Queen + Paul Rodgers: New Album Details

Together Brian May, Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers have recorded their first album's worth of material, jointly written and produced. With the title yet to be disclosed, the album is being readied for release September 1, two weeks ahead of the start of the tour.

Tracks on the new Queen + Paul Rodgers album titled "The Cosmos Rocks" are all newly written by May, Taylor and Rodgers during the late 2007/ early 2008 recording sessions. Say It's Not True, previously released at the end of last year by Queen + Paul Rodgers as a special World Aids Day download for Nelson Mandela's 46664 HIV AIDS charity will be included, plus a 'first' for a Queen album -- a cover version.

One of these tracks, C-lebrity, will receive a sneak preview when the band make a by-demand return to the UK's ITV Al Murray's Happy Hour for the final show on April 4.

With a new album in the pipeline -- the first new studio album to carry the Queen name since the Freddie Mercury sessions -- the band is heading back on the road for a four-month tour, once again in the company of musician/singer/songwriter Paul Rodgers who joined forces with Brian May and Roger Taylor for the highly successful 2005/2006 world tour, the European leg of which ended with the band's spectacular London Hyde Park open air concert before going on to play the US and Japan. In all, the band's tour was attended by more than a million people.

The Queen + Paul Rodgers 28-date arena tour will take in 14 countries in just seven weeks, and take the band to Northern Eurasia, Central and Southern Europe, and the UK, and is expected to wind up at the end of the year with the band's highly anticipated return to South America, the setting of some of its most historic tours in the early '80s.

The 2008 tour kicks off mid-September in Russia with two dates at Moscow's SCO Olympic Arena, moves on into Poland for a massive free concert at the historic Gdansk Shipyard, and then follows a path through Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands before arriving in the UK early October for 6 dates including London's 02 Arena on October 13.

The UK dates see the band additionally play Nottingham, Glasgow, Cardiff and Birmingham with a final UK date at Liverpool Arena on October 18 before continuing on to Spain, Hungary, Serbia, Czech Republic and Austria for seven further dates.

Bassist John Deacon, who retired from the music business in the late 1990s, will not take part in the tour.

The Cosmos Rocks over Europe at:

Leg 1:
09/16 - Moscow SCO Olympic Arena, Russia
09/17 - Moscow SCO Olympic Arena, Russia
09/20 - Gdansk Shipyard, Poland
09/21 - Berlin Velodrom, Germany
09/23 - Antwerp Sportspaleis, Belgium
09/24 - Paris Bercy, France
09/26 - Rome Palalottomatica, Italy
09/28 - Verona Arena, Italy
09/29 - Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
10/01 - Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
10/02 - Mannheim SAP Arena, Germany
10/04 - Hannover TUI Arena, Germany
10/05 - Hamburg Color Line Arena, Germany
10/07 - Rotterdam Ahoy, Netherlands
10/10 - Nottingham Arena, UK
10/11 - Glasgow SE&CC, UK
10/13 - London 02, UK
10/14 - Cardiff Arena, UK
10/16 - Birmingham NIA, UK
10/18 - Liverpool Echo Arena, UK

Leg 2:
10/22 - Barcelona Palau Sant Jordi, Spain
10/24 - Murcia Estadio Municipal, Spain
10/25 - Madrid Palacio de Deportes, Spain
10/28 - Budapest Sportarena, Hungary
10/29 - Belgrade Arena, Serbia
10/31 - Prague 02 Arena, Czech Republic
11/01 - Vienna Stadthalle, Austria

Comments

[NOSPI]

:O no freddy mercury?

wont be the same. meh i never liked queen that much anyway.

[NOSPI]

forgot to finish my comment :P

they shouldn't be queen anymore.. without freddy or john. why don't they change their name?? it's not right.

[Big Tommy P]

Why didn't they change their name, what about "King"?

[slann101]

big tommy, you fail.but i agree that they should cvhange their name, and i respect john for not doing voice overs and not taking part in this.

[kjb]

Where the **** is the Dublin tour date!?!?!?!

[FaceTomorrow]

maybe they should have changed their name, but its still great they have made an album.

[ValoRhoads]

To be fair, Brian wrote all the music and harmonies so he really is the heart of Queen, Freddie gave it soul but I feel Freddie would have no problem with them still being Queen, as a matter of fact I think he'd be happy about it, so rock on Queen!

ValoRhoads wrote:

To be fair, Brian wrote all the music and harmonies so he really is the heart of Queen, Freddie gave it soul but I feel Freddie would have no problem with them still being Queen, as a matter of fact I think he'd be happy about it, so rock on Queen!

not exactly. Freddie wrote a lot of their songs himself. As you might know -- he was a great pianist, and he wrote a lot of Queen melodies

[Comeback Kiddd]

not the same

[Craigadams93]

Wow. Paul Rogers looks just like Bono in that picture.

