The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019) - full transcript

♪ Love of my life, you've hurt me

♪ You've broken my heart

♪ And now you leave me

♪ Love of my life, can't you see?

♪ Bring it back ♪

Through anything,
we will just carry on.

It's the survival instinct
that I think the whole group has.

I mean, if I suddenly left,
they'd just replace me, you know?

Not easy to replace me, huh?

Whoever's gonna fill those shoes,

arguably were the toughest shoes
possibly in the world to fill.



Go house lights, go house lights.

OK.

Let's do it.

Have a good one.

Christine to Andy,
the band are walking.

Band are walking.

Band are walking.

It's just pure chance that
we came by Adam Lambert.

Suddenly you think, we could do
the old arenas that we used to do

and we now have somebody

who can act as a focus
and a channel.

For them to have found a way
to do it without Freddie...

..it seems like
something superhuman,

but it was right there
just as riveting as it ever was.



♪ Buddy, you're a boy,
Make a big noise

♪ Playing in the street,
Gonna be a big man someday

♪ You got mud on your face,
You big disgrace

♪ Kicking your can
All over the place, singin'

♪ We will, we will rock you. ♪

Listen,
we made a film about a gay man,

an immigrant who lived his life
just unapologetically himself.

We're longing
for stories like this.

There is just a pure majesty
to their music

that hits you right at your core.

And it means
so much to each person

in the most unique way.

There's no other band like them.

They're the soundtrack to my life.

I think, this day and age,

they're such an important band
to listen to.

I still think they're the best
rock'n'roll band of all time.

I mean, I don't think
there's a better band.

They're up there as one
of the greatest bands in the world.

♪ She keeps her Moet et Chandon

♪ In her pretty cabinet

♪ "Let them eat cake", she says

♪ Just like Marie Antoinette. ♪

Queen covered more ground
than anyone.

They just did.

♪ I want it all. ♪

They can play hard rock.

♪ I want it all, I want it all,
And I want it now. ♪

They can play weird opera songs.

♪ Thunderbolt and lightning,
Very, very frightening me. ♪

They can do gospel.

♪ Can anybody find me
Somebody to love? ♪

They can do
sort of disco funk songs.

♪ Yeah, oh yeah, eah, eah, eah

♪ Sing it

♪ Another one bites the dust

♪ Sing out... ♪

In the '80s, Queen
were the hottest ticket in town.

The peak
was 'Another One Bites the Dust',

which was their biggest hit
in America.

♪ Hey, I'm gonna get you, too

♪ Another one bites the dust. ♪

Live, they're just unbeatable.

Obviously, the proof was Live Aid.

Everyone stopped

what they were doing
to watch Live Aid.

We were not leaving the room.

It was the youth culture event
of the 1980s.

I think there are only so few
that know

how to play to an audience
of millions and,

in that moment, billions.

On that day, in Wembley, in '85,

everyone got to see
what they could do collectively.

♪ And we'll keep on fighting
Till the end

♪ We are the champions

♪ No time for losers

♪ 'Cause we are the champions

♪ We are the champions,
My friends. ♪

You never hear anybody say

"Gee, wouldn't it be great
if Queen did a club?"

No.

You would miss
that ensemble feeling

that you have being part
of this living force.

♪ No time for losers

♪ 'Cause we are the champions... ♪

You have to remember
one thing about Queen.

They were always swinging
for a homerun every time.

♪ ..of the world. ♪

That was probably
one of the all-time

great performances ever,
I would say.

It was quite unbelievable.

I mean, they kicked everyone's ass.

They kicked Led Zeppelin's ass.

They kicked Phil Collins' ass.

Sorry, Phil, I love you.

They kicked The Who's ass.

Sorry, I love The Who.

They kicked everyone's ass.

♪ Aaaa Oohh

♪ Aa-aa-aa Ooooo

That was really
one of the most impressive shows

of the command of the lead vocalist
can have on an audience.

♪ Aaaaaaaaaaa Oo

♪ Aaaa Oohh

They're a great fucking band,
period.

♪ De da day da do

♪ Day do

Alright!

After Live Aid,
there was nothing gonna stop them.

The world was theirs.

And they really
could have gone anywhere with it

had it not been for the fact

that it kind of coincided
with Fred's illness.

Freddie Mercury
died last night of AIDS.

There have been tributes
to his talent and his courage

from friends and from fans.

He only admitted publicly
that he had AIDS the day before

he died when he also appealed
to his fans

to help combat the disease.

I mean,
I remember when Freddie died,

a lot of people
saw it as being like,

"You're not gonna be
able to overcome this tragedy.

"You're not gonna be able
to recapture any of the old magic.

You're not gonna find someone
who can front a band like Queen."

The idea that Queen
could have continued

without Freddie Mercury,
no way, no way.

You'd say, knee-jerk, "No way."

And yet here we are.

It wasn't until
this young man appeared,

I call him a gift from God, Adam.

We didn't ask for him.

We didn't look for him.

We didn't have a recipe book
or whatever with bullet points.

He just turned up
and he could do everything.

♪ One man, one goal,

♪ One mission

♪ One heart, one soul,

♪ Just one solution

♪ One flash of light, yeah. ♪

I can't imagine what it would be
like to go through

what they went through
and lose a band member.

But his story needed to carry on,

and they needed to carry on
Queen to honour Freddie.

♪ Wowowowo, gimme one vision

♪ No wrong, no right

♪ I'm gonna tell you
There's no black and no white

♪ No blood no stain

♪ All we need
Is one worldwide vision

♪ One flesh, one bone

♪ One true religion

♪ One voice, one hope

♪ One real decision

♪ Gimme one night

♪ Gimme one hope

♪ Just gimme

♪ One man one man

♪ One bar one night
One day, hey, hey

♪ Just gimme, gimme, gimme

♪ Fried chicken. ♪

The fact that Queen are having
such a whole new resurgence

because of both Adam
and the movie is like...

it's one of the greatest
comeback stories of all time.

Every time I walk to the stage
with these guys,

I have to pinch myself.

I'm like, "Oh, my god.

"Is this real life?

Or is it just fantasy?"

The biggest trip
that I was going through

was the fact that I knew

that by singing these songs
as the lead singer in this moment

that I was going to inevitably
be compared to Freddie.

I know that some of you out there
are probably thinking,

few of you are probably like...

"He's no Freddie Mercury, though."

No shit.

People know the songs
because of the recordings.

I learned the songs
because of the recordings.

Freddie's unbelievable.

His voice was one in a million,
zillion, trillion.

There will only be,
for all of time,

one rock god, Freddie Mercury.

I'm filling in for this god,
and I'm not him.

And I knew that I wasn't Freddie.

Thank you for giving me a chance.

Thank you.

We're not trying to recreate
our dear Freddie.

So, if people do think that,
I have no patience with them.

Please don't come.

But, um, if you want to just
enjoy our music,

done really well,
you know, please do come.

