Who would pass up the opportunity to see Queen in concert? With the death of their lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1991, the only options currently available to keen fans are flying to Japan to see the band with new frontman Adam Lambert or seeking out a tribute act. Unfortunately, the RADIO GAGA tribute act which played at London’s Adelphi Theatre on Tuesday night was rather more ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ than ‘Killer Queen’.
That is not to say that there were no positives in the evening, which took us through a selection of popular Queen songs from early hits ‘Killer Queen’ and ‘Somebody to Love’ right through to the 1990s with ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, which was initially released just weeks before Mercury’s tragic death.
Frontman Mark Sanders gave it his all in amping up the crowd, although he did not fully replicate Mercury’s flamboyant stage mannerisms and lent heavily on a penchant for slapping his own behind. But imitating Mercury’s legendary range was always going to be a tall order, and sadly Sanders was not quite up to the task here, with his voice better suited to the lower notes and struggling to match the high belts needed for many of the songs. The tempo was also off in places, and further encouragement of audience participation by pausing partway through lines to allow the audience to finish them did not always pay off.
Elsewhere in the band there were strong performances, particularly from Richard Ashford as lead guitarist Brian May (complete with Cavalier-esque curly wig), whose solos were some of the highlights of the evening. The band was rounded out by Jon Caulton on bass, Ben Parkinson on keys and Michael Richards on drums, all of whom played well and created faithful imitations of Queen’s classic songs.
Lighting from Tye Connolly also helped to create a concert feel, with strobes, coloured lights and smoke all transforming the Adelphi into a concert venue for the evening. Costuming also attempted to recreate the look of the band, although from close up this looked a little cheap for the grand venue.
All in all, RADIO GAGA was an enjoyable night out with the opportunity to sing along to some beloved Queen songs, but it was definitely more of a tribute than an imitation.
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AD | gifted tickets in return for an honest review
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