I believe it was 1977 when I first heard Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody playing on the radio. I know the song was released earlier, but this is from my ancient memory banks. My mother had a pink T-bird in 1977 (I kid you not); we used to cruise around Tucson and that song would come on all the time. The funny thing is Mom loved it. So at the ripe old age of 10, I was instantly in love with Queen and all things Freddie.
In and around 1980 when I was 12, I bought the piano sheet music to Bohemian Rhapsody so I could get to work on perfecting it. It took me 10 years or more, but I managed to master it to the best of my ability. If you’ve ever played any Queen music… on a musical instrument… you understand. Freddie did not compose easy music. And I am not an accomplished musician.
When I was 14, my father bought my sister and I a stereo for Christmas along with a couple of vinyl albums to get us started, one of which was Queen. Ahhh, that opened a whole new world to us by way of music. Money allowing for a teenager, I eventually owned everything Queen.
(By the way… July 3rd is my father’s birthday… he would’ve been 88 today! Happy Birthday Dad!)
Fast forward to 1991 when devastation hit and Freddie died. Gone were my chances of ever seeing Queen live in concert…
But then… enter Adam Lambert some 20 years later. Brian May and Roger Taylor (the remaining members of Queen) for whatever reason took a chance on this kid to bring Queen back to life and give fans what they wanted… one last shot to see and hear their music. And wow, I have to say, Adam rocked the house.
Adam doesn’t try to personalize Queen’s songs. He sings them as Freddie would have sung them of which I was very appreciative. And he sings them well. Dr. Brian May still managed to make that guitar come to life just as he did 40 years ago, and Roger Taylor… well, how he doesn’t manage to lose 5 pounds every night from the workout he gets with every show is beyond me. The older boys definitely still have it!!
I can count at least 3 times during the show when I become so overwhelmed with emotion that tears flowed, as did the entire audience. One moment in particular was during Love Of My Life. Brian sat down with his acoustic guitar and sang the song as Freddie would have, and towards the end, Freddie appeared on the big screen with Brian and took over the singing… then walked off at the end of the song as Brian waved goodbye.
Another tear jerker was when Adam sang Who Wants To Live Forever…
By the by, Adam has a new single out, Two Fux. I’m thinking this is one we will never hear on the radio, but he sang it during the concert and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He deserves recognition for that catchy little tune and I will definitely be adding it to my playlist.
It was an amazing time. This is one show I would see over and over again if I could, so if you love Queen and ever get the chance, do go see it. You will not be disappointed.
Never A Dull Bling 