Q95.7
7 March 2014
Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor revealed to the world on Thursday that the band will be teaming up with ex-American Idol finalist Adam Lambert for a North American summer tour that likely will be the group’s final trek. Queen and Lambert have joined forces on several occasions over the last few years, including a brief European tour in 2012, but this will be the first time they’ll be mounting a multiple-date run in America.
May says that, in addition to playing Queen’s classic songs, he, Taylor and Lambert may dig a little deeper into the band’s catalog during the tour, which gets under way June 19 in Chicago.
“I think we’d like to get a little adventurous,” he tells ABC News Radio. “I think we’ll have quite a long rehearsal period to try things out. Yeah, we’re up for anything…We’ll all bring our ideas to the table and we’ll try stuff out and…who knows?”
May adds that collaborating with a singer who’s as talented as Adam inspires him to be more creative and inventive on stage. “You just get that extra little kick, which makes you take more chances and be more dangerous,” Brian declares, “and go for it.”
As for Taylor, he says Lambert ranks “right up there” among the best vocalists Queen’s members have ever played with, which, of course, includes the band’s legendary late frontman, Freddie Mercury. “Freddie will never die for us, obviously, in our minds, but [Adam is] just so good with our material,” Roger tells ABC News Radio. “He’s just one of the great singers, so…I think it’s a really great marriage.”
May, meanwhile, notes that that “marriage” is something fans of both Queen and Lambert are clamoring for. “I see ’em already on Twitter, y’know. It kind of makes me laugh…it’s like, ‘We need QueenBert!'” jokes Brian. “You know, from Argentina, from Tierra del Fuego, from Beijing, I dunno. The whole world wants us to be together, I think, which is great!”
Queen + Adam Lambert’s North American tour features a total of 19 dates, and is scheduled to run through a July 20 show in Washington, D.C. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, March 14, via the Live Nation mobile app and at LiveNation.com. American Express Card Members get early access beginning this Monday in the U.S., and Tuesday in Canada.