(Credits: Raph Pour-Hashemi)
Tue 25 November 2025 8:29, UK
Queen‘s position as one of the most profitable bands in modern history often sees them alienated among rock folk. The group are so commercially successful that it is often forgotten the devoted artistry behind their songs.
They have delivered countless hits, but beneath those chart-topping moments was a group of musicians completely determined to enact their vision of rock and roll theatrics. Whether it was Freddie Mercury’s inspiring performances or the band’s nous for writing number-one songs, everything felt purposeful. It means covering Queen songs isn’t always easy to pull off.
Any good cover song needs to at least get two things right. Although many artists will just decide to play karaoke of their favourite bands whenever they try to cover them, the key to any great reinterpretation is to make the song your own, putting a unique spin on it that no one had ever heard before. While any good stadium rock band may have tried their hand at covering Queen, Brian May thought the Moulin Rouge version of ‘The Show Must Go On’ left his jaw on the floor.
Then again, anyone even thinking about taking on any of Freddie Mercury’s vocals is going to be in for an uphill battle. While he might not have been the only singer in Queen, Mercury’s incredible showmanship birthed the idea of the all-star rock frontman, so, you know, no pressure when it comes time for someone to wear his songs with pride or anything.
It’s not like there haven’t been good covers of Queen in the past, though. The Concert for Freddie in 1992 boasted several amazing performances by everyone from Elton John to James Hetfield, and even the new version of Queen that tours with Adam Lambert sees the pop star doing a respectable job at paying tribute to Mercury.
Queen’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury. (Credits: Far Out / Carol Lee / Alamy)
Whereas Queen’s music has been put into various movies throughout their career, Moulin Rouge took every classic song they could think of and threw their potential out the window. While the idea of using various songs throughout pop history to tell a bohemian-style story is an inspired idea, it’s borderline toxic in musical form, especially when they interpolate classics by everyone from The Beatles to Nirvana.
Even though the cover of The Police’s ‘Roxanne’ is probably the most wretched thing to come out of the movie, the version of ‘The Show Must Go On’ isn’t much better. Although the track was meant to be a touching farewell from Mercury to his fans as he was dying of AIDs, the movie doesn’t seem to do it justice, serving more as a non sequitur to get to the actual drama onscreen, including cutting out bits of the song.
When May first saw what they had done with his song, he remembered loathing the final product, saying, “They completely rearranged it and got rid of one of the most important parts, which is ‘the wings of butterflies’ part. I was horrified.”
The musical took on a lot of different tunes, but very few of those creators were left as heartbroken by the cover as May. He had seen a lot of covers of his band over the years, and most of them barely provided a blip on his radar. But this one went too far. “I was so upset when I saw that film and realised that they’d just taken it and moulded it into something different,” he explained. “So yeah, that’s all I can say, really. I wish they’d asked, and I wish they’d allowed us to participate”.
That didn’t stop the film from being a smash at the box office, though, with many fans enjoying how the jukebox musical format worked in a retro setting. May would eventually have his own say in how his music would be depicted on film, working on Bohemian Rhapsody and giving fans a true look at the power that Mercury possessed at the best of times.
While there are a few solid ideas in Moulin Rouge, the fact that they didn’t even consult May to participate in the collaboration was bound to be a red flag before it even hit theatres. The story might be solid, and the performances may be phenomenal, but someone got their wires crossed when they elected to “tell, not show” with the music.
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