Over the weekend the music press whipped into overdrive after American Idol reject Adam Lambert was quoted by a UK tabloid as saying he was looking forward to fronting British rock band Queen.
The internet was a buzz with the news that has divided Queen supporters and attracted a large number of detractors critical of the move. The news seemed to confirm statements made by Queen’s drummer Roger Taylor to Billboard last year when he said “We would like to work with him again. There’s nothing signed just yet but we’re talking about live dates. It could be very exciting.”
It wouldn’t be the first time members of Queen have teamed up with Lambert. Last year Taylor and guitarist Brian May performed classic Queen tunes “The Show Must Go On” and “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions.” at the MTV Europe Awards.
The proclamation that the group had confirmed Lambert as the new frontman came from comments published in rag The Daily Star that quoted Lambert as saying “The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie [Mercury] and the band by singing some great songs.”
“It’s to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would have been proud of,” he continued. Lambert was also quoted as saying he had “no intention in his mind” to replace the late Queen singer. “That’s impossible,” he said. “The way I’m choosing to view it is that it’s a great honor and one I’m in no way going to shirk. Being asked to front Queen is the best thing that can possibly happen”
But it turns out that the quote the newspaper ran was actually taken out of context. Shock horror, we know. Will we ever be able to trust a UK trash rag again? Jumping on Twitter to debunk the newspapers stories, Lambert wrote “Oooh them clever reporters takin (sic) my quotes outta context… I haven’t confirmed any guest appearances. I was talking about the EMAs.”
“That being said, I’m truly flattered by your jump to such glorious conclusions Mr Journalist!!” Lamberts rebuttal was confirmed by Hoolywood Records, Queen’s record label, who spoke to Rolling Stone over the weekend and confirm no official deal had actually been inked.
“Adam may perform with Queen at (European music festival) Sonisphere,” a representative said. “This is not confirmed. Nothing has been signed.”
Queen, who have sold over 150 million albums worldwide, have been searching for over 20 years to reclaim their former glory since original frontman Freddie Mercury died in 1991 of bronchopneumonia, a complication of AIDS.
