Audience members watching the Queen tribute band God Save the Queen might wonder, “Is this the real life or is this just fantasy?”
“The idea of our show is to travel back in time and watch a Queen concert,” said Pablo Padin, who portrays Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the tribute group. “It’s a shared dream between the audience and ourselves for a couple of hours where we all believe that we are in a Queen concert.”
God Save the Queen will perform at 8 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.
The show is a live concert re-creating and celebrating the music of British rock band Queen. It follows the band’s history from the beginning to its latest album, “Made in Heaven,” which was released after Mercury’s death in 1991.
Queen formed in 1971. The group released two albums before hitting it big with 1975’s “A Night at the Opera.”
A single from that album, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” stayed at No. 1 on the United Kingdom chart for nine weeks. The success of “A Night at the Opera” gave the band its first platinum album. Later hits from the group included “Another One Bites the Dust,” “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”
The four-piece God Save the Queen, which was formed in 1998, hails from Argentina. In addition to Padin on lead vocals and piano, the band features Francisco Calgaro on guitar, Matias Albornoz on drums and Ezequiel Tibaldo on bass.
“We were all Queen fans, and we decided to play their songs, just for fun,” Padin said. “We never expected to be doing it professionally.”
All four musicians are original members of the tribute band.
“We are all the same: the band, the staff, everyone,” Padin said. “We are a family.”
The band takes its name from the UK’s national anthem, which was played on tape at the end of every Queen show while the band took its bows.
Over the years, God Save the Queen has played in Europe, Mexico, South America, Australia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Germany and India. That aspect of his career is appealing to Padin, he said.
More Top Picks Best Plant Based Omega 3 Supplements
“Traveling all over the world playing the most beautiful music ever created is very satisfying,” he said.
Padin said he believes that Queen’s appeal is simple.
“Together, with the Beatles, Queen created modern music,” he said. “No one else did anything even close to that.”
Randall G. Mielke is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
God Save the Queen
When: Jan. 21
Where: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora
Tickets: $35-$45
Information: 630-896-6666; www.paramountaurora.com