Was George Michael Close to Joining Queen After Freddie Mercury Died?

Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

February 23rd, 2021 11:06 AM

The tragic death of Freddie Mercury left a massive void in Queen. Before Adam Lambert was tapped to join the band, there were rumors that George Michael was set to front Queen following his incredible performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. But is there any truth to those rumors?

Roger Taylor said in a new interview with Classic Rock, “I remember hearing the rumors, but it wouldn’t have suited us.”

Taylor added, “George wasn’t really used to working with a live band. When he heard the power he had behind him in rehearsal [for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert], he couldn’t believe it. He thought he was on Concorde or something.”

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness took place on April 20, 1992. The concert was held at Wembley Stadium before a massive crowd of 72,000. Proceeds from the show went towards launching The Mercury Phoenix Trust, an organization founded by Brian May, Roger Taylor and Queen manager Jim Beach that has helped fund numerous projects in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  British singer and songwriter Freddie Mercury of rock band Queen during the group's British tour, circa 1975. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  British singer and songwriter Freddie Mercury of rock band Queen in concert, 1984. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  British singer and songwriter Freddie Mercury of rock band Queen during the group's British tour, circa 1975. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  British singer and songwriter Freddie Mercury of rock band Queen performs at Leeds Football Club, England, 29th May 1982. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  Drummer Roger Taylor and singer Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) of British rock band Queen perform at the Playhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1st September 1976. (Photo by Gary Merrin/Keystone/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  Singer Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) of British rock band Queen attends a ballet class in Covent Garden, London, 3rd October 1979. (Photo by Colin Davey/Evening Standard/Getty Images)
• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  Singer Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) of British rock band Queen attends a ballet class in Covent Garden, London, 3rd October 1979. (Photo by Colin Davey/Evening Standard/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  Singer Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) of British rock band Queen attends a ballet class in Covent Garden, London, 3rd October 1979. (Photo by Colin Davey/Evening Standard/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  Musicians Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) and Roger Taylor of British rock band Queen perform a free concert in London's Hyde Park, 18th September 1976. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)
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  Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), singer with Queen, standing in front of a drumkit as he sings into a microphone on stage during a live concert performance by the band at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom, on 5 June 1982. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) shaving his moustache, 12th April 1984. (Photo by Steve Wood/Express/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) shaving his moustache, 12th April 1984. (Photo by Steve Wood/Express/Getty Images)
• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) in concert with his hard rock group Queen, June 1977. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  May 1978: Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 - 1991), singer with popular British rock group Queen, on stage with the band at the first of three sell-out nights at London's Wembley Arena, May 1972. (Photo by Gary Merrin/Keystone/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  September 1976: British rock group Queen at Les Ambassadeurs, where they were presented with silver, gold and platinum discs for sales in excess of one million of their hit single 'Bohemian Rhapsody', which was No 1 for 9 weeks. The band are, from left to right; Brian May, John Deacon (standing), Roger Taylor and Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 - 1991). (Photo by Ian Tyas/Keystone/Getty Images)
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  1982: Rock singer Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 - 1991), of the popular British group Queen, has his moustache groomed. (Photo by Steve Wood/Express/Getty Images)

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  3rd September 1984: British rock group Queen in concert with singer Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 - 1991) and guitarist Brian May. (Photo by Rogers/Express/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  31st October 1977: Singer songwriter Elton John (Reginald Dwight) with star of musicals Peter Straker, and Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 - 1991), singer with the group Queen. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  8th September 1976: British rock group Queen at Les Ambassadeurs, where they were presented with silver, gold and platinum discs for sales in excess of one million of their hit single 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. The band are, from left to right, John Deacon, Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 - 1991), Roger Taylor and Brian May. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  1984: Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991), lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen, in concert. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  circa 1975: Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991), lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen, in concert during the group's British tour. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  1984: Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991), lead singer of 1970s hard rock quartet Queen, in concert. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  29th May 1982: Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991), lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen, in concert at Leeds Football Club. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  circa 1975: Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991), lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen, in concert during the group's British tour. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
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  5th June 1982: Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991), lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen, in concert in Milton Keynes. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  11th June 1977: Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991), lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen, finishing the group's UK tour with two sell-out concerts at London's Earls Court. All proceeds from these shows go to the HRH The Queen's Silver Jubilee appeal. (Photo by Gary Merrin/Keystone/Getty Images)

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  5th June 1982: Lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) in concert at Milton Keynes. He revealed in November of 1991 that he was suffering from AIDS and died with 48 hours of announcing that he was ill. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
• Freddie Mercury: Photos On Stage and Behind-The-Scenes

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  circa 1980: Lead singer of 70s hard rock quartet Queen Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) in concert during the group's British tour. He revealed in November of 1991 that he was suffering from AIDS and died with 48 hours of announcing that he was ill. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

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  British rock group Queen in concert, from left to right; Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 - 1991), John Deacon, and Brian May. Original Publication: People Disc - HU0463 (Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images)

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  British stadium rock group Queen on stage, with lead singer Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 - 1991) in the foreground. Original Publication: People Disc - HU0462 (Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images)

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

Category:

• Classic Rock News
• Music
• WMGK Audio

Tags:

Freddie Mercury,George Michael,Queen