Queen still rock royalty LAMBERT AND CO A BIG HIT
JUSTIN Young and Timothy Lanham of The Vaccines have a new side project called Halloweens. Their brilliant debut album, Morning Kiss At The Acropolis focuses less on guitars and more on classic songwriting.
Q: What is it like releasing music under a different name?
JUSTIN: “It’s liberating. From the word go with The Vaccines it felt like we had the weight of the world on our shoulders. With this there’s never been any pressure.
Q: It’s a totally different sound, very West Coast of America?
J: “I’ve got a Wurlitzer. The lyrics were written before the songs, which gave them a tone and a cohesive voice.”
Q: There’s great lyrics on the LP, you’ve spoken about Leonard Cohen before.
J: “As a man entering my early 30s in rock it’s not easy to grow old gracefully. Leonard Cohen is a shining light, given that he didn’t really start until his 30s.”
Q: Could you not have released this album under The Vaccines name?
J: “Tim and I were trying to write for The Vaccines, but it wasn’t working. We spend 300 days a year playing gigs. So we do cater our songwriting to what it will be like to play in front of people.”
Q: So what is the future of The Vaccines?
J: “We were making a Vaccines album concurrently and have a finished record ready to go but not until the end of the year maybe. And I am writing for another project I have as well. But The Vaccines remain the most important thing.”
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And the Londoner enjoyed being so open with her lyrics, saying: “It’s obviously really in your face and I see it as empowering to be a woman and to be able to talk about sex.”
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are hitting even greater heights since the Bohemian Rhapsody movie, says
The 2019 biopic told the story of the late Freddie Mercury’s rise to fame and his replacement has reaped the rewards on stage.
Adam, who has sung with Queen for the past eight years, said: “To be fair, we were selling out tours before the film but the film has taken it to the next level for this tour.
“We have kids in the audience and full families there. It’s so cool.”
The group, who have had to postpone their Rhapsody world tour due to the global lockdown, seem to gain more fans every year.
And it’s not just because of their music. Adam believes a major appeal is people having a better understanding of Freddie’s life and what he went through.
The former American Idol star explained: “I am so honoured to be singing with the band. I’m a huge Freddie Mercury fan.
“The treat for me is that it’s great music for a singer to sing and it’s a big honour.
“Learning about him in the past eight years, I feel like he’s somebody I would’ve gotten along with and if he was still with us, he’s someone I would’ve continued to look up to.
“So to be able to carry the torch for him is really special.”
Adam recently set up his organisation Feel Something Foundation to help young gay people struggling with “issues of homelessness, mental health and suicide prevention”.
Adam is also back with new solo album Velvet this month and he believes Queen fans will like it more than his past efforts.
He added: “This one feels like a very authentic extension of who I am as an artist. It’s very much closer to the world of Queen now.”
IF you’re tired of home concerts courtesy of bored pop stars, Post Malone has come up with a new idea. The rapper is hosting a virtual beer pong tournament which will stream live on Instagram. Dubbed The Ballina Cup, Posty has invited famous pals to get involved in the tournament which starts next week.