Freddie Mercury To ‘Appear’ On Stage Again?

Brian May.

The Queen guitarist has revealed he’s been busy working with the production team to create an optical illusion of the deceased frontman.

Speaking to BBC News, May described the effect as being "an optical illusion of sorts" rather than a hologram - similar to the image of Tupac Shakur created for the Coachella Festival, which saw the hip-hop star resurrected from the dead to perform with Dre and Snoop.

"People will come out saying, 'Did we actually see Freddie?" he said.

"It's a little unfortunate they did that thing with Tupac as we've been trying to make Freddie appear on the stage for quite a while.

"[That technique] is something we've looked at ourselves but I think probably for a show that runs eight shows a week it's not really quite practical."

A special performance of the musical, which has enjoyed 10 years on the West End stage, will be performed at London's Dominion Theatre on 14 May.

However, Queen drummer Roger Taylor previously suggested he would not want to perform alongside a holographic image of the late frontman.

Asked by Billboard if a concert with a holographic Mercury is a possibility, Taylor said: "I don't think I want to. It just doesn't sit too well with me.

"I don't want to appear with a hologram of my dear friend. It's the real one or no hologram for me."

However, Taylor said that he has no objections to holograms of past artists featuring on stage, claiming that they are "an amazing effect when used properly".