Freddie Mercury Hologram? Queen Shrugs

Credit: Billboard

Though every deceased body and their mother have been deemed fair game for "holographic" treatment since Tupac Shakur's surprise "appearance" at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Queen's Roger Taylor says he'll never play alongside any similar image of the late Freddie Mercury.

"I don't think I want to," Taylor told Billboard.com during a conference call with reporters to promote The Queen Extravaganza road show, which launches its eight-week run on May 26 in Quebec City. "Were somebody (else) to use a hologram of Freddie, I would have no objection... It just doesn't sit too well with me. I don't want to appear with a hologram of my dear friend. It's the real one or no hologram for me. But I think it's an amazing effect when used properly -- obviously in darkness." Taylor added that he and guitarist Brian May considered a Mercury hologram/projection for the musical "We Will Rock You" before deciding against it and also pointed out that the Tupac at Coachella was not strictly a hologram but rather "a two-dimensional thing. It gives the appearance of being a hologram. It's an illusion in the true sense."

"When Freddie died, we were in shock," continued Taylor. "And it didn't go away for five years. We would have probably remained together. We were very tight and very close. We never saw the need to break up..."


 

Queen's Music Dominate The iTunes US Rock Charts...

Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody #1, Fat Bottomed Girls #3 and We Will Rock You #7 on The iTunes US Rock Top 10 Chart!!  ►

US

1. Bohemian Rhapsody
   Queen
   
2. Rocky Mountain Way
   Godsmack
3. Fat Bottomed Girls
   Queen
4. Lullaby
   Nickelback
5. Don't Stop Believin'
   Journey
6. Baby One More Time (The Voice Performance)
   Tony Lucca
7. We Will Rock You
   Queen
8. Ships In the Night
   Mat Kearney
9. Cryin’ (The Voice Performance)
   Juliet Simms
10. Roxanne (The Voice Performance)
    Juliet Simms

 

Freddie Mercury Biopic... Graham King Interview

Credit: Chicago Tribune

Brits have always done well in Hollywood, but few have excelled as much as Academy Award-winning producer Graham King, who will participate in a keynote Q&A at today's BritWeek/BAFTA Film & TV Summit. His projects -- which include best picture Oscar winner "The Departed," directed by Martin Scorsese, toon Oscar winner "Rango," and Scorsese's Oscar-nominated "Gangs of New York," "The Aviator" and five-time Oscar winner "Hugo" -- have garnered 53 Academy Award nominations and earned more than $2 billion in worldwide box office. However, those successes have largely had a decided American slant to them. Now King, a rights buyer who cut his producing teeth on "Gangs" and launched GK Films with business partner Tim Headington in 2007, has a number of British-themed pics in the works. First up is the untitled Freddie Mercury biopic about the flamboyant Queen singer, whom King describes as "a bigger-than-life personality and a fascinating character." "I've always been a huge fan, and it's a story that's never been told," he says. "What's really extraordinary about Freddie is that while he was so obviously gay -- and was one of the first major celebrities to succumb to AIDS -- he also had this very macho side to him. Guys just accepted who he was and never really cared. He got away with it because he was Freddie." King confirms that Sacha Baron Cohen will play Mercury. "We haven't closed the deal yet, but I want him to do it and so does he, and he's the one who actually brought the project to me while we were shooting 'Hugo,' " he says. "I immediately contacted the band's manager, told him how passionate I was about making it, and I think he loved the fact that I'm a Brit living and working in Hollywood." King says he hopes to announce the project's director soon. "We have a great script that goes roughly from the late '70s to the late '80s, we're talking to directors right now, and I hope to start shooting by the end of the year." Locations will include London and Eastern Europe. "It's really a celebration of the music, which is known throughout the world and is iconic," says King, who plans to use at least 15 original Queen songs on the soundtrack. "You can't go to a sporting event in America without hearing Queen, so it's going to be an upbeat look at Freddie and the band."



 

Press Release: Queen Back On American Idol

TOP SIX FINALISTS PERFORM LIVE - PLUS A SPECIAL GROUP PERFORMANCE WITH QUEEN’S BRIAN MAY AND ROGER TAYLOR, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, ON FOX

Katy Perry, The Queen Extravaganza and Season 10 Finalist Stefano Langone to Perform on Next Results Show Thursday, April 26

Colton Dixon was eliminated tonight on AMERICAN IDOL after he received the fewest of the 53 million votes cast for the finalists. Also on tonight’s results show, LMFAO performed their smash hit, “Sorry For Party Rocking,” and AMERICAN IDOL Season Eight winner Kris Allen performed his new single, “The Vision Of Love.”

Next week, on Wednesday, April 25 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), the Top Six – Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Elise Testone – return to the IDOL stage to sing for America’s votes on a Queen-themed performance show. The finalists also will get to perform a group medley with Brian May and Roger Taylor, original members of the legendary rock group Queen.

