What a wild coincidence that the week Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Queen was released brought a hilarious Queen-related news story. Milan Bandic, the mayor of Zagreb, Croatia, announced during a news conference that he wanted to make Zagreb an attractive performance destination for musicians, and called for David Bowie to perform there — “and Freddie Mercury can come too.”

The news that the Queen frontman died eighteen years ago came as a shock to Bandic, who was recently elected to his second term. This is just another in a long series of public gaffes for the Croatian politician – from attempting to bribe a police officer while driving drunk to falling asleep during the Zagreb City Assembly. Well, he may not be a great civil servant, but at least he has good taste in music.

 

What with all the excitement over the release of Lullaby Renditions Of Queen, I thought I’d share a left-field pick for those of you who can’t get enough of the legendary glam quartet.

New York cartoonist Mike Dawson’s 2008 memoir Freddie & Me traces his life as an immigrant to the United States in the 70s from England, with a soundtrack from Queen, who he was obsessed with. It’s a funny, quirky tale that will teach you more about Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon than you’d ever thought you’d know.

Don’t forget to check out our new Queen-themed print & play activities, go Radio Ga Ga Goo Goo with our exclusive sneak peek of two tracks, and enter to win one of ten Lullaby Renditions of Queen CDs!