The boys from 5 Seconds Of Summer have gifted us an early present for the weekend; a cover of ‘Killer Queen’.
The boys’ cover has been released for two reasons. One, to help celebrate Queen and the release of the new movie ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and two, to raise much needed funds for the Mercury Phoenix Trust.
The trust was set up by Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, as well as manager Jim Beach in 1992 in memory of the band’s iconic frontman Freddie Mercury, who died from AIDS related causes in 1991.
The Mercury Phoenix Trust has since contributed more than 17 million dollars to more than 1000 projects in 56 countries to help combat the disease.
“Queen have been such a massive influence on us as a band,” 5SOS revealed in a statement. “Their unique harmonies, the fluidity to their songwriting and how they each used their own musicality to back each other up have always inspired us.
“We chose to cover, ‘Killer Queen’ because we kept hearing it while writing our third album ‘Youngblood’ and were so enamored by the production and their early realisation of the minimalist approach to the track.
“For us, the exploration of individual vocalists in a band is incredibly important and Queen helped us to see the future of how we want to sing, in addition to how we play our instruments.
“As a pioneer of individuality, Freddie taught us what it means to embrace the idea of truly being yourself and that’s a part of Queen that lives on in their music now, more than ever.”
“Everyone at the Mercury Phoenix Trust is thrilled that 5 Seconds Of Summer have joined our global campaign fighting AIDS in celebration of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen manager Jim Beach adds. “Thank you 5SOS for giving us such an impeccable version of Freddie’s classic ‘Killer Queen’.”