"Freddie Mercury was a big personality and I respect him a lot for that. Why should I care if he was gay?" says "Czech Mercury" Michael Kluch
I called you the Czech Freddie Mercury, but you are not just the Czech Freddie Mercury anymore, right?
I understand the allusion, but I never identified with it. In my opinion, a "Czech Mercury" would be someone who has made a name for himself in the world in a similar way - as a composer and performer at the same time. Someone with an analogously similar life story, which I am not. So yes, I am not a Czech Mercury, because I never was.
The band Queenie was formed in 2006. Is there any concert that you still remember the most? If I'm not mistaken, one of the biggest gigs for Queen was Live Aid, which one was for you?
I'll never forget the sold out show during our Spanish tour at the Palau de la Música Catalana, which is a slightly bigger "National Theatre" in Barcelona. All of the nearly 1,500 spectators were singing and chanting enthusiastically long after we left the stage before the encore. That was really electrifying. But this concert had another interesting parallel regarding the production, when it was a problem to get, for example, ordinary coffee. But there are more of those concerts that deserve to be remembered. We did over 1300 performances and gradually, as we evolved, the experiences associated with them escalated.
You performed at the Freddie Mercury tribute festival in Montreux, Switzerland, as well as Queen Elizabeth II's birthday. What did these concerts mean to you?
Yes, both concerts meant a certain satisfaction for us. For the first one, which took place in 2008, we were invited by Mercury's long-time personal secretary, Mr. Peter Freestone. We still appreciate that to this day. And of course, when you are invited to Queen Elizabeth's official birthday party, then through the Czech Embassy, you appreciate it very much. For us, it means appreciation of our work, because not everyone gets to such events.
If I'm not mistaken, you're the only Czech singer who sells out shows all over the world. That's a huge achievement, don't you think?
I don't have a complete overview outside our pond of popular music, but there are certainly singers like Adam Plachetka, for example, who travel around the world like we do. You are right, though, that apart from classical music, a Czech band doesn't have much chance of getting abroad, not counting Slovakia. It's due to several factors and two important ones are the language barrier and the economic background. Showbusiness abroad revolves around completely different numbers. In addition, a British or American formation automatically gets listeners all over the world, whereas you have yet to reach listeners in other countries. Globally, it's almost impossible. In our case, we export British Queen from Prague, so it's easier there. However, it is even more difficult to meet the expectations of the audience and stay at our current level.
How long did it take you to get into the role of Freddie Mercury?
The process certainly took several years, but I didn't see it as a process myself. We started out as a bunch of guys playing our favourite songs in the rehearsal room with no major ambitions. Over time we found our way to Queen, then to our first audiences, and little by little we set ourselves bigger and bigger challenges, and with that came experience. We never planned anything. That process actually continues to this day, although I'm discovering more of myself as an artist now. When you enjoy it, you don't think about it too much. It's a constant process, and certainly the rule is that the best way to learn how to fight is on the battlefield. That goes for singing as well, but it wouldn't have happened without professional training. Prior to this unsolicited hiatus, I was taking weekly singing lessons with my professor, Pavel Towen Vesely. Thanks to him, I can sing challenging Queen songs without hurting my voice. So the process was smooth and I didn't have to concentrate on it in a major way, but it lasted all the longer. But I never stood in front of a mirror and rehearsed the Freddie Mercury moves.
Don't you sometimes regret that you don't quite perform for yourself at concerts?
Doesn't an actor regret not playing himself in, say, Hamlet? We define ourselves as concert theatre, and I would say it's been a long time since a moustache with a yellow bag played it for us. Audiences know our work, and that's why they come to our concerts, as do the promoters who book our shows. It's true that we're quite narrowly focused, but that makes our show much more refined, we can go further beyond the genre. I'm also the producer of our show. I see great creativity and possibilities in that. I'm proud of both of our sold-out shows at the O2 Arena, where we managed to be the first ever Czech artist to sell out the second largest arena in Europe to the last seat. Unfortunately, there were issues related to the covid-19 pandemic and the concerts had to be postponed until this September. Anyway, I feel completely myself on stage.
