An electronic music duo from Bangor whose rise to fame involved the use of Freddie Mercury’s vocals posthumously have announced the release of their new material.
Stuart Leathem and Esther Trousdale created and performed an original song at the wedding of Esther’s cousin in 2013 when they first got together.
Two years later, the pair manufactured a new Freddie Mercury song, made here in Northern Ireland.
It received a world premiere at the Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party 2015 at the Casino Barrière Montreux in Switzerland on September 5 — what would have been the Queen frontman’s 69th birthday.
Composer Stuart produced the song, which musically imagines a young Mercury’s journey to boarding school in India.
The verses are sung by Esther, who was just 18 years old at the time, with Mercury’s voice taking the choruses, using the vocals from his second solo album, entitled Barcelona.The song Little Freddie Goes To School has become a cult classic among fans of the late singer, with Queen even re-releasing it in 2021, marking 30 years since the rock legend’s death.It also went on to raise thousands of pounds for The Mercury Phoenix Trust charity, with 10% of every purchase of the track being donated to the organisation, which was formed after Mercury’s death and has been fighting HIV/AIDS worldwide since 1992.
It has been four years since Stuart and Esther released new music together, but now, thanks to funding from the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the pair are set to release a new album, on November 3.
Watching Other People Having Fun will launch in a few months, but in the meantime, the duo have released the lead track, Never Dream Of Me, described as a dreamy, melancholic piece of disco pop.
Stuart said that he initially wanted to record something that could have been written by ABBA, explaining: “That was the brief I gave myself.Belfast Telegraph
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Co Down duo behind song featuring Freddie Mercury’s vocals to release new album
Winter record marks first in four years for Leathem and Trousdale
Freddie Mercury at Live Aid (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)
Freddie Mercury at Live Aid (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)
Esther Trousdale and Stuart Leathem
Esther Trousdale and Stuart Leathem
Freddie Mercury at Live Aid (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)
Freddie Mercury at Live Aid (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)
Esther Trousdale and Stuart Leathem
Esther Trousdale and Stuart Leathem
Niamh Campbell
Thu 22 Aug 2024 at 11:49
An electronic music duo from Bangor whose rise to fame involved the use of Freddie Mercury’s vocals posthumously have announced the release of their new material.
Stuart Leathem and Esther Trousdale created and performed an original song at the wedding of Esther’s cousin in 2013 when they first got together.
Two years later, the pair manufactured a new Freddie Mercury song, made here in Northern Ireland.
It received a world premiere at the Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party 2015 at the Casino Barrière Montreux in Switzerland on September 5 — what would have been the Queen frontman’s 69th birthday.
Composer Stuart produced the song, which musically imagines a young Mercury’s journey to boarding school in India.
The verses are sung by Esther, who was just 18 years old at the time, with Mercury’s voice taking the choruses, using the vocals from his second solo album, entitled Barcelona.
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The song Little Freddie Goes To School has become a cult classic among fans of the late singer, with Queen even re-releasing it in 2021, marking 30 years since the rock legend’s death.
Freddie Mercury at Live Aid (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)
Freddie Mercury at Live Aid (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)
It also went on to raise thousands of pounds for The Mercury Phoenix Trust charity, with 10% of every purchase of the track being donated to the organisation, which was formed after Mercury’s death and has been fighting HIV/AIDS worldwide since 1992.
It has been four years since Stuart and Esther released new music together, but now, thanks to funding from the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the pair are set to release a new album, on November 3.
Watching Other People Having Fun will launch in a few months, but in the meantime, the duo have released the lead track, Never Dream Of Me, described as a dreamy, melancholic piece of disco pop.
Stuart said that he initially wanted to record something that could have been written by ABBA, explaining: “That was the brief I gave myself.
“In the end, we have come up with our own piece of melancholy pop.
“It feels like the right track to be our lead single from the forthcoming, epic album.
“Lyrically, the track is open to interpretation.
“I was at a friend’s funeral and arrived at the cemetery too late for the burial. Missing the burial had a profound effect on my dreams and the lyrics were spawned by that.
“However, I can see how folk are interpreting it as a relationship song. That’s the beauty of music — it’s a very personal thing.”The lyric video for Never Dream Of Me premiered on the Stuart Leathem Music YouTube channel on August 8.