Queen + Adam Lambert announce massive ‘Rhapsody’ tour for summer 2019

If you’ve been bitten by the Queen bug lately thanks in part to the Rami Malek-starring “Bohemian Rhapsody,” then the iconic band’s recent announcement may have you singing “Mamma mia! Mamma mia! Let me go!” up and down the streets. On Monday (Dec. 3), the legendary British band unveiled plans to hit the North American touring circuit during the summer of 2019.

Dubbed the “Rhapsody” tour, the upcoming trek will find the newly-revamped group performing at venues across the continent throughout the months of July and August. The 23-stop tour will include shows in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Dallas, Toronto, Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Nashville, New Orleans, Atlanta and more.

The summertime jaunt will begin on July 10 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver and conclude a month and a half later on Aug. 23 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

General public tickets go on sale beginning this Friday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. local time. Fan club pre-sales will run from 10 a.m. local time through 10 p.m. local time on Thursday, Dec. 6. All tickets will be available on Live Nation’s website.

Following the tour announcement, the band’s remaining co-founders, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, released a joint statement showcasing their excitement about the upcoming outing.

“This is a great opportunity. Our last tour featured our most ambitious production ever, and got us our best notices ever. So we decided to rip it apart and get even more ambitious! Watch out, America!” says May.

Taylor adds: “We are ready for America and raring to get back in the saddle.”
Joining May and Taylor on tour are Spike Edney on keyboards, Neil Fairclough on bass, Tyler Warren on percussion, and Adam Lambert once again taking on the role of frontman. Lambert first shared the stage with Queen during the 2009 “American Idol” finale. A couple of years later, the singer joined the group for their first tour in 2012.

For now, the complete “Rhapsody” tour itinerary can be seen below.

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT RHAPSODY 2019 TOUR DATES:

July 10 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
July 12 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
July 14 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
July 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Arena
July 19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
July 23 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
July 24 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
July 27 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
July 28 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
July 30 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
July 31 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Aug. 3 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Aug. 4 – Boston, MA – Xfinity Center
Aug. 6 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Aug. 9 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Aug. 10 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Aug. 13 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Aug. 15 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Aug. 17 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – BB&T Center
Aug. 18 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
Aug. 20 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
Aug. 22 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Aug. 23 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center

Watch: Second ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ trailer debuts online

Everyone knows the words to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and if they say they don’t, then they’ve either been living under a rock their entire lives or are lying. But how exactly did the song, arguably one of the group’s biggest hits, get made? Well, in the new Queen biopic, it looks like fans may get a sneak peek at how the stadium rock jam alongside “We Will Rock” were created.

On Tuesday (July 17), the second official trailer for the longtime-in-the-works film chronicling the inception of Queen all the way to their iconic 1985 Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium, debuted. In the latest trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody, fans get to witness how “We Will Rock You” and film’s title track were made (“How many more Galileos do you want?!”).

The two-and-a-half-minute clip pivots back and forth between scenes from the band’s early days of starting up (frontman Freddie Mercury literally inviting himself to join the group) to the height of their success where everything was glitz, glam, and rock and roll.

Unlike the first trailer, the newly released clip does touch on Mercury’s sexuality.  Back in May, many complaints filled the internet when the singer’s sexuality was completely downplayed. This time around, the clip features his girlfriend and confidante Mary Austin as well as a scene of Mercury in the recording studio with a man coming onto him.

Watch the new trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody above.

Bohemian Rhapsody is due out Nov. 2.

Watch Rami Malek become Freddie Mercury in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ trailer

Bohemian Rhapsody is due out on Nov. 2.

Listen to an Unreleased Queen Song in Honor of World AIDS Campaign

The world lost Queen frontman Freddie Mercury 23 years ago to AIDS, but that hasn’t stopped his legacy from influencing many musical artists and the organizations whose key goal is to combat  the AIDS.

In honor of World AIDS Day (Dec. 1), Coca-Cola has teamed up with (RED), the AIDS organization founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver, to help rally and encourage people to take action and to donate to (RED).

The month-long global campaign has been named “Share the Sound of an AIDS-free Generation” with several musicians such as Avicii, OneRepublic, Wyclef Jean, Aloe Blacc and of course Queen joining the cause. Each week, a new artist will unveil a previously unheard song that will be available for download on iTunes.

This week, the first week of the campaign, found Queen debuting a new, unreleased song featuring vocals from Mercury.