It's common knowledge that Freddie Mercury was bisexual, possibly gay. How do you feel about that? Don't people associate you with Freddie in that way as well?
I have to admit, I was surprised to hear you ask that question. Because I'm not sure I have any position on that fact. Freddie Mercury was a great personality and artist. I give him a lot of credit for that, and I don't address whether he was gay or whether he had an overbite and hairy arms. You can't judge a person by that, you can't approach them with any a priori prejudices.
A lot of people have prejudices against gay people, so I'm asking... What do you have in common with Freddie, besides his singing ability and talent? Are there things that aren't obvious that you know you have in common?
I wouldn't say we're particularly connected. Perhaps only attention to detail and a certain pedantry might be a character trait we share. Understandably, I feel that I am working with the legacy of an artist who is no longer here. I try to approach it all the more carefully. When there is a problem, either technical or from the production side, that can negatively affect our show, I don't feel sorry for us, but just for that legacy. I have great respect for the opportunity and the gift of being able to work with such great music.
Have you ever had the opportunity to actually meet any of the original members of Queen? If so, what were they like?
Yes, I had the opportunity to visit Brian May (Queen guitarist) in the dressing room after his performance with Kerry Ellis in Prague in 2016. I admit I turned down the opportunity because I know how difficult it can be after concerts. I would have preferred a meeting that was related to our work. Please, I don't mean that I would like to sing with him, but rather I would be interested in his opinion about the giant show that we are now planning to bring to the O2 arena as part of the Queen Relived project.
Do you have any original Freddie pieces in your wardrobe?
I'm not interested in that, so I don't have any.
Which Queen song do you personally enjoy the most and which one has grown on you the most?
They're all wonderful, but if I had to pick one, it would be a song you won't find in our repertoire. It's called Princess of the Universe, and it's got an incredible energy to it. It's also a beautiful song to sing. But it's not very well known and it's one of the more difficult songs to play. Each song is carefully rehearsed before it goes on stage. In this case it would take even longer and then we would play it maybe once. I'm afraid the band won't approve. But who knows.
How long can a Queenie band last? Are you thinking about what you might do next?
It's hard to say whether it'll be another 10 or 15 years. It depends on how long we will be able to maintain the current musical level and how long the presentable image will last. I'm not worried that there will be no more interest in Queen's music, or in experiencing it live. So it's more about whether we still have something to offer the audience. One day that day will come and I just pray that we have enough self-reflection to recognize it in time.
How do you work to maintain the current musical level and also the look you mention?
Lifestyle and exercise, there's no other way. We are de facto top athletes and we have to treat our own bodies as such. Of course it is not as drastic as for athletes, but at least regular walks and some moderation in eating and drinking is desirable. In my case, it's also vocal hygiene and regular vocal exercises. In the case of musicians it is again regular practice on their instruments. When we are on the stage, everything looks quite natural, but a tremendous amount of work has to be done to make it look that way.
Right now you're planning an autumn show at the O2 Arena, which according to current information will actually happen. What can fans look forward to?
They can look forward to something they haven't seen here before. The whole show is designed to match the big concerts of well-known foreign stars who come here to perform. We will offer a real visual extravaganza and pomp. In our conditions, it can only be compared to Leoš Mareš's show. We have a very similar creative team, headed by show designer Martin Hruska - the best people in the country and its surroundings. We will build the biggest LED screen that has ever stood in our hall, we will float in the air above the audience on tons of illuminated blocks, there will be pyrotechnics and a big light show. And at the centre of it all will be the music of Queen performed by us. We're really looking forward to it because it's going to be huge. My wish was to build everything so that even Freddie Mercury himself would not be ashamed to stand on such a stage with Queen.
What other plans do you have with the band in the future?
With Queen Relived we want to go around the world. We've already signed a deal for 10-15 big indoor shows in and around South Korea, but the current crisis has pushed them back from 2022 to 2024 as there is a huge glut of dates for the 2022/2023 season. We will see, as usual we are not planning anything, we are focusing on the present and the future is yet to happen.