[CanCan]

I don't like this.

[metalb0y]

I like how they keep saying, 'Queen + paul rogers' as if He's not part of the band! Anyway i suppose this is good news for the queen fans but i'm not really into them, good for them though

[Spay]

Even though it's not the same without Freddie, it's unfair to Paul Rogers to say that he won't do nearly as good a job. We haven't seen him really do his best yet, and who knows? He might not be Freddie Mercury but he might be Paul Rogers, the great new singer for Queen. I say give him a chance.

Queen lives on.

[sk8rMeTaLhEaD27]

OH MY GOD. THIS IS TERRIBLE. There only doing this for money. If you've seen them or listened to them with Paul, they sound so bad. They should at least change there name so Freddie doesn't turn in his grave.

[BriGuy7727]

Queen - Mercury + Rodgers
Now that's an acceptable name haha

[metalb0y]

Give him a chance

[chris_kedro]

BriGuy7727 wrote:

Queen - Mercury + Rodgers
Now that's an acceptable name haha

Perfect

[Death-Reaper]

NOSPI wrote:

:O no freddy mercury?

wont be the same. meh i never liked queen that much anyway.

Freddie is dead.

[thedarkblues06]

NOSPI wrote:

:O no freddy mercury?

wont be the same. meh i never liked queen that much anyway.

Yeah, no Mercury...sounds like you didn't know he died lol.

I not going to dog Rodgers, but I don't think there are very man people alive that can top Mercury's voice. I just going to hang back and watch, see how they do, then voice my opinion.

[Kapalen]

Do you guys think Ac/Dc should change their name, or Nightwish? Why is it if someone switches keyboard players nobody gives a ****, but woe is he who changes the singer.

[DirkLance]

ValoRhoads wrote:

To be fair, Brian wrote all the music and harmonies so he really is the heart of Queen, Freddie gave it soul but I feel Freddie would have no problem with them still being Queen, as a matter of fact I think he'd be happy about it, so rock on Queen!

No dobut he is a great guitarists and penned many of his famous guitar harmonies, but Freddie wrote tons of stuff, too, including some of the guitar!

The ever famous "headbang" part in Bohemian Rhapsody...it was conjured up by Freddie's mind first, but of course Brian brought it to life!

[CatchTheRhythm]

Nooooo
This is such a stupid move, they are downgrading themselves by releasing a new record with that dude rodgers who i never really liked.
If they make new music, make a new band!!
new name new vibe!

[Ibanez Junkie]

They lost 2 members of a 4 piece band. Yes, they should change the name.

checked.
eh, i don't call myself a huge queen fan, but i feel like they would be tainting their legacy by recording an album without freddie mercury.

[Oblivion_Rps]

they should've changed their name..

cos Freddie was who made Queen.

[s6k]

ignorant idiots, have you any idea how great Paul Rodgers is? have you even ever heard anything by Free, apart from all right now? Free are probably one of the greatest rock bands ever, AMAZING band and I just have to laugh at how underrated they are

[AnimatedHand]

They should really just call the band 'Que' now. Not the same without Freddie

[Stuminton]

its just like the smashing pumpkins but the singer has hair. how witty

[Sh*tPump]

so you guys are saying that just because Freddie died they are not allowed to record anymore?

[untalented]

I think Paul Rodgers is the best person to replace freddie in terms of voice and soul but queen and free were completely different.
I think they should rename the band.

[grapedrink]

NOW!!!!!

[Rock'n'Roller]

Just to those people who say that Queen should change their name
they are actually officially called "Queen + Paul Rodgers"

[sum1udunno]

I'm gonna pick up this album and give Paul Rodgers a chance even if he isn't Freddie Mercury.

[KingCheesehead]

I think Queen + Paul Rodgers is a great name. Covers both sides of the argument.

[tommyt]

Meh, really not all that bothered about 2 members of queen and imo the weakest member of free.

[ntchode]

can't wait to see if Brian May can still write good riffs.

[Lin]

I've really been getting into free recently, and damn does that guy have a good voice. He's up there with James Brown IMHO.
This band has never been billed as Queen. It has always been billed as the best part of the surviving queen members, with paul rodgers on vocals. It has never been about replacing freddie, and shame on anyone who has a problem with these 4 fantastiv musicians going out and doing what they love.

[forsaknazrael]

Does anyone here chanting that they should change their name realize that they do tour under the name "Queen + Paul Rodgers" out of respect for Freddie Mercury?

i'm eager to hear what they have..Brian May is a mastermind on guitar.

