Queen: On Camera, Off Guard

by Mark Hayward, Andy Davis

Queen: On Camera, Off Guard includes a fantastic selection of rare images from one of the world’s best-loved supergroups. Featuring pictures from 1969 to 1991, the images include the first ever photographs of Freddie Mercury as a performer with Ibex in Bolton in June 1969 taken by songwriter Chris Smith who recounts his experiences of the night. Further early images of Mercury include pictures taken at Ealing Art College and outside his flat in Shepherd’s Bush where Queen’s first official photo session took place in 1973. Images from their first Japanese tour, from the Fat Bottomed Girls cover shoot, on tour in South America with Mercury’s boyfriend and many many more allow us to get closer to Mercury and the rest of the band than any previous book. Furthermore, many of the photographers of these amazing images give their insights and stories, providing an intimate insight into Queen backstage, onstage and at play.

Genres: Music, Photography, Biography, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Philip Haagensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So you're looking for a photo retrospective on Queen's career? This isn't that book. But if you're looking for early pics of Freddie, Brian, Roger, and John before they were Queen, this is a great place to start.

Certainly for the more hardcore fan, this book has been put together by a collector of rock n roll photographs. The author claims to have bought some at auction (copyrights included), some from customers at his record store, and some from whenever they came up on the open market. He also has a mom who was a bit of a groupie, hanging around many of the bands from the 70's.

In a nutshell, he has some interesting pics from when the members of Queen were nobodies and trying to make it. In addition, he has collections from some interesting band moments (first Japanese tour, the nude bicycle race from the Jazz album era, Montreux recording sessions). But I found the pre-Queen candid photos of the band to be the most interesting. "Before they were stars", so to speak.

In total, the pics are some I had never seen before as well as a few which had only rarely been published previously. The text was anecdotal but not too insightful as the author was essentially commenting on pictures he purchased, not actually took. He did have occasion to travel with the band early on when his mother was an acquaintance with that circle of people. For me, a die hard Queen fan, this is a solid addition to other books about the group. But if you're looking for publicity photos or concert stills from Wembley or Knebworth, this probably isn't your book. Still, highly recommend.

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite a few errors in the text.. the book serves intriguing little slices of information which I’d never encountered before. The pictures are great but considering the book is mainly a photographic exploration I was left feeling a little underwhelmed by the end of it as it felt like it must have been a real effort to find enough content for the book as some pictures and even some chapters felt unnecessary or lacking and not as enthralling for those seeking Queen imagery. In saying that, the book does feature some lovely pictures and it’s nice to be able to appreciate them in a physical book in such great quality away from the overloaded amount of low quality content on the internet which never does photography any justice.

[Brenda A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this band so much. And this book was a great experience. There are photos in here that I have never seen anywhere else. They all looked great, on or off guard.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for Queen fans. The primary emphasis is Freddie, but the others are here as well. This is the photo collection of Mark Hayward, who has collected a lot of mostly-candid photos, behind the scenes, etc, including several from pre-Queen bands of the members, in studio/on set shots, and some private images. This is for fans.

[Aria Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of rare photos. Those from the 60s aren't always very clear, some aren't that interesting, but on the whole it's a good book for fans. Besides the pictures, the author (who also made "on camera, off guard" books on The Beatles and The Rolling Stones) shares anecdotes and gives a lot of details especially about the pre-Queen period for the band members.

[Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always fun to get another dose of Queen.

[Saleris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Queen. I don't think the book was "amazing", but I do love it. It's well worth the sale price (got it in the Works).