“They actually play the music better than we ever did,” says Roger Taylor. “Or, maybe ‘better’ isn’t the right word. But they play a more perfect version, with a more polished sound, whereas we always used to go off and play around with the music when we were in concert. These guys are incredible gifted musicians in their own right and certainly aren’t just dressing up in costumes and pretending to be Queen.”
The Queen Extravaganza is designed to enable Queen fans to celebrate the band’s music, and was put together by Taylor after a competition to find suitable musicians was launched in September 2011. One of the entries came from Canadian singer Marc Martel, whose YouTube video performance of Somebody To Love went viral within a few days of being released. He went on to become one of the winners of the competition, and continues to tour with the band.
- Asteroid named in honour of Freddie Mercury
- Freddie Mercury's Massive Moustachioed Birthday Party
- First Freddie Mercury scholarship launched
- Rock Icons: Freddie Mercury by Taylor Hawkins
This year The Extravaganza are celebrating the 40th anniversary of A Night At The Opera by taking the album on the road (dates below), and Mantel has released a video tutorial aimed at bedroom Freddies who want to sound more like the master.
“The fact that, 25 years later, we still feel that musical void left by Freddie says a lot about him,” says Martel, “and shows just how beloved he was by the public. As a member of The Queen Extravaganza, if I can play any part in making people feel a bit of the way Freddie did, then I’ve done my job. And it’s a huge honour to do it.”
All pics: Jim Templeton-Cross
The Queen Experience A Night At The Opera 2016 Tour
Oct 28: Pavilions, Plymouth
Oct 29: City Hall, Salisbury
Oct 31: Hexagon, Reading
Nov 01: Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Nov 02 DMH, Leicester
Nov 04: City Hall, Newcastle 5
Nov 05: Clyde, Glasgow
Nov 06: Empire, Liverpool
Nov 09: City Hall, Sheffield
Nov 10: Barbican, York
Nov 12: St. David’s Hall, Glasgow
Nov 13: Waterside Theatre, Asylesbury
Nov 14: Guildhall, Portsmouth
Nov 16: Victoria Hall, Stoke
Nov 18: Venue Cymru, Llandudno
Nov 19: TSH, Birmingham
Nov 20: Eventim Apollo, London
