Thursday, August 29, 2013

Queen’s Brian May, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson & Alice Cooper, appear on a new 'Sunflower Superjam' two-DVD set.




By: Hayspost

Legendary rockers, including Alice Cooper, Queen’s Brian May and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, appear on a new two-DVD set boasting footage from the 2011 and 2012 editions of the annual Sunflower Jam concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Among the many highlights on the video, titled The Sunflower Superjam 2012, are late Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord’s final live performances, which took place at the 2011 event.

Other artists featured on the DVDs include ex-Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice, Procol Harum singer/keyboardist Gary Brooker, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson and former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth.

Noteworthy performances on the discs include the world premiere of a Lord-Wakeman collaboration titled “It’s Not as Big as It Was,” Cooper singing his memorable hit “School’s Out,” Dickenson’s rendition of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes,” an ensemble version of Deep Purple’s classic “Smoke on the Water” and May, Jones, Paice and other musicians collaborating on versions of Rainbow’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” and “Black Night.”

The Sunflower Superjam 2012 DVD is available for pre-order now at TheSunfloweerJam.com.  Proceeds raised from sales of the collection will benefit the Sunflower Jam charity.  The U.K. organization, which was founded in 2006 by Paice’s wife, Jacky, supports holistic and alternative healing programs for young people stricken with cancer.

Here is the complete track list for The Sunflower Superjam 2012 DVD:

DVD 1 – Sunflower Jam 2012:
“Ain’t No Telling” – The Temperance Movement
“Behind Blue Eyes” – Bruce Dickinson
“Black Night” – Bruce Dickinson, Brian May, John Paul Jones, Brian Auger & Ian Paice
“Elected” – Alice Cooper
“Emerald” – Bruce Dickinson
“I Want to Know What Love Is” – Alfie Boe
“Lessons in Love” – Mark King
“Pictured Within” – Steve Balsamo
“Rock n’ Roll” – Alfie Boe
“Sails of Charon” – Uli Jon Roth
“School’s Out” – Alice Cooper
“Since You’ve Been Gone” – Brian May, Ian Paice, John Paul Jones, Brian Auger & Kerry Ellis
“Smoke on the Water” – Ensemble
“Something About You” – Mark King
“This Wheel’s on Fire” – Sandi Thom

DVD 2 – Sunflower Jam 2011
“Bohemian Rhapsody” – Newton Faulkner
“Born to Run” – Danny Bowes
“Bourée” – Jon Lord
“Eleanor Rigby” – Rick Wakeman
“Good Golly Miss Molly” – Gary Brooker
“I Just Want to Make Love to You” – Margo Buchanan
“It’s Not as Big as It Was” – Jon Lord & Rick Wakeman
“Life on Mars” – Newton Faulkner & Jon Lord
“Midnight Blues” – Joe Bonamassa
“Pictured Within” – Steve Balsamo & Jon Lord
“Smoke on the Water” – Deep Purple featuring Bill Bailey
“The Ballad of John Henry” – Joe Bonamassa & Jon Lord
“The Thrill Is Gone” – Joe Bonamassa
“Whiter Shade of Pale” – Gary Brooker

Bonus 2012 footage:
“Freedom Jazz Dance” – Brian Auger
“Born Free” – Brian May & Kerry Ellis
“I Loved a Butterfly” – Brian May & Kerry Ellis
“Substitute” – Margo Buchanan
“Help Me” – Sandi Thom
“November Rain” – Sandi Thom
“Only Friend” – The Temperance Movement



Wednesday, August 28, 2013

'The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert' Blu-Ray & DVD ~ Release Date: September 2, 2013






By: Billy Dukes

In 1992 the surviving members of Queen invited friends and fellow musicians to pay tribute to the late Freddie Mercury. The concert included performances from over a dozen top rock and pop artists of the day, from David Bowie to Guns N’ Roses to Metallica and Def Leppard. Later this summer 34 different performances from that night will be available on ‘The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: The Definitive Edition’ DVD and Blu-Ray.

The opening act performances have never before been available on DVD or BluRay. These include mini-sets from Metallica, a Queen medley from Extreme, Def Leppard and Brian May performing ‘Now I’m Here’ and two songs from Axl Rose and company.

