Between 2012 and 2020, Queen and Adam Lambert toured extensively, delivering 218 performances in over 40 countries, and in front of an estimated three and a half million people.
“The memories, and the fact that we're still here, and the legacy lives on,” says Brian May about the experience, “and I think Freddie would be so happy about that.”
At the beginning of 2020, the band was in full flight with their Rhapsody Tour already playing to sold-out crowds across And although the global pandemic was about to put plans to tour across Europe on hold, Queen and Adam Lambert, in response to a tragedy unfolding in Australia, managed to contribute to a show, with what is regarded as one of their absolute finest performance - replicating for the first time ever the band’s iconic 1985 Live Aid set for the Fire Fight Australia fundraising concert, staged to help communities affected by Australia’s devastating brushfires.
The 22-minute performance even included video footage from the 1985 show, honouring Freddie Mercury in a digital cameo with the re-enactment of one of his most iconic audience-participation moments.
“It was incredible because, you know, it was a terrible thing to see the fires sweep through Australia and the amount of hardship, and people losing their homes, the amount of wild animals killed. Very tragic,” explains May. “And we happened to be in Sydney at a point where it was convenient to put on a concert to raise awareness, raise money for the cause, for the firefighters. So we'd already done our show the night before, and we kind of donated our stage to open the stadium the next night.
“The feeling of adrenaline was insane. And strangely, we had already decided that we wanted to recreate the Live Aid set. Because there's a lot of similarities between the causes. And so we went on and just as, you know, the original Live Aid, it was a one-off. We've never done that set before, and this was a one-off to. And the audience were…”
“They were wild. Yeah,” recalls Lambert.
Later that year, that particular set also appeared on the Queen + Adam Lambert “Live Around The World” album - a compilation of some of the stand-out live performances from the Queen + Adam Lambert years, that was released as a thank you to the fans. Queen’s first album without Freddie and John Deacon, it raced to number one in the charts in October 2020, ensuring Queen entered their sixth decade with another number one album and providing Adam with his first UK No.1 album.
“I knew Queen songs before I knew who Queen were,” says Lambert. “I mean, they're just ever present and to get up there for me personally, and to get up to celebrate Freddie as well, is a real treat. You know, there's no replacing Freddie. It's not possible. So to be on stage and to talk to the audience about Freddie, and we show Freddie on the screen a couple of points in the show, we hear his voice, that's very important for this, this experience, for the audience.”
See also:
Queen revisit first decade with Adam Lambert on The Greatest
Queen bring Bohemian Rhapsody to the movies on The Greatest
Queen revisit 2002 Golden Jubilee concert on The Greatest
Queen revisit first concert with Adam Lambert on The Greatest
Search Queen at hennemusic
