BBC Form Supergroup to Cover Beach Boys Song

BBC

What happens when you get together tons of musicians for a worthy cause? Usually one hell of a song.

Thanks to the BBC, tons of musicians were asked to come together to cover the Beach Boys “God Only Knows” from Pet Sounds to officially launch of BBC Music. The TV spot featuring the reported 27 artists began to air yesterday (Oct. 7).

Pharrell Williams, Elton John, Chris Martin, Florence Welch, Stevie Wonder, Brian May, One Direction, Chrissie Hynde, Baaba Maal, Sam Smith, Lorde, Dave Grohl and many more can be spotted in the video. Also making the list of performers was Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys; how else do you pay homage to the guy (or band) that wrote and the song.

As if the long list of singers on the track wasn’t enough to get your head spinning, the BBC also used their 80-piece BBC Concert Orchestra on the song.

We warned you, epic might be an understatement. Give the track as listen.

When asked by The Guardian about the remake of the song, Wilson said: “All the artists did such a beautiful job. I can’t thank them enough. I’m just honored ‘God Only Knows’ was chosen. ‘God Only Knows’ is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I’ve ever written.”

The cover will be released as a single to raise funds for the BBC’s Children in Need charity. This isn’t the first time the BBC has done such a supergroup for charity. Back in 1997, the network released a version of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” featuring Elton John, Bono, and Reed himself.

Queen to Release Never-Before-Heard Freddie Mercury Fronted Tracks

freddiemercury

Posthumous albums must be a ll the rage this year because the remaining member of Queen have revealed plans to release an album with tracks featuring Freddie Mercury that previously were unreleased. 

In an interview with BBC Radio, guitarist Brian May revealed the plans and that the compilation would be titled, Queen Forever and will probably be released by the end of the year. 

According to May, some of the tracks can be traced as far back as the 1980s. In the interview, he also unveiled that he and fellow bandmate, Roger Taylor will be heading up the restoration process for the songs. “We had to start from scratch because we only had scraps,” May explained. “But knowing how it would have happened if we had finished it, I can sit there and make it happen with modern technology.”

Previously, May had also revealed plans to release a never-before-released track that featured a collaboration between Mercury and Michael Jackson. So far, the track still has not been released, but there might be a chance that the song will appear on the upcoming compilation. 

While nothing will ever be as “epic” as having Freddie Mercury in the flesh, the band have gone ahead and kept on going and will be heading out on tour this Summer with former American Idol contestant, Adam Lambert. This won’t be the first time that the former reality television show contestant has performed with the rest of the iconic band. Lambert performed with Queen on American Idol and went on a short tour with them across the pond. And no, according to Lambert, he has no intention of replacing one of his idols.

Check out their upcoming tour dates below. 

2014 QUEEN featuring ADAM LAMBERT TOUR:

06/19 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
06/21 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
06/23 – Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
06/24 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
06/26 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
06/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
07/01 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
07/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
07/05 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
07/06 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
07/09 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
07/10 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
07/12 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
07/13 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
07/14 – Montreal, QC 2 Bell Centre
07/16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
07/17 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/19 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
07/20 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/22 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
07/23 – E. Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center
07/25 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
07/26 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Boardwalk Hall
07/28 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
08/22 – Perth, AU @ Perth Arena
08/26 – Sydney, AU @ Allphones Arena
08/29 – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver Arena
09/01 – Brisbane AU @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre