It‘s a kind of magic how band echoes real Queen

Nicky Willemse WEEKEND POST CORRESPONDENT

BURSTING with energy and never afraid to push the limits, Queen‘s talented lead vocalist Freddie Mercury was an entertainer extraordinaire, mesmerising audiences in an estimated 700 concerts during his career.

His death from Aids nearly 17 years ago signalled the end of an era – but one that four talented musicians are determined to revive.

Australia‘s highly acclaimed tribute show Queen: It‘s a Kind of Magic!, which has rocked audiences around the globe, ends its run in Port Elizabeth today.

So close to the real thing, the show is endorsed by Peter Freestone, Mercury‘s personal assistant and close friend for the last 12 years of his life.

For the Port Elizabeth leg of their South African coastal tour, he is travelling with the cast, which includes Craig Pesco as Freddie Mercury, Brett Millican as drummer Roger Taylor, Travis Hair as lead guitarist Brian May and Mitch Cairns as bass guitarist John Deacon.

When the group invited Freestone to watch the show in Singapore five years ago, he was astounded by the audience reaction. “The audience were on their feet going crazy for the whole show.”

He still remembers the first time he saw Pesco, in the role of Mercury: “I could‘ve sworn it was Freddie. I got goosebumps.”

Pesco, a “massive Queen fan” who spent many years collecting Queen material, was instrumental in founding the show about seven years ago.

“When I‘m on stage, it‘s like I‘m watching a video of Queen in my head,” he says.

In true Freddie form, he camps it up, flamboyant and outrageous. Off-stage, however, he is down to earth, enjoying an easy rapport with the other cast members, who together spend eight months of the year touring the world.

Hair, who bears an uncanny resemblance to May, said: “While we‘re away, we have two commitments – Queen and the phone bill. We‘re always on the phone to our families.”

The group have studied the moves and mannerisms of the original Queen members, and relish the challenge of imitating them as closely as possible.

Hair goes to great lengths to mimic May‘s sound and style, right down to using an Australian five cent piece as a guitar pick – a replacement for May‘s sixpence.

Millican has had to master the drums and singing high-pitched falsetto at the same time, as Queen drummer Roger Taylor used to do.

Pesco, the only member of the cast who talks to the audience, even wears prosthetic teeth to match Mercury‘s distinctive look.

Freestone says of the show: “It‘s an evolving beast. In fact, the end of each show is always different.”

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