Axl Rose Praises Freddie Mercury as Greatest Frontman, Queen Greatest Band
As the latest and potential final leg of the "Not In This Lifetime" tour comes to a close, Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose gave a rare interview where he was asked who he considers to be the greatest frontman ever.
"For me, it’s easy – Queen is the greatest band and Freddie [Mercury] is the greatest frontman of all time," Rose tells Atlas By Etihad. "The band are the greatest because they embraced so many different styles."
Rose has been a long avowed Queen fan, and back in 1992, he performed "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Queen and Elton John at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness benefit concert. Later in the show, he and Guns N' Roses joined Queen for a rousing rendition of "We Will Rock You." Both performances can be viewed below.
Elsewhere in the interview, which was given in the lead up to GNR's performance at du Arena in Abu Dhabi this past Sunday (Nov. 25), Rose was asked about where the band still want to bring their live show, and what is their favorite city to play.
"We’ve toured the world a few times over, but there are always places where we still haven’t performed," he said. "We played Iceland for the first time this year and we’re playing Hawaii for the first time this December – there are always places left to go. New York will always be special for me. When we were in L.A. we were playing the Hollywood club scene, but New York is where we wanted to be. We have done so many performances there over the years – the city holds a lot of memories."
Rose also revealed how the band keeps up their stamina for such long treks, saying, "We all want to do the best we can for the fans – they come wanting a big performance and that is what we want to give them. We all push each other to go further in terms of our performance and commitment. It doesn’t matter how many performances you do, every crowd is different and you feed off that."
Unfortunately for fans in Abu Dhabi, the Guns concert there had to be cut short after just over a dozen songs as Rose fell "severely ill." The tour resumes Thursday (Nov. 29) in Johannesburg, South Africa and closes out Dec. 8 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
See Where Axl Rose + Freddie Mercury Rank Among the Top 50 Hard Rock + Metal Frontmen of All Time