Queen is set for another run through North America with Adam Lambert, kicking off Wednesday night in Baltimore and continuing through a pair of concerts on Nov. 11-12 in Los Angeles. The group is now led by Brian May and Roger Taylor in the late Freddie Mercury’s absence.
They’ve been performing together off and on since 2009, meaning Lambert simply has to have developed a favorite song from their vast repertoire, right? The answer, however, might surprise you.
Turns out that performing with Queen has given Adam Lambert new insights not just into their biggest hits, but also into nearly forgotten gems from their vast catalog. Considering Lambert’s range and stage presence, the average Queen fan would probably pick “We Are the Champions” or perhaps “Who Wants to Live Forever,” both signature moments with plenty of history and drama associated with the band. Or, maybe a more upbeat moment like “Another One Bites the Dust,” which made its debut as part of 1980’s The Game.
Actually, the truth is that Lambert doesn’t have a favorite per se. Still, in a talk with Huffington Post, Lambert mentioned all three of those songs as he ruminated on the idea.
“Who Wants to Live Forever” was part of the 1986 Queen project A Kind of Magic. “We Are the Champions,” typically paired with the stadium-sport hit “We Will Rock You,” goes back to 1977’s News of the World.
While discussing that trio of classics, however, Adam Lambert did show a decided preference for a key deep cut: Brian May’s “Dragon Attack” That one also found a home on The Game, which spawned the hit “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
“It’s hard to name a favorite. There’s so many great songs,” Lambert said. “I think my favorite out of the more obscure ones was ‘Dragon Attack.’ It’s one that I fell in love with. I don’t know if I could name a favorite.”
He added: “I mean, I think ‘We Are the Champions’ is genius. ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ is amazing. I love singing ‘Another One Bites the Dust.’ That’s probably my favorite up-tempo. And ‘We Will Rock You.’ I mean, I can’t name a favorite – they all have their own character.”
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I’m glad to know he said “I love singing ‘Another One Bites the Dust.’” because that’s the one that caught my fancy when he did it the iHeart concert in Las Vegas.