Queen guitarist Brian May got emotional after performing with a holographic representation of the late Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury during a concert this month. As seen in a video from a gig at London’s O2 Arena, May seems to wipe away a tear after concluding a song with the hologram.
The performance between May and the Mercury hologram is part of Queen + Adam Lambert‘s set during their ongoing “Rhapsody Tour,” as Classic Rock pointed out this week. The Queen world tour, which started in 2019, began two weeks’ worth of dates at the O2 last week.
Watch the fan-captured video of the tearful May near the bottom of this page.
The touching moment came during the Queen guitarist’s performance of the classic rock band’s “Love of My Life” with the hologram. The song is from 1975’s A Night at the Opera.
The video was taken by TikTok user @impsk77, who remarked, “Brian singing Love of my Life with Freddie and shedding a tear at the end damn near ruined me!”
Holographic performances from major artists, epitomized at Coachella 2012 in a hologram set from the deceased hip-hop artist Tupac, have already made their way into classic rock. A Ronnie James Dio hologram tour played dates across the world from 2016. Guitarist Jimmy Page recently said Led Zeppelin were asked to do a hologram-style show.
Outside of rock, the Swedish pop group ABBA launched their “ABBA Voyage” virtual concert residency last month in London. The holographic concert is “performed” by digital avatars of ABBA dubbed “ABBAtars,” instead of the flesh-and-blood band members.
“Love of My Life,” written by Mercury, appears as the second song on Side 2 of A Night at the Opera. The studio recording features Mercury on piano, with May on guitars and harp.
Queen’s Brian May Gets Emotional With Freddie Mercury Hologram – June 2022
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