He shot to fame on American Idol in 2009 but now Adam Lambert has stepped into the shoes of possibly the greatest showman of all time. He tells Attitude about his first memory of Freddie Mercury, how it feels to be on stage with rock legends and how they inspired his new music

Adam Lambert

Words Cliff Joannou Photography Austin Hargrave Styling Joseph Kocharian Shot at Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles

Adams wears shirt, by Ashish, jeans, by Frame Denim at MR PORTER, top, by T by Alexander Wang, boots, by DSquared2

The first time Adam Lambert turned to his dad and asked about Queen, he was just 10 years old. It was 1992 and, along with his brother, they had gone to see to see Wayne’s World together. “Bohemian Rhapsody was in it and I remember asking my father: ‘Who sings that song?’ That was my first real exposure to them”, he recalls as we settle down for our interview in the chic Music Suite in Los Angeles’ legendary Millennium Biltmore Hotel. “My dad replied, ‘Well, you’ve heard We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions and I said: ‘Oh yeah, I’ve heard those’.

That’s one of the things I love about Queen’s music. It’s kind of been omnipresent even if I didn’t know who they were. “Even before I understood who they were as a band, I heard their songs.” Adam first hit the public’s consciousness as the young rock kid with the impressive set of lungs when he came second on American Idol in 2009. Since then, he’s become one of the shows success stories, and in 2012 his second album Trespassing was the first by an out gay artist to reach Number One on the Billboard chart.

This summer he returns to Europe, joining Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor to perform some of the greatest rock songs ever written. While at first the union seemed odd — the runner-up of a reality TV show performing the songs of one of the most legendary rock bands in the world -— Adam quickly proved he deserved his place alongside Brian and Roger. It’s a role he has taken on with tremendous pride, and he delivers with panache and gravitas in equal measure, winning over the band’s most dedicated followers while bringing in a whole new legion of fans.