At every concert by Queen and Adam Lambert on their hugely successful Rhapsody Tour, guitarist Brian May has been performing a duet with an optical illusion of the band's late frontman Freddie Mercury. But during a recent performance at London's O2 Arena, May appeared to get overcome with emotion, and was spotted wiping away a tear.
The moment was captured by TikTok user @impsk77.
In the footage, Brian May is playing the final few notes of the heart-wrenching ballad Love Of My Life, from 1975's A Night At The Opera, and as the song comes to a close, he applauds and bows to Mercury, before getting tearful.
Watch the footage below:
@impsk77 ♬ original sound - Impsk
The illusion of Freddie Mercury was constructed using archive footage of the singer performing the song during the band's Wembley concert on July 12, 1986.
Although the inclusion of the hologram depicting the frontman might not be a new feature - Queen first utilised the technology, (which actually works as more of a "optical illusion" rather than a hologram) in 2012 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the We Will Rock You musical in London, it never fails to tug on the heartstrings of both the audience and the band members themselves. After all, Mercury - who died of AIDS in 1991 - was both an icon, and a beloved friend to his bandmates.
Following the initial use of the hologram in 2012, the band spoke about how they were uncomfortable with the idea of using it again on tours.
Brian May previously noted to Classic Rock: "I don't want to be touring with a hologram. It makes you feel like museum pieces, and we're not fossils, we're alive."