[j-boy199]

With the title yet to be disclosed, the album is being readied for release September 1....

....Tracks on the new Queen + Paul Rodgers album titled "The Cosmos Rocks"...

Anybody else notice that?

I don't know if queen could actually be queen without freddie...

Checked.

[Jaykib]

I'm not expecting to like this, I prefer the jazz/piano thigns Freddie done.

[iksero]

for changing the name; I think it's not so bad that they keep the name. Axl kept the name of GNR and he's the only original member. I'm excited for the record.

[pouyannassiri]

thats stupid they should change their name. Queen without Freddie is like Metallica without a james heatfield.

[americanmovie23]

kinda weird feeling about this one.....

[gods guitar]

Am I the only person that is happy that Queen Songs will get played live again by some of the original members??
Am I the only person that is happy that some of the greatest musicians in history are writing and recording new material?
Am I the only friging person who’s happy that a musician is doing his job?? Instead of letting the royalties just roll through??!?!

[nimrod_hahahaha]

ok we all get the idea that they 5hUd w3lL cHaNGe t3hre NAmE...they are 'QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS' not just Queen. It's about the music anyway, if that is still good then what's the problem?

[recliner33]

DirkLance wrote:

ValoRhoads wrote:

To be fair, Brian wrote all the music and harmonies so he really is the heart of Queen, Freddie gave it soul but I feel Freddie would have no problem with them still being Queen, as a matter of fact I think he'd be happy about it, so rock on Queen!

No dobut he is a great guitarists and penned many of his famous guitar harmonies, but Freddie wrote tons of stuff, too, including some of the guitar!

The ever famous "headbang" part in Bohemian Rhapsody...it was conjured up by Freddie's mind first, but of course Brian brought it to life!

Every member of Queen wrote different songs so it all wasn't one person. John and Roger probably wrote the least material but when John did write he came up with hit songs like Another one bites the dust and stuff like that. Sure, most of the time Freddie and Brian stole the show but Roger and John were important to the band as well.

[Ultimate_Gio92]

alot of you guys are pretty ignorant. Should AC/DC have changed their name (someone said this), should cryptopsy change their name now that lord worm left? Should CANNIBAL CORPSE have changed their name when chris barnes left and corpsegrinder stepped in?

List goes on. Should Maiden have changed their name when Paul Dianno left and Bruce Dickinson stepped in? Should Shadows Fall have changed their name when Brian Fair came in the band and replaced whats his name?

Or what about Judas Priest after Al Atkins left? Should Pantera have changed its name after Terry Glaze left?

NO they SHOULDN'T have. Plus they aren't calling themselves Queen, they're calling themselves Queen + Paul Rodgers. He's one musician, working with other musicians. He's not officially in the band imo.

[mercurymay]

yet to be named or the cosmos rocks? hmmm...

[Rock'n'Roller]

i have two more of their albums to get now
to think that only a day ago i only needed one

[SoftParade1967]

I love Queen so so much! I'm glad there putting out a new album. But with out Freedie or John it wont be the same. Im interested to see what it will be like. Id much rather have George Michaels do the vocals. Not Paul Rodgers. See what i mean. Go on youtube. Somebody to love Queen with George Michaels. Its amazing! he has the voice range of Freddie!

Anyway... Cant Wait!!!! Long live Queen!

[Footzyrama]

Unless this album is nothing short of miraculous people are probably going to be dissapointed.

[musefanatic]

YAY QUEEN!!! I think it's just good to see them back.

[Tallman1984]

Queen without Freddie is like Pearl Jam without Eddie.

[Spoony_Bard]

Footzyrama wrote:

Unless this album is nothing short of miraculous people are probably going to be dissapointed.

Well put. Same with every band that comes back after a 10 or so year hibernation.

[str84ever]

NOSPI wrote:

forgot to finish my comment :P

they shouldn't be queen anymore.. without freddy or john. why don't they change their name?? it's not right.

... Its Queen and Paul Rogers

[-Collapse-]

Ibanez Junkie wrote:

They lost 2 members of a 4 piece band. Yes, they should change the name.

Um yeah, and Dave Mustain is the only original member of Megadeth, and the line up has changed 10,000 times, but you wouldn't make him change his band name; would you?

[Les Paul Ell]

Unlike pretty much everyone else here, it seems, I actually really like Paul Rodgers but have never been into Queen. Wonder what this'll sound like.

[-Collapse-]

Damn.

Dave Mustaine*

>.<
Typical, isn't it?

[ZedLeppy]

Ah, I'm good to see they're getting new material out there.

