‘I hope we do more stuff’: Brian May on Queen’s future with Adam Lambert, comparisons with Freddie Mercury

Brian May says he’s open to doing additional shows with Adam Lambert — who the Queen guitarist notes is growing by leaps and bounds as a performer — but that it likely wouldn’t include a world wide tour.

May and Roger Taylor are coming off a very well-received U.S. debut with the Idol finalist as part of the iHeart Radio music event held in September at Las Vegas. They’ve made a number of previous appearances together, dating back to 2009, but had only previously appeared on concert stages in Europe.

“I hope we do more stuff at some point,” May tells BIG100.3’s Lisa Berigan. “We’re talking. There are possibilities. People are making offers, so we’re looking at them. It would be nice to do a few shows. I don’t think I would push the button to a nine-month tour like the old days. You know, we did that, and life is too full of other stuff these days. I have a life and I don’t want to sacrifice it to be on the road the whole time. But a little bit would be good.”

Lambert has become the longest-tenured fill-in singer since Freddie Mercury passed in the early 1990s from complications related to AIDS. Queen has, over the years, appeared with George Michael, Tom Chaplin of Keane and (most memorably) with Paul Rodgers in the late 2000s.

Though a lengthy 2005-06 jaunt with Rodgers looks to be Queen’s last globe-spanning tour, both May and Taylor have spoken highly of Lambert as he’s worked to develop his own stage presence inside the towering legacy left behind by Mercury.

“He’s maturing fast as a singer,” May says of Lambert. “He’s a great entertainer; he’s a natural. So, although he doesn’t sing like Freddie, they have a lot in common, the two of them. I know if Freddie saw Adam, he would just be smiling all over his face — because the guy is a real artist. He turns out to be a really nice guy, as well. And that’s so important, because you can’t work with people you don’t like.”

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4 Comments

  1. I’m ready. Bring on Queen + Adam Lambert asap.

    • It can’t happen soon enough. 🙂 I’ve been predicting it since the Idol finale when Queen showed up for the marriage ceremony. I think Freddie has been pulling strings for a long time and I feel like he CHOSE Adam Lambert.

  2. Adam Lambert is an incredible singer, a great entertainer and an amazing person as well. As Brian mentioned, even though he was always great, Adam still strives to improve which says a lot about the type of person he is and his dedication to his craft. I hope we hear some news soon about concert dates. I really, really want to see Queen + Adam live.

  3. I very excited for more Queen + Adam Lambert. Adam’s version of Who Wants to Live Forever is truly other-worldly and the interplay he has with Brian and Roger is fun and heartwarming to watch. I always hoped that the possibility of seeing Queen perform their incredible music live would not die with Freddie, and I will so be there to see this new collaboration in a full concert (I saw them at iHeart).