The concert that never was: Queen tribute band to rock Paramount

Jul. 15—ANDERSON — It wasn't until a coach trip to Europe at 13 years old when Patrick Myers, lead singer of Queen-tribute band Killer Queen, first "properly" heard the rock group that would forever impact his life.

Myers grew up constantly hearing the work of bands such as The Beatles, one of his mother's favorites, but never fully realized the concept of what a band was. Once he found out, he looked for a band he could call his own.

"I was asking my friends who's a band that writes songs that are as good as The Beatles, but still going, that I can go and see," Myers said.

This is when his friend suggested Queen, handing him a copy of their first compilation album "Greatest Hits." Myers put it in his newly-acquired cassette player and the rest was history.

"I was blown away, totally blown away," he said. "I can still remember my reactions to each track."

From that point on, Myers was a self-described "dedicated Queen fan." He bought everything they came out with.

"I was delighted because they were still going," he said. "There was so much more they had to give."

At that time, Queen had yet to release popular songs like "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "The Show Must Go On." They had also yet to perform at the historic Live Aid benefit concert.

Myers' affinity for music continued past this. He started writing his own music, sneaking into bars and playing gigs. It was during this time he tried figuring out who he sounded like, attempting to sing in the styles of popular music figures such as John Lennon and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Also having an acting background from the National Youth Theatre, the groundwork was set for what would later become Killer Queen.

When the winter of 1990 came around, Myers was in college and had made good friends. They got to know each other and discovered they shared a few favorite artists. One of these was Queen. It wasn't long after that music superstar Freddie Mercury died, leaving Myers and his group of friends devastated.

"We were just in shock because we'd all been too young to see their '86 concert," Myers recalled. "I was only 14 when that happened and my parents weren't going to take me, so I thought I'll wait until I'm about older around 16 or 17. I can just take myself to London or wherever."

The opportunity never came. In order to deal with the grief among the group of friends, they all began singing Queen songs to each other on a battered piano in the laundry room of the residence hall. Not long after, Myers and his friends decided they would form a band and do the show that everyone had missed.

"We didn't know whatever it was going to be," Myers said of the band's formation. "We just thought we'd try and do it, we'd get the costumes, and we'd do it as well as we possibly could with what we had."

The band rehearsed for a year and a half prior to performing on the stage. That first show, nearly 30 years ago in the summer of 1993, was the start of something special. At that time, according to Myers, tribute bands were just starting to become part of the music scene. Despite this, they had managed to get a headline slot.

"It was slightly nerve-wracking, but we thought, 'let's just go for it,'" he said of the show. "It was one of the best nights of my life. I remember it like it's some sort of beautiful dream."

From there, the band started touring. They played in the West End, which is the English equivalent of Broadway. They won awards and before long, they were getting invited to some of the same arenas as Queen. Myers said he would often picture himself in bigger places, almost like daydreaming, but was always overwhelmed with the realization that it was actually happening, especially for a tribute band.

"If you told the 10-year-old me that this would have been the thing that I spent this time doing, that my life would transform by just going to learn in university, I wouldn't have believed you," he said. "I would have just thought that it was extraordinary because the idea of pretending to be another band; I would have thought that was illegal."

Killer Queen will be coming to The Paramount on July 16. Myers said being able to perform popular songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Don't Stop Me Now," and "We Will Rock You" is like "handing out gifts to an audience." Unlike other kinds of tribute bands, Myers said he aims for a "fantasy experience."

"We want people to come through the door, they know that it's a tribute band, you can't really be Queen, but actually just sit back and let the music take over," he said. "We try and get as much right on stage in terms of the presentation, in terms of the energy, in terms of the dynamism of a Queen concert that we want to give the audience permission to let themselves move beyond the whole thing of tribute or not."

At the end of the day, Killer Queen aims to be concert that never was for them and for others and celebrate the music of the iconic band. Tickets are on sale now.