Talking via Zoom to a very laid-back Gary Mullen in his native Scotland, you’d find it hard to believe he transforms himself into Freddie Mercury on stage with his “One Night of Queen” show that comes to the Visalia Fox Theatre on July 20.
Especially with what a Californian would call his thick Scottish accent.
But he’s done it now for 24 years.
“You become someone else. There’s a personality change,” he said.
“Freddie went to boarding school, so he had a posh English accent. And everything was ‘darling.’”
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Mullen’s show has been called the World’s Premiere Queen Tribute Band, with all the look, pomp and theatrics, amassing rave reviews from across the globe.
Talking to him while he was in his basement in Scotland, he says the accolades are not what’s important. His goal is to grab the audience and take them on a journey.
He quotes Freddie: “The audience needs to be blind and deaf by the fourth song,” and “You leave them wanting more.”
Queen fan
Mullen has always been a Queen fan.
“Freddie is my hero,” he said. “I thought he was an incredible musician and showman. He communicated with the audience.”
When Mullen was 13, he and his friends saved up money to attend Queen’s big concert in London, but by the time they raised the funds, all the shows were sold out.
As a teenager, Mullen had a band that played traditional rock music, but the group never caught on. Then in 2000, Mullen’s wife and mother secretly sent a video of him to the UK’s ITV show “Stars in their Eyes,” where singers impersonate famous musicians.
The show made him up to look like Freddie.
“I fell asleep before I went on, and when I woke up, I scared myself. I thought, who is that in the mirror?”
Mullen went on to win the grand finale, setting an all-time record for the largest number of votes ever received in the show’s history. Two years later he put together his band and created One Night of Queen.
One buddy from his teenage band, Jon Halliwell, is still with the band.
Although Mullen never got to see Freddie perform live, he was personally invited by Brian May, Queen’s lead guitarist, to attend the Queen and Paul Rodgers Show, which continued after Freddie’s death. Mullen was thrilled to meet the songwriter/guitarist.
May was quoted on national television saying, “Gary shares ‘more than a likeness’ to Freddie.”
All but the overbite
If you watch videos of Mullen performing, the whole Queen experience is there. The amazing voice, the flamboyant strutting across stage (“Freddie liked to prance.”) The lights, the costumes.
Mullen uses a costumer who has worked with Beyonce, who happens to live outside of Glasgow, Scotland.
But what about Freddie’s well-known overbite?
“I tried using prosthetic teeth but couldn’t sing with them in,” explained Mullen. “I sounded like Sylvester the Cat.”
One Night of Queen does all the mega-hits—including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “You’re My Best Friend,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Radio GaGa,” “Under Pressure” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”
“We always end with ‘We Are the Champions,’ because that’s the way Queen would end their shows,” said Mullen.
And he encourages the audience to sing along, dance or play the air guitar.
“We have had as many as four generations coming to our concerts, sometimes singing all the words. I’m thinking, how do they know them all?”
Mullen keeps in shape for his grueling shows by lifting weights on the road.
But it’s all worth it, he says.
“I’m just a lucky person who loves what I do.”
How to attend
- What: One Night of Queen: Featuring Gary Mullen and The Works
- When: 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20
- Where: Visalia Fox Theatre, 300 W. Main
- Information: (559) 625-1369 or www.foxvisalia.org
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