9.15.13 Last day to enter FANtasy contest, Adam News & Info
Sept 15, 2013 14:35:56 GMT -5
Post by wal on Sept 15, 2013 14:35:56 GMT -5
Has this been posted? Sorry, I can't remember..
BrianMayCom @brianmaycom 2h
Where does @adamlambert fit in [with @queenwillrock]? goo.gl/3rY72v
**Sun 15 Sep 13**
THE SHOW MUST GO ON - ROGER TAYLOR INTERVIEW
Direct link: www.brianmay.com/queen/queennews/queennewssep13a.html#32
Note: some of the information here has now been overtaken in recent days.
With a new solo album, new Queen activity and more on the way, after 40 years of rock royalty Roger Taylor give one of his most wide-ranging and revealing interview ever.
As befits a member of one of the most successful rock groups of all time, a man with a fortune estimated at £120 million, the home of Roger Taylor is grandiose. A white mansion, part of which dates back to the 13th century, situated in a picturesque village near Guildford in Surrey, the house is set amid acres of landscaped gardens, with views across miles of gently sloping fields and woodland.
Having lived here for 10 years, Taylor has added some personal touches to the place. At the front entrance, beneath a rather ostentatious portico, are two black statues of gorillas, in the garden, mounted on a metal frame is a huge gong – a relic of past Queen tours.
Most pragmatically, in one wing of the house there’s a recording studio. And it is here that Taylor entertains Classic Rock on a hot summer afternoon. Sat beside his drum kit, dressed casually and sipping chilled French white wine, Taylor – Queen drummer and a lot more – has plenty to talk about.
He has a new solo album released in September, alongside a collection of his previous solo work. In October, there’s a tour by The Queen Extravaganza – billed as an ‘official tribute show’. And later in the year there will be a live performance in Las Vegas for US TV by Queen with singer and former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert.
Forty years after the release of Queen's first album, and 21 years since the death of the band’s legendary frontman Freddie Mercury, Taylor will discuss the past, present and future of Queen, the highs and lows of their extraordinary career, his relationship with Mercury; his long friendship with Queen guitarist Brian May; the ‘lost’ Queen songs that he and May are currently working on; and why, at the age of 64, he is still driven to make new music. “I’m a musician,” he says. “It’s what I do.”
---
Let’s cut straight to the chase, Roger – what is the status of Queen right now?
I’m still in that band, but there’s only two of us left, Brian and myself. And only one of us can walk [laughs]. We still run the brand – that’s what it is these days.
---
So if Queen is a brand, operated by you and Brian, where does Adam Lambert fit in?
I wouldn’t say he’s always going to be part of Queen. We’re doing the live TV show in Vegas with Adam and a couple other guests, in a 10,000-seater, but that’s all we’ve got planned. There are no rules, really. WE do things very much on the spur.
But you plan to continue performing as Queen, with or without Adam Lambert?
Yeah, but it’s only an occasional thing now. Last year, with Adam, we did three really big shows in Europe and three at Hammersmith Apollo, which was a lot of fun. Brian and I realised a long time ago, this is what we do, this is what we are. I’m afraid, readers, it goes on forever.
Are you happy with Adam as Queen’s singer?
He works very well with us. He’s an incredible singer. He’s got a really magnetic stage presence. He’s very sexy. And, of course, our more theatrical songs suit him perfectly. He’s a diva – a male deva. And that’s what he should think about being.
Before you began working with Adam, you toured and recorded an album as Queen + Paul Rodgers.
Paul is a singer that Freddie admired. He led two of rock’s greatest bands, Free and Bad Company. In that sense he is the antithesis of Adam Lambert.
We actually loved playing the Free and Bad Company stuff with Paul. But, strangely enough, although Paul was wonderful, with that amazing blues-soul voice, Adam is more suited to some of our bigger songs than Paul was.
Some Queen fans think you’re selling the band short by having a guy from American Idol as your singer. Do you understand that?
