ADAM LAMBERT On Late QUEEN Singer FREDDIE MERCURY: 'I Wish He Were Alive So I Didn't Even Have The Gig'

In a recent interview with SiriusXM's Volume, Adam Lambert about how the success of the QUEEN biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" has affected the band's fanbase.

"I keep hearing from so many people, who are maybe slightly older than me — original QUEEN fans — that come up to me, especially dads: 'Oh, man, my teenage son loves QUEEN now,'" he said (see video below). "And it's because of the movie. So I think that's amazing. And I'm proud of the band and so happy for them that this has sparked this new pop-culture moment for them. They deserve it. And these songs are timeless, and they are fantastic.

"I think it's amazing having [late QUEEN singer] Freddie [Mercury] elevated in the way he has and seeing him cement himself as even more of an icon," he continued. "He's held in such high regard. It was his birthday yesterday. That's one of the things I love about being on tour with the band — I do feel like I get to carry a torch for this hero of mine, that I get to talk about him and celebrate him onstage. We show on screens. He's a part of the show, he's a part of the experience. Because it's not about me being a replacement; it's more about, 'Let's pay homage to him.'"

Lambert also revealed that while speaking with guitarist Brian May and Roger Taylor, they allegedly told him that they believe that if the legendary singer was still alive, the two of them would have gotten on well.

"I didn't know him, but Brian and Roger say there are definite similarities," Lambert said. "The thing that I've heard from them over and over again that makes me really happy is they say, 'We think you actually would get a kick out of each other. Freddie probably would have bantered well with you. You probably would have enjoyed each other's company.' And hearing that, that means a lot, and that's really important. Because I think, unintentionally, I hope that I'm bringing some of his spirit to the table — some similar taste for life and sense of humor and point of view. I do feel like there's some parallel there. And I just wish I'd known him. I wish he were alive so I didn't even have the gig. He was amazing. But I'm thrilled to take the gig and I'm thrilled to be in this incredible, honorable thing that I get to do. It's great."

Released last fall, "Bohemian Rhapsody" became the highest-grossing music biopic of all time and skyrocketed QUEEN album sales. The film grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office and over $200 million in the U.S. It earned four Oscars out of its five nominations, including a "Best Actor" win for Rami Malek for his portrayal of Mercury.

Lambert, May and Taylor first shared the stage during "American Idol" in May 2009 for a performance of "We Are The Champions". They teamed up again in 2011 at the MTV European Music Awards in Belfast, Ireland for an electrifying eight-minute finale of "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" and in the summer of 2012, Lambert performed a series of shows with QUEEN across Europe as well as dates in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. They have since completed a number of tours and performed at some of the biggest festivals in the world.