Hey. I don't know if a full translation of that great German article from Pepper with the beautiful cover pic has been posted, and as I had nothing much to do on my Sunday morning I thought I'd give it a quick go. The copy we have is just a scan so I figured it'd be hard to Google-translate, and I could make myself useful for once. It's a nice article, but sorry if it's redundant!
Here's the link to the article on Devenlane's site:
www.adamlambertmedia.com/2014/10/2014-10-11-print-pepper-magazin-about.html?spref=tw.
My translation:
Rock music in Germany is finally once again hitting a royal note. When front-man Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991 at the age of just 45, it seemed that the glory days of the band Queen had also run out. Guitar player Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor did posthumously release some Freddie songs and dedicated themselves to a musical, but in their firm conviction that no one could take the place of their legendary singer, they tried neither to replace him nor to return to the stage is some form without him, at least until 2004.
For their induction into the British Music Hall of Fame, as well as for some concerts, the band got together with singer Paul Rodgers. While the cooperation lasted only until 2009, to the joy of rock fans worldwide Queen founding members May and Taylor had clearly now tasted blood. They kept their eyes open for new opportunities for musical projects, and they found luck, of all places, on a reality TV show. In 2009, they discovered Adam Lambert, who was widely whipping up a furor on American Idol, the US version of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar.” On the show, the at-that-time 27-year-old displayed an extraordinarily broad vocal range, and also presented himself as the kind of attention-hog who would make a great front-man for any band. Lambert’s qualities led May and Taylor to join him on the American Idol finale for a performance of the classic Queen song “We Are The Champions.” Not a few viewers would already then have thought that Adam Lambert, with his singing prowess and his stage-presence, was in prime position to step into the shoes of Freddie Mercury, at least for live concerts.
Three years later, it really was time. Queen and Lambert announced a live collaboration. Two concert-dates were publicized, and within one day the tickets were already grabbed up. The band and their new singer then did everything they could to live up to the hype. Adam Lambert proved that Freddie’s shoes were not too big for him. Though he did not try to copy him, in his extravagance, energy, and powerful voice he reminds one of the great Mercury.
Fans, at least, were thrilled and cried for more. Of course this was a call that May, Taylor, and Lambert, who with over five million tracks sold and a Grammy nomination has long been a superstar in the US in his own right, naturally couldn’t resist for long. This past fall they announced a joint tour. That will also bring Queen and Adam Lambert to Germany early next year. Amongst others, the Frankfurter Festhalle will get to hear the biggest hits like “Bohemian Rhapsondy,” “We Will Rock You,” “The Show Must Go On,” and “Who Wants To Live Forever.” One of the most legendary bands of all time with one of the best singers of our time: one wouldn’t want to miss that.
(the pull quote reads: “I’m sure Freddie would have approved of Adam”—Brian May)