♪ Tonight, I'm gonna have myself

♪ A real good time

♪ I feel alive. ♪

Comparisons with Freddie
are wasting time.

He's just had to cope with it

because
people are so fucking unimaginative.

I mean, you know, Fred's dead

and he's not gonna
be there, you know?

So, if you come to see us,
you're not gonna see him.

He does it in his own way,

and I think
that's what's really amazing.

You're not going to go see
a cover band, you're seeing Queen.

♪ So, don't stop me now,
Don't stop me

♪ 'Cause I'm having a good time,
Having a good time

♪ I'm a shooting star,
Leaping through the sky

♪ Like a tiger
Defying the laws of gravity

♪ I'm a racing car,
Passing by like Lady Godiva

♪ I'm gonna go, go, go

♪ There's no stopping me

♪ I'm burnin' through the sky, yeah

♪ Two hundred degrees

♪ That's why they call me
Mister Fahrenheit

♪ I'm travelling
At the speed of light

♪ I wanna make
A supersonic man out of you. ♪

Once I got over
my own head trip about,

"Oh, god, are they going
to compare me to Freddie?

Oh, god, am I good enough,"

I realised this is
this once-in-a-lifetime experience

to sort of be a vessel
and just perform.

♪ Don't stop me now

♪ Don't stop me now, yes,
I'm havin' a good time

♪ I don't want to stop at all. ♪

When these early performances
were so well received,

it was a sense of victory

because the stakes
were so high for me.

This is all a bonus, you know?

We could have all disappeared
and gone back

to different kind of jobs,

you know, if it weren't for the fact
that we had Adam.

It's astonishing to me
to look back on it

and realise
we thought it was the end.

And in a sense, it was.

We are here tonight to celebrate
the life, and work,

and dreams of one Freddie Mercury.

We're gonna give him
the biggest send off in history.

We, over a long period,

accustomed ourselves to the idea

that we were gonna do
a tribute to Freddie,

and it did take a while.

And then it was actually Roger
who pressed the button and said,

"OK, we're ringing these people up,
and we'll see if they'll come."

OK, today is for Freddie,
it's for you,

it's to tell everybody
around the world

that AIDS affects us all.

So, we were ringing up
a lot of our heroes,

so everybody who was kind of
in the same river as Freddie.

So, suddenly,
we're performing with David Bowie

and Robert Plant.

You know, you look around
and, "Who is this?"

You know, Tony Iommi's beside me,
his lifelong friend,

you know, the most amazing artists
of our lives.

♪ You're such a dirty louse

♪ Go get outta my house

♪ That's all I ever get from your

♪ Family ties, in fact... ♪

I was the first person to sing
with Queen after Fred died.

♪ But I don't give a light

♪ I'm gonna make out alright. ♪

Doing it on stage,
in front of 80,000 people

and a billion people
on TV, holy shit.

♪ Tie your mother down

♪ Tie your mother down. ♪

You'd never think it'd be possible
to get one person to stand

in Fred's shoes
because there's no way

I could have done anything
other than, say, the rock stuff.

With the Freddie Mercury
Tribute Show,

you needed 20 characters

to even come close
to pulling on his coattails.

The task of finding one person
who could do everything

that Freddie could do

would have been
pretty much impossible.

The whole range
of Queen's songs is considerable.

♪ All we hear is... ♪

It's a very,
very colourful catalogue

with all kinds of different
sort of vocal approaches needed.

♪ God knows

♪ God knows I want to break free. ♪

It did bring home the fact
that Freddie

was so incredibly talented
on so many levels

and how hard it was for anybody
to cover

as much ground
as Freddie covered.

♪ Can anybody find me
Somebody to love? ♪

I don't think anyone thought
they were gonna show up

and be the next Freddie Mercury.

It ain't easy, man.

♪ Any way the wind blows ♪

We get to the end.

It's done.

And Joe Elliott was next to me
as we walked off.

And he just grabbed my arm
and he said, "Brian, look at that."

I said, "You need to stand here
and look at this

because you will never ever
see this again."

If this is the end,
what a way to go.

And for the first time,
I looked out and I thought,

"Ah, how amazing."

You know, this amount of love
got poured out to our friend.

Goodnight, Freddie.
We love you.

We felt that would be probably
the last time we would play

our songs together.

It was a very strange era,

a very strange period for us 'cause,
you know, we had sort of lost Fred.

We were a little bit sort of
concussed by the whole thing.

I did leave Wembley feeling,
"That's it.

Now, I've seen the last one."

'Cause you couldn't imagine
there being anything else.

What else could there be?

Everyone who was around us,
we just all cried.

It was... it was
extremely emotional.

It was the end
of part of my life.

When Freddie died, Queen died.

And I thought the interest
has got to dwindle.

When something's not there,
not touring, not recording,

physically, it will die.

Do you think
you're going to get to heaven?

No. I don't want to.

You don't want to?
No.

Hell is much better.

Look at the interesting people
that you're gonna meet down there.

I don't really think about,
"Oh, my god, when I'm dead,

"are they gonna remember me?"

I don't really... I don't really
think about it. It's up to them.

When I'm dead, who cares?

I don't.

♪ Love of my life

♪ Don't leave me

♪ You've stolen my love

♪ You now desert me

♪ Love of my life, can't you see?

♪ Bring it back, bring it back. ♪
♪ Bring it back, bring it back. ♪

With Freddie's death,

we just thought
it was all over, you know?

We hadn't planned
on ever playing again.

We talked about it,
you know, "As one of us goes,

you know, we should just stop."

So, yeah, we did stop
for a very long time.

We didn't have the desire
to go on without Freddie.

♪ Oh, hurry back, hurry back

♪ Don't take it away from me

♪ Because you don't know

♪ What it means to me

♪ Love of my life

♪ Love of my life
♪ Love of my life

♪ Ooh, yeah. ♪

Brian! I love you!

Brian! Brian!

Brian!

I missed Freddie dreadfully.

I knew it was coming,
but it was still awful.

Most important thing in your life?

Most important thing in my life?

Love.

That's it.

And something to everyone
who would like to be Brian May?

Ooh, don't try and be me,
whatever you do.

That's what I would say.

Don't follow me, mate,
'cause it's not easy.

It was a sort of grieving process,
I think.

It's like we don't want
to talk about Queen.

We don't want to be Queen.
We've done that.

We want to be ourselves now.

Now, we go off
and we do our separate things,

which perhaps
we've all been dreaming of,

you know, Roger has always done
lots of solo projects.

So,
he went straight back into that.

I hadn't done a lot of solo stuff,
but I went out and sang.

♪ I don't believe in

♪ Being Queen anymore

♪ I just believe in me ♪

After Freddie died, um,

it took me a year

to even want to start
about thinking,

doing things,
just settle down and try and,

you know, live with the present
and see how you feel.

John sort of freaked out

and decided
he really couldn't deal with

being in the music business anymore,
you know?

So, it was an odd period, that.

