The British rock band Queen has remained an impressive force in music's history. Over a decade after their 1970 London formation, the group, consisting of guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, bassist John Deacon, and singer Freddie Mercury, was one of the biggest stadium rock acts in the world, and would remain so throughout most of the '80s. Sadly, Mercury ed away in 1991, ending the magical charm of Queen. While May and Taylor have continued the name of the band in the 2000s with vocalists Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert, no one can ever be Freddie Mercury.

And who could ever hope to fill those shoes? Mercury had the look, the swagger, the attitude, and a powerhouse voice that could blow the doors off of any venue. Watch Queen's 1985 Live Aid set for proof of that. Mercury has long felt like one of the greatest to ever pick up a microphone as a complete entertainer. If, however, you read some of the statements Mercury gave over the years on the subject of the musician he considered best, he had a bit of a different idea.

What Freddie Mercury Said About John Lennon

A Fan Of The Fab Four Member

To almost any music listener, the name John Lennon is iconic. The singer-songwriter is, of course, forever a major part of what made the legacy of the band known as The Beatles so signature, along with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Lennon also embarked on a very successful solo career, which was tragically cut short when he was murdered in 1980. Despite a sometimes prickly personality, Lennon had no shortage of irers, including Mercury, who reportedly referred to him as "larger than life, and an absolute genius."

Mercury's comments about John Lennon come from the book Freddie Mercury: A Life in His Own Words.

Even though Mercury had his own brand of well-evident talents, he never considered himself in league with a figure of Lennon's caliber. He said he would never parallel himself to Lennon because Lennon was just the greatest as far as Mercury was concerned. He added that it wasn't because he thought either of them had more or less talent, but because he felt that Lennon was "more capable of doing certain things" than Mercury could. He felt those aspects of Lennon shouldn't be followed or imitated, as it'd be an impossible task.

While Mercury was able to meet McCartney during 1985's Live Aid concert, he was sadly never able to interact with Lennon before Lennon's terrible demise, something Mercury always wished had happened. In the early '80s, however, Mercury and Queen were able to give a loving nod to their feelings about Lennon's legacy.

How Queen Paid Tribute To The Loss of Lennon

With A Cover And An Original Song

When Lennon was tragically shot to death on December 8th, 1980, Queen was in London on the cusp of playing Wembley Stadium the next evening when they heard the news. The group hurriedly worked together a cover of Lennon's signature song "Imagine" and played it during the arena show (with a few initial slips) as well as throughout the rest of their tour. While Mercury felt that his own songwriting skills didn't quite match up to Lennon's, he still took a shot at emulating the great man on Queen's 1982 experimental album Hot Space.

"Life is Real (Song for Lennon)" may be the most underrated yet solidly on-point homage to Lennon's style that any artist has ever attempted.

The resulting track, "Life is Real (Song for Lennon)," may be the most underrated yet solidly on-point homage to Lennon's style that any artist has ever attempted. While part of the song's atmosphere has that Beatles touch to it, "Life is Real" really digs into the essence of solo-era Lennon, backed by floating piano and vocals as well as the carefree, heartfelt essence of life Lennon could so effortlessly tap into right down to his spirited soul. It's hard not to listen to and wish Lennon and Freddie Mercury had the chance to collaborate on something together; there's magic here.