Adam Lambert, who has served as Queen's vocalist since 2011, has shared his love for the band's original singer, Freddie Mercury.
After he received the International Award at last Friday's (June 30) O2 Silver Clef Awards at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel in London, Lambert elaborated on his love for the frontman, stating how in spite of the fact he is now singing Queen's songs, he could never "replace" him or his legacy.
Speaking to Music News editor Marco Gandolfi at the event, Lambert says: "Listen, there's no replacing Freddie Mercury. It's impossible. Freddie Mercury is a mythic rock god. Not only did he sing the hell out of those songs, he wrote so many of them.
"Those were his stories in a lot of those songs. And if I didn't have the recordings of Freddie Mercury, I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am with this music. So he's incredibly inspiring and he definitely gave me all of the ingredients that I needed to even pull it off on stage. So I look at it always as a celebration and a tribute to him."
Discussing Mercury's impact on the music world, he continues: "I think Freddie's many things. I think the voice alone, it does something to you when you listen to it. He had an incredible voice, and I think that, as his tool, connected him with so many people out there.
"And then his songwriting — he wrote beautiful, human, emotive music about the human experience, and I think that also connected him with people. And then once you got him onstage, you look at old footage of him and he was very free and full of joy, and I think that inspired a lot of people as well, including myself."
This autumn, Queen and Adam Lambert will hit the road for their US Rhapsody tour, with their first show scheduled to take place on October 4 in Baltimore. View the tour dates below:
Oct 04: Baltimore CFG Bank Arena, MD
Oct 05: Baltimore CFG Bank Arena, MD
Oct 08: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON
Oct 10: Detroit Little Caesars Arena, MI
Oct 12: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Oct 13: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Oct 15: Boston TD Garden, MA
Oct 16: Boston TD Garden, MA
Oct 18: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PA
Oct 23: Atlanta State Farm Arena, GA
Oct 25: Nashville Bridgestone Arena, TN
Oct 27: St. Paul Xcel Energy Center, MN
Oct 28: St. Paul Xcel Energy Center, MN
Oct 30: Chicago United Center, IL
Oct 31: Chicago United Center, IL
Nov 02: Dallas American Airlines Center, TX
Nov 03: Dallas American Airlines Center, TX
Nov 05: Denver Ball Arena, CO
Nov 08: San Francisco Chase Center, CA
Nov 09: San Francisco Chase Center, CA
Nov 11: Los Angeles BMO Stadium, CA
Nov 12: Los Angeles BMO Stadium, CA
