Roger Taylor defends the choice of Adam Lambert to front Queen after being asked, in a newly published talk with Classic Rock magazine, if he is “selling the band short by having a guy from American Idol as your singer.”
Taylor and Brian May will appear with Lambert at the iHeart music festival, to be held at the MGM Grand on September 20-21, 2013 in Las Vegas. He’s been filling in, over a series of appearances, since 2009 for Freddie Mercury — the legendary Queen singer who passed in 1991 after a bout with AIDS.
Posed the question about Lambert, Taylor fires back: “Whatever you do, people will take it or leave it. That’s always the case.”
Taylor has also completed a rare solo effort, his initial effort away from Queen since 1998’s Electric Fire.
Called Fun on Earth, it’s due in October, and will reportedly include a redo of “Say It’s Not True,” the debut single from the late-2000s collaboration with Lambert’s immediate successor in Queen, Paul Rodgers. This new take on the track, composed by Taylor and released in 2007 as a benefit for an AIDS foundation spearheaded by Nelson Mandela, will feature Jeff Beck on guitar.
Taylor says the project title, Fun on Earth, has special meaning.
“My first solo effort (in 1981) was called Fun in Space,” Taylor tells Classic Rock. “I’ve called this one Fun on Earth. I’ve come down to earth a bit, but there’s still a bit of fun in there — some smiley tracks.”
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