The second disc will feature the main set, including multiple artists joining May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon to sing Queen hits. Gary Cherone and Tony Iommi perform ‘Hammer to Fall.’ Robert Plant sings ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love.’ Other artists included on the 20-track second disc include Elton John, George Michael, Liza Minnelli and Seal.

A third disc of bonus material includes rehearsal performances, the 10th anniversary documentary and photo galleries. The concert raised money for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity designed to provide relief of suffering from AIDS.



Tuesday, August 27, 2013

iHeartRadio Music Fest in Vegas. Headlining This Massive Event On The Desert is Queen + Adam Lambert!!


Queen - Interview



24 nights from the I Heart Radio Music Fest in Vegas.  Headlining this massive event on the desert is Queen. There's no reason to be nervous.   Queens lead guitarist Brian May has always gotten himself into some seriously out of control lime light... like playing the British National Anthem on top of the Royal Mums palace.


‘It’s a tricky challenge’ - Adam Lambert on bringing his own personality to Queen appearances




by Something Else!

For Adam Lambert, appearing with Queen — a band established well before he was born — requires a balancing act between honoring their legend and continuing to reach out to the American Idol finalist’s own fan base.

“It’s a tricky challenge, because when I was offered to do these concerts with Queen, I was intimidated and honored at the same time,” Lambert says. “How do I approach it in a way that’s respectful to the Queen fans, that’s respectful to the band, but also that has my own self respect — and respect for my fans?”

Lambert has made a series of appearances with Queen since 2009, beginning when Roger Taylor and Brian May guested on the Idol finale. He then filled in for the late Freddie Mercury at the MTV Europe VMAs in 2011, in July 2012 performances in Ukraine, Russia and Poland and then at London’s Hammersmith Apollo.

“It was a nice balancing act of saying: ‘OK, let’s do it in the vein, or in the spirit of, Freddie,” Lambert says. “What was his intention behind this? What was he trying to provoke out of the audience? And, keeping that in mind, doing it my way, as well. It was a tricky thing, but I had Brian and Roger on stage with me, guiding me through it. If I had been on my own, it probably would have been a little scarier.”

May, Lambert and Taylor will make their stateside debut in September, appearing as Queen at the iHeart Radio festival to held at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.




Monday, August 26, 2013

THE WHO'S ROGER DALTREY TO HEADLINE QUEEN BENEFIT SHOW - SEPT. 5, 2013, FREDDIE MERCURY‘S 67th BIRTHDAY.




Roger Daltrey has always been extremely generous with his time when it comes to charity efforts and organizations, and he’s continuing that philanthropic streak this September, when he’ll headline Queen‘s annual AIDS benefit show.

The event is scheduled to take place at London’s One Mayfair on Sept. 5 — what would have been Queen frontman Freddie Mercury‘s 67th birthday. The date also marks the latest Freddie for a Day, an annual celebration in which fans and supporters are encouraged to dress like Mercury, either by doing something as simple as putting on a fake mustache or wearing yellow, or getting really into it and decking themselves out in full-on Freddie Mercury garb.

Daltrey is just one of the performers scheduled to take the stage for this year’s benefit show; other artists include Melanie C from the Spice Girls, English tenor Alfie Boe, and comedian Al Murray. The evening will also include an auction featuring a signed photo of Katy Perry dressed as Mercury, a Taylor Swift signature red guitar, a box for 10 at the Royal Albert Hall, and a three-night trip to New York with VIP guest passes to the Tribeca film festival, including a meet-and-greet with festival founder Robert De Niro.


Sunday, August 25, 2013

Queen are planning to release two unheard tracks featuring Freddie Mercury.





By Richard Eden


Twenty-two years after Freddie Mercury died, his voice is to be heard on new songs. His former bandmates in Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor, are to release unheard tracks featuring Mercury.

“There’s a couple of tracks,” Taylor tells Classic Rock magazine. “Brian and I are going to work on them. One of them we all worked on; the other one was mainly a Brian song.

“I’m not bigging them up or anything, but there are a couple of things that we’re going to finish, and I dare say they’ll come out.”

They are also working on unreleased duets featuring Michael Jackson and Mercury.





Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Brian May Heading Back to Work After Knee Surgery



Queen guitarist Brian May is bouncing back and returning to the recording studio following his recent knee replacement surgery.

The rock veteran had an operation to correct a chronic problem on 6 August (13) and he was discharged from hospital three days later (09Aug13) to continue his recovery at home.

