1.23.15 Q+AL Birmingham

Notice that as he pans the crowd at the close of GSTQ the exit aisles are empty, no one is leaving early.   Yes, that is a good concert.

Great pics here!!

mmadamimadamm ‏@mmadamimadamm 3m3 minutes ago
Birmingham: Great pro pics!!!! www.stuarthogben.com/queen

I'm not sure if we already have this?  I'm getting !!lol

milkywayfairy ‏@milkywayfairy 20m20 minutes ago
Great Review: Queen and Adam Lambert, Birmingham Barclaycard Arena: nativemonster.com/music/review-queen-and-adam-lambert-birmingham-barclaycard-arena#.VMPemxabe-C.twitter … via @nativemonsteruk


Review: Queen and Adam Lambert, Birmingham Barclaycard Arena
SATURDAY 24TH JANUARY 2015


After all these years Queen still reign supreme. And the ecstatic fans at the packed Birmingham Barclaycard Arena on Friday night were more than happy to be their loyal subjects as they brought the house down with hit after hit.



It was a sensational mix of the new ‘king’ Adam Lambert and long-time musicians still at the top of their game - Brian May and Roger Taylor - and brilliant interaction with the fans who were in awe throughout.

Lambert’s ludicrously good vocal talents went perfectly with Queen’s music. Since his spectacular performance with Queen on New Year’s Eve at London’s 02, music fans and critics Lambert have raved about him and after performances in Glasgow and Newcastle the shows have been hailed as ‘an all-guns-blazing rock machine’.

And the Arena crowd echoed those sentiments as they clapped and sang along to one favourite after another, opening with One Vision and later the very appropriate We Will Rock You ­­- and they did, Don’t Stop Me Now- why would we want to? And We Are The Champions - no doubt about that! They saved that one for the end with the fans up on their feet. And there was of course the song crowned the UK’s favourite Number One - Bohemian Rhapsody.

In fact it was Lambert’s own virtual duet with Freddie Mercury, who appeared on a large screen to huge cheers from the crowd, on Bohemian Rhapsody that truly showed how well his vocals compete with the great man himself. Lambert paid tribute to ‘the wonderful Freddie Mercury’ by saying how much he had inspired him from an early age.

And in another poignant moment Roger Taylor sang These Are The Days Of Our Lives… as old images of the band flashed up on screen

Having only recently wound down a sold-out world tour they spared no time in taking their critically-acclaimed show back on the road with a six-week long set of dates across Europe. And there is no denying that the ‘man in black’ Lambert although not trying to be a Freddie Mercury clone does bring back the dazzling showmanship, somewhat lacking since the singer’s death. The band seemed to having a lot of fun too and seemed to be playing off the crowd’s euphoria.

The 32-year-old Lambert is much better known to US audiences than he is to those in the UK with his appearance on Simon Cowell’s American Idol . The two remaining original members, the now-grey-haired 60-somethings May (guitar) and Taylor (drums) were clearly loving it, along with bassist Neil Fairclough and Taylor’s son Rufus, who regularly plays with the band. And May impressed with an amazing guitar solo for nearly 10 minutes.

With excellent sound systems and clever use of lighting and imagery of Freddie Mercury it was a fitting tribute to the man himself. No-one will ever be able to replace him but there’s currently no-one else who could better fill his shoes and put on such a spectacular show as Adam Lambert. I knew it would be good but this surpassed all expectations. Queen still do reign supreme.

By Sue Attwater