Really, the band was over.

♪ Seaside
Whenever you stroll along with me

♪ I'm merely contemplating
what you feel inside

♪ Meanwhile... ♪

We were living in San Diego.

It was a nice place to raise kids.

When Adam was younger,
he didn't quite fit in,

didn't like sports very much.

We tried soccer, we tried T-ball,

and it just wasn't his thing.

And he would do
a lot of acting out fantasy things.

And he would ask me to film him
and take pictures

while he was dancing or singing.

And we thought, "You know,
there's got to be another outlet."

And they put me in a theatre group
that rehearsed on the weekends.

It was a big children's theatre.

And I remember
the first Saturday I went,

I was instantly like
"I've found my people."

It's exciting
to be in children's theatre

'cause you just get...

I mean, it's just really exciting
going out on stage

in front of a lot of people
and performing.

We ended up taking him
for voice lessons,

and he got on stage one day
and sang,

and we had absolutely no idea
that he had that voice.

It was in 'Fiddler on the Roof'.

I think, into my teenage years,

it started becoming clear
that I was getting attention for it

more than the other kids,

which I loved.

And as a strange kid
who was kind of ashamed of his body,

in the closet, and whole list
of other insecurities,

having something that I was good at

and that got me a lot of attention

became sort of medicine
for me in a way.

Being just a human on this earth,
I encountered Queen.

I definitely had heard songs
of theirs around.

But the first time I really asked
who is this band

was after seeing 'Wayne's World'.

This is actually the theatre
we used to come to fairly regularly.

It's only a few miles
from our house.

And I'm pretty sure
we saw 'Wayne's World' here.

♪ Beelzebub
Has a devil put aside for me

♪ For me, for me. ♪

It was so much fun, that scene,

and I left that movie theatre

with my father
and my little brother,

and I asked my dad like,
"What song was that?"

He was like, "Oh, that's Queen."

And when we got home that night,

he showed me some albums
that he had of Queen.

I really fell in love
with rock'n'roll

and everything that was the '70s.

And that's when I really
got to dive into Queen

and their catalogue.

♪ Yeah!

♪ Come tonight Come tonight. ♪

Adam would watch Freddie Mercury,
he would watch videos,

he would just try to get a feel

for how he performed
and what he did on stage.

I was just delighted to see this guy

running around the stage
in these strange outlandish outfits,

you know, his harlequin jumpsuit,
or his PVC leather daddy look,

or his little
itty-bitty white shorts

and no shoes.

For me,
seeing somebody that got on stage,

which was the place
that I knew very well,

and acted the way he did and sang
and performed the way he did,

I was instantly inspired.

And I felt like
there was some sort of kinship.

And I was just like,
"This guy was fearless."

It definitely inspired me.

I wasn't there yet though.

I was fearful
at that point in my life.

You know, I was auditioning,
always terrified,

always, "Oh, god,
what will they think of me?

"Will they like me?
Am I good enough? I don't know."

Very doubtful.

He did things on and off.

He got a gig doing
that musical 'Hair' in Europe

and the cruise ship.

And so, he was starting
to make a living as a singer.

That was the path that I was on

that I thought
I would probably stay on.

I was in California, not New York.

And I kept kind of saying,
"I'll move to New York soon."

I was terrified actually.

I knew that I would have been
a very, very small fish

in a big pond.

I just didn't feel like
I was ready yet.

I've lived long enough

to see gigantic stars
fade into nothingness.

It is possible to fade.

So, the crucial decision

was when Jim Beach, their manager,

he said to me, "Queen are going
to be a current band.

They're not gonna
be an oldies group."

Some of Freddie's last words were,

"Do what you want,
just never make me boring."

It took us five years

to get over the shock
of losing Freddie.

But Brian and I were still close
and still friends

and, you know, still running
what you call the brand,

the business of a band like Queen.

The musical, 'We Will Rock You',
softened the blow in a sense

'cause you have something
you can put your creativity in.

It was a chance to take our music
to a different place

and develop it with new artists,
young artists

who have fantastic voices
and fantastic ability.

I love the whole
'We Will Rock You' thing.

I think Roger had misgivings
about the whole thing.

I hate the medium
of musical theatre.

I absolutely hate it.

For the first two years,
when it was on dominion,

I was in there almost every night,

just learning and tweaking
and trying things out.

And it was like having Queen there,
I suppose,

you know, outside ourselves.

It was great.

It filled the gap.

That musical
reignited the Queen flame

and people started talking
about Queen.

But it's not being
a performer on stage.

Now, you do miss that.

If you've been a performer
all your life, you do.

And those moments

when I would come up
through the trap door

in 'We Will Rock You'
in clouds of smoke

and be the guitar hero
with all the white spotlights.

Suddenly,
I was part of this lovely baby

that we had created.

I was part of the creation.
I was in there.

I loved doing that.
It was such a fulfilling moment.

When Brian and Roger
played at the musical,

the place erupted.

People wanted to see them live.

You know the audience is there.

Therefore, it's just a question
of coming to peace

with oneself.

How do we reengage
with this existing audience?

Totally different challenge
from when they were a new group.

How do we grow an audience?

This is, how do you engage
with the existing audience?

To benefit
Nelson Mandela's AIDS charities,

they organised a huge concert
in Cape Town.

We answered the call to Madiba,

Nelson Mandela
is suddenly on the phone saying,

"Can you rescue my concert?"

And we produced it for him,
and we went out there.

And we really didn't imagine that
the by-product would be that

we would be reengaging
with an audience.

Something to tell your grandchildren
I think.

To be in the presence
of such greatness

and to be a part
of this whole venture,

I just feel incredibly privileged.

♪ We are the champions

♪ My friends. ♪

A moment like that,
Cape Town episode,

can't help but remind you

this is the biggest
audience participation act

of all time.

Everybody wants to play
to the biggest audiences ever.

I want to play
to as many people as I can.

And the more the merrier, you know?

'Cause my music is for everybody.
Music is limitless.

Queen
have this intimate relationship

with tens of thousands of people
at one time.

You can't turn your back on it
without feeling guilty.

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah! ♪

It dawned on me
that I was being rather silly,

you know, in denying Queen

because we'd spent
major portion of our lives

building up this edifice
and this catalogue

and this whole kind of universe,
which is Queen,

you know, the content of the lyrics,
content of the music,

and the spirit that goes with it.

Why would I be denying it?

If I didn't do this,

I don't have anything to do,
you know?

I can't cook.

I'm not very good
at being a housewife.

There was hell lot of hope

because, Brian and Roger,

you don't want to keep
that Lamborghini in the garage.

You know,
you got to drive that fucking car

every once in a while.

So, I was hoping that
they would find someone.

We've done odd gigs,
you know, as Queen, in a sense,

you know, using guest artists.

It was just...

I remember saying,
not many months ago,

when somebody said,
"You know, can you do a Queen tour?

Can you call it 'Queen'?"

