QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT | Rhapsody Tour 2020

„Rhapsody“-Tour rockt Europa
Queen + Adam Lambert im Juni mit Megashow in Deutschland
Drei ausgewählte Konzerte in Berlin, Köln und München

Mit einer Show, die alles Bisherige in den Schatten stellt, präsentieren sich Queen + Adam Lambert Mitte 2020 in Europa. Die „Rhapsody“-Tour, die weltweit euphorische Reaktionen ausgelöst hat, kommt Ende Juni auch nach Deutschland. Die gigantisch-glamouröse Arena-Inszenierung der Rock-Champions macht in Berlin, Köln und München Station. Es sind die ersten europäischen Konzerte seit dem Film-Blockbuster „Bohemian Rhapsody“, der die illustre Geschichte dieser einzigartigen Band eindrucksvoll und authentisch in Szene setzt.

Die majestätischen Rocker treten gemeinsam mit Adam Lambert als Leadsänger auf, der die Band mit seinem perfekten, stilvollen Mix aus Rock-Theatralik, Sex-Appeal und eindrucksvoller Vokal-Performance zu neuen Höhepunkten geführt hat. Queen in absoluter Bestform! Und als Highlights: Denkwürdige Video-Einspieler von Freddie Mercury.

Bühne, visuelle Effekte, Design und Technik bilden den eindrucksvollen Rahmen für die Queen + Adam Lambert-Shows, in deren Mittelpunkt natürlich die größten Hits stehen. Die „Rhapsody“-Tour mit sage und schreibe 29 Songs gilt als Meilenstein, mit der neue Maßstäbe der Livemusik-Experience geschaffen wurden. Das Spektakel versteht sich als innovatives und interaktives Fest der illustren Geschichte und anhaltenden Renaissance von Queen.

Queen, die ihre Fans mit zahllosen Nr. 1 Hits wie „We Will Rock You“, „Bohemian Rhapsody“, „We Are The Champions“, „Killer Queen“, „Somebody To Love“, „A Kind Of Magic“, „Radio Gaga“, „I Want To Break Free“ und „The Show Must Go On“ sowie denkwürdigen Bühnenauftritten fasziniert haben, zählen zu den erfolgreichsten Gruppen aller Zeiten. Die Ausnahmeband prägte ihren eigenen unverwechselbaren Musikstil zwischen Pomp und Pop, Hard und Art Rock. Mehr als 200 Millionen CDs und Singles weltweit und 16 Millionen Tonträger allein in Deutschland und Österreich belegen eine überragende Anziehungskraft.

Queen fanden in Adam Lambert einen außergewöhnlichen Frontmann, der den Part des zu früh gestorbenen Freddie Mercury auf individuelle Weise und mit ähnlicher stimmlicher Bandbreite perfekt ausfüllt. Die Live-Liaison von Queen und Adam Lambert begann 2009, als sie gemeinsam „We Are The Champions“ im Finale von American Idol performten. Seit Herbst 2013 tourt man gemeinsam.

Gitarrist Brian May zur „Rhapsody“-Tour: „Das ist eine „furchterregende“ neue Produktion, die das Queen-Erbe in neue Spähren trägt“. Und fügt hinzu: „Ich bin verdammt stolz!“. Nach Aussage von Queen-Drummer und - Mitbegründer Roger Taylor stellt die Tour mit ihrer neuen Mega-Produktion alles Bisherige in den Schatten und „alles ist 100% live“! Während Adam Lambert die Herausforderung begrüßt, „noch tiefer in den Klassiker-Kanon von Queen einzutauchen“.

Die „Rhapsody“-Tour wird von überragenden Kommentaren begleitet. „Die Show ist ein abolutes muss, mit dem größten Singles-Katalog der Rock-Ära“, lautet eine der Schlagzeilen. „Die beste Arena-Show aller Zeiten“. „Ja, sie sind die Champions“ oder „Queen + Adam Lambert werden dem Vermächtnis in jeder Weise gerecht“, heißt es an anderen Stellen. Einig sind sich Kritiker und Fans im Urteil, dass Queen die Genialität eines einzigartigen Rock-Kataloges vermittelt, der Nostalgie und Aktualität verbindet. Ergebnis seien Sounds and Songs, denen die Zeit absolut nichts anhaben kann. Gewürdigt wird besonders Queens nachhaltige Präsenz in der Popkultur über einen Zeitraum von fünf Jahrzehnten hinweg.

Hier die offizielle Presseerklärung:

Having well and truly rocked North America with 25 giant shows across the Summer which drew universally ecstatic reviews – “it’s loud, it’s fun, and it’s unforgettable” - and played to sold out audiences totalling close to 400,000 spectators, Queen + Adam Lambert have finally announced that they will bring their brand new, hugely anticipated “Rhapsody” concert experience to UK and Europe audiences next year.

In what will be their first European dates since the worldwide box office sensation that was the “Bohemian Rhapsody” film, Queen + Adam Lambert today reveal that they will perform 16 shows in England and Europe in spring 2020.

The announcement comes on the eve of one of the biggest North American concerts in Queen's illustrious history. They will take to the stage as headliners this Saturday, September 28, for this year's annual Global Citizen Festival on the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park, playing to an expected audience of 60,000. The all-star event has been staged each year since 2012 by the Global Poverty Project, which has set the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030. Queen + Adam Lambert will star alongside artists such as Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, One Republic and Carole King.

The all-new “Rhapsody” show, already hailed as “a marvel of technical advances,” will kick off the New Year of 2020 with 17 giant arena and stadium shows across South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The extravaganza will then arrive in the UK and Europe in late Spring, as Queen original band members Brian May and Roger Taylor team up once more with longtime front man Adam Lambert on lead vocals to perform 16 shows across eight countries from late May into early July.