“It’s been 23 years since the world lost our beloved Freddie Mercury,” said Queen guitarist Brian May.

“We’ve made extraordinary progress in the fight against AIDS in that time. But we cannot simply rest on the fact that the treatment is available. We must ensure that it is provided. Roger and I are proud to lend this rediscovered song to the (Coca-Cola) RED campaign, in the hope that Freddie’s powerful voice can inspire the world yet again.”

Check out the never before heard track, “Let Me in Your Heart Again” which was originally recorded for the group’s 1984 LP The Works,.

Donors in a giving mood can also qualify to win several perks including backstage passes to see Bono, a year of EDM with Avicii, a change to spend the day with OneRepublic, and the opportunity to see Queen with Adam Lambert on tour.

Listen to the Long-Lost Queen/Michael Jackson Song

The recently announced Queen album featuring some never before heard songs from late frontman Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson has officially gotten a release date.

The posthumous record titled Queen Forever which was announced back in May, will officially be released on Nov. 10. With the reveal of the release date, also comes the track list which include many Queen fan favorites and some re-tweaking of old songs, and that Mercury/Jackson collaboration.

The story went that Mercury had been working on a song titled, “There Must Be More to Life Than This” with Jackson, but it was never completed.

Instead, Mercury decided to record his own version which ended up on his solo debut record, 1985’s Mr. Bad Guy. Now, fans will get to hear what the actual song sounded like with both singers were involved.

“When I first played it in my studio, I opened a trove of delights provided by the greatest of musicians,” producer William Orbit wrote in a statement.

“Hearing Michael Jackson’s vocals was stirring. So vivid, so cool and poignant, it was like he was in the studio singing live. With Freddie’s vocal solo on the mixing desk, my appreciation for his gift was taken to an even higher level.”

Listen to the song here.

Also included on the compilation will be a remade version of “Love Kills,” a song that was featured in Giorgio Moroder remake of Fritz Lang’s 1927 iconic film, Metropolis.

“They took out all the disco production and turned it into more of a traditional Queen arrangement,” Adam Lambert said about the track. The former American Idol contestant had been performing the song live with the remaining members of Queen this past Summer while they were out on tour.

“It’s an amazing song, very dramatic and powerful with a beautiful melody” he added.

The full track list for the upcoming compilation can be seen below. Keep in mind, the track list will depend on whether you’re purchasing the single CD or the two CD set.

QUEEN FOREVER COMPILATION TRACK LIST:

Single CD:

1. “Let Me In Your Heart Again”
2. “Love Kills – The Ballad”
3. “There Must Be More To Life Than This” (William Orbit Mix)
4. “It’s A Hard Life”
5. “You’re My Best Friend”
6. “Love Of My Life”
7. “Drowse”
8. “Long Away”
9. “Lily Of The Valley”
10. “Don’t Try So Hard”
11. “Bijou”
12. “These Are The Days Of Our Lives”
13. “Las Palabras De Amor”
14. “Who Wants To Live Forever”
15. “A Winter’s Tale”
16. “Play The Game”
17. “Save Me”
18. “Somebody To Love”
19. “Too Much Love Will Kill You”
20. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”

2-CD SET

CD1

1. “Let Me In Your Heart Again”
2. “Love Kills – The Ballad”
3. “There Must Be More To Life Than This” (William Orbit Mix)
4. “Play The Game”
5. “Dear Friends”
6. “You’re My Best Friend”
7. “Love Of My Life”
8. “Drowse”
9. “You Take My Breath Away”
10. “Spread Your Wings”
11. “Long Away”
12. “Lily Of The Valley”
13. “Don’t Try So Hard”
14. “Bijou”
15. “These Are The Days Of Our Lives”
16. “Nevermore”
17. “Las Palabras De Amor”
18. “Who Wants To Live Forever”

CD2

1. “I Was Born To Love You”
2. “Somebody To Love”
3. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
4. “Friends Will Be Friends”
5. “Jealousy”
6. “One Year of Love”
7. “A Winters Tale”
8. “‘39”
9. “Mother Love”
10. “It’s A Hard Life”
11. “Save Me”
12. “Made in Heaven”
13. “Too Much Love Will Kill You”
14. “Sail Away Sweet Sister”
15. “The Miracle”
16. “Is This The World We Created”
17. “In The Lap Of The Gods…Revisited”
18. “Forever”

Panic! at the Disco Cover Queen in Concert

Panic! at the Disco covering Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” on The Gospel Tour in Boca Raton, FL with Walk the Moon and Youngblood Hawke.