And I said, "Well, no, not really,
not barring a miracle.

"If there's a miracle that we find
the right person to sing,

then yes."

♪ Lately I've been hard to reach

♪ I've been too long on my own. ♪

Even though we were proud
of what we had done,

we didn't want to go out there
and be Queen again without Freddie.

And it happened almost by accident.

At an award show,
I played with Paul Rodgers,

who was the hero of ours.

And I remember coming offstage
and Paul's lady said,

"Oh, you guys seem
to really have a great chemistry.

All you need is a drummer."

And I went like,
"I think I know a drummer."

Brian and I find that
we still have the magic on stage.

So, it's great to be doing this
with a different singer,

but the magic of Queen
is absolutely still there.

♪ Tie your mother down
Tie your mother down

♪ Lock your daddy out of doors
I don't need him nosin' around

♪ Tie your mother down
Tie your mother down

♪ Give me all your love tonight. ♪

In retrospect, I think perhaps,
Queen were maybe thinking,

"We're not gonna ever find someone
who can be the next Freddie.

"So, let's go the opposite direction

"and just do something
completely different

"with someone who just not...
doesn't sound like Freddie,

doesn't look like Freddie,
it's just his own thing."

He enjoyed playing
a lot of the Queen stuff,

not all of it, you know,
not all of it suited him,

but it was a good combination
for a while.

We ended up going
all around the world

a couple of times with Paul.

I would still go to shows and think,
"Well, we used to do that."

You know, we used to play
in arenas or whatever.

And suddenly, out of the blue,
we are in the same arena again,

and how incredible
that we can still do that

and people still want to come
and fill those arenas,

and we can still
rock the hell out of them.

♪ Till one day they call your name

♪ You know it's time
For the hammer to fall. ♪

He was his own man

and he belonged
in the sort of blues soul field,

which there is no better.

Our stuff is a little bit
too eclectic probably.

So, I think
that's why that came to an end.

After that,
I kind of figured that was it.

I really thought, "There's no way.

"You can't replace Freddie Mercury.

"You can't replace an icon.

You just can't."

And again,
I think Roger and I thought,

"OK, that's it.

"You know, we've done that,
we've done this, you know,

and there is nobody out there."

We don't want to employ someone
to copy Freddie.

Why would we do that?
It just wouldn't make sense.

First of all,
you got to find a charisma.

Then you got to find someone
with a vocal range

because Freddie's vocal range
was off the chart.

I mean,
he could sing classical rock, pop.

So, there weren't
many of those people

who ticked all those boxes.

Yeah.
Hi.

Don't be scared.

I'm not scared.
Hi.

At that point, I had said goodbye
to a lot of my fear

and found who I was as a performer,
truly.

Are you our next Idol?

I think so.
Really?

He's been in the cast of 'Wicked'.

Alright.
What are you gonna sing for us?

'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
Yeah.

Soul rock.
Yeah.

Oh, it's his favourite.
Is that cool?

It's your favourite. Come on.
You like that? OK.

It just said everything about Adam,
which was...

Yeah, let's make life even harder
for yourself

and sing probably
the biggest rock track of all time.

♪ Mama, just killed a man

♪ Put a gun against his head

♪ Pulled my trigger, now he's dead

♪ Mama, life has just begun

♪ But now,
I've gone and thrown it all away. ♪

OK.
OK.

I think you're a really good singer.
Thank you.

I think you're one of the most
diverse singers we've heard.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm gonna give you my opinion
for what it's worth.

I think you are theatrical.

I wasn't in a great mood that day.

Is he a good singer, though?

We had started early. It was awful.

So, I wasn't jumping
out of my chair.

If he's a good singer,
do we put him through at this point?

I don't there's no...

Well, that's up to you,

we each have
our own individual votes.

But he's one of my
favourite contestants ever.

Theatrical? Yes.

But you've got a good voice.

And for right now,
that's what we're looking at.

OK, well, you got three yeses. So...
And I think... and I think you...

No, you have four yeses.
You're brilliant.

I remember watching his audition
when he sang 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

And the coaches, like,
kind of just trying to decide

whether or not
they want him on the show,

I'm like, "This guy just needs a
record deal. What are you doing?"

It was only
when we got to the live shows

where I suddenly... we all started
to suddenly see this star emerge.

There were a few times on the show
where he had what I call a moment.

It's a moment
that will change your career.

And he did that more than once.

♪ Stars when you shine

♪ You know how I feel

♪ Scent of the pine

♪ You know how I feel

♪ Oh, freedom is mine

♪ And you know how I feel

♪ It's a new dawn
It's a new day

♪ It's a new life

♪ Oh, for me

♪ For me

♪ Yeah! ♪

I thought this guy is obviously
the most talented of this group

and will go the farthest,

but he's not gonna win.

And the reason he's not gonna win
is 'cause he's obviously gay.

It was the Myspace era

and a lot of the TMZ-type blogs
had uncovered a lot of old photos

of Adam Lambert
kissing his then boyfriend

and acted like
it was some big scandal.

So, he was on the cover
of 'Entertainment Weekly'

that said something like
Adam Lambert is probably gay.

By the time I got to 'Idol',
I was 27.

And I had been going
through most of my 20s in LA

very openly and proudly gay.

So, I kind of figured like,
"Oh, it's already out of the bed.

"Yeah, that's me.
Like, they know, I know.

Yeah, that's it."

I never said the words, "I am gay."

And I didn't really realise that

I had to make
that type of literal statement.

Adam Lambert wanted the focus
to be on him as a singer,

not on any aspect
of his personal life.

And so, he chose not to publicly
address these photographs.

And so, that swirl of intrigue,
I guess,

continued along with him

as he performed phenomenally
week after week on 'American Idol'

and became
one of the most popular contestants

on that show ever.

Towards the end
of 'American Idol' season eight,

Adam Lambert
did 'Whole Lotta Love'.

♪ You need coolin'
Baby, I'm not foolin...' ♪

Led Zeppelin
had never cleared a song

for 'American Idol'.

And I imagine that
Led Zeppelin said,

"Well, yeah, this guy's not gonna
mess up our song."

♪ Way down inside

♪ Honey, you need it

♪ I'm gonna give you my love

♪ Oh...

♪ Want a whole lotta love. ♪

I wrote at that time

that it was the best
'American Idol' performance

of all time.

Adam Lambert owned that stage
that night.

♪ You've been learnin'

♪ And, baby, I been learnin'

♪ All that good times

♪ Baby, baby,
I've been yearnin'

♪ Way, way down inside

♪ Honey, you need it... ♪

It's really by pure chance
that we ran into Adam.

It was Spike, our keyboard player,
who saw Adam singing

'Whole Lotta Love'
on 'American Idol'.

Adam was on TV,

and I immediately got a chill
from what I was hearing.

♪ Keep it coolin', baby

♪ Keep it coolin', baby. ♪

I thought, "Wow, this kid's special

and he's got something
and great set of pipes."

