Queen’s Brian May compares Freddie Mercury and Adam Lambert eras: ‘The equal of anything we ever did’

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As Queen prepares to take its world tour with Adam Lambert into the UK and Europe in 2015, Brian May is making a bold statement about how they compare with the band’s Freddie Mercury-fronted era.

“The energy which we generate in an arena is I would say as strong as ever — and I think Freddie would agree with me,” May tells Neu Magazine. “I don’t think he would be upset with me saying that. I think the Queen show today that we do with Adam Lambert is the equal of anything we ever did.”

Mercury, who passed in 1991 from AIDS-related complications, was a cornerstone in Queen’s initial success. Since his death, May and Roger Taylor have appeared with a number of guest vocalists — though Paul Rodgers and now Adam Lambert have enjoyed the longest stints.

May admits, however, that he wasn’t seeking another frontman when Queen initially met Lambert during a joint appearance on American Idol in 2009.

“I wasn’t looking for a lead singer,” May says, “but suddenly, here’s this guy who is very much like Freddie, in some ways. He’s very ebullient, he’s very camp, he’s very funny — and the voice is outrageously brilliant. And he can do Queen songs. He has the spirit for it. So we just said, ‘OK, we have to do this. Let’s give this a try.'”

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