THE GOSPEL TOUR DATES:

8/16 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre
8/17 – Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amphitheatre
8/19 – The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/22 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom
8/23 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Zoo Amphitheatre
8/26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
8/27 – San Diego, CA @ SDSU Open Air Theatre
8/28 – San Jose, CA @ San Jose State Event Center

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

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

Freddie Mercury Bio-Pic Casts Their Freddie, Again

After all this time, it looks like that Freddie Mercury bio-pic has finally gotten someone to play the iconic frontman and it might not be someone who we expected.

Ben Whishaw.

That is correct, the guy who played Q in Skyfall and Freddie Lyon (see it was already in the cards, we think) on BBC’s The Hour has been chosen to take the place of Sacha Baron Cohen after he bowed out of the role.

About six weeks ago, there was story written by the BBC blog, Anglophenia, that Queen’s Roger Taylor had his heart set on Whishawn taking on the role of the late-singer. At the time, even the blog had to admit that it was a stretch that the actor would take on the role that was previously occupied by someone with much more credentials. But alas, it looks like the rumor wasn’t a stretch at all because today it was confirmed.

At the time, Cohen has decided to leave the film, it was rumored that it was due to creative issues between the actor and the band. After his departure, guitarist Brain May said, “you have to really suspend that disbelief – the man who plays Freddie, you have to really believe is Freddie. And we didn’t think that could really happen with Sacha. That’s not any criticism of his talent whatsoever, it’s just a feeling that it was not going to work – that the pieces didn’t fit together anymore.”

It’s also been reported that Dexter Fletcher has already closed the deal on the bio-pic and is currently working on how to represent the events that lead to the formation of Queen. Deadline reported that the film would be more of a celebration of Mercury’s glory days rather than concentrating on his last days.

Fall Out Boy//The Band Perry Collab Released

Remember when we first revealed that Fall Out Boy would be joining the Band Perry in the CMT show Crossroads? It looks like the song that both groups will be performing as part of the show has been revealed as Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls”

A few weeks back, it was announced that Fall Out Boy would be making an appearance on the country music show that team country music artists with other artist from a completely different genre. The Band Perry had been chosen as the country music artist for this edition of the show while the rock band had been chosen as the “other” group.

At the time, the show had not announced when the taping would be taking place, but apparently one of the two tapings of it had already happened because there has been a leaked performance of the song. According to CMT’s website, the recording of that performance actually took places last Wednesday, October 2 at Nashville’s famous hang out place, Rocketown.

Watch as the two groups come together to cover one of the most iconic bands’ song here.

CMT’s Crossroads featuring the Band Perry and Fall Out Boy is scheduled to air on November 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Daniel Radcliffe NOT to Play Freddie Mercury in Bio-Pic

After Sacha Baron Cohen bowed out from the Freddie Mercury bio-pic back in July due to some “creative” and rating issues with the remaining members of Queen, some people were starting to wonder who would be taking on the role of the iconic musician. Cohen, from the second he was cast, fit in as the singer and even revealed at some point that he was excited to take on the role especially since he had wanted to play that part for quite sometime.

While at first some might have been upset with the casting call, there was a slight resemblance between the actor and the late frontman.

Then rumors started a short time ago that Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe, would be taking on the role. Talks might have been on the mum side since then, but the actor has officially confirmed that he would not be taking on the part in the still going forward film.

While speaking with Empire magazine, he confirmed that he would be”all wrong” for the part.

“Everyone on the internet who I presume is saying I’m totally wrong for that part is correct,” he said. “I AM completely wrong for that part!”

Radcliffe added, “if I’d seen a rumor about me playing Iggy Pop, I’d think, ‘Hey, I’d have a go at that – that’d be fun!’, but Freddie Mercury? No. I don’t even know who the director is. They seem to be saying it’s Stephen Frears and Tom Hooper on the internet.”

But while Cohen had bowed out and Radcliffe has now confirmed that he is not attached in any way with the project, Queen drummer Roger Taylor said in an interview about his departure, “we felt Sacha probably wasn’t right in the end. We didn’t want it to be a joke. We want people to be moved.”

Even though it looks like the film will be taking longer than planned to hit the big screen, Digital Spy has it on good authority that the project is still alive and will be making it on the screen; now when, only they know.