May has been largely absent from his Twitter.com page since the procedure, but he returned to the site on Tuesday (20Aug13) to tell fans he is getting back to work. May is heading into the studio to record with his longtime collaborator Kerry Ellis

Queen is set to make his first stateside stop with Adam Lambert, hitting Las Vegas’ iHeartRadio Festival on September 20, 2013.

Brian May tweeted:









Friday, August 16, 2013

Roger Taylor releasing solo album in October – Jeff Beck is guest guitarist

By: WOW247 

Queen's Roger Taylor & Jeff Beck

Queen drummer Roger Taylor is releasing his new solo album in October, and it includes a team-up with Jeff Beck.

Fun On Earth is Taylor’s first solo LP in 15 years, with its title mirroring his 1981 debut Fun In Space. The veteran rocker’s solo collection, The Lot, will be released that same month.


Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Brian May & Queen Elizabeth II

Legendary guitarist Beck, who shot to fame with the Jeff Beck Group and The Yardbirds, plays on the track ’Say It’s Not True’.

The album was recorded over a period of five years, and some of its material is political.

Back in 2010, Taylor said :

“What happened to the protest song? Music is now so polished and predictable, we have forgotten to try and say something with it.

“We are fighting a pointless war which is killing our young soldiers; the nation is utterly bankrupt; we are spied upon by 5 million cameras. I’m pissed off – you should be too.”

Taylor was a key songwriter for Queen throughout their renowned career, penning famous hits such as ‘A Kind Of Magic’ and ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’.



Adam Lambert Insures His Voice Ahead of Latest Queen Show, Teases New Song & He DOESN’T Smoke!!





The story, going into Adam Lambert’s U.S. concert debut with Queen, is that he had his voice insured — “allegedly,” he says, “for $50 million.”

Lambert, an American Idol finalist, hedges on confirming such a thing.

“Allegedly,” Lambert repeats, in this talk with Lee Downs. “It’s an important commodity. My voice is my moneymaker.”

Such a policy would make sense, not just because of Lambert’s role as Queen's vocalist, but also for his own solo career. Pressed by Downs, Lambert will only say: “You tell me.”




As for where he is, career wise, since that triumphal moment on Idol, Lambert says: “I don’t know if I can say better or worse. I’ve definitely grown; I’ve learned a lot. I’ve seen a lot. I feel like I get to explore so many things, musically.”

Meanwhile, if Adam has insured his voice for megabucks, then the last thing he would want to be doing is smoking, but after seeing a picture of their idol sucking on a cigarette shaped object, fans were very concerned this week and made sure to tell him so.


Lambert had a perfectly good explanation though and told his Twitter followers:



He also teased a new track for his album, which is being recorded this week and just minutes ago he told fans:



Queen is set to appear in September with Lambert, as part of an IHeartRadio event at Las Vegas.

We can’t wait to hear it! What do you think of all the stories? Leave your comments below….


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Queen's Bass Legend John Deacon




Since the demise of the band following Freddie's tragic death Deacon went to ground, avoiding anything to do with Queen thereafter with the exception of the Freddie Mercury Tribute gig at Wembley Stadium in 1992, but even for that he wasn't involved in the rehearsals!

After many failed attempts to interview him over the years we tried the sneaky approach and asked Brian May if he could possibly pull a few strings for us? He laughed, "He won't talk to me so why the fuck would he talk to you?" A good point well made Brian, and from that moment on any hope of an interview was promptly abandoned.

But gone is not forgotten. John was/is (he may still play at home) an amazingly melodic bass player and although he's probably best known for the dominant riff on his composition, Another One Bites The Dust, he first caught our attention on Killer Queen.

You know the bit, as Freddie sings 'Fastidious and precise', John throws in a little lick that is exactly that! It's a very slick musical representation of the lyrics and a positive joy to the ears.

But John didn't start in music by playing bass, in fact it was the Beatles and particularly John Lennon that fired his imagination and in 1963 this 12-year-old purchased an acoustic guitar. He was also a bit of a whiz with electronics so his first outing with a band was as a roadie/electrician but soon he became their rhythm player. However it was the bass player that was the weakest link in the band so John bought an EKO bass and in 1966 and took over.

A chance meeting at a party introduced him to Brian May and Roger Taylor. They were desperate to find the right bass player for their band so John was invited to audition. He could obviously play and being of a quiet disposition, John fitted in well, "They tried several others before me but their personalities seemed to clash but I wasn't likely to upstage Brian or Freddie."

