A sold-out audience, a group of talented singers and musicians, and one of the most distinctive sounds and songbooks in rock music history were the main ingredients when Queen by Candlelight performed at Lichfield Cathedral.
With a set up consisting of two guitars, bass, drums, keyboard and three lead singers the evening tended to concentrate on the rockier side of Queen’s repertoire, with hit after hit being given vibrancy and urgency.
The vocal harmonies provided by most of the band also added an extra touch to the evening’s performances.
With hits such as One Vision, A Kind of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites the Dust, I Want to Break Free the singalong hit were all played, but it was the acoustic ballad Love of My Life which got the loudest audience reaction, the subdued lighting of the cathedral and the acoustic grandeur giving the song an added poignancy in its quietness.
Other hits such as Radio Ga Ga, and Hammer to Fall were also given a vigorous performance, but it was the inevitable set ending Bohemian Rhapsody – ranging as it does from operatic vocals to full-on classic rock – that gave the band an exercise in musical precision, and the audience their money’s worth.
The show will be performed at Lichfield Cathedral again in January. More details are available online.
