No Singer? No Problem! Bands Carry On With Replacement Frontmen

Posted by Spinner Staff
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The frontman is quite literally the voice of the band, so when a group loses its iconic lead singer you'd think it would be time to pack it in. Well, that's not the strategy the following bands took: Some found a sound-alike (or even a sound-nothing-alike); others promoted someone from within its ranks. However, none of them fooled anyone, except themselves -- and surely not their longtime fans.

Queen

Old Singer: Freddie Mercury
New Singer: Paul Rodgers

It'd be hard to imagine a band more tied to the personality of its lead singer – right down to its name – than Queen. For years, Mercury's comrades allowed him to rest in peace, until Brian May and company hired the uber-macho Rodgers, ex of Bad Company, to fill their fallen comrade's unitard. Fortunately, Rodgers hasn't taken that mandate literally, having so far sworn off the spandex.

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Reader Comments(1 of 2)

Highest Ranked

daveat 4-02-2008

Paul Rodger singing Queen?!?! What are you shittin'me?!?!?

Paul belongs to Bad Co. Sing the damned songs we love hearing you sing!

Neutral

Iva Bigunat 4-02-2008

You mean there is STILL A MARKET FOR QUEEN?
I thought the 80's were in the past.... Dang..

JohnQat 4-02-2008

Paul Rodgers is one of the best voices in Rock N Roll and he's paid enough dues to be allowed to make his own decisions. But on the whole, when the original Lead singer leaves (no matter the cause) the Band's name needs to be left behind.

murrayat 4-02-2008

How can you not list the Temptations? How many lead singers has Otis Williams had to keep the group going.

sharonat 4-02-2008

As a die hard Queen fan from it's origins, I know that
no one can take Freddie's place. I saw them in concert
in Los Angeles every time they were here. I still miss
Freddie and his wonderful, over-the-top personality
and amazing voice. I did see Queen+Paul Rodgers when
they were at the Hollywood Bowl and I thought it was
great to hear the old songs live and thought Paul did
an admirable job doing the Queen and the Bad Co. songs.
It will be interesting to see what material they have.
I also have seen Brian May live in Los Angeles and he has an amazing voice also that didn't really get any
recognition due to Freddie's virtuosity.

So give the guys a break. God Bless Queen and God bless Freddie Mercury!

donat 4-02-2008

The closest I've seen to anyone who can sing close to freddie is Gregory Finsley of Queen For A Day you can check them out on myspace and on youtube!
don

High Ranked

Francescaat 8-28-2008

I think Mika can sing pretty close to Freddy too.

Vickieat 4-02-2008

I grow up in the 70's and 80's. I loved Queen then and I love Queen now. But I like the orginal Queen. Freddie Mercury was the man. No one can ever take his place. He was an unique man with that unique voice. I heard them one time with Paul Rodgers and I can tell you from where I stand, he really bites. He should go back to Bad Company where he belongs. God Bless Freddie Mercury. May he rest in peace.

donat 4-03-2008

Ok QUEEN FOR A DAY leadman Gregory Finsley has been called the closest thing to Freddie Mercury since leather pants! Check em out at myspace.com/queentribute or the videos on youtube
thanks for keeping the music alive!
don

sherat 4-02-2008

No offense to Paul Rodgers, but in no way does he even come close to Freddy Mercury's vocal style.

Keithat 11-03-2008

From what I have heard of the New Queen Music they didn't use the Freddie Mercury style. They could have even stamped the Bad Company name on it, which fits better than Queen by style

Assassinnekoat 4-02-2008

listen im a 19 year old man that was 4 when freddie died and there will always be a market for queen. with that being said you cant tell me that paul rogers is a good replacement for freddie. freddie was a master at playing to the crowd with his flamboyancy and his powerful voice. i only wish i couldve seen queen one time live.so yes queen will always have a place and a demographic

Hellenat 4-03-2008

I'm probably one of Queen's biggest fans, (I even saw them in concert when I was 17 in Long Beach, Ca.). That said...WHAT THE HECK are Brian May and Roger Taylor thinking???? Seems as though John Deacon may really be the smart (quiet) one of the group! This guy sucks! Freddie's voice, showmanship, style, EVERYTHING will never be matched! If you wikipedia Queen, you will see that they were even voted all-time best British band, (yes, even beating out the Beatles). That would have never happened without this new guy! Sigh....

boognishat 4-03-2008

People of All Stripes, George Michael has filled in for Freddie Mercury before, performed and sounded Fantastic. I'm still surprised that they didn't invite him to join Queen.

steveat 11-17-2009

I always thought he would be a great fit for them also

Lauraat 4-03-2008

I've loved Queen for 30 years, adored Freddie's voice and style, and mourned his death and the end of the band. That said, when Queen + Paul Rodgers played the Hollywood Bowl in 2005, I was skeptical ... for about 30 seconds. I was overjoyed to see/hear Brian & Roger, just as I was when Queen + PR toured in 2006. Everything's a bonus as Queen continues to make music with PR.

steveat 4-04-2008

Dude, Wikipedia can be edited by anybody. If I wanted to, I could make N'SYNC Britain's all-time best band.

the problem with that argument is the the knowledgeable majority will prevail and someone is bound to correct that. oh, the beauty of editing.

gbat 4-10-2008

sammy hagar replaced david lee roth successuflly. i much prefer roth, but hagar was equally successful as far as commercial sales. he was also in the band longer than roth.