In 1991, the world lost one of the most talented musicians of all time, Freddie Mercury. Evidently, the death of Mercury shook the world, but on a far more personal level, it shook the rest of the band members of Queen. Following the death of Mercury, the future of Queen was completely up in the air. Frankly, they seemingly weren’t thinking about their future all too much, as Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon were mourning the loss of their friend. However, one body speculating about Queen’s future was, of course, the public.
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After the death of Freddie Mercury, the masses crafted assumptions as to who would be the next lead singer of the band and or if there would even be one. One of those speculations was that George Michael of WHAM was planning on taking Mercury’s spot. This hypothesis was not entirely crafted out of thin air, as it did stand upon some ground, some loose ground, but ground, nonetheless.
It seems fans crafted this theory after George Michael performed with Queen on stage at Freddie Mercury’s tribute concert in 1992. Despite this performance, these rumors were fully denied as false by Queen’s drummer, Roger Taylor.
According to Queen’s Roger Taylor, This Was Merely a Rumor
In an interview with Louder Sound, Roger Taylor unpacked and acknowledged the lack of truth in the claims that Queen was replacing Freddie Mercury with George Michael. Taylor started off praising Michael’s performance at the tribute concert, as he simply told the publication, “George Michael was magnificent.”
That comment, of course, spurred a question surrounding the rumor. Per that question, Taylor replied, “I remember hearing the rumours. But it wouldn’t have suited us. George wasn’t really used to working with a live band. When he heard the power he had behind him in rehearsal he couldn’t believe it. He thought he was on Concorde or something.”
Nothing but hearsay, and thankfully so, as no one, no matter how talented they were or are, could replace Freddie Mercury. Now, Queen uses Adam Lambert as their lead singer every so often. However, it is not the same in the slightest. While Michael was an impeccable vocalist, Taylor said it best, he just “wouldn’t have suited” Queen’s ambiance and tone. In essence, when it comes to things such as this, the past is better left untouched and consequently, untainted.
Photo by David Wolff – Patrick/Redferns via Getty Images
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