After Dinner Speakers: Killer Queen, Seve Ballesteros, Richard Vranch

The roots of Killer Queen lie in a rock covers band called Kid Gluvz. Originally formed in 1994, the group set out to perform songs that, whilst popular, were a little out of the ordinary. Rehearsals took place, publicity was produced and midway through the year, Kid Gluvz was officially launched. The finale of the set was a thirty-minute Queen medley and this proved to be so popular that audiences would demand that the songs be played in their entirety. Scott’s natural resemblance to Freddie, coupled with his amazing voice lifted this segment of the show onto another level and clearly audiences were hooked. More Queen songs were added to the set giving rise to increasingly enthusiastic responses everywhere they played and it soon became obvious that the group had something special to offer. The band were all big Queen fans but Scott in particular had always had an ambition to perform a complete Queen show. His immense knowledge of Queen, coupled with the passion of a genuine fan meant that this new band had a solid foundation from which they could develop. Their ethos was to recreate the Queen “live experience” by making shows as authentic as possible using accurate costumes, instruments and by performing live concert versions of the songs. Kid Gluvz performed their final gig on 4 January 1995 and Killer Queen hit the public for the first time on 1 February 1995. Since then the band has gone from strength to strength and is now regarded by many as the UK’s Number One Queen Tribute Band. They have progressed to performing and topping the bill at many prestigious venues including major theatres, concert halls and festivals throughout the UK, Europe and Asia. Highlights for the band include headlining the Year 2000 International Queen Convention, playing to 10,000 people on the beach at St. Tropez for the famous H O G rally, topping the bill at 2 sell-out shows at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta – Malta and a quite stunning trip to Singapore. In Singapore they played the Hard Rock Café which was basically a warm-up gig put together for the Press and then a second night saw them headlining at the incredible Suntec City Convention Centre. It was a wonderful experience and the group fell in love with both the country and it’s people. The future is looking very bright for Killer Queen and with constant enquiries for appearances both at home and abroad the band look forward to another very busy year ‘on the road’.