Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

Well this brings whoring out your old band to new heights.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...l-tribute-band

Queen to launch official tribute band

Drummer Roger Taylor auditioning young lookalikes to tour the world so that he doesn't have to



Roger Taylor has announced plans for an official Queen tribute band. The group's drummer is recruiting "great-looking guys" for Queen Extravaganza, a touring retrospective that will combine archive footage, celebrity cameos, and faithful renditions of the band's best-known songs.


"Let's face it," Taylor told Rolling Stone magazine, "we're getting a little long in the tooth, but there are an awful lot of tribute bands, some of them good, some of them not good." Inspired by a poster he saw in Norfolk, Taylor hopes to start a "never ending" Queen tribute tour, keeping the band's music alive with performances by young lookalikes. "I'm quite convinced that there are tens of thousands of kids, of really talented people, in their bedrooms around the world playing drums, guitar, and singing," he said. "And I want to find some of those people."


Until recently, Queen didn't need an official tribute act – they were still touring themselves. But although Taylor and guitarist Brian May played together as recently as last week, the days of load-ins and soundchecks are probably behind them. "We can still do it, but I don't really think I want to travel around the world doing it any more," Taylor said. Their team-up with Paul Rodgers, who stood in for Freddie Mercury, was always conceived as "a temporary thing". "I think that phase is finished now," Taylor said, though they may reunite for "something special" such as the London Olympics.


For now, auditioning for Queen Extravaganza is your best bet for getting close to Taylor or May. Prospective Bohemian Rhapsodists can upload their auditions to queenextravaganza.com. While the surviving members of Queen will not be part of the regular touring show, Taylor wants to "leave places [for cameos]" if they are "starting a run somewhere exciting". Otherwise the gigs will be a mixture of early black-and-white film, iconic concert moments, and the hired gang of impersonators. "We want young people because we're no longer young," Taylor said. "It's a long time down the road."

Re: Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

Would have thought KISS would have been the first to do this. But that would mean those penny pinchers would have to share some of that.

Re: Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

This guy should be Freddie. :thumbsup:

http://youtu.be/dREKkAk628I

Re: Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

While that guy sounds like Freddie, you need someone with the stage presence that Freddie possessed. That will be a tough one to find. Similar with Arnel Pineda of Journey.... he sounded like Steve Perry but he lacked stage presence. I'm only basing this on their first tour so maybe he's worked on it. But normally, either you have it or you don't.

But I could get behind a Queen tribute band, especially with an official stamp of approval.

Re: Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

Don't they already have a shitty Broadway musical? Didn't they go on tour with the guy from Bad Company? Let Queen die already.

Re: Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

I still can't fathom why anyone would want to see a tribute band. The musical equivalent of a blow up doll.

Re: Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

I think it's time to just let Queen rest in peace.

Re: Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

I admit this could be a method to find new talent, especially if somebody can come close to singing like Freddie, but it does come off as a bit cheap. I guess they're concerned about their legacy. However, you don't see the remaining members of other old bands doing the same.

That said I'd really like to hear Mika cover some Queen songs.

Skull - that guy does sound really good. However, I'm a bit suspect. He seems to have a good microphone, but the sound comes off as too clean for the room he's in.

Re: Roger Taylor to launch official Queen tribute band
 

Well this could def be interesting if it ever happens (I'd be game for a one off show in London or New York as long as it gets filmed for a dvd/blu)
http://www.express.co.uk/features/vi...oice-of-Queen-
A LONG way off from hanging up his Queen crown, Brian May tells us he’s in negotiations to get Lady Gaga to front a new look version of the legendary group.
Guitarist May, 64, who has been a member of the band since 1971, reveals he is looking to recruit the eccentric US star to solve “the singer problem” the band have had since front man Freddie Mercury died two decades ago.
Speaking at the BMI awards at London’s Dorchester hotel where he received an Icon award on behalf of the band, Brian told us: “We talk about going out on the road all the time but there’s a bit of a singer problem to put it mildly,” he said.
“We get a lot of offers to work with other people. I worked with Lady Gaga and she’s very creative and is someone we’ve talked about singing, fronting the band with. She’s not just a singer, she writes her own material.”
He also said that 25-year-old Gaga isn’t the only person he has considered.
“We have talked about doing duets with other people and in a strange way I almost pressed the yes button. We were debating the idea of a TV show where we have all these guest stars. We didn’t press it today but we are still looking at it. Lady Gaga has said she would like to do something with us.”
from this year's VMA's with May on guitar
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/28358380?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/28358380">Lady Gaga You and I Live Mtv VMA 2011 HD</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4718904">cuneyt cayir</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>