ROCK supergroup Queen are returning to Birmingham NEC Arena for the first time in 21 years. Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor have recruited singer Paul Rodgers for the tour which begins with a warm-up show at London's Brixton Academy on March 28 and continues across Europe, reaching Birmingham on May 6. The band last played the NEC in September 1984 when they performed three sold out shows with lead singer Freddie Mercury and bassist John Deacon. Mercury died in 1991 and Deacon has decided not to be part of the 2005 tour. Paul Rodgers is the former singer with Free and performed with Bad Company at Birmingham's NIA in September 2002. His collaboration with Queen emerged from his performance with Brian May at Fender Strat's 50th Anniversary show in London last September. They later teamed up with Roger Taylor for the UK Hall of Fame Awards in London, performing We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, and Free's hit All Right Now. The Birmingham show will feature Queen songs as well as Free and Bad Company numbers. "The problem we have is in the embarrassment of riches in material to choose from; there's the whole Queen catalogue, and so many great songs from Paul's catalogue," says Roger. For Brian May, the new line-up presents new possibilities. "There were many of our songs which Freddie was never able to perform because of the way things turned out towards the end," he explains. "For instance, Innuendo, I Want It All, The Show Must Go On. The thought occurred: 'Wouldn't it be great if we did it now?'" Roger adds: "Paul is not someone trying to be Freddie. He's someone trying to take this in his own direction. "Freddie was a great fan of his - we saw Free loads of times at The Marquee. I'm very excited about working it all out." Paul Rodgers is equally enthusiastic about the project. "There was a natural chemistry between us when we performed together in London. We intend to merge our styles and our music at the point where they meet most naturally. "We're touring Europe and the UK and there's then the possibility of going to the US and Canada in the autumn." Queen formed in 1968, and rank second only to The Beatles as the band with the longest period spent on the UK singles and album charts - a total of 1,725 weeks. Paul Rodgers was a singer with early 1970s rockers Free, who had a worldwide hit with All Right Now. Free disbanded in 1973 and Paul formed Bad Company, with former Mott The Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs. Bad Company notched up six multi platinum albums with hits such as Can't Get Enough of Your Love and Feel Like Makin' Love. He also partnered former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page in The Firm in the mid-80s. l Tickets for the May 6 NEC show, priced £39.50 and £49.50 plus booking and transaction fees, go on sale at 10am tomorrow from 0870 730 0145 or online at www. necgroup.co.uk/ boxoffice | 