And I could see
that he had charisma,

and he looked fantastic.

When he got to the end,

when he sings
"Woman, you need love",

which is the big moment,
the money shot of the song,

and he just sang it effortlessly.

♪ Woman

♪ You need

♪ Love! ♪

I thought, "This is great."

So, I sent an email to Roger.

Adam, you're more than a rockstar,
you're a rock god.

That's what you are, OK?

Thank you.

It was actually
one of my favourite performances

you've ever done.

The only problem is
nobody can top that now.

My first thought was that,
"Oh, this guy is...

Amazing voice.
And for me, he's Camp Elvis."

Well, I have one criticism.

I thought the performance
was a little-understated.

He's got this magnetism about him
coupled with this amazing voice.

Countless people sent me emails
and rang me up

and said,
"You got to see this guy.

"He's your next guy.

He's the guy
you need to be on stage with."

So, we looked and thought, "Hmm."

Welcome back to the show.

In a few short minutes,
either Kris Allen or Adam Lambert

will walk away with the title.

The 'American Idol' people asked us
to come in and play

on the final competition night.

So, it was between Adam
and this other guy.

And we played 'We Are The Champions'
with both of them as frontmen.

They are the type of guys
who still love performing.

They put their egos to one side

because they actually like working
with new stars.

♪ We are the champions

♪ My friends

♪ And we'll keep on fighting

♪ Till the end. ♪

Just meeting them
for the first time,

it was so surreal.

I don't even think
I realised the weight of that moment

until after the fact

'cause, you know,
you're preparing for the finale

of a big show like that,

and the week of rehearsals
is a whirlwind

and your head's spinning.

♪ 'Cause we are the champions

♪ Of the world ♪

It was quite odd

'cause they're both
really good singers.

But there's some kind of chemistry
already between us

and Adam, it was just instant.

So, it was so easy
to just play off Adam.

And I think we sort of consciously
made an effort

so that we wouldn't kind of
favourite anyone.

But there was that feeling
with Adam

like, "This, kind of does work."

♪ But it's been no bed of roses

♪ No pleasure cruise

♪ I consider it a challenge
Before the whole human race

♪ And I ain't gonna lose ♪

When Brian and Roger
came on the finale

and played with Adam,

it was the closest thing
to the energy

of what Queen was as a band

that you had seen probably
since Freddie.

♪ 'Cause we are the champions
of the world ♪

When Adam was on stage,

right after they announced
the winner,

he was not announced as the winner,

I was sitting in the front row,

and he looked me in the eye
and he said,

"I really wanted to win."

And I mouthed to him, "You did."

I remember realising,
"OK, now my life has changed.

Oh, my god,
I just sang on stage with Queen."

So, I was thrilled,
even though I didn't win,

I was the runner-up,
I knew that,

in my way, I had one,
I had one for myself, for my life.

His life was kind of booked
for the next year or so.

So, there's no question of us
going off with him at that moment.

That couldn't have happened.

Nevertheless,
we kept loosely in touch.

'American Idol' would have sent him
on a very different trajectory.

He wasn't gonna put an album out

that was gonna be handpicked
producers and writers from,

you know,
the American Idol's table.

The fact that he didn't win

is probably the best thing
that ever happened to him.

♪ So hot out the box
Can we pick up the pace?

♪ Turn it up, heat it up
I need to be entertained. ♪

After 'Idol' is done,

he does interviews
with 'Rolling Stone'

and the ABC News,
where he says, "Yes, I'm gay.

This isn't some big secret."

He wasn't coming out in the sense

that his life had been hidden
in any way.

He was just acknowledging a truth
about his life.

It was a relief.

I mean,
I've been open about my sexuality

since I've been an adult.

You know,
there were people who felt that

you should have kept your sexuality
a mystery.

I know. I'm very open book.

I kind of wear myself on my sleeve.

Yes, I am a homosexual.

Deal with it.

Yeah, yeah, I'm gay.
What?

And?

You didn't know?

You couldn't tell?

Ladies and gentlemen,
making his debut performance

with his first single,
Adam Lambert.

There's great anticipation,

"What will Adam Lambert do
as a solo artist?"

And he comes out and he does
'For Your Entertainment'.

If you were looking
for a performance

that would reunite Adam Lambert's
'American Idol' fan base,

this wasn't it.

The thing starts off and he's got
a really sexy female dancer,

and he's pulling around by her leg.

And then he's got the guy
on all fours,

and he's got him on a leash.

But then he did something
in live performance

that he hadn't told anybody
he was going to do.

That on live television is a no-no.

You know, he simulated fellatio
with one of his dancers.

I didn't plan it.

It just happened,

which is why I think
the network got mad at me

because they were like,
"We didn't know that was coming."

"I didn't either."

And then takes the back
of Tommy the keyboardist

and kisses him.

There were a lot of people
that were like, "That's not for me."

It's sort of alienated
a portion of my new audience

that I had gained
on 'American Idol'.

A lot of Adam Lambert's appearances

that were supposed to happen on TV
got cancelled,

everyone was like,
"His career is over."

I think
I felt everyone pulled back a bit.

I felt something shift
after that performance

and after that single
sort of didn't connect.

So, from a business standpoint,
I was like, "OK, got it."

♪ Hey, slow it down

♪ What do you want from me?

♪ What do you want from me? ♪

Thankfully, we had a song

that we came with
as the second single,

which actually kind of
asked the question to all the people

that were upset
about what I had done

and said,
"What do you want from me?

I'm just trying to figure it out,
man."

♪ There might have been a time
I would give myself away

♪ Ooh, once upon a time
I didn't give a damn... ♪

Fans, radio, all around the world
really connected with it.

So, I was really thankful

that I was able to kind of
move past the little scandal

that we had created
and have a real moment

with a great song
with a great message.

♪ What do you want from me?

♪ Just don't give up
I'm workin' it out

♪ Please don't give in ♪

And then I put the album out

and did the whole promo run
on the back of that,

and then did my own solo tour.

♪ Just keep coming around ♪

My management at the time said,
"Hey, there's interest here.

"Queen really loved
performing with you on the finale.

And they're wondering
if we could do something."

♪ What do you want from me? ♪

So, once the dust's all settled

or the glitter all settled
from that,

and there was a lot of glitter,
Queen came a-calling.

Please be upstanding for Brian May
and Roger Taylor of Queen!

Worthy recipients
of MTV's Global Icon Award.

Thank you so much.

You don't know how much,

it means so much to us
to be here in Belfast.

Thank you.

They had an opportunity
to perform at the AMAs.

And when they asked me,
I immediately said yes,

it was like a knee-jerk reaction,
"Yes, of course."

Hung up the phone
and then started panicking

and going,
"Oh, my god, this is crazy

'cause this is a big deal."

♪ Empty spaces
What are we living for?

♪ Abandoned places
I guess we know the score ♪

It was obvious to me
that he had everything

you would want in a frontman.

