QUEEN BY CANDLELIGHT

London Palladium

★★★★

“stirring, faithful and poignant”

Two questions immediately spring to mind. The first is: why candlelight? Why does the stage of the London Palladium have the appearance of a Guns N’ Roses video dressed as it is with hundreds of flickering (albeit artificial) flames.

There is an answer, but it is attached to a story so more on that later.

The second more pressing question is: how on earth are you supposed to replace or replicate one of the greatest frontmen in rock history, a man of splendid pomp and quite remarkable vocal dexterity?

The answer is 13.

That’s how many Freddie Mercurys there are in this stirring, faithful and poignant tribute to the music of Queen.

All 13 – including four women to account for his operatic range – are rip-roaring West End quality singers, and each has a moment in the spotlight. And then occasionally they come together in a sort of Mercury clone chorus, as if to suggest that 13 quasi-Freddies is the only way to do justice to the majesty of the original.

And in case you’re checking the exchange rate, two guitarists are the equivalent of one Brian May, but John Deacon and Roger Taylor have parity, one for one. In addition, there are keyboards and strings which add drama to some of Queen’s more swelling songs, such as Who Wants To Live Forever? (Thousands of rheumy eyes prickling with tears over lost youths and lost lives.)

And in answer to the candlelight question, the original core troupe was launched to create work for musicians affected by Covid-19. The production was one of the first shows to be staged after lockdown and the only venues available were churches, hence the candles.

Since then, the show has been performed over 300 times including at St Paul’s Cathedral (completing the church loop) and Carnegie Hall, New York.

There was an overabundance of self-congratulation throughout the evening – we were forever being urged to applaud every wail and lick – but that’s OK. Production company Kinda Dusty made it to the Palladium. They have a right to be a little pleased with themselves.

Back to the music, to the anthems, to a back catalogue so stuffed with classics that choosing what stays and what goes must have been a nightmare. Look, here comes another stormer: Somebody To Love, and another, the ridiculously gorgeous Days Of Our Lives. Killer Queen. Don’t Stop Me Now. The Show Must Go On (that last pair having a certain urgency as the show was halted for a medical emergency in the audience). I Want To Break Free. A stripped down Love Of My Life.

And then, on our feet for We Are The Champions, Radio Ga Ga (“let’s see those hands”). You find yourself smiling. Maybe you didn’t mean to smile, weren’t in the mood to smile, but there it is anyway: the smile.

Finally, the massed ranks of Mercurys with accompanying Palladium chorus, come together for a rousing and inevitable Bohemian Rhapsody to mark its 50th birthday.

QUEEN BY CANDLELIGHT

★★★★

UK Tour

QUEEN BY CANDLELIGHT

London Palladium

★★★★

“stirring, faithful and poignant”