COURIER MAIL
Unlikely pairing deliver some kind of magic
25 February 2018 by Daniel Johnson
Singer Adam Lambert, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor on stage.
Picture: Christian Gilles
EXTRACTS:
As a giant wraparound screen featuring the head of Frank – the giant robot that adorns the cover of Queen’s 1977 album News of the World – lifts to reveal the band, Lambert struts on to stage, leading the band through the refrain from We Will Rock You.
Apart from the fact his trademark shock of black hair is now grey, Brian May – dressed head to ankle in black with bright white trainers – commands the stage with a swagger that belies his age, and opening track Hammer to Fall gives the now 70-year-old guitarist and drummer Roger Taylor, 68, ample opportunity to prove their enduring chops.
“Thank you, Brisbane, I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to be back here to do this again,” guitarist Brian May told the crowd in Brisbane. Photo: Christian Gilles
Queen + Adam Lambert have accomplished the difficult task of appropriately honouring Queen and Mercury’s legacy while contemporising the iconic group’s embarrassingly rich back catalogue, and as the members of the audience rise in applause while the band takes a bow to the strains of God Save the Queen, the consensus seems clear — don’t stop them now, they’re having a ball.