Queen was complete but in spite of being a good band, success was far from overnight. Their first album was completed two years before its release and it failed to make any impact when it finally escaped. The next, Queen II, produced Seven Seas Of Rhye and as a single it received good radio play and became a top ten hit. Fortunes would really change however with the next album, Sheer Heart Attack.

John recalls, "I knew the band had something but I wasn't fully convinced until that album. A lot of people thought we were just a heavy metal band but Killer Queen showed a completely new side to us."

The album also contained Misfire, John's first composition for the band on which he played rhythm guitar as well as bass. Sheer Heart Attack showed just how varied Queen could be with their compositions and musical interpretations.


Current picture of John Deacon with his family at his son’s wedding.


At the top

Now they were on their way but A Night At The Opera, released in 1975, produced even greater results thanks to the mega selling Bohemian Rhapsody. It was good news for John too when his song, You're My Best Friend, was taken as a single pull and also charted. As Brian May said at the time, 'It's just the perfect pop song' and it did wonders to John's confidence as a writer.'

Deacon's Precision playing

John has used a few basses in his long career, including occasional upright excursions on record and a Jetglo Rickenbacker 4001 in the early days but he is best known for using the trusty Fender Precision. There were several of these (unless someone was rather handy with a paint sprayer) but the sunburst one seemed to be a favourite.
There was also one with a stripped body, a black one and even one of the first P-Bass models. Some early pictures show him with a natural Fender Jazz Bass, others where he's using a Kramer Custom, a Wal Pro Bass and a sunburst Music Man StingRay could be seen as a backup on several shows.
John went for a Warwick Buzzard for the Friends Will Be Friends promo video which seems a strange choice for him but it's certainly visually impressive. But the instrument that seemed to find favour in the later years was the custom built Roger Griffin bass, similar to a Precision with a pair of pickups and natural wood finish.

Each subsequent album would feature one or more tracks written by him but it was the ability of all four members to write good material that first put a strain on the band. The choice of whose material went where (album, single, B-side) caused heavy arguments and the fact that John was introducing much more of an R&B element to his songs that left little or no room for Brian's guitar acrobatics didn't help at all.

What was more significant was the fact that Freddie seemed to embrace this musical diversion and with John he wrote Cool Cat, essentially a bass riff with scat singing and including David Bowie on the original version.

Bowie had called in to see the band whilst they were recording the Hot Space album in Switzerland and this led to them recording Under Pressure together. Released as a single it became a huge hit worldwide. So did I Want To Break Free (another Deacon song) from The Works 1984.

Wembley calling

When asked to perform at Live Aid the band weren't sure at all. With so many of the newer acts appearing they were there to represent the established artists. The performing schedule was strict and there were no soundchecks but they decided to do it.

Coming from the end of a tour they were extremely 'gig fit' and stole the show. In spite of their album sales having declined somewhat over the previous years (partly due to this seeming lack of focussed direction) they captured everyone's attention and the band was effectively reborn!

"It was the one day that I was proud to be involved in the music business", John recalls. "The day was fabulous, people forgot that element of competitiveness and it was a good morale booster for us too."

Life was certainly good but by the time the band recorded The Miracle album in 1989, Freddie was having serious health issues.

They decided to start work immediately on the next album, Innuendo, and that was completed and released to much acclaim.

Dusty Trivia

On its release in 1980 Another One Bites The Dust sailed to the top of the American charts and stayed there for quite a while, out selling Queen's other biggie of that year, Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Curiously both tracks offered a new musical angle to the band's repertoire but whilst Crazy Little Thing looked back on their early musical influences, Another One Bites The Dust was a new funky element for the band and totally unexpected.
In the days when he did talk John revealed "I listened to a lot of soul music when I was in school and I'd been wanting to do a track like Another One Bites The Dust for a while but originally all I had was the line and the bass riff. Gradually I filled it in and the band added ideas."
Released on The Game album 1980, the track was picked up and played on some of the soul radio stations in America and it was actually Michael Jackson (a big fan of the band) who suggested it was released as a single and the rest is history. Later on, it was used as the theme for the UK TV show Gladiators and that track alone has probably helped keep John financially secure in his musical hibernation.

