Original Queen bassist John Deacon retired from music some years ago, but standing in his place on this tour was the very capable Neil Fairclough. They belted out the heavy and fast Stone Cold Crazy before we heard the classic simple bass line of Another One Bites the Dust.

As the song reached the chorus, the curtain shot up into the air as if it were being sucked into a giant vacuum and there they were in front of me in all their glory.Īlthough Lambert had a great voice, my eyes were on a curly grey-haired man playing a red and black guitar - the legend, doctor Brian May. The truth is, from the beginning of the performance I was more than satisfied my expectations were not only met, but they were completely blown out of the sky!Īs the lights shone through a huge curtain with the Queen logo, we could see figures moving around next came the opening guitar riff to Now I'm here, and then the drums kicked in followed by a BIG voice. I was careful not to have unrealistic expectations about this concert, as I didn't want to be disappointed, but as long as I got the chance to see May and Taylor bust out a few classics, I knew I would be satisfied. However, I decided I would still love to see original Queen members Brian May (guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums) play live, and given the 30-plus years since their last visit, and the fact they are now pushing 70, I figured this might be the only opportunity I get. I knew no-one could fill the shoes of Freddie, who was the greatest frontman of all time, and I wondered if this guy would ruin the show by trying to do just that. When I heard Queen was coming to Auckland with someone called Adam Lambert (apparently he came runner-up in American Idol one year?), I had mixed feelings. After the world lost the amazing Freddie Mercury to Aids in 1991, I grew up assuming I would never get to see Queen live.

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