Queen guitarist Brian May was recently spotted getting emotional after performing with a holographic representation of the late Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury during a concert this month. The video clip is from a gig at London’s O2 Arena and May was seemingly wiping away a tear after concluding a song with the hologram.
Brian May performs with Freddie Mercury
The performance between May and the hologram is part of Queen + Adam Lambert’s ongoing “Rhapsody Tour,” as Classic Rock noted. The virtual avatar of Mercury appears on a screen and interacts with May onstage. The Queen world tour, which started in 2019, began two weeks of dates at the O2 last week.
You can check out the fan-captured video of the tearful May:
The touching moment came during the Queen guitarist’s performance of the classic rock band’s romantic yet somber “Love of My Life” with the Mercury hologram. The song is from 1975’s A Night at the Opera.
The video was taken by TikTok user @impsk77, who said, “Brian singing Love of my Life with Freddie and shedding a tear at the end damn near ruined me!” Holographic performances from major artists was displayed at Coachella 2012 in a hologram set from deceased hip-hop artist Tupac, have already made their way into classic rock. A Ronnie James Dio hologram show toured the world from 2016. Jimmy Page recently said Led Zeppelin were asked to do a hologram show.
Outside of rock, Swedish pop group ABBA launched their “ABBA Voyage” virtual concert residency last month in London. The concert is “performed” by digital avatars of ABBA dubbed “ABBAtars,” instead of the flesh-and-blood band members. “Love of My Life,” written by Mercury, is the second song on Side 2 of A Night at the Opera. The recording features Mercury on piano, with May on guitars and harp.
