A New Chapter in Freddie Mercury's Legacy
As Queen fans prepare to celebrate what would have been Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday on September 5, a new book promises to offer a deeply personal glimpse into the late singer's life. Mary Austin, Mercury's ex-fiancée and lifelong friend, is publishingA Life in Lyrics this week, a volume that features Mercury's unseen personal archives and handwritten lyrics.
In a new piece for The Times, Austin shared a firsthand account of her first meeting with Mercury, a moment that she recalls with striking detail. The encounter took place at a house in Barnes, south London in 1969. At the time, Austin had been dating guitarist Brian May, whom she had met at a performance of the band Yes.
Austin was invited over by May to join a group of friends heading to a nearby pub. In the sitting room beforehand, she met Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor. Mercury had recently joined May and Taylor's band, Smile, and the trio were discussing a new name for the group. Mercury suggested Queen, but the others had different ideas. Austin could not remember Taylor's suggestion, but May's was "Build Your Own Boat."
"The debate continued and then, quite unexpectedly, Freddie looked over and asked what I thought," Austin recalled. "Taken aback by being suddenly drawn into the conversation, I agreed with Brian's suggestion of Build Your Own Boat. Freddie smiled but said nothing. I have since wondered whether it was some sort of test; if so, I suspect I did not fare particularly well." In the end, Mercury's suggestion won the day, and the band was renamed Queen.
The Book and Its Context
A Life in Lyrics is not just a collection of lyrics; it is an annotated journey through Mercury's creative process, with Austin providing context and stories about their relationship. The book's publication is notable given Austin's long-held privacy since Mercury's death in 1991. In the introduction, she makes the case that sharing these archives is what Mercury would have wanted.
Austin's decision to publish the book comes three years after she sold many of Mercury's personal possessions at auction at Sotheby's in 2023. That move drew criticism from some fans and even from Brian May, who wrote of his disappointment that the items were "to be knocked down to the highest bidder and dispersed for ever… I can't look. To us, his closest friends and family, it's too sad."
Austin, whom Mercury once called "the only real friend I have," inherited half of his £37.5m estate, including Garden Lodge and 50 per cent of his future Queen royalties. The auction and the book, according to the i Paper's coverage, were ways for Austin to move on as her children left home. Mercury himself, the i Paper notes, loved an auction for vintage items.
Early Days and a Pivotal Piano
Austin's account of her first meeting with Mercury in the book differs from some earlier accounts. She clarifies that the meeting took place in 1970 at a house in Barnes, not at Biba, a fashionable London store. The pair later lived together in a £5-a-week flat near High Street Kensington, with only one pair of curtains. Mercury bought a piano for the flat, a moment Austin describes as a critical juncture. The first song he wrote on that piano was "Bohemian Rhapsody," according to Austin, who speculates that a Chopin record and exposure to classical music influenced its composition.
In the book, Austin writes about Mercury's wardrobe during Queen's breakthrough performance of "Killer Queen" on Top of the Pops in 1974, when he wore a fur jacket. She also reveals that Mercury wrote "Lily of the Valley" about her, but she is not sure that "Love of my Life" is about her, "at least not in the way people imagine." Their engagement was called off after Mercury confided he was bisexual, and Austin replied, "No, you're gay." Despite their split, Austin turned down a job with CBS to remain Mercury's PA.
The pair had a falling out over Live Aid because Mercury never offered Austin tickets to Wembley, and she bought them like a normal punter. The book does not mention Jim Hutton, Mercury's long-term partner, nor does it address a claim in another book that Mercury had fathered a secret daughter. In the i Paper's coverage, Lesley-Ann Jones, a biographer, is quoted as having opinions on these matters, but the book itself remains silent on them.
A Divisive Figure
Austin's role in Mercury's life has made her a divisive figure among some fans. Critics have pointed to her supposed frosty relationship with Hutton and the speed with which she asked him to leave Garden Lodge after Mercury's death. In Mercury's will, he left just £500,000 to Hutton. Austin's defenders note that she was bequeathed half the estate and was clearly a central figure in his life.
In the introduction to the book, Austin addresses this critcism, arguing that sharing the archives is what Mercury would have wanted. The book, far from being exploitative or a cash-in, offers a rare, intimate look at one of rock's most enigmatic figures, and the woman who knew him best. As the i Paper notes, Austin has remained a guarded figure, and the publication of this book marks a significant departure from her usual privacy.
For Queen fans,A Life in Lyrics provides an opportunity to understand Mercury's art through the eyes of someone who was there from the beginning. The book is published this week, just before what would have been Mercury's 80th birthday, a milestone that will no doubt be marked by fans around the world. Austin's account, with its blend of personal memory and archival detail, offers a new layer to the legacy of a singer whose music continues to resonate.