Whatever you do, people have to take it or leave it. That’s always the case.
---
To be continued....
CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE
September 2013 by Paul Elliot
BrianMayCom @brianmaycom 2h
Where does @adamlambert fit in [with @queenwillrock]? goo.gl/3rY72v
**Sun 15 Sep 13**
THE SHOW MUST GO ON - ROGER TAYLOR INTERVIEW
Direct link: www.brianmay.com/queen/queennews/queennewssep13a.html#32
Note: some of the information here has now been overtaken in recent days.
With a new solo album, new Queen activity and more on the way, after 40 years of rock royalty Roger Taylor give one of his most wide-ranging and revealing interview ever.
As befits a member of one of the most successful rock groups of all time, a man with a fortune estimated at £120 million, the home of Roger Taylor is grandiose. A white mansion, part of which dates back to the 13th century, situated in a picturesque village near Guildford in Surrey, the house is set amid acres of landscaped gardens, with views across miles of gently sloping fields and woodland.
Having lived here for 10 years, Taylor has added some personal touches to the place. At the front entrance, beneath a rather ostentatious portico, are two black statues of gorillas, in the garden, mounted on a metal frame is a huge gong – a relic of past Queen tours.
Most pragmatically, in one wing of the house there’s a recording studio. And it is here that Taylor entertains Classic Rock on a hot summer afternoon. Sat beside his drum kit, dressed casually and sipping chilled French white wine, Taylor – Queen drummer and a lot more – has plenty to talk about.
He has a new solo album released in September, alongside a collection of his previous solo work. In October, there’s a tour by The Queen Extravaganza – billed as an ‘official tribute show’. And later in the year there will be a live performance in Las Vegas for US TV by Queen with singer and former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert.
Forty years after the release of Queen's first album, and 21 years since the death of the band’s legendary frontman Freddie Mercury, Taylor will discuss the past, present and future of Queen, the highs and lows of their extraordinary career, his relationship with Mercury; his long friendship with Queen guitarist Brian May; the ‘lost’ Queen songs that he and May are currently working on; and why, at the age of 64, he is still driven to make new music. “I’m a musician,” he says. “It’s what I do.”
---
Let’s cut straight to the chase, Roger – what is the status of Queen right now?
I’m still in that band, but there’s only two of us left, Brian and myself. And only one of us can walk [laughs]. We still run the brand – that’s what it is these days.
---
So if Queen is a brand, operated by you and Brian, where does Adam Lambert fit in?
I wouldn’t say he’s always going to be part of Queen. We’re doing the live TV show in Vegas with Adam and a couple other guests, in a 10,000-seater, but that’s all we’ve got planned. There are no rules, really. WE do things very much on the spur.
But you plan to continue performing as Queen, with or without Adam Lambert?
Yeah, but it’s only an occasional thing now. Last year, with Adam, we did three really big shows in Europe and three at Hammersmith Apollo, which was a lot of fun. Brian and I realised a long time ago, this is what we do, this is what we are. I’m afraid, readers, it goes on forever.
Are you happy with Adam as Queen’s singer?
He works very well with us. He’s an incredible singer. He’s got a really magnetic stage presence. He’s very sexy. And, of course, our more theatrical songs suit him perfectly. He’s a diva – a male deva. And that’s what he should think about being.
Before you began working with Adam, you toured and recorded an album as Queen + Paul Rodgers.
Paul is a singer that Freddie admired. He led two of rock’s greatest bands, Free and Bad Company. In that sense he is the antithesis of Adam Lambert.
We actually loved playing the Free and Bad Company stuff with Paul. But, strangely enough, although Paul was wonderful, with that amazing blues-soul voice, Adam is more suited to some of our bigger songs than Paul was.
Some Queen fans think you’re selling the band short by having a guy from American Idol as your singer. Do you understand that?
Whatever you do, people have to take it or leave it. That’s always the case.
---
To be continued....
CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE
September 2013 by Paul Elliot
