Taylor relishes performing as Queen frontman in tribute show

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This article was published 23/05/2018 (2938 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Performing as the iconic Freddie Mercury is a task that frontman Giles Taylor says is an “absolute honour.”

In between gigs in British Columbia, Taylor spoke to The Brandon Sun about his time with the tribute show, “Queen: It’s A Kinda Magic.” The Canadian tour stops in Brandon on June 2.

“I’ll be the first to admit it — there is only one Freddie Mercury, and there only ever will be,” Taylor said. “My job is to … get as close as is possible and provide people with the experience of seeing Queen when it was fronted by Freddie Mercury.”

The show recreates Queen’s 1986 World Tour concert and features two hours of the band’s greatest hits performed live, such as“We Will Rock You,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Are the Champions,” “Bicycle” and “Somebody to Love.”

“We do hits right from the mid- to late ’70s when they really first kicked off as Queen, right up until 1991, when Freddie sadly passed away,” Taylor said.

“Queen: It’s A Kinda Magic” has been travelling the world for nearly six years, and its producer, Johnny Van Grinsven, attributes the show’s continued success to the attention to detail — “everything from the costumes, instruments and even the lighting cues have been designed to replicate those seen in real Queen concerts.”

Taylor stands apart from other Freddie Mercury impersonators in how he not only sings like the legend, but also plays piano live. He also picks up the guitar for a few songs.

“Once they found me, they wanted all the costumes to be replicated exactly, so we had them all tailored and handmade, to suit and fit myself and the rest of the band,” he said.

Taylor’s bandmates include Australians Richie Baker as Brian May on guitar, Kyle Thompson as Roger Taylor on drums and South African Steven Dennett as John Deacon on bass.

Taylor said the costumes add so much authenticity and fun to the show.

“I don’t even have to do anything. I can just walk out on stage in one of these ridiculous costumes and the audience goes wild,” he joked. “The costumes do half the work for me.”

Taylor grew up in the United Kingdom, just south of England. He was a fan of classic rock “across the board,” such as Led Zeppelin and Rush. His father introduced Taylor to Queen when he was very young.

“It’s something that I’ve grown up with, and all of these classic rock bands all had really, really good, predominant vocalists,” he said. “Very talented, and seemed to have very high ranges … so yeah, for me to grow up with that kind of stuff, really did help when it came to embracing this role and trying to get my teeth into it.”

Taylor said his favourite song to perform is “Fat Bottomed Girls,” which is on the set list no matter where in the world they are performing.

“That one is always in there and also it was the first song my father ever played for my by Queen, so that sticks in my memory,” he said.

The Brandon show takes place on June 2 at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets are $59.

» jaustin@brandonsun.com

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