Tune in the following night, Thursday, April 26 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed), to the live results show to find out which Top Six finalist is sent home. In addition, Katy Perry will perform her newest single, “Part of Me”; the official touring Queen tribute, The Queen Extravaganza, will perform their classic smash hit “Somebody To Love”; and AMERICAN IDOL Season 10 finalist Stefano Langone will perform his new single, “I’m On A Roll.”

The Top Six finalists are:

Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine,Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Elise Testone.
 

Tickets for Queen + Adam Lambert summer shows in London on sale now!!

The legendary rockers announced their shows earlier this month, following the cancellation of summer festival Sonisphere, which the band were due to headline.

Sonisphere festival was cancelled last month, with Queen breaking the news on their website ahead of an official statement. Now, the band will play two July dates (11th and 12th) at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo. Adam Lambert will serve as the band's frontman for the shows.

"Somehow this feels right," says Brian May og the London shows. "The Odeon is a big part of our history, and its atmosphere is second to none. It's the perfect place to acknowledge our faithful fans, and will be a fitting return to our roots !"

"We had made up our minds to play in the UK this year," adds Roger Taylor, "so play we will ! Following the collapse of the Sonisphere organisation we didn't want to let down all those people expecting to see us live!"

Part-time frontman Adam Lambert said: “I’m so thrilled that Queen found a way to ensure that the fans will get to see this event this summer. I can’t wait to be in London to perform with Queen for these incredibly special shows!”

Queen first performed at Hammersmith Apollo (originally known as the Hammersmith Odeon) in December 1975.


The Queen + Adam Lambert Hammersmith Shows on July 11th and 12th:

General sale: 9AM Wednesday 18th April - www.hmvapollo.com / www.ticketmaster.co.uk / HMV Tickets 08432 221 0100 / Ticketmaster 08448 444 748

credit: Gigwise


 

Roger Taylor on that drunk guy singing “Bohemian Rhapsody”; Adam Lambert & Queen Extravaganza...

Credit: Somethingelse

One of the Web’s biggest 2012 viral sensations so far has been that video of a Canadian man, under arrest for drunken driving in the back seat of a Canadian police car, singing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” in its entirety. Count the band’s co-founding drummer Roger Taylor as a fan.

“It’s very funny,” Taylor says, “and it’s had so many hits. Many millions of people have seen that guy.”

Famously complicated, "Bohemian Rhapsody" incorporates pop balladry, hard rock guitar and Baroque opera vocals. Nevertheless, 17-year-old Robert Wilkinson remained undaunted — singing the song from start to howling finish.

“I thought it was interesting,” Taylor tells Billboard, “the fact he sang it right through to the end. I just wondered what he was on.”

Meanwhile, Queen has added some additional dates after the unexpected cancellation of the Sonisphere Festival, for a total of four summer 2012 shows with American Idol runner up Adam Lambert. The band will play June 30 in Moscow, a date with Elton John in Kiev and then two shows at London’s Hammersmith Apollo in early July.

Brian May and Roger Taylor will also introduce this summer’s Queen Extravaganza cast on the April 25-26, 2012 episodes of Idol, before beginning rehearsals for an American tour of the show, which will feature Jeff Scott Soto, who’s previously worked with Journey, Yngwie Malmsteen and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The two-hour show will feature 40 classic Queen songs.

Over the years, Queen has previously featured Paul Rodgers, among others, in place of the late Mercury. May and Taylor performed with Lambert at the program’s 2009 finals, and then again at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards.

“We’re really excited about it,” Taylor says. “Adam … of course he has this unbelievable range, like Freddie (Mercury) had range. Adam can really cover it. He’s an extraordinary singer and a real talent. I feel he fits into our sort of theatricality.”

Adam Lambert To Join Queen Stars For Two London Shows

Credit: Contactmusic

Queen stars Roger Taylor and Brian May have lined up two London dates with American Idol star Adam Lambert for fans who were hoping to see the new band live at the newly-cancelled Sonisphere Festival.

The Queen stars recruited Lambert to belt out Freddie Mercury's hits at the British summer (Jul12) festival, but when it was scrapped last month (Mar12), the duo scrambled to find a fitting London venue to stage an alternative.

Now drummer Taylor has revealed he'll be playing two concerts at the Hammersmith Odeon with May and Lambert in early July (12).

The duo performed Queen songs with the American star during the Idol finals in 2009 and at the Mtv Europe Music Awards last year (11).

Taylor tells Billboard.com, "We're really excited about it. Adam... has this unbelievable range, like Freddie had range. Adam can really cover it. He's an extraordinary singer and a real talent. I feel he fits into our sort of theatricality."

The Queen stars will also perform with Lambert at a festival in Kiev, Ukraine, where they'll share the headliner spot with Elton John.

Queen + Adam Lambert Hammersmith. General sales start Wednesday 18th April at 9am at http://www.hmvapollo.com and through http://ticketmaster.co.uk.