Queen + Adam Lambert are set to release their first-ever live album.
‘Live Around The World’ will arrive on October 2 on CD, CD/DVD, CD/Blu-ray, vinyl, as well as digitally and on streaming platforms.
The ‘We Will Rock You’ hitmakers – who have performed around the globe with Adam ever since they joined him on stage on the finale of ‘American Idol’ in 2009 – wanted to give their fans something to watch while gigs are off amid the coronavirus pandemic.
And it was after looking back at their YouTube Watch Party from June – which featured highlights from their previous tours – that they decided to put together the clips in one place for their fans to view at their leisure.
Drummer Roger Taylor explained: "We hadn’t really watched those clips before, we were always too busy touring. We weren’t aware of how good the band sounded. So we thought, well, maybe there’s a live album of highlights of concerts that we’ve done over the last eight years with Adam Lambert to be made."
Queen and Adam have played a total of 218 concert to a total audience of 3,659,232 over the years.
Fans can expect to see their performances from Rock in Rio, Lisbon, the UK’s Isle of Wight Festival, Summer Sonic in Japan, plus selected UK and North America tour dates, right up until their last performance before lockdown, the Fire Fight Australia benefit show.
The latter gig saw them recreate Queen’s iconic 1985 Live Aid set, with a setlist comprising ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We are The Champions’.
Guitarist Brian May said: "As we all grapple with the challenge of creating live shows in a world dominated by a formidable viral enemy, it seemed the perfect time for us to create a collection of hand-picked live highlights from our Queen shows over the last seven years with our brother Adam Lambert.
"It’s a first! As you watch and listen to these tracks you’ll be journeying all around the world with us, and experiencing a complete virtual live set. The collection climaxes in Sydney earlier this year when, in support Fire Fight Australia, we recreated the complete Queen Live Aid set. It was a historic event for a great cause – with perhaps the highest adrenaline level since the original Live Aid in 1985. It makes me particularly happy that we can now share this unique moment with the whole world."
‘American Idol’ alumni Adam added: "When we couldn’t tour this year we wanted to give the fans something in place of that, and a Live album just felt right. It’s the first time we have released an album together and we have had a lot of fun putting it together, picking out favourite performances over the past seven years."
Queen + Adam Lambert’s full live album comes after they released a lockdown version of ‘You Are the Champions’ with proceeds going to the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund for The World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, fans have their postponed European and UK leg of the ‘Rhapsody Tour’ to look forward to in 2021.
The 27-date run is now due to kick off on May 23, 2021 in Bologna, Italy, and includes a 10-day residency at London’s The O2 arena in June.