Queen guitarist/vocalist Brian May said: "It really all came about because of the Fender 50th Anniversary gig that I did with Paul Rodgers [last September]. We were both so amazed at the chemistry that was going on in 'All Right Now' that suddenly it seemed blindingly obvious that there was 'something happening here.'"

A few weeks later, May, Queen drummer/vocalist Roger Taylor and Rodgers played together in public for the first time, bringing the house to its feet at the televised UK Hall of Fame Awards in London with blistering versions of "We Will Rock You," "We Are The Champions," and the finale, "All Right Now."

Rodgers noted: "Powerful and real; explosive and dynamic! That's how it felt when Queen and I played together in London. With the chill factor off the scale...the unanimous feeling was 'let's do more.' We intend to merge our styles and our music at the point where they meet most naturally. Soulful rock with raw emotion."

Taylor said: "Paul is not someone trying to be Freddie [Mercury, who died in 1991]. He's one of the people who have influenced all the singers who are out there at the moment and Freddie was a great fan of his. I always hoped we would tour again and I'm thrilled we're doing it. It feels good and it smells good, and I know we're doing it with the right singer for the right reasons."