Queen Tribute.

QUEEN: Why the Ringer?

When Queen announced the dates for their Queen Extravaganza tribute tour, the list of musicians grew to include two professional singers -- Yvan Pedneault from the musical Rock of Ages and Jeff Scott Soto, the singer in Journey for a second, who is friends with Queen guitarist Brian May. The officially sanctioned tribute band was put together by Queen drummer Roger Taylor following a contest to find the best singers and players.

We asked the band's press agent why they added two professionals and he told us, "If you look back to the original story you will see that the contest promised that Taylor 'guarantees that no less than one musician or vocalist from a member of the public will find themselves a place in the Extravaganza touring band.' In the end, seven band members won places through the auditions. Roger felt one additional voice was needed, and as per his 'wild card' privilege under the contest rules, he invited Jeff Scott Soto to have a place in the band."

Taylor is the show's producer and music director. It will feature a full-on production headed by stage designer Mark Fisher, who's assembled such memorable concerts as The Wall for Pink Floyd and every Rolling Stones show since 1989. The lighting director is Willie Williams, who has lit every U2 concert. The tour starts May 26th in Quebec with dates through July 3rd in Edmonton.