A Kind of Magic: 9 Great Books About Queen

This is a serious deep dive into every Queen album and track imaginable. The band has some of the most imaginative and unusual lyrics for such monster hits. Read this if only to learn about Bohemian Rhapsody, that epic bestselling song of a poor boy (from a poor family) that climbed the charts a second time after its appearance in Wayne’s World.

Like many famous bands, the lead singer is often the most famous (or infamous) member of the group. Such was the case for the dazzling and charismatic Freddie Mercury. Told with the use of interviews with over 100 people who knew him, Jones paints a portrait of an incredibly talented man. It follows Mercury from his humble beginnings as Farrokh Bulsara and the bullying and teasing he endured as a child to his life as a rock legend.

You may not know this, but not only is Queen guitarist Brian May a genius musician, he’s an astrophysicist. He’s actually Dr. May now. This book is a collection of over 300 3D photographs of the band over the decades — plus bonus images from the making of the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic, including of Adam Lambert, who performs with the band as its singer from time to time these days. And you can view them all with a special 3D viewer designed by May himself!

Popoff is one of the foremost music writers working today, with over 80 books on music and musicians under his belt, including works about Motörhead, Judas Priest, Rush, The Cure, and Black Sabbath. This is an up-close and detailed examination of Queen’s 15 studio albums, as told by experts and fans, along with rare images of the band onstage and off. It’s a must-have for Queen fans.

This is a gorgeous coffee table book of photographs of the band. Preston was Queen’s tour photographer from the mid-1970s through their last tour with Freddie Mercury in 1986. His photos, many of which are seen here publicly for the first time, are accompanied by memories of each image captured from Preston, and includes an introduction from band members Brian May and Roger Taylor.

Mercury was a beloved, larger-than-life public figure, and his private life and tragic early death in 1991 at the age of 45 has made him a subject of fascination for millions over the last few decades. This is a recent in-depth examination of Mercury and his final years as told by many of the people closest to him.

It’s never too early to introduce your kids to Queen! This lively, illustrated picture biography will start readers young and old on Queen’s journey from their early lives to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and world-famous musicians they became. (There are also great books about Metallica, Depeche Mode, and The Ramones in this series.)

This is from the Little People, BIG DREAMS series, which examines the lives of the famous throughout history and how they became notable people. You can learn here about Mercury’s life, from a baby in Zanzibar to boarding school in India to his life in London, where his childhood dreams of being a singer became a reality.

And last, but not least, this is an authorised (or authorized, if you’re in the States) biography of the band. (Authorized usually means authors were given permission and/or cooperation and access from the subjects.) Recently revised due to the renewed interest in Queen after the biopic, this is a close examination of the band from its beginning as Smile to the end of its years with Freddie Mercury. Smith has considerable knowledge of the band, having run the Official International Queen Fan Club for over four decades now!