Queen rock the O2

Having seen the band in their live heyday at Wembley way back in 1986 I was curious to see how the 2008 vintage, minus bass player John Deacon and the late, lamented Freddie Mercury, would compare.

The two remaining band members, Brian May and Roger Taylor, were joined by singer Rodgers, making for an interesting blend as his blues-rock instincts played against Queen's trademark pumping stadium anthems.

Mercury, who died in 1991, would be a hard act for any vocalist to follow and, to his credit, Rodgers avoids any attempt at impersonating the flamboyant frontman.

The former Free singer has his own rock-solid credentials, so he was always going to be a safe bet up front, and his more blues-orientated delivery added a new dimension to familiar material, even if he did need the safety-net of an autocue in case he forgot the lyrics.

And with a few of his Bad Company classics tossed into the mix for good measure you could say the punters were really getting two acts for the price of one.

But some things never change. Brian May's hair for one thing.

And the enthusiasm and sheer devotion Queen fans hold for their band is another.

A blistering opening to the show, featuring foot-stompers like "Hammer to Fall", "Tie Your Mother Down" and "I Want it All", got the crowd into party mode straight away. And there was to be no let up for the rest of the evening.

The crowd lapped it up and we were back to the old days - top-notch material laced with plenty of energy and noise.

Rodgers took the tempo down a bit with his 1974 accoustic track "Seagull" before May gave the audience what they were waiting for - the chance to pay homage to Mercury during a touching rendition of "Love of my Life".

This was a staple of Mercury's rapport-building with live audiences and May showed he had learned well as he led the O2 in a splendid singalong.

He followed it up with "39", an album track from 1975's "Night at the Opera", nicely played as you would expect from the virtuoso guitarist.

The show took a lurch into left-field as Taylor, who had joined May on a small stage in the heart of the crowd, took over.

We're in the grip of a 1970s -style recession, so why not another 1970s staple? The drum solo.

Taylor, starting with just a high-hat and bass drum launched into a terrific display of tub-thumping, made all the more impressive as he never missed a beat while his roadies built the rest of the kit around him.

Much as I admire Taylor's timpanic talents, more than five minutes of this would have been hard to take and fortunately he launched into a sublime version of "I'm in Love with my Car", again from 1975 and here a live tour-de-force with growling guitars aplenty.

Taylor, one of rock's finest drummers, is also a much underrated singer. He fronted his own side-project, The Cross, back in the late-1980s, and here he showed how much he contributed to the Queen sound vocally.

May had his own opportunity to show-off later with his piece-de-resistance, the lengthy, unaccompanied, double-tracked solo from "Brighton Rock". Always a crowd pleaser and this was no exception.

But what of the material from new album "The Cosmos Rocks"?

Released just weeks ago it stood up reasonably well against the classic stuff, but then this was a band preaching to the converted, with the bulk of the audience probably already well-familiar with the latest offering.

What Queen do so well, perhaps on a level matched by only three or four other bands, is make the audience feel involved in the music - perfectly illustrated by "Radio Ga Ga" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", with much of the vocal work done by a delirious crowd.

There was even time for some pathos as the set closed with film of Mercury singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" from way-back-when before May joined in for his famous solo from the ancient chart-topper.

It's a strange song and one perhaps diminished by over-familiarity but here the hoary, overblown old chestnut was imbued with some genuine emotion. Who would have thought it could have been quite so moving as Rodgers traded lines with his ghostly predecessor?

By the time comedian Al Murray - in his Pub Landlord guise - bounded on to the stage to add some surreal flavour to encore "The Cosmos Rocks", this was a gig destined to live long in the memory of the thousands cramming the venue.

This was a band clearly enjoying themselves, Rodgers beaming broadly as he belted out his best-known hit, "All Right Now", while May simulated Paul Kossof's guitar solo with evident relish.

Rounding off with "We Will Rock You" and "Champions" this was a triumph for Queen, and Rodgers. No major surprises perhaps, but one of the best shows you are likely to see this or any other year.

They return to The O2 on November 7. Go see them if you can.