The Internet was alive on Friday Feb 3 with rumors that former American Idol hopeful Adam Lambert had been pegged to replace Freddie Mercury as front man for the indelible rock band Queen.
Lambert dished to the Daily Star in the U.K. that he was the new set of pipes for the legendary rock band, fanning the flames of rumors of the same which had been fluttering ever since Lambert sang with Brian May and Roger Taylor at the EMA’s last fall.
Lambert had said he plans to “pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some f*****g great songs.” He hopes to “keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would have been proud of.”
But a day after this news broke, Lambert took to Twitter to neutralize the rumors claiming his comments were taken out of context:
“Oooh them clever reporters takin my quotes outta context…. I haven’t confirmed any guest appearances. I was talking about the EMA’S. That being said, I’m truly flattered by your jump to such glorious conclusions mr journalist!!”
One wonders if the news of his new post was meant to be kept under wraps and Lambert mucked up the deal by flapping his gums and is now back pedaling. The words seem impossible to misinterpret but hey, stranger things have happened in this world of rapidly updating Internet news. However it looks like this is yet another tale of loose lips sinking ships, because Lambert clearly spoke in future tense.
“There’s no intention in my mind of replacing Freddie. That’s impossible. The way I’m choosing to view it is that it’s a great honour and one I’m in no way going to shirk.”
Rumor was that Queen will be headlining the Sonisphere festival which tours Europe before hitting Knebworth on July 6-8. Knebworth has historical significance as it was the venue for Queen’s final gig with Freddie Mercury in 1986. It was assumed by Lambert’s comments that he would be working the mic at this event and possibly future ones. However the lineup for Sonisphere has yet to be announced so this could all be wishful thinking and nothing more.
We will now wait for word from the actual band on this issue as it would seem Lambert is too busy bailing out his life raft right now.
Stay tuned for updates on the Sonisphere Festival and any further confirmations of Queen on the road.
Words by: Jennie Orton
