Following recent news that they will be headlining Sonisphere, the musical abortion that is being referred to as the Queen reunion has taken an even darker turn today with guitarist Brian May further desecrating the memory of the band by actually having the gall to say that “Freddie Mercury would approve of Adam Lambert.” Now far be it from me to pretend to know the mind of Freddie Mercury, especially better than May himself, but I find it very difficult to believe that he, one of the most histrionic and iconic performers of all time would approve on anyone taking his place in the band, no matter how talented they were. In fact I’m sure that Freddie, like anyone else with even a moderate allotment of braincells, would see this for what it is; a disgusting and flagrant example of profiteering on the part of some tired rock stars and a D grade dandy, rather than an effort “to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some fucking great songs,” as Adam Lambert managed to choke out around the hand his publicist/puppeteer has thrust up his ass.
Lambert himself displayed the usual mocked-up sentiment of respect and honour, the American Idol runner up quoted by NME as saying he wants to “pay respects to Freddie’s memory” while at the same time carving himself out a pretty little niche in the popular consciousness as the guy who replaced Freddie Mercury. I guess if you can’t win American Idol, it’s better to steal/soil the legacy of a British one.
To be fair, this isn’t the first time Queen have done this, with everyone from Elton John to Pavarotti having stepped in to fill Freddie’s shoes at one point or another, and in most cases, this one included, doing so without bassist John Deacon. We shouldn’t be surprised. But Adam Lambert? They could’ve at least got someone who won American Idol rather than a runner up. They’re essentially saying that an artist of the quality of Kelly Clarkson or whoever else has won that pap-smear of a show is too good.
While he does admittedly display a sense of flamboyancy vaguely comparable to Mercury, he nevertheless looks as though he was spat out the ass end of Gossip Girl after his story arc as one of Taylor Momsen‘s love interests petered out. Not to get too hung up on appearance and all, but I sincerely believe Lambert’s choice as replacement would be of personal affront to Freddie aesthetically as well as ideologically. It’s one thing to have world recognised artists like Robert Plant and David Bowie paying tribute to you and it’s another thing altogether to have a reality show reject come and boost his own star off your work and reputation. For Brian May to say he’s sure “Adam would meet with Freddie’s approval,” is therefore not only insulting to Freddie’s memory and legacy, but also to his work and impact while alive.
In any case, there isn’t much we can do but sit back and watch this foul spectacle play itself out and then forget it, just like we did every previous Queen reunion.
