News
May 2005
May 31st
Aruba concert
Queen + Paul Rodgers are set to play ARUBA MUSIC FESTIVAL on October, 8th 2005.
May 31st
QUEEN AT THE IVORS
QUEEN TAKE TWO AWARDS AT TODAY'S 50th IVOR NOVELLO AWARDS (THE IVORS)Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London. 26 May, 2005
Queen today (26th May) collected two major awards at the 50th Ivor Novello Awards held this afternoon in London.
Given each year The Ivors, presented by the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters in association with The Performing Rights Society (PRS), the awards are given to celebrate British songwriting and acknowledge the music of the previous twelve months.
It is the only British awards ceremony which specifically honours the songwriter.
Queen picked up one of the Ivor's most important awards, 'Outstanding Song Collection', with which the Academy salutes the creator(s) of an outstanding body of work. Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor collected the award from songwriter/producer Guy Chambers who himself later received an award for Angels, the song he composed with Robbie Williams which was awarded Song of the Decade, 1995-2004.
Queen's second award was for Bohemian Rhapsody, which was voted Song of the Decade 1975-1984 by the public through the UK's most listened to radio station, BBC Radio 2. Unique to this year as part of the 50th anniversary of the Ivors, Songs of the Decade was devised by the Academy as an attempt to find the most influential songs of the last 50 years. The voting criteria was considered to be the song's influence on other writers, it's originality and the effect it had on the time.
Other songs in Queen's nominated category were 'Every Breath You Take' - The Police, Imagine - John Lennon, London Calling - The Clash, and Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division.
There are three kinds of Ivors categories: statistical, nominated and 'Gift of the Academy'. Statistical categories include Best Selling UK Single and PRS Most Performed Work and are determined by various sets of figures. Nominated categories, such as Best Contemporary Song are invited from any interested party and are decided by a jury comprising eminent writers, and other respected individuals, such as producers and broadcasters. The Gift of the Academy awards, under which Queen received their Outstanding Song Collection award are decided by the Ivors committee.
Also honoured at today's awards were Lou Reed, who received The Special International Award, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, The Ivors Special Award for Songwriting. Bob Geldof and Midge Ure's 'Do They Know It's Christmas' was Best Selling UK Single. The Album Award went to Snow Patrol for Final Straw. In all 15 awards were presented.
PICTURE: Brian and Roger receiving their Outstanding Song Collection award from Guy Chambers. (c) DAVE FISHER.
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May 22nd
Q+PR Tromso and other news
It is said that Roger Taylor will NOT be a part of 46664 ARTIC concert. The concert takes place on 5th June 2005 in Tromso, Norway. Brian May will appear. Check out official 46664.com site for details.
Sheffield concert was filmed and it will be issued as DVD and CD around September this year. No downloads on the official Queen site (queenonline.com) from Sheffield concert as the show will be issued in full.
May 15th
Q+PR Sheffield concert
The group added Another One Bites The Dust to the setlist. Besides, the concert was filmed (directed by David Mallet - the one who made for example Radio Ga Ga video) and there were two special guests in the audience: mother and sister of late Freddie Mercury, Jer Bulsara and Cashmira Cooke.
May 7th
Q+PR add two new songs to the setlist
While playing the UK band decided to add two more new songs to the setlist. Manchester 4 May 2005 saw "Under Pressure" in the place of "Show Must Go On" - sung by ROGER and Brian (most of it by Rog actually!!!) and Birmingham saw "Another One Bites The Dust" in, sung by Paul Rodgers. Let me show you how the setlist in Birmingham 6 May 2005 looked like:
- Reaching Out
- Tie Your Mother Down
- I Want To Break Free
- Fat Bottomed Girls
- ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
- Wishing Well
- Crazy Little Thing Called Love
- Say It's Not True
- '39
- Love Of My Life
- Drum Solo
- I’m In Love With My Car
- Guitar Solo
- Last Horizon
- Hammer To Fall
- These Are The Days Of Our Lives
- Radio Ga Ga
- Can’t Get Enough
- A Kind Of Magic
- I Want It All
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Under Pressure
- All Right Now
- We Will Rock You
- We Are The Champions
- God Save The Queen
May 7th
Peter Kay joins Queen on stage
FANS of the rock group Queen got a bonus when comedian Peter Kay appeared on stage at the M.E.N. Arena during the super group's comeback concert and hosted a sing-a-long of the hit song Is This the Way To Amarillo?
Making his entrance at the end of the sell-out gig with Max and Paddy co-star Patrick McGuinness, the Bolton celebrity was greeted with deafening applause.
Running down the stage into the middle of the crowd he quickly burst into an impromptu chorus of Amarillo - with everyone in the arena singing along. Later, after the encore, he was back on stage with Queen guitarist Brian May who took the opportunity to try out the Amarillo stroll with him, as seen in the song's video.
However, comic Kay could not leave the stage without a gag and was soon taunting May and band mate Roger Taylor.
"Two more weeks," he laughed. "Two more weeks and we will have beaten Bohemian Rhapsody's record. That will be nine weeks at number one!"
Funny side
Luckily, the Queen rock veterans could see the funny side and even let the comedian share their final bow.
However, it is not the first time Kay has taken to the Arena stage. As well as appearing at the venue as part of his sell-out My Mum Wants A Bungalow tour, he also made a surprise guest appearance last year at the start of Eric Clapton's concert - making his entrance with a guitar slung around his neck.
His Comic Relief remake of kitsch classic Amarillo, miming to the voice of Tony Christie, has held the number one spot for seven weeks in a row, holding off competition from the likes of Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake.