In anticipation of the 10th anniversary performance of Queen’s musical We Will Rock You, guitarist Brian May detailed their plans to have the great Freddie Mercury there, re-igniting a recent trend of bringing deceased musicians to life on stage.
Though it is as an optical illusion, not a hologram – the differences are subtle but many. This comes in direct contrast to remarks from bandmate Rodger Taylor, who went on record downplaying any speculation of a Freddy Mercury comeback via smoke and mirrors saying, “I don’t want to sit up here with a hologram of my dear friend…”
In an interview with the BBC, May has confessed the special celebration of the popular West End show will include “an optical illusion of sorts” and expects there will be some fans leaving the theatre asking: “did we actually see Freddie?”. This news follows the hugely successful hologram of departed rapper 2Pac at this year’s Coachella, though May insists they aren’t just jumping on a bandwagon, “It’s a little unfortunate they did that thing with Tupac as we’ve been trying to make Freddie appear on the stage for quite a while.”
May continued to mention that they did consider the now famous hologram technology, though given the logistics of the show, it would not be feasible, stating that the hologram technology used to bring 2Pac to life “is something we’ve looked at ourselves, but I think probably for a show that runs eight shows a week it’s not really quite practical.”
The performance will take place on May 14 at the Dominion Theatre and is sure to please fans with the presence of Mercury, who passed away in 1991. Though only time will tell if technology can copy his charm and charisma as well as his image.