He had confidence
and he knew what he was capable of.

♪ The show must go on

♪ Yeah

♪ The show must go on

♪ I'll face it with a grin

♪ I'm never giving in
On with the show

♪ Ooh

♪ I'll top the bill, I'll overkill

♪ I have to find the will... ♪

There's a fan base
both for Adam and for Queen

that wanted to see the two
combine again.

♪ Show must go on! ♪

There was an excitement that

there could be another phase
of Queen.

Whoo

He's flamboyant,
he's a great, wild frontman,

and that's what you need
being Queen,

you know, outrageous,

but you got to be able
to hit the notes too.

You know, you can't have one,
you got to have both.

The thing

All of us sat down
and we had a drink.

And there was a sense
of camaraderie in that moment about,

"Look what we just did.

This feels good. I like you."

"I like you." "You like me?"

It was an instant sense of sort of
comfort and ease

that we all had with each other.

We all sort of got
a kick out of each other,

and it felt like the right fit,
it felt good.

With Adam,
by the time we got together,

we kind of knew, yeah,

because we'd seen enough of him,

and we thought,
"Yeah, this is gonna work."

You know, Adam comes
with a certain amount of pedigree

because he's selling his solo stuff
with a lot of success.

So, then we sat down together
and said, "Well, what could we do?

We could do a little bit of a tour.

We could try something here,
try something there."

And it gradually took shape.

And before we knew it, we were,
you know, operating with Adam.

One, two, check, check, check.

We had some shows,
about six shows, I think, in Europe,

starting with a massive show
in Kiev.

I think it must have been
the most terrifying moment for Adam.

He didn't look like
it was terrifying.

He looked like
he did this every day.

I definitely was intimidated
by the idea

of singing somebody else's song,

especially
from such a beloved band.

In the back of my head,
I was like, "Oh, god,

I hope this is the right idea",
you know?

I'm so excited to sing these songs.

But I don't know
how it's gonna be received.

There was a tall order.
And I think we all knew it.

And that gig
was put in at the front of the tour

to enormous numbers of people.

I think it was more than 350,000.

And it was live TV as well.

Well, it was free, wasn't it?

Just say it was a million.

Elton John was on before us.

And I remember,
as Elton was rolling out

hit after hit after hit,

I remember thinking,

"Hope we're up to this."

When you face an audience
of some 300,000 people...

Mmm.

..do you get intimidated
by the size of the crowd?

No, the bigger the better...
in everything.

Adam had to do,
in his first show with Queen,

what it took Queen
and Freddie Mercury ten years today.

♪ Hey, hey

♪ Hey, hey, hey

♪ Hey, hey, hey... ♪

Some people would be embarrassed
to go to Kiev

and sing in front of 300,000 people
they've never known.

But a performer like Adam
could use it as an opportunity,

just as Freddie had always used
these big crowds,

just push that envelope.

Let's see how many people
we can get to respond at once.

He did have experience
performing for large crowds on TV.

And he had experience
performing for doubters.

He was used
to having to win people over.

And, you know, all of that
was a perfect storm with him.

When he got in front of hundreds
of thousands of people in Kiev,

he'd already been selling himself
for years.

He knew how to do it.

I had a lot of help.

Spike who was on keys,

I kept looking at
over and over again,

like, "Am I supposed
to come in here?

How long is the guitar solo?

Is it my turn?"

Because of his stage training,

he was quite happy to take cues.

He used to just check in with me

and I'd give him a yes
if it was right,

no if it was wrong,
meaning, wait.

Just a lot of me being like...

He looks at me, I went,
"No, not that. Don't sing that bit."

"Oh, OK."

♪ I'd sit alone
And watch your light

♪ My only friend
Through teenage nights

♪ And everything I had to know

♪ I heard it on my radio ♪

It was fun. And it was thrilling.

And it was what I loved the most

about being a vocalist
is the adrenaline.

It's the thrill of something
that could possibly go wrong.

I like that.
I like the danger in that.

♪ Just don't care

♪ And just complain
When you're not there ♪

I had no doubts he could do it.

It was good, you know,
the feeling was good.

He's out there,
putting it out there,

you know, and he sang great
and interacted great.

And it was a big success.

Here we go.

♪ All we hear is radio ga ga

♪ Radio goo goo

♪ Radio ga ga

♪ All we hear is radio ga ga

♪ Radio blah blah

♪ Radio, what's new?

♪ Radio

♪ Someone still loves you ♪

An incredible thing
for a new member of a group

to step on stage and do that.

I took my hat off to him
at the time.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Adam Lambert!

No, Queen!

And of course,
the rest was easy after that.

Queen is huge everywhere,
the UK in particular,

they're huge, huge, huge.

In the States, it's a bit different
of a relationship.

So, I felt like
it was maybe even a harder sell.

There is that perception that,

you know, something hasn't happened

until it's actually happened
here in America.

I don't think anyone thought
that Adam Lambert and Queen

coming together was a slam dunk.

They were viewed in America

as a heritage rock act
that had hits,

but they didn't have
that young audience

that expected to hear new music
from them

or be able to see them live.

The first public performance
Queen did in America

was at the iHeartRadio
Music Festival in Las Vegas.

I knew it was a big deal
to come to Vegas

and prove ourselves
as a collaboration.

iHeartRadio,

are you ready for another
I-can't-believe-it moment?

Please welcome Queen
featuring Adam Lambert.

♪ This thing called love

♪ I just can't handle it

♪ This thing called love

♪ I must get round to it

♪ I ain't ready

♪ Crazy little thing called love

♪ This thing
♪ This thing

♪ Called love
♪ Called love

♪ It cries
♪ Like a baby

♪ Like a baby all night

♪ It swings
♪ Woo woo

♪ It jives
♪ Woo woo

♪ It shakes all over
like a jellyfish

♪ I kinda like it

♪ This crazy little thing
called love

It went really well.

And then suddenly,
there was a bit of magic.

iHeart did for us in America

what Belfast had done for us
in Europe.

And it was live TV, of course,
which is a big deal.

You know, there's no way
of getting to a country

quicker than live TV.

And again, it just clicked.

♪ This thing called love

♪ I just can't handle it

♪ This thing called love

♪ I must get round to it

♪ I ain't ready

♪ This crazy little thing
called love

♪ This crazy little thing
called love

♪ This crazy little thing

♪ Crazy little thing called love

♪ Yeah! ♪

iHeart made a massive difference

to the way we would proceed
in this country.

And I think
we had to pinch ourselves

to make ourselves realise
that we were back at that level,

a level which we had
really forgotten about.

He gave us a blood transfusion
if you like,

young blood, nothing like it.

Thank you.

The iHeart reaction was great.

There was immediately buzz and talk
about "Could Queen go on tour?"

Some people said,

"No-one is gonna pay
to see the band without Freddie."

Other people thought
there is a demand

from this audience
that wants to hear these songs live.

