Me Gay is also very entertaining."--Christopher Bram, author of Gods and Monsters and Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America"From 'Ma' Rainey to Adam Lambert'with Janis Ian, the Village People, k.d. lang, and Pansy Division discussed along the way?David Bowie Made Me Gay is a whirlwind tour through how queer musicians have changed the rhythm and the beat of music and culture for almost one hundred years. Everyone knows that music is sexy, and sex is better with the right music'and LGBT people have been pushing the boundaries of music and sex for decades. The 'soundtrack' for cultural liberation over the decades has been written and performed by gay people'and this book does not miss a beat documenting who, how, and why that happened. A must read for anyone interested in, or fascinated by, music and popular culture."--Michael Bronski, author of A Queer History of the United States and Professor of Practice in Media and Activism, Harvard University"A fun and enlightening read, Darryl Bullock's David Bowie Made Me Gay is to popular music what William J. Mann's Behind the Screen is to Hollywood filmmaking: a convincing account of the hitherto ignored influence of LGBTQ people in a popular medium. Although there are other studies of some of these decades, Bullock's treatment of the past 100 years is an engaging 'one-stop' of many genres--[its] detailed coverage of women's music is welcome--and uniquely inclusive of both the US and UK. A valuable addition to the history of popular music as well as queer studies, and should appeal to general readers of all sexualities."--Vicki L. Eaklor, author of Queer America
Is This the Real Life? by
Queen is unique among the great rock bands. It's been nearly 20 years since frontman Freddie Mercury's death brought the band to an end, yet their fan base remains massive, they appeal equally to men and women, and their fans are just as likely to be teenagers too young to have been born when the band were still touring and making records (thanks not least to the huge success of the musical We Will Rock You). Their musical history is one of constant reinvention--from heavy metal and prog rock to disco pop, stadium anthems, and even jazz influences. Now, having already interviewed the surviving band members over the years, Mojo journalist Mark Blake has tracked down dozens of new interviewees, from long-forgotten early bass players to Freddie Mercury's schoolmates, to deliver the definitive history of the band. He traces Queen's long career from their very first gawky performances in St. Helens, Merseyside through their sensational stage-stealing appearance on Live Aid to the band's collaboration with Paul Rodgers at the beginning of the century. Full of fascinating new revelations--especially about the improbable transformation of a shy Indian schoolboy called Bulsara into the outrageous-living hedonist that was Freddie Mercury--this is a book every Queen fan will want.
Mercury by
Revealing and intimate, based on more than 100 interviews with key figures in his life, this is the definitive biography of Queen front man Freddie Mercury, one of pop music's best-loved and most complex figures. A revealing, intimate look at the man who would be Queen. As lead vocalist for the iconic rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury's unmatched skills as a songwriter and his flamboyant showmanship made him a superstar and Queen a household name. But despite his worldwide fame, few people ever really glimpsed the man behind the glittering façade. Now, more than twenty years after his death, those closest to Mercury are finally opening up about this pivotal figure in rock 'n' roll. Based on more than a hundred interviews with key figures in his life, Mercury offers the definitive account of one man's legendary life in the spotlight and behind the scenes. Rock journalist Lesley-Ann Jones gained unprecedented access to Mercury's tribe, and she details Queen's slow but steady rise to fame and Mercury's descent into dangerous, pleasure-seeking excesses--this was, after all, a man who once declared, "Darling, I'm doing everything with everyone." In her journey to understand Mercury, Jones traveled to London, Zanzibar, and India--talking with everyone from Mercury's closest friends to the sound engineer at Band Aid (who was responsible for making Queen even louder than the other bands) to second cousins halfway around the world. In the process, an intimate and complicated portrait emerges. Meticulously researched, sympathetic yet not sensational, Mercury offers an unvarnished look at the extreme highs and lows of life in the fast lane. At the heart of this story is a man...and the music he loved.
The Show Must Go On by
"In November 1991, the world was shocked by the death of one of rock's most flamboyant and adored superstars. Freddie Mercury's unique blend of brilliant musicianship and outrageous showmanship had kept Queen at the top of the charts for years, but no one suspected he was sick with AIDS. Now, for the first time, the whole story can be told." "Rick Sky, a journalist who covers the international rock scene, has put together some rare interviews with Mercury's closest friends and loyal colleagues and come up with fresh insights into the rock star's glamorous career and turbulent life. He explores Freddie Mercury's modest beginnings as a shy art student from Zanzibar; Queen's tentative first steps in 1968 and their big break in 1972; Mercury's emergence as the extroverted king of Glam/Glitter Rock; Queen's triumphant set at Live Aid; the inside story behind the creation of Queen's rock anthems like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Will Rock You"; the singer's outrageous partying and lavish lifestyle; the two women in his life; and his reluctance to admit his bisexuality despite having had AIDS for five years before his death." "Featuring rare photos and a comprehensive Queen chronology, this revealing biography is the fascinating story of a man who became a legend in his own lifetime."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved