{"id":44771,"date":"2025-09-25T15:09:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=44771"},"modified":"2025-10-02T13:42:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:42:29","slug":"on-stage-killer-queen-brings-freddy-and-queen-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=44771","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Killer Queen brings Freddie and Queen to life"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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Killer Queen<\/p><\/div>\n

There are cover bands and tribute bands galore these days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some are really bad, some are acceptable, and some are good.<\/div>\n
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Many simply play their versions of classic songs straight up. Some attempt to look like the band they\u2019re covering but usually fail \u2013 like guys flailing around stage trying to imitate Mick Jagger while the band tries to recreate the music.<\/div>\n
Only a few attempt to look and sound like their targets \u2013 often with mediocre results.<\/div>\n
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However, there are a rare few that hit the nail on the head \u2013 bands that look and sound like the originals.<\/div>\n
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One of the best is Killer Queen.<\/div>\n
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Killer\u00a0Queen\u00a0has the visuals nailed.<\/div>\n

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Simon\u00a0Small\u00a0looks like Queen guitarist Brian May. Jon\u00a0Howells\u00a0looks like Queen drummer Roger Taylor. Gordon\u00a0Davis\u00a0looks like Queen bassist John Deacon and Patrick\u00a0Myers has an uncanny resemblance to the late great Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury.<\/div>\n
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More importantly, Killer Queen does an amazing job at recreating the sound of Queen live onstage.<\/div>\n
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Seeing Killer Queen perform live is as close as you\u2019ll come to hearing a performance by Queen.<\/div>\n
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On September 27, Killer Queen will visit the area for a show at the Lansdowne Theater (31 North Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, www.lansdownetheater.org<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe started in 1993,\u201d said Myers, during a recent phone interview from his home in Brighton, England.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe were one of the first tribute bands in the world. It should be noted that we\u2019re a tribute band not a cover band.<\/div>\n
\u201cWe were in London at university. I was studying drama at London University. At that time, Queen had kids dressing up as them.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Killer Queen\u2019s first public shows were at London University, following in the footsteps of the real Queen who had played their first shows there 22 years earlier.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe were the first Queen tribute band to get a lot of press and coverage,\u201d said Myers.<\/div>\n
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By 1995, Killer Queen\u2019s U.K. popularity had grown to such an extent they secured a residency in London\u2019s Strand Theatre attracting nationwide BBC coverage — the first tribute to have a show in the West End.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe were the first Queen tribute band to play venues like the Marquee and the West End,\u201d said Myers. \u201cAnd we were all over national TV.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Even though the band never had any connection to Queen officially, their reputation continued to grow both in the U.K. and abroad.<\/div>\n
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In 1999, they returned from a tour of Europe and Russia for an awards ceremony in Leicester Square, hosted by Suggs from Madness. He announced they had won the award for \u201cWorldwide Best Tribute Band.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cAmerica got in touch in 2016,\u201d said Myers. \u201cOur first show in the states was at Red Rocks in Colorado. That was a huge draw.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Myers explained the reason for Killer Queen\u2019s popularity.<\/div>\n
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\u201cKiller Queen is not a Queen cover band,\u201d said Myers. \u201cWe\u2019re a tribute band. We have costumes. We dress like them. We have huge shoes to fill.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe play the music like Queen which is difficult because they were such a talented band. They were brilliant.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Queen started in the early 70s. Their first show was at Bedford College in 1972 with six people in the audience.<\/div>\n
That changed quickly.<\/div>\n
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The band\u2019s popularity exploded with their sophomore album, \u201cQueen II,\u201d in 1974 followed by \u201cSheer Heart Attack\u201d in 1974.<\/div>\n
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Their \u201cNight at the Opera\u201d album in 1975 yielded \u201cBohemian Rhapsody,\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d topped the\u00a0U.K. Singles Chart\u00a0for nine weeks (plus another five weeks following\u00a0Mercury\u2019s death\u00a0in 1991) and is the UK\u2019s\u00a0third best-selling single of all time.<\/div>\n
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It also topped the charts in countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Netherlands, and has sold over six million copies worldwide.<\/div>\n
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In the United States, the song peaked at number nine in 1976 but reached a new peak of number two after appearing in the 1992 film\u00a0\u201cWayne\u2019s World.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In 1977, Queen\u2019s \u201cNews of the World\u201d album featured \u201cWe Are the Champions\u201d and \u201cWe Will Rock You,\u201d which became all-time worldwide favorites and perpetual staples at athletic events.<\/div>\n
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Queen, which has sold more than 300 million albums, reached another peak with its performance at \u201cLive Aid.\u201d<\/div>\n
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But everything screeched to a halt on November 24, 1991, with the death of Freddie Mercury, who was born 45 years earlier in Zanzibar as Farrokh Bulsara.<\/div>\n
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Mercury died of bronchial pneumonia. His last concert with Queen was in February 1990.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI never got to see Queen perform live,\u201d said Myers. \u201cI wanted to see their Magic Tour in 1986, but I missed it. I was 14. I was too young, and my parents didn\u2019t want to take me. I figured I\u2019d see them next time.\u201d<\/div>\n
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There never was a next time. The Magic Tour was Mercury\u2019s final tour with Queen.<\/div>\n
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\u201cNot seeing them was a sore point,\u201d said Myers.<\/div>\n
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Seven years later, Myers and his mates were onstage bringing the magic of Mercury, May, Taylor and Deacon back to life.<\/div>\n
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Killer Queen captures the power of Queen\u2019s live shows and serves up the songs and the shows with amazing accuracy \u2013 even down to physical resemblance.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe do our best to look like them,\u201d said Myers. \u201cWe all look very different offstage. Most people don\u2019t recognize us offstage.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Killer Queen has spent more than three decades performing the music of Queen.<\/div>\n
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Myers captures Mercury\u2019s stage aura, and his study of Mercury is an ongoing process.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI watch videos of Freddie all the time,\u201d said Myers. \u201cI still see new things. The amazing thing is that I still find them fascinating.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Killer Queen keeps things fresh.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOur set list has evolved over the years,\u201d said Myers. \u201cWe mix up the chronology of the songs. We play around 20 songs and it\u2019s more a musical journey than a chronological journey.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe play a lot of stuff you want to hear \u2013 including some deep cuts. You can\u2019t just do the hits. One thing doesn\u2019t change. We always close with \u2018We Will Rock You.\u2019\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Killer Queen — https:\/\/youtu.be\/0qucQhBd2WY<\/a><\/u>.<\/div>\n
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The show at the Lansdowne Theater on September 27 will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Ticket prices start at $49.25.<\/div>\n
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\"\"On September 26, Windish Studios (4 West Prescott Alley, West Chester, https:\/\/www.windishentertainment.com<\/a><\/u><\/i>) will host the Gusten Rudolph Quartet.<\/div>\n
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The show, which presents a veteran jazz ensemble featuring John Petrucelli, Neil Podgurski, Jeffery Dingler and Gusten Rudolph, will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.<\/div>\n
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Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a><\/u>) is hosting Kitchen Sink on September 25.<\/div>\n
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Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a><\/u>) is presenting \u201cA Chorus Line\u201d through September 28.<\/div>\n
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The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0302- 475-2313, www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a><\/u><\/i>) is in the first full weekend of its latest run \u2013 \u201cRagtime: The Musical.\u201d The show is running now through October 26.<\/div>\n
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Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a><\/u><\/i>) is presenting the \u00a0Nick Moss band with Dennis Gruenling and AC Steel 7 the Perpetrators on September 25, Meghan Cary Trio and Miss Emily on September 26, Blues People on September 27 and The Philly Blues Kings with Clarence Spady on September 28.<\/div>\n
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Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com<\/a><\/u>) will have Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar on September 25, Splintered Sunlight on September 26 and Yasmin Williams on October 1.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times There are cover bands and tribute bands galore these days. Some are really bad, some are acceptable, and some are good. Many simply play their versions of classic songs straight up. Some attempt to look like the band they\u2019re covering but usually fail \u2013 like guys flailing around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,15278,15277],"class_list":["post-44771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-gusten-rudolph-quartet","tag-killer-queen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44771"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44792,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44771\/revisions\/44792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}