We actually had Adam and Queen

at Madison Square Garden
to announce it.

And it felt like
this very big moment,

the band touring America
for the first time

in I don't know how many years,

and the press went crazy.

We're delighted to be announcing
a tour of North America.

It's just such a delight for us.

We're very excited, I have to say.

It's been a while.

But this is a combination

which we believe
really works very well.

It'll be great to do
this one more time now.

And this is the man to do it with.

I'm like, "Whoa! Really?"

I'm so excited to be asked
by these two gentlemen

to share the stage with them.

Feels incredible.

We put together
a pretty ambitious tour,

playing 15 to 20 arenas
around North America.

People are gonna say to us,

"You know, is this really Queen
without Freddie?"

Well, I have no idea.

But people
want to hear Queen music.

They want to hear it done great.

So, having this opportunity
is great.

♪ Um ba ba be

♪ Um ba ba be... ♪

We looked at venues where they had

these iconic performances
in the past.

And let's go back and build
the profile of this band up

so that they can go
and sell out these venues

the same way they did
at the peak of their career.

It's good to be home
in Los Angeles.

Oh, hello, Houston.

Hello, Chicago.

This is kind of like
a bucket list moment for me,

I got to tell you.

Thank you for making it happen.

Thank you for being here.

♪ It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about

♪ Watching some good friends
Screaming

♪ "Let me out!"

♪ Pray tomorrow gets me higher

♪ Pressure on people,
People on streets... ♪

Can I just ask you
a very simple question?

What do you think
of the new guy?

♪ Can't we give ourselves
One more chance?

♪ Why can't we give love
That one more chance?

♪ Why can't we give love... ♪

I guess he's not really
the new boy anymore.

But what do you think
of the other guy?

♪ 'Cause love's
Such an old fashioned word

♪ And love dares you to care for ♪

I guess he's alright, yeah?

Is he a keeper?

♪ The people
On the edge of the night

♪ And love dares you
To change our way of

♪ Caring about ourselves

♪ This is our last dance

♪ This is ourselves under pressure

♪ Under pressure

♪ Pressure ♪

It's the most
brilliant symbiotic relationship

you could dream of

because, you know, one might say,

"Oh, Adam, you know,
if it weren't for you,

they wouldn't be doing these venues
or these countries."

But same for me.

If it weren't for them,

I wouldn't be playing arenas
all around the world either.

I felt more so a sense of magic.

It was cool
that they're back doing this again.

♪ Now, I'm here... ♪

Japan was fantastic
last time we went,

it was absolutely magical.

♪ Now, I'm there ♪

That, I think,
more than anywhere else

felt like the old days.

That brought back
the memories in particular

of first going to Japan
and the fantastic reaction.

♪ A baby
I was when you took my hand

♪ The light of the night
Burned bright ♪

What meant a lot to me about
going back

to some of these famous venues
that Queen has stamped their mark on

was seeing Brian and Roger
being nostalgic about it.

That meant a lot to me.

That was really cool
to be a part of those moments

of them recalling
the first time they were there

and what it was like

and knowing also that
there were members of the audience

that were probably there
the first time too.

♪ A thin moon me
In a smoke-screen sky

♪ Where beams
Of your lovelight chase

♪ Don't move, don't speak,
Don't feel no pain

♪ With the rain
Running down my face

♪ Your matches
Still light up the sky

♪ And many a tear
Lives on in my eye ♪

Adam is the kind of performer
that they love there as well

because he's flamboyant,

there's costume,
lots of dressing up.

One thing he knew better than we did
was how to use a camera,

how to work to a camera.

♪ Now, I'm here ♪

He's the sort of male Beyonce
of using the camera.

Tokyo.

One of the great things
about being on stage with Queen

is that I've challenged myself

to try to find
my own personal connection

to the lyrics of their songs

'cause I feel like,
without that connection,

whether I wrote it or not,

it doesn't really come alive
for the audience, you know?

That's part of the magic
is like believing it.

♪ I work hard
Every day of my life

♪ I work till I ache in my bones

♪ At the end

♪ I take home all my hard earned
pay All on my own ♪

A few of them
that just really hit home for me.

In learning more about Freddie
over the years

and learning that

there was definitely
a loneliness there,

I feel like I have enough in common

with some of the things
that Freddie was going through,

I can draw up on my own experiences
and make that a real moment.

♪ Somebody to love?

♪ Every day

♪ I try and I try and I try

♪ But everybody always puts me down

♪ They say I'm going crazy

♪ They say I got
A lot of water in my brain

♪ I got no common sense

♪ I got nobody left to believe in

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

Being a world-famous rockstar,

does this make it
more difficult for you

to actually keep
a friendship going?

Yes, yes.

Because I think
it's harder for other people

to try and understand me
as a normal person

'cause, basically, in terms of...

'Cause you're talking
about relationships,

which is basically good.

So, basically,
when it comes to a relationship,

it's hard to approach somebody
and say,

"Look,
you're normal underneath it."

You have to sort of...

And so,
I think you are handicapped.

Freddie lived in a time where,

you know, only years prior,
it was illegal to be homosexual.

I can only think of the stigma
that he must have had to live with.

Adam Lambert
lives in a different time,

and I feel
he's able to take advantage

of some of the doors
that Freddie opened for him.

♪ Love! ♪

Hit it.

When Trespassing,
Adam's sophomore album,

debuted at number one,

it was the first time
that an openly gay musician

had debuted at number one.

Freddie Mercury paved that road
for him.

I was told this is the first time
that somebody

that's been out
since they got signed

that this has happened to,
and it made me really proud.

It made me proud
just to be able to, like,

you know, tell my grandkids one day
or whatever, you know?

♪ Love! ♪

Sometimes, I think to myself,

"What would Freddie be like
if he were alive today?"

And something tells me
that he would have gotten more open

as the time's changed a bit.

I'm out and proud and in a society
where I feel like I can be open.

And it's a journey
which we're all happy

that the world has made,
but it's not over yet.

You know, there is still prejudice.

There's still all sorts of abuses
that go on.

Good evening from Orlando,
the focal point of a nation

still reeling from the carnage
that took place just up the street

at the Pulse nightclub.

Shocking stories of survival,
harrowing escapes,

and heroic acts
in the face of relentless hate.

This song is dedicated...

to those who lost their life
last night...

In Orlando, Florida...

And anybody that has been victim

of senseless violence or hatred.

♪ There's no time for us

♪ There's no place for us ♪

That morning, I remember hearing
about the Pulse shooting in Orlando

and just thinking to myself,

"That could have been any club.

That could have been
my group of friends.

It could have been me."

And when we got to that song
that night, I was like...

♪ Who wants to live forever?

♪ Who wants to live forever?

♪ Who?

♪ There's no chance for us

♪ It's all decided for us

♪ This world has only one

♪ Sweet moment set aside for us ♪

I'd never heard it sung like that.

Um, that... that's special.

♪ Who wants to live forever?

