BOOK REVIEW: QUEEN, Revised & Updated: The Ultimate Illustrated History Of The Crown Kings of Rock by Phil Sutcliffe

Shane | 23 October 2015 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: QUEEN, Revised & Updated: The Ultimate Illustrated History Of The Crown Kings of Rock by Phil Sutcliffe
Quatro Group USA/Allen & Unwin – AUD$35.00 rrp
21 October, 2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9 ½ /10

Originally published in 2009 and again in 2011, Phil Sutcliffe’s lavish coffee table book has been touched up to include more recent developments in the Queen camp, such as solo work and Adam Lambert touring with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and it really is a treat to behold.

With glossy colour pictures on practically every page, including not just photographs but ticket stubs, flyers, obscure single covers from every market imaginable and much, much more, the book is simply a joy to flick through for any Queen fan.

Where Sutcliffe goes above and beyond, though, is in text. A concise and detailed biography of the band and its players, The Ultimate Illustrated History is just that: it details all most fans need to know without ever becoming boring, overblown, or getting bogged down in trainspotter detail.

A veteran of this kind of thing, Sutcliffe knows better than to shy away from touchy subjects, so there is plenty of discussion about Freddie Mercury’s sexuality and relationships, the working relationships between the band – sometimes fraught but always fraternal, and the absolute non-involvement of bassist John Deacon since Mercury’s passing.

Concise it may be, but there is still plenty of interesting information – including some I’ve never picked up despite reading several other books on Queen and Mercury, especially the fact that an early agreement between the band resolved that “whoever wrote the lyrics” would get the songwriting credit for a song – a baffling decision if ever there was one, and one which caused much animosity between the four over many years.

All Queen fans will want this book in their Christmas stocking this year, so buy up a few copies now and start gift wrapping.