Freddie refused to stop working and they laid down the basic tracks for the last Queen album, Made In Heaven (released in 1995) and it very nearly was. In November 1991 Freddie lost his fight and unlike Roger Taylor and Brian May, John could see no point in carrying on. He participated in a few projects afterwards and played a handful of gigs with various people but nothing that featured his name.

As a bass player, John Deacon has been vastly underrated and this is probably due to him being the shy part of a quartet that featured three outstanding personalities, but without doubt it was John's solid and sometimes inspirational playing that helped them all to shine.

Looking back on his time with Queen, Deacon always felt that the writing side was important part. "If I'd just been a bass player all my life with the band, I wouldn't be as satisfied as I am because I only consider that as part of what I do. The songwriting and being involved in the decision making processes means I've been able to have a part in the bands destiny." And what a destiny it's been!




Thursday, August 8, 2013

The Freddie Mercury Final Performance with Queen, Knebworth Park 1986 - 27th Anniversary




By: PaulGoodman67

On 9th August 1986, over a hundred and twenty thousand people gathered outdoors at Knebworth Park to watch a number of British musical acts. Topping the bill were the rock band, Queen, still riding high after their stunning performance at the Live Aid concert at Wembley and fronted by their charismatic vocalist, Freddie Mercury. The concert was powerful and Queen’s performance outstanding. What the crowd, which included myself, did not know at the time was that this concert would be the final performance of Freddie Mercury with Queen.

I thought it would be interesting to look back at that day and the concert for both people like myself, who were there, as well as other Queen fans who unfortunately were unable to attend for whatever reason.

A brief history of Queen up to then:

Queen were formed in 1971 and released their first album in 1973. They had a degree of success in Britain, but they were slow to gain wider recognition and it was their hit song and accompanying video, Bohemian Rhapsody which really brought them into the international limelight in 1975.

More hits followed, including stadium rock appeared at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium, when they produced the greatest performances of all time.

How the day of the concert went:

Over 120,000 people attended the concert that day and the weather was close to perfect for an outdoor concert. Despite some traffic problems caused by the huge crowd, the atmosphere was generally relaxed and upbeat. The other bands that played that day were Beloius Some, Big Country and Status Quo. Beloius Some, an emerging act from the dance scene, was probably a bad choice for a Queen concert and wasn't received well by the audience.

Status Quo were on next and their performance went down much better. They would normally have been expected to appear as the penultimate act and appear just before Queen, but apparently had to rush off to another gig that they were playing later that day. During the Status Quo gig, there was an amusing incident when a roadie climbed on top of the stage and played a cut out guitar whilst headbanging to the music. The rumour is that Status Quo were so annoyed about being upstaged by the roadie, they sacked him!

Next up were the Scottish band, Big Country, who were very big in the mid 1980s, but have since faded from public memory to some degree. Their lead singer was Stuart Adamson (who tragically died in 2001). Their music was folk-influenced and their clever trick was to use sound effects to get their guitars to sound like bagpipes. They seemed like an odd choice for a Queen support band to me, but they played a decent set of music and went down reasonably well with the audience.

In true bombastic style, Queen arrived at Knebworth Park by helicopter. They played a two hour set which was greeted by a rapturous response from the audience. As I mentioned in my introduction, nobody knew that this would be Freddie Mercury’s final performance with Queen at the time (according to Mercury’s partner, he wasn’t diagnosed as HIV positive until the following year, and he didn’t announce publicly that he was ill with AIDS until the day before his death in 1991). Anyway, Mercury seemed to be in great spirits and full of energy that day. Queen delivered a stunning set, full of energy and slickness to a deliriously enthusiastic audience.

The finale involved a particularly emotional rendition of God Save The Queen. Whether Freddie knew by then that he might be seriously ill and he was saying goodbye to his adoring fans, I really don’t know. But the fact was, however, that we were witnessing the final concert of Freddie Mercury and Queen.

There is no official film of the concert, although there is some low quality amateur footage. The audio was captured in high quality, however, and much of it used in the Queen: Live Magic album .

The Queen line up that day:

Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano, guitar)

Brian May (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards)

John Deacon (bass guitar)

Roger Taylor (drums, backing vocals)

Spike Edney (keyboards, piano, guitar, backing vocals)


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Brian May Recovering After Knee Surgery




The Queen star checked into hospital for an operation to fix a chronic problem which has plagued him for some time, and he sent a message to his Twitter followers just hours after the surgery to inform them it had been a success.

