Magic frontman has spirit of Freddie

BIG SHOW: The spirit of Queen lives on in the Queen - It's a Kinda Magic tour. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Queen fans will be able to re-live the infamous 1986 Magic Tour.

The Queen - It's a Kinda Magic tribute show will play at the Civic Theatre this Friday, as part of its international tour.

Englishman Giles Taylor, who plays lead singer Freddie Mercury, said attention to detail was important to the show, and getting into Mercury's skin.

"Basically, I did a bit of character study but that was more about the performance of the songs - makeup artists try and change the shape of the face but after that it all comes down to finer details. So, I spent a lot of time with a chap called Peter Freestone who was Freddie's personal assistant, which sorts out little nuances and little character traits so that when it comes to being on stage it seems natural."

He said audiences could look forward to an energetic, authentic performance.

"The performance itself is high energy. There are only four of us that have to fill that space . . . we have the luxury of having big LED walls and amazing light shows."

Mr Taylor said Queen had been a part of his life growing up.

"I am of the generation where people of my age's fathers had a copy of Queen's Greatest Hits so I was duly subjected to it on car rides. So when it actually came to learning stuff on the show it turned out I knew a lot more Queen stuff than I thought I did - so to be able to land this role was fantastic."

He said the audition process for the musical was rigorous.

"They held worldwide auditions, especially for the lead roles, to find the best person for the job. I was lucky enough to land the role as Freddie. I went through eight rounds of auditions, which is more than I have done for any other show."

- Queen - It's a Kinda Magic starts at 8pm. Tickets at ticketmaster.co.nz - use the promo code QUEEN241 to redeem a two-for-one offer.