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QUEEN

QUEEN’s BRIAN MAY, ROGER TAYLOR Offer Update On FREDDIE MERCURY Biopic

Manos Spanos
Last week, QUEEN announced a summer tour with Adam Lambert but that's not all the band has going on. Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor have been working on a biopic about singer Freddie Mercury and Brian gave VH1 Radio Network's Dave Basner an update on how it's coming along. "The movie is about to go," May said. "We will be shooting in May. At this point, Roger and I step backwards because we have a great team to put the film together under the leadership of Graham King, who is probably the greatest independent producer in films. We will let them do it and shoot it and hopefully it will be an interesting thing." The movie has been in the works for years now and Brian spoke to VH1 Radio Network about what he's learned about the moviemaking process. "I've learned a lot about films in this process," May said. "What you discover is films don't really tell history, films are an entertainment and that's an interesting journey to make. You realize that it cannot be absolutely true. What is the truth? The truth would be different for the people telling the story, but it will be a hell of an entertaining film I think." Roger added his two cents about filmmaking. "It seems like the wheels grind slowly in the movie word," he said. "I'm glad I'm a musician." There is no word yet on when the film will hit theaters but the tour with Lambert kicks off in June. Ben Whishaw — best know for his portrayal as Q in the recent James Bond thriller "Skyfall" and Keith Richards in "Stoned" — will star as the flamboyant singer. He replaces Sacha Baron Cohen, who was originally attached to play Freddie but left the project last summer. The film will be directed by Dexter Fletcher, whose work includes "Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels" and the HBO series "Band Of Brothers".
02 min read

QUEEN Eyeing Summer Tour With ADAM LAMBERT

Manos Spanos
According to The Pulse Of Radio, all signs are pointing to QUEEN hitting the road with "American Idol" finalist Adam Lambert once again fronting the band. Co-founding guitarist Brian May, who leads QUEEN with drummer Roger Taylor, stopped short of announcing the tour, telling NME, "We've been talking to Adam Lambert. You know, we've already done some gigs with Adam, who is amazing. We are ongoing, we can't help it. I think we all protested too much in the sense when Freddie [Mercury] went and we didn't want to talk about it and didn't want to be QUEEN for a while. But after a while, you realize that people wanna hear the songs and see us do things. So, no matter what you call it, Roger and I do do stuff, and I think we'll be doing some more stuff this summer in fact, probably in the States." He touched very briefly on the ongoing work completing some of Mercury's unfinished studio demos. "Some QUEEN magic is happening," he said. "I feel it in my bones. It's annoying to have to be so secretive, but I guess I have to, for now." The Pulse Of Radio asked Roger Taylor if co-founding bassist John Deacon — who last played during the band's 1992 tribute to Freddie Mercury — will ever perform as part of QUEEN again. "John really has opted out of the whole music business thing," he said. "He was done, like, being around people. He wrote us a letter saying 'I totally approve of everything you do and, um, can I have my share?' I mean, he's still a partner, so, y'know, he's there in that sense." QUEEN's 1981 "Greatest Hits" collection has made British chart history by becoming the first U.K. album to sell six million copies. ABBA's 1982 compilation "ABBA: Gold" trails behind QUEEN's comp, selling about 900,000 copies under "Greatest Hits".
02 min read

QUEEN Signs New Deal with UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP

Manos Spanos
QUEEN and Universal Music Group have renewed their partnership with a new, long-term deal that will herald a range of exciting projects from the band including a raft of rare and unreleased material and a film. The agreement was announced at Monday's (December 2) launch of "Queen: The Studio Experience", a major new QUEEN exhibition in Montreux, Switzerland. Brian May and Roger Taylor were in Montreux to officiate the opening. The exhibition provides a unique behind the scenes glimpse into the band's recording life during the years spent working at the Swiss town's Mountain Studios where, between 1979 and 1995, QUEEN created six albums, including "Jazz" and the seminal "Made In Heaven". The exhibition will raise awareness and funds for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the AIDS charity set up by QUEEN and their manager Jim Beach immediately after front man Freddie Mercury's tragic death from AIDS in 1991. The new Universal deal, which covers the world outside North America, comes three years after QUEEN first signed with Universal Music. That move saw the band release music through Island Records for the first time in its history and signalled the start of a major remastering and repackaging program, providing live tracks, alternative takes and other additional content for QUEEN's 15 studio albums. In 2011 the band and label also celebrated QUEEN's 40th anniversary with a major marketing campaign and a series of high profile events, including the "Stormtroopers In Stilettos" exhibition staged in London in February 2011 and a major BBC TV documentary on the band. Max Hole, chairman and chief executive of Universal Music Group International, said: "We have loved working with QUEEN over last three years. QUEEN remains one of the biggest, boldest and most influential bands in the world. The band and Universal Music have lots of ambitious plans for the future." QUEEN's Brian May and Roger Taylor said: "We have also enjoyed working with Universal. In spite of being the biggest music company in the world they succeed in retaining a very hands-on personal relationship with their artists, something we much appreciate." Supporting the Mercury Phoenix Trust, fighting AIDS worldwide, and sponsored by the Fondation Barrière, "Queen: The Studio Experience" features memorabilia from the recording studio and the band's personal archives, including original handwritten song lyrics, costumes and instruments, together with a small cinema. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the studio control room, still in its original state, where visitors will be able to create their own mixes of selected QUEEN tracks including Freddie Mercury's last recorded vocal, "Mother Love".
02 min read

QUEEN’s BRIAN MAY Undergoes Knee Replacement Surgery

Manos Spanos
According to The Pulse Of Radio, QUEEN's Brian May has kept his fan base on top of his knee replacement surgery via his official web site,BrianMay.com, posting on August 6: "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. Thanks so much for the great messages — it means a lot. Bri zzzzz." In addition to his new album with Broadway star Kerry Ellis, called"Acoustic By Candlelight", May has been putting the finishing touches on the soon-to-be-released 1983 Freddie Mercury/Michael Jacksondemos. In addition to that, he and drummer Roger Taylor have been working on new QUEEN tracks with legendary producer Chris Thomas. Chris Thomas is best known for his work on THE BEATLES' "White Album" and numerous projects with Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend,THE PRETENDERS, PINK FLOYD, BADFINGER, INXS, SEX PISTOLS,Elton John, U2, among others. The sessions mark his first behind the boards for QUEEN. There's no word who the two vocalists singing lead on the tracks are, or when they'll be released. The Pulse Of Radio asked QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor if he and Brian May have remained as close as they were during QUEEN's heyday. "Very close," he said. "I mean, we are, y'know, what's left of QUEEN. And, y'know, I saw him yesterday, we had a meeting. We see one other all the time — 'cause there's so much to talk about. Seems like there's more and more to talk about. And we don't always agree all the time, but we are very close, yeah."
01 min read