In a message posted on the social networking website, he writes: "I'm through!!! With a shiny new knee. This no walk in the park (!) but for 1st time in months I feel optimistic and free of that OLD pain."

May, 66, also thanked his loyal fans for cheering him up after the operation, adding: "Thanks so much for the great messages - it means a lot."






Monday, August 5, 2013

Brian May Schedules Surgery



Credit: contactmusic

Veteran rocker Brian May is to check in to a hospital to undergo knee surgery on Tuesday (06Aug13).

The Queen star recently revealed he has been having trouble with a chronic knee problem and voiced fears he may have to undergo an operation to fix the issue.

May has now confirmed he has jetted back from a sunshine break on the Spanish island of Tenerife so he can have knee replacement surgery on Tuesday.

In a series of posts on his Twitter.com page, he writes, "Just home from an insane trip to a place close to heaven to clear my head before my knee op tomorrow... Thanks for the good luck messages. I go in 6.30am tomorrow for knee replacement."

GET WELL SOON, MY DEAR FRIEND!!


ADAM LAMBERT OPENS UP ABOUT WORKING WITH QUEEN





Former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert has performed on and off with Queen since way back in 2009 and he is preparing to work with them again. Adam has now opened up about working with Queen, admitting that it is like being with family.

Lambert explained, "It was such an honor to do a full, hour-and-a-half long set with them. I was so nervous, at first. I flew over to London to start rehearsals with them, and we only had 10 days scheduled for these big shows. It was a lot of material to learn, but they really made me feel comfortable.”   He added, “They’re really cool guys. It was almost like chilling on a family vacation with your grandparents — you know, with your cool uncle, and your cool grandpa. They’re like the cool guys that partied in the 1970s, and they’re telling great stories — and also telling me all kinds of things about Freddie Mercury, who obviously is like an idol. I got an inside scoop of what it was really like, which was really cool."

Adam Lambert will hit the US with Queen when they perform at the Las Vegas iHeartRadio Festival on September 20, 2013. Meanwhile, Adam Lambert was recently confirmed for a role in the new season of the hit show Glee.




Saturday, August 3, 2013

Queen's Brian May Doesn't Want to Retire





Queen guitarist Brian May has been rocking out for nearly 50 years. He doesn't see retirement in his near future, either. He may have earned the right to hang up his axe, but he doesn't plan to since he loves his job so much.

He told VH1 Radio, "I don't know what retirement would be for me. I love what I do and I know that I'm very fortunate. I'm one of the few people I know who loves their job as much as I do. I don't know what retirement would be. I couldn't really stop thinking about it and feeling it and doing something. I guess I could see the time when I wouldn't be physically strong enough to but as long as I have fingers that move at all I'll be playing the guitar."

We don't want him to stop either! What a wonderful career he has had, working alongside Freddie Mercury, the greatest singer EVER!

What is your favorite Queen song?

Friday, August 2, 2013

Adam Lambert Set to Make His 1st Stateside Stop with Queen. For Lambert, Appearing with Queen Has Been a Dream Come True...



For Adam Lambert, appearing with Queen has been a dream come true — and not just because he got to fill in for hero Freddie Mercury. The American Idol finalist says he also got some great insights into the classic rock era.

Lambert first appeared with Brian May and Roger Taylor during the Season 8 Idol finale, back in 2009, and the Queen duo were impressed enough to invite him to appear again with them at the 2011 MTV Europe Video Music Awards. Still, by the time an invite came to play a series of high-profile gigs as Queen last summer, there wasn’t much time to prepare.

“It was such an honor to do a full, hour-and-a-half long set with them,” Lambert tells Ryan Seacrest in this clip. “I was so nervous, at first. I flew over to London to start rehearsals with them, and we only had 10 days scheduled for these big shows. It was a lot of material to learn, but they really made me feel comfortable.”

Lambert is now set to make his first stateside stop with Queen, hitting Las Vegas’ iHeartRadio Festival on September 20, 2013. He’s already getting geared up for the experience.

“They’re really cool guys,” he says. “It was almost like chilling on a family vacation with your grandparents — you know, with your cool uncle, and your cool grandpa. They’re like the cool guys that partied in the 1970s, and they’re telling great stories — and also telling me all kinds of things about Freddie Mercury, who obviously is like an idol. I got an inside scoop of what it was really like, which was really cool.”