QUEEN UNSEEN, by Peter Hince
Oct. 13th, 2011 09:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swordznsorcery posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
freddiemercuryfansNew book alert! This time it's one written by Queen's head roadie, Peter "Ratty" Hince, who I'm sure most of you will have heard of. He looked after Freddie and John on tour, and also their instruments, as well as overseeing most of the transportation of Queen's equipment. This is as much the story of being a roadie as it is about working for Queen, so it's interesting for any rock fan, I guess. More so for Queen fans, obviously. He doesn't pull any punches at times - Freddie's various tantrums do get covered - but they're written about with obvious fondness. There's a very clear warning at the beginning of the book: this isn't for people who are looking for tabloid style dirt-digging. Instead it's a very honest, but warm-hearted memoir. Worth a look.
One warning, though. If you're looking for political correctness, you will not find it in this book! Some may be offended; Queen's roadies seem to have made their way through a fair percentage of the world's women, for example. And that's quite an understatement. Probably no surprises for anybody who read Crystal's stories on the Fan Club website back in the nineties, though.
Another thing to note - like I said, this is as much about being a roadie as it is about being Queen's roadie. Queen aren't the stars, although Freddie is a very big supporting character. So's John, to a slightly lesser extent, since they were Ratty's main responsibility. Brian comes and goes here and there, Roger slightly more. We still need Crystal to write a book to tell that story! ;)
One warning, though. If you're looking for political correctness, you will not find it in this book! Some may be offended; Queen's roadies seem to have made their way through a fair percentage of the world's women, for example. And that's quite an understatement. Probably no surprises for anybody who read Crystal's stories on the Fan Club website back in the nineties, though.
Another thing to note - like I said, this is as much about being a roadie as it is about being Queen's roadie. Queen aren't the stars, although Freddie is a very big supporting character. So's John, to a slightly lesser extent, since they were Ratty's main responsibility. Brian comes and goes here and there, Roger slightly more. We still need Crystal to write a book to tell that story! ;)
