Queen and Paul Rodgers live in London

Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor returned to the stage in London's Brixton Academy to launch a European tour as Queen for the first time in 19 years but it was Freddie Mercury who died 14 years ago that provided the highlight of the night.

The new band, baptised Queen + Paul Rogers, was lined up by Brian May, Roger Taylor, ex Free and Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers along with ex Blue Oyster Cult bassist Danny Miranda, keyboard player Spike Edney and rhythm guitarist Jamie Moses. The third surviving member of Queen, bass player John Deacon, has retired from the music scene and will not be joining the tour that is expected to visit 14 European countries.

The band cruised through a 25 song set-list pretty comfortably and confidently. Paul Rodgers lead in most of the songs but May and Taylor had a fair share in lead vocals performing 3 songs each.

Throughout the show there were audiovisual references to Freddie Mercury who died of AIDS in 1991. First Brian May singing with the crowd "Love Of My Life" and then screen footage of Freddie Mercury himself performing Bohemian Rhapsody live in 1982 - the highlight of the evening.

The show lacked the big lights and stage gradiosity that Queen were famous for but it was a memorable night for the 4,000 diehard fans who obtained their tickets via a Fan Club lottery system.

All in all Queen + Paul Rodgers' performance at Brixton was very solid and enjoyable. Problems for the band might arise if music fans start comparing the performance of the current lineup with that of Mercury, May, Taylor and Deacon.

Related links:

Queen + Paul Rodgers live in London photos
Queen + Paul Rodgers live in London setlist
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