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Queen guitarist Brian May reveals that he and the rest of the band have been asked to perform at the benefit gig “to try to help out the victims” of the Australian bushfire crisis.
The band, comprising of May and Roger Taylor, alongside vocalist Adam Lambert in place of the late Freddie Mercury, are due to perform in Sydney on 15 February this year as part of their tour. Conveniently, the Fire Fight Australia concert has been set for Sunday 16 February in Sydney at Stadium Australia so its perfect timing.
May has been vocal about his concerns over the fires which have killed over one million animals, at least 25 people and destroyed over 2000 homes.
In an Instagram post he states, ‘Can’t stop thinking about the tragic Australian fires. And feel so helpless. I have many family members in Australia, all of whom I’m hoping to see in a month’s time on our planned Australian tour.’
‘The young generation are involved in fighting the fires on Kangaroo Island. Respects. Thousands of good people lost their homes. 24 good folks lost their lives. And … HALF A BILLION WILD ANIMALS burned to death in NSW alone ? Can it be true ? Almost unthinkable. And no end in sight ?’
Speaking to PA News, the musician said the band are planning to go ahead with the concert:
‘We have been approached to do a benefit concert, or be part of a benefit concert, a bit like Live Aid, if you like, to try and help out the victims of the fire.
‘Of course, we are going there very soon. We are looking at it very carefully.’
He continued: ‘Of course, I am very concerned about the animals. There’s 24 people that have died which is a tragedy in itself, but half a billion animals is almost inconceivable.
‘You are looking at a radical change of wildlife in Australia. It’s like a mass extinction, which is something so awful. And we can do nothing about it really. We could have done something about it in the past.
‘We know there are various things that could have been done. But it’s a real caution for the rest of the world.’
The concert promoters TEG Live and TEG Dainty announced the benefit gig earlier this week with this post on social media:
Speculation around who else will perform at the concert include rumours of other big names such as The Hilltop Hoods, Michael Bublé, Alice Cooper, Cold Chisel and Delta Goodrem.
The full line up will be announced next week on Wednesday 15 January.
You can find out more about whats happening in Australia here.
