KILLER QUEENS KNOCK IT OUT OF THE PARK
Queen with Adam Lambert
Verdict: A right, royal tribute ★★★★★
IF Freddie Mercury had lived long enough to have a son, he would surely have been Adam Lambert.
The American Idol star, who joined Queen stalwarts Brian May and Roger Taylor to rock Marlay Park, was quick to tell the thousands there that he might have been singing Freddie’s words but he was in no way stepping into his shoes. As if anyone ever could.
After opening to a thunderous reception with Seven Seas of Rye and Tie Your Mother Down, Lambert 36, addressed the heaving sun-burnt throng on this burning issue.
‘So you’re wondering who’s this f***ing American guy?’ he asked, strutting around the stage in a flowing red leather coat and gravity-defying diamante-studded platform boots. ‘I’m just a fan, like you,’ he added, explaining how singing Bohemian Rhapsody on the US talent show has led him to work with May and Taylor.
He turned on his huge heels before launching into Fat Bottomed Girls, Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now and Bicycle Race, riding an old cycle down the gangway, throwing flowers into the sea of faces below.
The hits came hard and fast before May, on the gangway with an acoustic, paid tribute to his hero Rory Gallagher before singing Love Of My Life, alongside a holographic Freddie. He was then joined for Under Pressure by Lambert, Taylor and his son Rufus – now a drummer with The Darkness, who opened the show to the crowd’s delight. Next came the Boomtown Rats, Geldof as scary as ever with the classic I Don’t Like Mondays.
Back at the main course, it was back to the hits with The Show Must Go On and Radio Gaga evoking vivid memories of Live Aid as the crowd re-enacted that famous handclapping response without missing a beat.
Bohemian Rhapsody and Freddie’s Day-Oh followed by We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions brought an incredible night to a close. I think Freddie would have approved.