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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent

Unseen Bohemian Rhapsody verses to feature in Freddie Mercury lyric book

Freddie Mercury Mary Austin LesleyAnn Jones
Freddie Mercury singing into a microphone and wearing a multicoloured open shirt
Freddie Mercury on stage in 1982. Material for the book has been released by Mary Austin, the singer’s former fiancee and closest friend. Photograph: Steve Jennings/WireImage

His voice is one of the most distinctive in pop history and now the words Freddie Mercury sang are to be given the rock star treatment in a lyric book that will also include unreleased songs and alternative versions of Queen anthems.

A Life in Lyrics will feature abandoned verses for Bohemian Rhapsody and drafts of Don’t Stop Me Now. The material, taken from Mercury’s personal notebooks, has been released by Mary Austin, the singer’s former fiancee and closest friend.

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