Even though it really isn't Queen, it has Brian May included, which is my favorite member of the band. I love Queen a lot, tbh.

Of course it isn't the same without Freddie, no band is ever the same after their singer dies ('cept for AC/DC... They somewhat recovered, but Bon was better).

I'll be buying it when it comes out.

[esp1234]

WDF!!!

I can't believe they're doing this....

[cam_sampbell]

Queen should've have done what Led Zep did and are doing, quit for ages but then come back with a bang, instead of dragging freddie's memory along

[priestfan76]

No way man.Queen is Freddie Mercury and Brian May.It's like Guns and Roses, just like you can't have guns without slash or axl, you can't have queen without Brian May or Freddie Mercury.I respect them wanting to continue making music, but I just don't think it's right to tour as Queen without the guy who made queen what they are.

[randyaintdead82]

TOUR AMERICA PLEASE!!!!

[edbert]

this is crap, they really shouldn't call themselves queen when only two of the original members are there and Freddie, who made the band, isn't

and props to Deacon for leaving the band for that reason

[cap'n curry]

at least their saying its + paul rodgers and not just queen

[Demon Wolf]

I'm confident that the new Queen record will put 96% of today's music to shame. I can't wait!

[scarfacesuit]

NOSPI wrote:

:O no freddy mercury?

wont be the same. meh i never liked queen that much anyway.

Why so shocked at no Freddie? He's been dead for decades...

I probably won't like it, but I'll at least listen to the new album... Of course it won't be anything like their old stuff with Freddie, but I feel obligated to give Paul a chance

[Themaddoctor]

gods guitar wrote:

Am I the only person that is happy that Queen Songs will get played live again by some of the original members??
Am I the only person that is happy that some of the greatest musicians in history are writing and recording new material?
Am I the only friging person who’s happy that a musician is doing his job?? Instead of letting the royalties just roll through??!?!

It's good they are releasing a new album. It shows they do want to move on after Freddy, no matter how great he is. Bands have to move on. Like AC/DC with Bon Scott

[chiefmegadeth]

Feels very wrong?
They should of changed there name!
Money hungry i think!the name alone will sell.
But at what cost?

[Les Paul Ell]

-Collapse- wrote:

Ibanez Junkie wrote:

They lost 2 members of a 4 piece band. Yes, they should change the name.

Um yeah, and Dave Mustain is the only original member of Megadeth, and the line up has changed 10,000 times, but you wouldn't make him change his band name; would you?

Oh well, he did MD.45 a while ago. Still, I think it's a little different as the biggest songwritter in Megadeth is still in the band.

[Wiland]

Queen is overrated, some of there songs are good but most are annoying and over played

[MusicalMinority]

Freddie had soul like no other man could. I mean, Paul Rodgers is a good singer, but nowhere near the bar Freddie set.

And anyone else playing a Deacon bassline? Won't be the same at all. Only Deacon can play a Deacon bassline.

But all the same, kudos to Queen for continuing making music.

[Sam Mézec]

Woooohoooo! Al Murrays happy hour!

[Sam Mézec]

Wiland wrote:

Queen is overrated, some of there songs are good but most are annoying and over played

Wrong

[Set-Abominae]

Ack, do not want. Without Freddie it won't be the same.

[hiphopopotamus]

Freddie was god damned amazing, and so was the old Queen. Can't really say how I feel about this. I love Brian and Roger, but Freddie is irreplaceable.

[recliner33]

-Collapse- wrote:

Ibanez Junkie wrote:

They lost 2 members of a 4 piece band. Yes, they should change the name.

Um yeah, and Dave Mustain is the only original member of Megadeth, and the line up has changed 10,000 times, but you wouldn't make him change his band name; would you?

Yeah but it has been Dave Mustaines band since the very beginning and all the people he had in his band were hired by him. He started up the band on his own. It's kind of like Trent Reznor and NIN.

[fitter.happier.]

good move going by the name queen + paul rodgers. wont wreck queens image at least not for me. this should be interesting. maybe not epic, but interesting.

[CobenBlack]

sk8rMeTaLhEaD27 wrote:

OH MY GOD. THIS IS TERRIBLE. There only doing this for money. If you've seen them or listened to them with Paul, they sound so bad. They should at least change there name so Freddie doesn't turn in his grave.

idiot. brian may is worth an estimated £55 million, why wud he be doing it for the money? and why should he stop doing what hes done all of his life just because freddy died. i wouldn't want to giv up playing live if one of my friends died. its been 14 years. i watched their live dvd with paul rogers and it was good. very respectful of mr bulsara

[fitter.happier.]

good move calling it queen + paul rodgers. should be interesting. maybe not epic, but interesting.

[Doragg]

Oh, no!! I'm almost speechless. I just don't think it'll sound as good without Freddy, his vocals alone put chills down my spine when listening to Queen. I just hope they don't f*** it up. I'll give them a chance, but I seriously don't see it being that good.

[Msu_Man04]

It is not Queen without Freddie, but I can understand a tour and new album. Technically, they are going as 'Queen + Paul Rodgers', not 'Queen'. I do believe that is a smart move. I can imagine that Brain wants to be able to work with Roger again, and both would like to see what would happen with Paul.

[schecter_r0cker]

It wont be the same with out freddie

[Epic_Name]

It wont be Queen, but I might enjoy it.

Checked.

[limefan913]

I've heard live stuff with Queen + Paul Rodgers. Obviously they have to make some changes (like a lower key) but he's got the power. I think there might be better replacements, but Brian May even said they chose Paul Rodgers because he was one of Freddie's favorite vocalists.

[Luigi@121]

Why you trippin'. Get over it. Sure it won't be the same voice of Queen, but come on. Paul Rodgers is a great singer-you've gotta admit. He may not anyone's choice of a new singer for Queen, but hey-he was Freddie's favorite singer. And you never know, the new album may be something great

[SL!!!]

sk8rMeTaLhEaD27 wrote:

CobenBlack wrote:

sk8rMeTaLhEaD27 wrote:

OH MY GOD. THIS IS TERRIBLE. There only doing this for money. If you've seen them or listened to them with Paul, they sound so bad. They should at least change there name so Freddie doesn't turn in his grave.

idiot. brian may is worth an estimated £55 million, why wud he be doing it for the money? and why should he stop doing what hes done all of his life just because freddy died. i wouldn't want to giv up playing live if one of my friends died. its been 14 years. i watched their live dvd with paul rogers and it was good. very respectful of mr bulsara Hey shit head don't flame me.

Lol, irony.

[***jacob***]

NOSPI wrote:

:O no freddy mercury?

wont be the same. meh i never liked queen that much anyway.

HE'S DEAD

[freelunch]

I dind it amusing that people are comparing Freddie and Paul...there is no comparison. Freddie was Rock Opera, Paul is one of the greatest Rock/Blues/Soul vocalists ever. So take it for what it is...a collaboration by no means is Rogers trying to replace Freddie, he doesn't have to he stands on his own merit. Both great at what they do/did...I just happen to like Paul Rodgers much much more.

[guyisasexybeast]

Excellent, the greatest band ever is back... and on the road just at the same time I'll be touring Europe.... Awesome!

:> :> :>

[MmmCesium]

Freddie wanted them to continue after he died. I'm sure he'd be fine with them using the name.

[carljn]

as a queen fan for 17 years i can say
it sucks john and freddie are not involed, so it won't have that queen energy it just can't !!
however freddie and john would definitly approve of this. look at it as the next incarnation of queen it will never be the same but it could be really great. it really is better than nothing at all....

[di4gram]

Paul just can't replace Freddie- it sounds like someone singing karaoke when he's singing Queen songs.
Brian May's an amazing guitarist and it will definitely have a Queen feel because I've heard non-Queen tracks with him on guitar and knew it was him from the guitar alone. The collab he did on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack for example, which was in my opinion amazing.
Queen won't ever be the same without the flamboyant spark that was Freddie Mercury's stage persona. I am sure that the new music will be great, but Freddie presented songs that would have sounded quite ridiculous coming from a normal rock band in such a way that they were nothing short of majestic. With that in mind, perhaps the new songs will be slightly more tailored to Rodgers' style.

[Cooper1983]

Although Freddie may be dead, and nobody could replace him, his spirit lives on in the music and all of us. The rest of them are carrying on in his name.

[dembonez]

Paul Rodgers is an amazing singer, if any of you listen to Free you'll know... but whether or not he suits queen is another thing. No one can say Paul sounds bad, great voice

[JamesCopti]

that's not queen. that's just a band with members of queen.

[Rockn]

Maybe Ringo should hire a couple of session players and tour as the Beatles?? No Way, A band with out its heart and soul (Freddie) should start with a name change, then let the music speak for itself.

[doubleG]

Not really Queen without Mercury, you dont call a peanut butter and jam sandwich a peanut butter and jam sandwich if theres no peanut butter....

*checked*

[randyaintdead82]

should be musically good, brian's no slacker

[jon3782001]

Yeah Brian May is a perfectionist, should be some good guitar anthems on it if theres another ''Say it's not true'' on the burn.

[King Herman III]

could be pretty good...but it just wont be the same without mercury