Marc Martel Is Right On The Mark When It Comes To Queen's Freddie Mercury
Rami Malek may get full credit for his bang-on Freddie Mercury impersonation in 'Bohemian Rhapsody', but the voice behind those incredible chops is Marc Martel.
Marc Martel's The Ultimate Queen Celebration arrives in Australia August 2019. Courtesy Image
A Freddie Mercury doppelganger, as he's known, Canadian singer Marc provided the vocals for the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' biopic, and will return to Australian stages in August for a national tour with his own band performing 'The Ultimate Queen Celebration'.
So true to Freddie's voice is Marc's that even close friends and band insiders can barely discern the difference.
No stranger to fronting Queen projects, Marc was handpicked by original Queen members Roger Taylor and Brian May to front their official Queen tribute in 2012. Martel launched his own 'The Ultimate Queen Celebration' project in 2017.
Marc's services were called upon for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' when producers were trying to recreate Queen's live performances and were struggling with the fact many of the group's key shows had been recorded in poor quality, if at all.
In an April interview with David Brinn for The Jerusalem Post, Marc said: "The production team always knew they were going to need some extra vocals that didn't exist in the Freddie archives. When Roger Taylor and Queen were told that, they directed them to me.
"We did a lot of recording to cover their bases because, early in the process - even before the film was shot - they weren't sure what they were going to need. They wanted to make sure they had everything, going into pre-production.
"I didn't even know how much I was going to be used in the movie, until I watched it in the theatre for the first time, after it was released. I think they made the right decision by keeping it as much Freddie as possible."
Talking to Film Journal International, 'Bohemian Rhapsody' producer Graham King explained: "Rami [Malek] sings a little bit in the film, there's a lot of Freddie Mercury obviously, and a lot of Marc Martel.
"[Marc] sent a video to Brian May and Roger Taylor, and he sounds exactly like Freddie Mercury. We knew that we had someone we could use for parts that maybe Rami couldn't do and obviously Freddie didn't do."
If you thought the film was good, wait until you see (and hear) Marc perform a perfect Freddie live onstage; close your eyes and you'd swear he was right there in front of you.
Band, fan and audience-approved, Marc Martel and his ensemble performing 'The Ultimate Queen Celebration' is about as close to the original Queen sound you'll get in this day and age.
The Ultimate Queen Celebration 2019 Tour Dates
Sun 18 Aug - Perth Concert Hall Thu 22 Aug - The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane) Fri 23 Aug - State Theatre (Sydney) Sat 24 Aug - Palais Theatre (Melbourne)