The European tour will launch in Italy on May 24, with its final stop in Denmark on July 1. Along the way, it will play in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland, as well as the UK, where dates will centre around five London shows at the O2 Arena beginning on June 2.

The only UK show outside of the capital is set for Manchester's MEN Arena on June 11. These are the only confirmed UK performances for Queen + Adam Lambert at this point. The full tour schedule is below.

Tickets for the UK dates on the “Rhapsody” tour go on sale to the general public TODAY, 25 September at 9.00am local time. There are no pre-sales. Tickets (maximum of six tickets per booking) are priced from £45.00 and available from ticketmaster.co.uk and queenonline.com 

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT “Rhapsody Tour” UK & EUROPE 2020

DATE - CITY/COUNTRY - VENUE

Sun 24 May - Bologna, Italy - Unipol Arena - TICKETS

Tue 26 May - Paris, France - AccorHotels Arena - TICKETS

Wed 27 May - Antwerp Belgium - Sportspalais - TICKETS

Fri 29 May - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome - TICKETS

Sat 30 May - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome - TICKETS

Tue 2 June - London, UK - O2 - TICKETS

Wed 3 June - London, UK - O2 - TICKETS

Fri 5 June - London, UK - O2 - TICKETS

Sat 6 June - London, UK - O2 - TICKETS

Tue 9 June - London, UK - O2 - TICKETS

Thu 11 June - Manchester, UK - Manchester Arena - TICKETS

Wed 24 June - Berlin, Germany - Mercedes-Benz Arena - TICKETS

Fri 26 June- Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena - TICKETS

Sun 28 June - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion - TICKETS

Mon 29 June - Munich, Germany - Olympiahalle - TICKETS

Wed 1 July - Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena - TICKETS

Over the six weeks of this leg on the “Rhapsody” tour, European audiences will at last have the chance to see the epic new show which has drawn awe and acclaim all through its North American run, and became Rock’s hottest ticket of the year in the USA. Ever the masters of extravagant performance and sumptuous visuals, Queen + Adam Lambert’s newest production is again the work of Stufish Entertainment Architects’ set designer Ric Lipson and lighting designer Rob Sinclair who both have a long-term association with Queen including the most recent eye-popping “News Of The World” touring show.

Lipson describes the two-and-a-half-hour production as “A new chapter in the history of the band. Once again for them expanding the parameters of what a live music experience can be, this new show delivers the band’s most spectacular yet, an innovative and interactive celebration of the continued power of Queen’s music.”

The tour comes at a time Queen when continue to ride high on the momentum of their box-office-busting, Oscar-winning “Bohemian Rhapsody” biopic, which has introduced their music to new audiences with record-breaking results. Apart from becoming the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, in the UK it is also No. 1 biggest-selling film of 2019 on home release.

Queen’s original soundtrack to the film has remained high in the UK album chart ever since its November 2018 debut; in the US, it became the band's highest-charting album in 38 years, and Queen sold more albums in North America than any artist in the first half of 2019. The timeless and groundbreaking “Bohemian Rhapsody' video has reached a historic one billion views on YouTube making it the most viewed music clip of the 20th Century. In addition YouTube views of “Don’t Stop Me Now” have just passed the 500 million mark.

Revealing the news long-awaited by the band’s UK and Europe fans, Queen’s Roger Taylor stated: "We're back and we're hot.”

An enthused Brian May said: “This is a fearsome new production taking the Queen legacy to a new place. I’m well proud.”

Adam Lambert joined in saying: “I can’t wait to get back to the UK and Europe, we had a blast on our last tour, and I am so excited to bring this new show over there!”

Since Adam Lambert first shared the stage with Queen for the 2009 American Idol final, his dynamic performances have reinvigorated the band and delighted fans worldwide. Starting as they meant to go on, their first full show together in June 2012 thrilled a crowd of half a million strong in the Ukraine capital city of Kiev. Since then, May and Taylor’s musical fireworks have been matched by Lambert’s vocal prowess and stage presence, making for an explosive combination. Over 200 gigs later, the partnership has remained a commercial and critical triumph, playing to enraptured full houses in every corner of the world.

Their story is now the subject of the major, new two-hour TV documentary “The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story,” which premiered in US primetime on ABC TV, drawing one of the biggest viewing audiences of the night. With rare concert footage and exclusive, revealing portraits of the band members off stage, “The Show Must Go On” chronicles Queen and Lambert’s incredible journey since “American Idol.”

Documenting his humble beginnings and meteoric rise on reality TV to his current place centre stage as frontman of Queen + Adam Lambert, the film features brand new interviews with Lambert, his parents Leila and Eber and Queen founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor. Also featured are Rami Malek, the Golden Globe and Oscar winner for Best Actor in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins. The documentary will premiere in the UK Friday 11th October at 10pm on Sky Arts.

“The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story” is produced by Simon Lupton and Jim Beach for Miracle Productions and Matt Lombardi is executive producer for Lincoln Square Productions.

Once again completing the tour line-up will be the band's long-term on-stage collaborator Spike Edney on keyboards, Neil Fairclough on bass and Tyler Warren on percussion.

Twickets Partnership

For the upcoming UK & Germany shows Queen + Adam Lambert have once again teamed up with Twickets, the global fan-to-fan ticket marketplace, as a safe and secure place for fans to buy or sell spare tickets. Twickets enables fans to ethically resell event tickets they can no longer use to other fans for no more than the face value of the original ticket, helping to combat the secondary ticketing market. To resell spare tickets or buy a fan-to-fan ticket, please visit: http://queen.twickets.live

Photo Credit: Bojan Hohnjec © Miracle Productions LLP