Gary Mullen & The Works deliver the goods to Queen fans
8/3/20262 min read
By Jim Dail
For those lucky enough to see the legendary rock group Queen live, they recount an incredible experience. There are, of course, many tribute bands that try to mimic the experience and some come extremely close, whether it is the music, the singing, the presence on stage, any host of measures.
Without a doubt, Gary Mullen & The Works’ One Night with Queen not only came close, but they hit a home run in capturing what the real band did on stage at the Pechanga Showroom.
From the first song, “One Vision,” to the final tune, “We are the Champions,” Mullen as Freddie Mercury had full control of the crowd. The visuals were entertaining and true to form such as the lights mirrored those on the classic Queen Live Killers record, Mullen’s clothing changes, including the robe and crown to end the show, and everything in-between.
Mullen is not simply a Mercury impersonator. To the crowd, for almost two hours, he was nearly the real Mercury.
Mercury once said about the live show, “it’s my job to win [the crowd] over, otherwise it is not a successful gig.” Well then, consider One Night with Queen a massive success.
Mullen’s banter with the audience was nearly identical to what Mercury did, including approaching members of the crowd for pictures, high fives and to simply asking why they were still sitting down and why they were not “standing up and shaking their asses. This is a rock and roll show, not Hamilton!”
At one point he broke out the “Ay-oh” segment that Mercury became famous for. The crowd roared. He won them over.
It’s not an accident the band was so effective since, as Mullen pointed out in a previous interview, they have studied a lot of concert footage to get everything right. However, Mullen was not just copying the words Mercury may have said in shows but adding his own feel in the Mercury sense – adding to what is already a flamboyant, beloved stage character.
From the moment he hit the stage, Mullen had the presence, the moves and the classic Mercury strut down. All in all, it felt like I was watching the closest thing to Mercury I would ever see live.
All that would not have mattered as much had the band not had the chops, but it all sounded like Queen. From David Brockett’s playing of all the classic Brian May riffs, including playing with a coin as May did, Alan McGeoch’s bass lines, Malcolm Gentles on keyboards and Jon Halliwell powering the beat on drums, the songs were masterful.
Of course, Mullen can sing, but not only that, he captures the Mercury voice, which is not at all an easy thing to do being that Mercury is easily considered one of the top vocalists in rock history (for my money, Brad Delp of Boston, Mercury, and Tony Williams of the Platters are the tops).
Playing a setlist that was largely put together from Queen’s 1986 tour, in particular the Wembley Stadium show, the band hit just about all the hits from the tour and included a few that were not from that particular setlist. There were the ones everyone expected such as “Fat Bottomed Girls,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Under Pressure,” “Killer Queen” and “We will Rock You,” as well as lesser-known ones such as “Friends will be Friends” and “Tear it Up.”
By the end, the crowd was left feeling the Queen experience, which is exactly what one would hope. Gary Mullen & The Works nailed it.