WE WILL ROCK YOU

Posted on 22 February 2012

It is small wonder that We Will Rock You is still one of the most popular choices for a West End theatre night out when Queen's music and influence is still pervading our current music scene.   The show has been playing to packed audiences since 2002 at the Dominion Theatre and its success shows no signs of slowing down.

A futuristic storyline penned by Ben Elton is interwoven with the supergroup's classic tracks and is all but guaranteed to get any good music fan on their feet.   Its ongoing success ties in with audiences wanting a sure thing when they take the time and money to book a night out to the theatre.   People's memories of classic Queen tracks are consciously or subconsciously triggered on an almost daily basis, even today, and that ongoing familiarity gives people brand confidence when booking tickets.

Nothing got tongues wagging and internet forums in a fluster during this year's UK X Factor more than the triumphant return of early-axed Amelia Lily.   A twist in the show's format saw each mentor having to cull one of their acts in the first week, with many of the public in uproar when new judge Kelly Rowland made the tough decision that Lily would be the act she was sending home.   The disgraced exit of mopheaded time-bomb Frankie Cocozza meant that an act was voted back in, and as Lily belted out her stripped back performance of Queen's classic The Show Must Go On the audience was speechless and she rocketed to the top of the bookies' odds.   The contest-shaking turn by the powerful seventeen year old was reminiscent of  a couple of years earlier when adorable doofus Stacey Solomon wowed the nation with her powerhouse version of another Queen hit, Who Wants To Live Forever.

Only this week Broadway star Tony Vincent secured a place on Cee-Lo Green's team on The Voice US with a rousing performance of We Are The Champions, with Green stating "I know you did [Freddie Mercury] a great justice and he is proud of that performance.  I was moved by it."    Subversive American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert has developed a huge Stateside following and was personally chosen by the surviving group members to be the new Queen frontman when they headline the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth in July.   Guitarist Brian May stated "Judging by my incoming mail, this decision will make a lot of people very happy.   It's a worthy challenge for us, and I'm sure Adam would meet with Freddie's approval!"   May has also recently collaborated with ex N-Dubz star Dappy performing a guitar solo on his newest single Rockstar, which looks likely to follow the rapper's debut solo single to the top of the charts.  The pairing came about after May claimed Dappy's first single No Regrets deserved an award for its lyrics.

All these connections to the recent music scene help keep Queen both credible and relevant in the public's mind and the ongoing sales for We Will Rock You are a testament to the group's enduring popularity.