Freddie Mercury in Panchgani

Currently in Mumbai to promote the rewritten version of her 1997 biography,Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography at Literature Live!,she said,“My publishers asked me to update the book in order to time its launch with the release of a film on Freddie Mercury,an ambitious project starring Sacha Baron Cohen. But I decided to rewrite it by revisiting my tapes,and getting in touch with more people.” The film,however,is still in the pipeline and is being written by British film writer Peter Morgan (of Frost/Nixon fame).

A UK-based journalist-turned-author,Jones is a biographer of several other celebrities,such as supermodel Naomi Campbell and singers Kylie Minogue and Marc Bolan. During the chat,she recollected her experiences with the band Queen,whom she toured extensively with in the ’80s. “Back then,if you were a music journalist,you’d get to travel with them in their plane or limousine,stay at the same hotel and even be friends with them. Today,there is a whole entourage that comes along — be it the manager,the assistant,publicity team and so on,” she said.

When Jones started researching for Mercury’s biography for the first time in 1997,she struggled to track down Mercury’s birth certificate in the country of his birth — Zanzibar. “I looked for it but never found the original,though I did hear rumours about it turning up in Oman,” she said. She then headed to St Peters boarding school in Panchgani,where Mercury studied. When there,she realised the importance of this phase in Mercury’s life. “It was a trying time for him to be miles away from his parents. So he took refuge in music,having been inspired by the works of Cliff Richard,Elvis Presley and rock-n-roll in general. He even formed a band called The Hectics. He later took his love for music to London,where he formed the band Queen with bass guitarist John Deacon,drummer Taylor and guitarist May.”

And just like that,she said,he went from being a bright student to a path-breaking musician. “He was a nerd who grew into his own fantasy,one where he lived life to the fullest,with his parties boasting of things such as elaborate ice sculptures. That said,he was clever at hiding his lack of confidence. For instance,he’d cover his mouth to not show his teeth as he was conscious about them,” she stated.

That Mercury didn’t come out in the open about his homosexuality and,more importantly,did not reveal his HIV status until a day before his death,is attributed by Jones to his concern for his family. “He could have had a glamorous death,but chose otherwise because he was not selfish,which is a rare quality in a rockstar,” she said.