Taken by me during the show!
June 2007 - Here are a couple of newspaper
reviews:
Every night I will be Freddie Mercury
Gary Mullen’s victory on Stars in Their
Eyes led to a rip-roaring new career fronting a Queen tribute
band, writes Mike Wade Before he takes the stage at a public
hall in Leicester, Gary Mullen is eyeing up the audience.
He’s 500 miles from his Glasgow home and
should be playing to a room full of strangers. But many of the
crowd look disconcertingly familiar.
Mullen is appearing on a bill of tribute
acts and can count at least 10 men who are dressed exactly as he
is — as the late Queen singer, Freddie Mercury. Another dozen
or so are dressed as Elvis Presley. Even more wear the cavewoman
look Tina Turner made fashionable in the 1980s — and
unnervingly only half appear to be women. “Male and female
Tinas,” laughs Mullen at the memory. “It’s the most
surreal thing I’ve ever seen.”
Nothing is at it seems in the strange realm
of the tribute bands, where, with his band, the Works, the
unassuming Mullen is now the uncrowned king. Six years after
winning a television talent show, he is about to embark on a
series of gigs at some of Scotland’s biggest venues with his
impersonation of Mercury.
Mullen does not crave fame — but tickets
for his shows sell across the world. In the past month he has
completed a six-date tour of Holland with the Works. Earlier in
the year he triumphed in Germany; in 2003 it was New Zealand. In
July his One Night of Queen show topped the bill at the
Marvellous Festival in Berkshire — where he played to 9,000
fans. By Hogmanay he’ll have completed more than 150 shows in
the year.
It doesn’t matter a jot to his audience
that Mullen doesn’t look much like Mercury — though a wig
and moustache help to create the illusion on stage. Nor is it of
any concern that earlier in the year for a few hundred pounds
these same fans could have bought a flight and a stadium ticket
to see the re-formed Queen, with their new lead singer, Paul
Rodgers.
Instead these punters want Mullen for his
no-holds-barred nostalgia, a good night’s sing-along for less
than 20 quid. In return he provides “entertainment in its
purest form”, he says.
“The greatest thing for any entertainer
is to have an audience leave with a smile,” he reckons. “You
have to be very careful of not doing a mickey-take, because
Queen fans are very respectful to the memory of Freddie. We say
to people who come to see the show, close your eyes and picture
what Queen would have been like in 1986 or 1975. That’s what
we’re trying to give people.”
Mullen’s life has changed radically since
he married Jackie in 1996. First he survived testicular cancer
— going on to have three children. The transformation from
computer salesman into globe-trotting singer began in
Glasgow’s Horseshoe Bar. One night a friend taped his Freddie
imitation and sent the recording to Granada’s Stars in Their
Eyes. Mullen went on to win the final in 2000, and in that first
gig played to a TV audience of 10.5m.
For all that success, Mullen says he is
happy to be anonymous in Stepps, where he lives. “It’s nice
to be recognised with the Freddie stuff for those two hours on
stage, but I don’t think I could be ‘Gary Mullen —
singer’ in my own right, having people know what I do 24/7,”
he says. “I take off the wig and go out the back door. I’ve
not got the intrusion of people wanting to know my every move. I
just could not do that.”
Not even for a moment? “Well, sometimes
when you are travelling on a tour bus, you think ‘This is kind
of cool, we’re halfway round the world doing shows’. But as
far as the rock’n’roll thing goes we don’t trash hotel
rooms. We go in with the Mr Sheen and polish them.”
Nov 06
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/newspapers/sunday_times/scotland/article648281.ece
The man who would be Queen
)
The sound of one of the world's most popular bands will fill
Colne Muni with One Night of Queen on May 17. We spoke to former
Stars In Their Eyes winner Gary Mullen, lead singer in the show.
WHAT LED YOU TO AUDITION FOR STARS IN THEIR EYES, THE MOVE
THAT LAUNCHED YOUR CAREER?
My mum and wife filled in the application and sent it away
without my knowledge. The first I knew of it was when I got a
call from the show asking me to go down and audition. I have
always been a big Queen fan and would sing Queen's songs in my
local karaoke bar. People used to say I sounded like Freddie
Mercury, but that was just my own voice. I didn't try to sound
like him.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LIFE BEFORE ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN.
Before One Night of Queen I was a salesman, selling computers
over the phone at Compaq. I was newly married and had a
two-year-old son. I had always wanted to be a singer but it was
drummed into me that I had to get a "proper" job. My
family has grown since One Night of Queen began. I now have
three kids and I think they will all end up being performers
too.
WHY DO YOU THINK FREDDIE MERCURY WAS SUCH A WELL-LOVED
PERFORMER?
Freddie was the perfect performer. Not only was he a
super-talented singer and musician, he was charming, an
extrovert and above all, interesting. He had such a different
and uplifting outlook on life that people were drawn to him as a
celebrity as well as a performer.
WHAT'S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVOURITE QUEEN SONG?
It changes daily depending on how I'm feeling. Today it's
It's a Kind of Magic. I just love singing that one. Yesterday it
was Crazy Little Thing Called Love, as I was watching some of
the footage from Live Aid. Freddie's performance that day was
amazing.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE "FREDDIE" OUTFIT?
I think it's the classic Wembley outfit - the white trousers
and yellow jacket. It's an iconic outfit. Although I do love the
flamboyant silver lurex outfit he wore in the '70's. I was
thinking of getting it made but it's a bit too clingy, if you
know what I mean.
ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN IS KNOWN AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST QUEEN
TRIBUTE ACTS - WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SO GOOD?
Well, above all I think you have to do it passionately and
convincingly. What I mean by that is that you have to be a true
fan.
I play the show as if I'm watching it. I think about what I
would want to see if I was watching it. I would want the people
on stage to believe in what they're doing and to truly enjoy it
- and that's what I do.
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A SHOW? WATCHING OLD QUEEN CONCERTS ON
TV?
I do still watch Queen concerts, but not to prepare for a
show. I don't need to study the moves any more so I simply watch
them for entertainment. Before the show I do my vocal warm-up
and some stretches to warm up my muscles (Freddie's trademark
moves are quite a strain on the body). Then I spend about 10
minutes sitting quietly and getting into the right frame of
mind. I have to work myself up mentally so that when I hit the
stage my adrenaline is pumping and I can draw the audience into
the show as quickly as possible.
WHY SHOULD PEOPLE COME TO SEE YOUR GIG? WHAT CAN THEY EXPECT?
If you're a Queen fan you will be surrounded by a lot of
like-minded people who want to celebrate Queen's music. The show
is high-energy. We say the seats are just for window dressing -
people sing , dance, clap and have a great time listening to
great music.
IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO FREDDIE MERCURY WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO
HIM?
I'd ask him what he thought of our show and thank him for
inspiring me so much. His whole outlook on life - "onwards
and upwards, the bigger the better" - has had an impact on
my own. I try to keep this in mind when things don't go so well
- after all "the show must go on."
May 07
Source:
http://www.blackburncitizen.co.uk/leisure/whatson/display.var.1393035.0.the_man_who_would_be_queen.php
Here
are some pictures I took at the concert I attended at Gravesend
on 14 May 07:
