One Night Of Queen rocked the
stadium at Hyde Park in London for Proms In The Park 2009 belting out hits like Bohemian
Rhapsody, Radio GaGa and Somebody To Love in front of a very
enthusiastic crowd of 40,000. Hosted by Sir Terry Wogan and Ken
Bruce, Gary and The Works performed alongside The Counterfeit
Stones, Emperors Of Soul, Escala, Katherine Jenkins and Barry
Manilow who was joined on stage by John Barrowman. Grange Hill
actor Erkan Mustafa who played Roland Browning was our special
guest and spent the day with us backstage.
Top: Gary backstage with Erkan Mustafa and Izzy
Bottom: The Works backstage
backstage with Escala
Gary Backstage with John Barrowman
More pics soon
More footage coming soon.
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RETROFEST
2009
The boys were greeted with a
warm reception at this years Retrofest in Ayrshire. A lively
crowd partied over 3 days and a great time was had by all.
“ONE
NIGHT OF QUEEN” ROCKED THE KESWICK THEATRE !!!
By
Michael Davis & Lisa Young
On Sunday
night, March 22, 2009 at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA,
something truly magical happened in front of a sold-out crowd.
It was one of the most surreal moments in our lives. It wasn’t
just a night, it was “One Night Of Queen” performed by Gary
Mullen & The Works. We’ve seen a lot of tribute bands in our
lives, but nothing that in any way, shape or form, comes close
to “One Night Of Queen”!
The
story behind this band is rather interesting. Gary's wife and
mother secretly sent away an application to the popular UK
television series called, “Stars In Their Eyes”, much like
American Idol here in the U.S., but without any record contract
for the winner. Gary went on to win the grand final of “Stars In
Their Eyes” in 2000 as Freddie Mercury. He then put together a
Queen tribute band and the rest is as they say, history.
Over
the last nine years, “One Night Of Queen” has toured virtually
non-stop throughout the world, selling out theatres, arenas,
concerts halls and festivals in the UK, Germany, Holland,
Switzerland, New Zealand and the U.S. Being internationally
acclaimed is one of the main differences between “One Night Of
Queen” and other tribute bands. Also, while other tribute bands
might play 3 or 4 concerts a month, Gary Mullen & The Works play
between 170 and 200 shows every year! Perhaps the biggest factor
in what makes “One Night Of Queen” different from other tribute
acts is the dead-on reproduction of Queen’s music and Gary
Mullen’s ability to bring beloved Freddie Mercury back to life!
Gary looks like Freddie Mercury, sounds like Freddie Mercury,
has the same mannerisms as Freddie Mercury and has the same
flair, strut and stage presence as Freddie Mercury! Their
performance was nothing short of incredible! To be noted, all of
the members of The Works are accomplished musicians, with
decades of experience in the music industry.
Gary
truly makes Freddie Mercury come alive! Same hair, same mustache,
same vintage Adidas sneakers from the 1980’s, same white t-shirt
and the same type of microphone on half a stand which Freddie
Mercury made famous. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention
that they have a custom built lighting rig on stage that looks
just like the lighting rigs used during Queen's “Hot Space Tour”
of 1982. Truly a lighting and production team worthy of Queen
themselves!
The
show opened with “One Vision” and by the last note of the song,
the packed audience at the Keswick was watching Queen! They
played all Queen’s big hits like, “Another One Bites The Dust”,
“Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Fat Bottomed Girls”, “Tie Your Mother
Down”, “Killer Queen”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and
“Somebody To Love”, just to name a few. They even did a
rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock”. The concert ended
with Gary coming out with a U.S. flag wrapped around him and a
Philadelphia Phillies hat on as they played “We Will Rock You”
and “We Are The Champions”.
They
are so good at replicating Queen that they not only performed 15
sold out shows at the Deutsches Theatre in Munich, Germany, but
also were invited to perform at the BBC’s “Proms In The Park”
concert in Hyde Park, London in September 2005, alongside Andrea
Bocelli, G4 and Simply Red, noted by UK journalists as the
“highlight of the day for the 45,000 fans in attendance!”.
Legendary
Queen guitarist Brian May has been quoted as saying, "Gary bears
a remarkable likeness to Freddie, not only in emulating
Freddie’s unique stage persona but also accurately reproducing
Freddie’s live vocal style and range." Queen drummer, Roger
Taylor has said that “Mullen puts more Freddie into a show than
Freddie himself did, and I hope Mullen won't put the real Queen
out of a job.”
On a
side note, since Freddie’s death on 11/24/91, Brian May, Roger
Taylor and Paul Rodgers (frontman from Free and Bad Company)
joined forces in 2004 and collaborated on an album titled, “The
Cosmos Rocks” with a very successful tour in 2005 and 2006.
Queen + Paul Rodgers are rumored to tour later this year and Bad
Company is doing a 10 date mini-tour and are scheduled to play
7/4/09 at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City, NJ !!!
As the
band took a bow, Gary thanked the crowd and told everyone to
come back and see them next year. So, if you missed this concert
or are unable to see them on their remaining U.S. dates, plan on
going to this “must-see” concert next year! “One Night Of Queen”
proved that Freddie lives and the show does go on!
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HOLLYWOOD ACTOR KEVIN POLLAK
RECOMMENDS ONOQ
Kevin Pollak, star of
Casino, A Few Good Men and The Usual Suspects has become a fan
of the band and in particular bass player Billy Moffat. A
composition witten by Billy was chosen by Kevin as the theme
tune to his new chat show after our webmaster (Ross Owen)
entered it into a competition. Kevin liked the composition
(Sunshine) so much that he has publically recommended Billy's
music to Hollywoods Demi Moore (@mrskutcher) and Ashton Kutcher
(@aplusk) on social
networking website TWITTER. Kevin has been continually promoting
Billy's music on itunes.
Click play below to see Kevin talking about
Billy and One Night Of Queen
Kevin Pollak's Chat Show airs live every Sunday evening. More
info
here
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TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY COMES TO
THE SHOW
Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas,
was at the Austin show. He came backstage afterwards and had his
photo taken with Gary and the band. Turns out that he's a big Queen fan, and he
loved the show.
Those who don't believe in reincarnation
should have spent Thursday night inside a packed Kingsbury Hall
watching Gary Mullen and The Works impersonate Queen. Wearing
tight white pants, some ancient Adidas sneakers and often little
else, Mullen brought legendary Queen front man Freddie Mercury
back to life in a two-hour energy-filled concert that had
toddlers to grandparents dancing in the aisles. The shirtless
Mercury - or was it Mullen? - busted some moves that would have
shocked Chris Buttars. Of course, he was playing on the
University of Utah campus, that bastion of Salt Lake liberalism,
where no one seemed to mind his strutting, posturing and
preening.
Fans know Queen classics such as "Bohemian
Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You," "Killer Queen," "Fat Bottomed
Girls" and "Another One Bites the Dust" so well that these tunes
are almost rock cliches. But since few were able see Mercury,
one of rock's legendary front men, in person before he died of
complications due to AIDs in 1991, the chance to watch someone
as talented as Mullen bring him back to life was a genuine
treat. This was no cheesy Vegas stage show. Mullen, backed by a
crack four-piece band, uses sophisticated lighting and an
uncanny ability to connect with an audience to almost fool folks
into thinking he's the real deal. After the first song, Mullen
shocked an audience used to fairly tight security, especially in
a place such as the venerable Kingsbury Hall, by inviting folks
to come into the orchestra pit. At least 100 obliged, adding a
clapping, dancing, writhing, interactive element to the show.
But that wasn't enough for Mullen, who told the crowd that "this
would be the most fun you can have with your clothes on" and
then delivered. By the time he told the audience to get off
their asses, stand up and dance, the strutting front man had
nearly everyone involved. They were dancing in the aisles,
rocking in the balcony and generally having a great time.
This was only the second night of what will
be a seven-week tour for a show that is called "One Night of
Queen" but the professionalism of the band shined. Mullen's
uncanny ability to reincarnate Mercury - from using the
half-broken microphone as a prop to wrapping himself in a huge
American flag at the show's finale which featured "We Will Rock
You," "Friends Will be Friends" and "We Are the Champions." -
made the audience actually believe it was watching the real
thing. The fact that Mullen has an incredible voice range and
was wise enough to crank up the amps loud enough to be effective
but not loud enough to hurt your ears added to the pleasure of
an enjoyable evening. Everyone, of course, has a favorite Queen
song. But one I didn't expect to be at the top of my list was
"Fat Bottomed Girls," a rousing rock anthem that, like many
songs on this night, had everyone singing along. Add to that
Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" and most of Queen's classics and this
was a night to remember.
Indeed, for one night only, Queen and Freddie
Mercury came back to life.
Tonight, Matthew, I’m gonna have myself a real good time, as
Gary Mullen might well put it. For Mr Mullen has taken what
might have been his 15 minutes of fame as series winner of Stars
in their Eyes, in 2000, and made a hugely successful career out
of, quite simply, being Freddie Mercury. He’s got the strut, the
moustache and, above all, he’s got the voice. With his band The
Works (not to be confused with the discount bookstore chain)
Gary reeled off hit after hit, from A Kind of Magic and Another
One Bites the Dust to Radio Ga Ga and We are the Champions, via
a remarkable rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, of course. They
didn’t half know how to write a good tune, did Queen. It’s very
easy to be a bit sniffy about tribute bands but when the real
thing is no longer around (the watered down ‘... plus Paul
Rodgers’ effort doesn’t count), and such an uncanny copy is
doing the rounds, you’d be a fool to miss them. If I’d forgotten
my glasses and had a couple more pints beforehand, I think I may
have been utterly convinced that Freddie was alive and well and
having a ball entertaining the good folk of Carlisle.
ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN LIVE IN CONCERT
DVD NOW AVAILABLE
Over the past nine years ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN has toured
non-stop all over the world playing theatres, arenas and
festivals to sell-out crowds. Now for the first time, their
uncannily accurate performances of Queen's 'never-to-die'
anthems are captured live on film.
Recorded in the UK for a US TV
special, this unique DVD captures over 75 minutes of Gary Mullen
and his band 'The Works' as they recreate the unforgettable
music of arguably the greatest live band of all time - QUEEN!
Tracks include WE WILL ROCK YOU,
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, A KIND OF MAGIC, ONE VISION, UNDER PRESSURE
and WE ARE
THE CHAMPIONS.
The DVD is only available to purchase at One Night Of
Queen shows.
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BILLY MOFFAT AND
DAVID BROCKETT SOLO ALBUMS ON iTUNES
The Works' bass player
Billy Moffat, & guitarist
David Brockett have recorded solo albums, which are available to
buy now on
iTunes. Billy's album is called "BSides", and
features Gary Mullen on 3 tracks, and David's album is called
"Planet 8".
David is also putting the finishing touches to the 11th series
of BBC TV's BAFTA award winning children's adventure show "Raven", to which he writes the music. "Raven, The Dragon's Eye",
will be on UK screens soon.
----------------------------------------------
IT'S OFFICIAL!
FREDDIE MERCURY THE ULTIMATE ROCK GOD
Freddie saw off competition from Elvis Presley
to top the survey carried out by market research website
www.onepoll.com.
A spokesman for the site said Freddie, who was
born Farrokh Bulsara, is eternally popular and had something
which other rockers did not. "Everybody loved Freddie Mercury,
his theatrical performances onstage were incredible and set
him apart from other rock stars," the representative stated.
The king of pop Elvis Presley came in second place in the
poll, while Jon Bon Jovi, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix
finished third, fourth and fifth respectively. Prince of
darkness Ozzy Osbourne was voted in sixth place, while Nirvana
legend Kurt Cobain secured seventh and Slash from Guns N'
Roses took eighth. U2 star Bono came in ninth, pushing Rolling
Stones rocker Mick Jagger into tenth position.
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AMERICA HERE WE
COME
Dates for the American leg of our 2009 tours
have now been announced. See our Gig dates section for full
details. From Colorado to Florida we look forward to seeing
you all.
----------------------------------------------
WE BID FAREWELL TO MR CAMPBELL
Martin Campbell, our keyboard player since the very beginning, has decided to leave us.
We are sad to see him go as he has been a great player and an even greater joker on and off the road since 2001.
We wish him all the best with his future and we
are confident that his replacement Malcolm Gentle is able to fill the gap he is leaving, though the gap is a lot smaller than expected since his get fit quick regime knocked him into shape haha.
Top One Marty, The Show Does Go On.
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BEAMISH OUTDOOR SHOW SUMMER
2008
We are pleased to announce that we will be
playing alongside Peter Grant, Mud and The Illegal Eagles in
this summers Beamish Big Bash, near Stanley, County Durham on
Bank Holiday Monday 25th August 2008.
Girls Aloud are on the same festival the day before and the concert is to raise funds for Hope 4 Kidz who supports children and young children with special needs nationally.
Gary is enjoying answering your questions and has now
completed part 3 of his you tube Q&A sessions. If you have a
question for Gary, please visit his you tube channel using the
link above for details on how to submit your questions.
Cheers
-----------------------------------------------
AMERICA WE ROCKED YOU
IT'S OFFICIAL ... ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN ROCKED
STATESIDE SPRING 2008.
Gary Mullen & The Works have just finished a 32 date tour of the USA. The band were greeted, loved and will be welcomed back with open arms.
Please look at the blog section of the site and read Gary Mullen's personal diary of a roller coaster ride of 14,000 miles in 2 months of hard work and fun.
Gary and The Band have played worldwide to thousands
upon thousands of delirious fans in many countries including
New Zealand, Germany and France to name a few.
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NEW LIVE CD RECORDED
IN EDINBURGH
Good news for fans of Gary Mullen & The
Works.
A new live CD of the full new set list was
recorded in their 2 smash hit shows at Edinburgh Playhouse,
where over 5,000 fans ocross 2 nights were rocked by the show.
"The new CD is now available. And can
only be purchased at One Night Of Queen gigs. The Show Does
Go On."
Gary Mullen
---------------------------------------------
EUROPEAN DATES
We can confirm that we will be touring HOLLAND and GERMANY again
in Autumn of 2008.
Please keep your eyes on the gig dates page
for updates.
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