Andy DeLuca5 Seconds of Summer has released a version of “Killer Queen” by the legendary rock band Queen for a good cause.
5SOS are the second of three acts who’ve recorded Queen songs to benefit the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity founded by Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor to support the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The band and their record company will donate the net profits from the track to the cause.
In a statement, 5SOS says, “Queen have been such a massive influence on us as a band. Their unique harmonies, the fluidity to their songwriting and how they each used their own musicality to back each other up have always inspired us.”
The band added that they chose to cover the song “Killer Queen” because they kept hearing it while they were writing their current album, Youngblood.
“We were so enamored by the production and their early realization of the minimalist approach to the track,” says 5SOS of “Killer Queen.” “For us, the exploration of individual vocalists in a band is incredibly important and Queen helped us to see the future of how we want to sing, in addition to how we play our instruments.”
The band adds that Queen’s iconic late frontman Freddie Mercury was “a pioneer of individuality,” who taught them “what it means to embrace the idea of truly being yourself,” adding, “That’s a part of Queen that lives on in their music now, more than ever.”
Mercury, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1991, and Queen are the subjects of the new biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which arrives in theaters November 2.
The first artist in the series to record a Queen song as part of this initiative was Shawn Mendes, who chose to cut Queen’s duet with David Bowie, “Under Pressure.”
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