At Stockholm’s Polar Music Prize award ceremony, Brian May pulled out a map his father drew by hand for Queen’s first trek across Europe in 1974. May and his bandmate, Roger Taylor, attended the event on May 27. Adam Lambert, Queen’s current frontman, performed iconic hits. Harold May marked each stop in red ink on the map, plotting the band’s 10-show path through Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Spain from late November to mid-December in 1974.
When accepting the award, May said, “In this special moment, I contemplate how that younger Brian May in 1974 would have felt if he knew that we would be living this kind of dream 50 years in the future,” according to Edinburgh Live. Despite fond memories from 1974, the year also has challenges. People booed the band offstage at the Sunbury Festival in Australia.
The map struck a chord with fans. Social media lit up with 50,000 likes as music buffs praised its historical worth and careful craftsmanship.
At 75, Taylor shared his thoughts on the band’s start: “When we started our band… we had ambitions, but never dreamed of the journey that was to follow. We were fortunate in the fact that our four wildly different personalities came together to achieve a wonderful chemistry.”
ABBA’s manager, Stig Anderson, started the Polar Music Prize in 1989. Each year, it goes to one modern musician and one classical musician. Past winners include rock giants Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Bob Dylan.
The night ended with live Queen tributes. Ghost rocked “Bohemian Rhapsody” with Opeth’s Fredrik Akesson shredding guitar. Adam Lambert brought the house down with “Who Wants to Live Forever” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”
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