One of the hottest rock bands in the world today has a problem. It`s not technically a band.
The British supergroup Queen, which is enjoying a phenomenal resurgence thanks to the inclusion of 1975`s ”Bohemian Rhapsody” on the ”Wayne`s World” soundtrack, now has four old albums on two Billboard charts.
The timing of all this could not have been better, since it dovetailed with the recent AIDS fundraiser ”A Concert for Life,” a tribute to front man Freddie Mercury, who died of the disease last November.
But therein lies the dilemma. Though Queen is internationally famous again, Mercury`s death has left an unfillable hole that the band has yet to address. While demand for a new Queen product is escalating, surviving band members have yet to decide if they will continue as a threesome, or attempt to replace him.
That leaves Queen`s status as something of a question mark.
”Since Freddie died there has been a period of mourning and adjusting,” said Roxy Meade, the band`s London-based representative. ”Since the beginning of the year band members have been consumed with the tribute concert and haven`t addressed any decisions on the future of Queen.”
Both Meade and Disney-owned Hollywood Records (Queen`s U.S. label) are disputing a recent published report that Mercury recorded at least three albums of new material with the band while he was dying.
The record label, which recently acquired the Queen catalog and has the North American rights to new Queen material, says that Mercury did record some new tracks before he died, but not enough for three discs.
”Maybe not even enough for one,” Meade said.