♪ Who wants to live forever?

♪ Who?

♪ Who dares to love forever?

♪ Oh

♪ When love must die? ♪

He's still astounding, you know?

The lengths he can push things to
is extraordinary.

Sometimes,
I'm standing right here playing

'Who Wants To Live Forever'
and he's there doing his thing,

and when he goes
into this stratospheric thing

in the middle,
I very often go, "Wow."

♪ We can have forever

♪ And we can have

♪ Forever

♪ Forever is our today

♪ Who wants to live forever?

♪ Who wants to live forever?

♪ Forever is our today ♪

Now, when I sing it,
I think about Freddie,

I think about the fact
that he was taken away too soon.

♪ Who waits forever anyway? ♪

To me, it sends the message
of be here now

and make the most of
what you have and who you love

and who loves you

because you never know,
it might be taken away tomorrow.

♪ Died last night in my dreams

♪ Walking the streets

♪ Of some old ghost town ♪

I've had the opportunity
to continue my solo career

alongside of this collaboration
with Queen.

♪ A city of vampires ♪

I think
my musicianship has improved

because of working
with Brian and Roger.

So, it's definitely helped me grow
as a solo artist as well.

♪ And now I know my heart
Is a ghost town ♪

And I get to go create new songs
that are mine.

And then I get to go out
with Brian and Roger

and pay tribute to Freddie Mercury.

♪ My heart is a ghost town ♪

There's been a perfect storm
in 2018 that happened.

Queen built up to a point
where they could headline

the Hollywood Bowl again,

and it would be
the hottest ticket in town.

And then the 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
movie came out.

In the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' movie,

Freddie Mercury's going out
with Mary.

And he's calling her
from a truck stop.

And he's still grappling
with his own sexuality.

And there's this hunky trucker.

Well, that trucker
is played by Adam Lambert.

If you had just closed the door,
I could have had it.

Oh.

I could have had that.

I was like,
"Oh, hey, how are you doing?"

You do feel
there are two worlds of Queen

colliding in that moment.

The movie
has made a lot of young people

hear Queen music
for the very first time.

And how cool would that be
that a band

that was written off 30 years ago

becomes the band that makes rock
cool again for the kids?

Like, how cool is that?

What's actually been quite
sort of dumbfounded

is that we've actually
stayed together all these years.

And when you think about it,
I mean, we are the only sort of,

you know, four grand dames

that have actually
sort of stuck together.

We have to survive
and we have to survive together.

And so many groups

who are on the brink
of the world's riches

don't realise that.

They suddenly think
they're too big for the group

and they disappear off.

And they throw away the magic,

which is a group
which works together.

It's something very precious.

If you find it in your lifetime,
even once, you're so lucky.

And we are incredibly lucky.

We found it twice, I have to say.

When we very first met Adam,
he appeared to be more of a boy.

I now see him
as an incredibly accomplished man.

Roger and I have
a better relationship

than we used to have.

And that's important.

You know,
we disagree on almost everything,

but we have
that kind of mutual respect.

And when we get to play together,
something happens.

And it was always there
from the beginning,

like way back to the jazz club room
in 1969

or whenever it was.

A long time ago, isn't it?

Chop, chop.

- All right, then?
- All right?

Let's do it.

Have a good one.

Yeah. Nice one.

It's family now.

And it does feel like
when we're walking to stage together

before a show, "Here we go.

Let's do it."

♪ Oh, you gonna
Take me home tonight?

♪ Oh,
Down beside that red firelight

♪ Are you gonna
Let it all hang out?

♪ Fat bottomed girls

♪ You make
The rockin' world go 'round ♪

After the success
of the first tour,

we were well beyond people
questioning does it work.

Adam brings
in a whole new fan base.

There are people
that come in to see Adam Lambert

and then they walk away
Queen fans.

♪ I was just a skinny lad

♪ Never knew no good from bad

♪ But I knew
Life before I left my nursery

♪ Left alone with big fat Fanny ♪

The perception of Queen today
is very different

than it was 10 or 20 years ago

when people kind of thought
their glory days

were behind them.

That was the perception
before Adam.

Twenty years after Freddie's death,
the guys in Queen,

they're not rock musicians,
they're wizards.

When we go and see their shows,

what we want to do

is we want them to take us
in their time machine

back to when we were young.

♪ I've been singing with my band

♪ Across the wire, across the land

♪ I seen every blue eyed
Floozy on the way

♪ But their beauty and their style

♪ Went kind of smooth After a while

♪ Take me to them
Dirty ladies every time

♪ Oh

♪ Won't you Take me home tonight?

♪ Oh

♪ Down beside your red firelight

♪ Oh

♪ And you give it all you got

♪ Fat bottomed girls,
You make the rockin' world go 'round

♪ Fat bottomed girls,

♪ You make the rockin' world go
'Round ♪

We have experienced things

which we never experienced
with Freddie.

Hong Kong, how are you?

Something has bonded us all
actually.

We feel that we can really go
anywhere and do well.

Maybe China
has been waiting for us.

We have been waiting for China.

♪ I got mortgages on homes

♪ I got stiffness in my bones

♪ Ain't no beauty queens
In this locality... ♪

The opportunity
to go see your favourite band

since you were a kid

and even before,
you're my dad's favourite band,

and that's fantastic.

♪ Woman,
You done made a big man of me ♪

They're bigger now
than they've ever been.

It's amazing that Queen
can be so unique

and then be the biggest band
in the world.

I've seen them five or six times.

I've taken everyone I know now.

Seeing the energy and the magnetism
that they still have,

it truly is indescribable.

The best artists, I think,

are like ambassadors to the past
and also to the future.

And if he can be the bridge
that makes the younger kids

want to find out
more about this Freddie guy,

it's a win-win situation.

Without this guy,

none of this would be happening
right now.

We'd all be at home
with our slippers, you know?

Ladies and gentlemen,
Mr Adam Lambert!

Freddie, I know for a fact,

would look at what Adam is doing
and say,

"Wow, how do you do
some of that stuff?"

Does he sing or what?

"There you go, bitch,"

you know, he'd love it.

The voice is stupendous.

There is not another voice
like that in this planet.

I think
he's the best singer around.

I don't know anybody
that can outsing Adam Lambert.

I really don't.

I can't believe I'm here.
I'm really lucky.

And I know I'm not Freddie,
but I'm here.

So, I'm gonna sing the songs
and do my best,

and let's have a good time.

And let's celebrate this band
and Freddie

and this amazing catalogue of songs
together.

♪ So, you think you can stop me
And spit in my eye?

♪ So, you think you can love me
And leave me to die?

♪ Oh

♪ Baby, can't do this to me, baby

♪ Just gotta get out,
Just gotta get right outta here

♪ Ooh, yeah, ooh, yeah

♪ Nothing really matters

♪ Anyone can see

♪ Nothing really matters

♪ Nothing really matters to me ♪

♪ Any way the wind blows. ♪