On October 16, Queen icon Brian May hailed The Last Dinner Party as “the new British Rock Royalty” after attending their show at the Eventim Apollo in London. He shared a photo with the band backstage on Instagram, thanking lead guitarist Emily Roberts.
“They completely smashed it tonight at the Eventim Apollo. What a great show! What a joy!!! Thanks, Emily, for inviting me. That was just what I needed – a good ol’ dose of Rock Tonic. Folks, you have to see these guys!” he posted, along with footage of the band performing their hit song “Nothing Matters.”
Emily, who met her idol that night, reflected on her early guitar journey, stating, “The first few songs I learned were ‘Tears In Heaven’ by Eric Clapton and a lot of Led Zeppelin stuff… all the classics! My original guitar hero has always been Brian May because I love being able to sing along to the solos. I didn’t even learn them at that point; I was just listening and appreciating because Queen were one of my first musical loves.”
Before forming The Last Dinner Party, Emily played the role of Brian May in an all-female Queen tribute band, performing just once before the pandemic halted their plans. Despite its brief run, the experience was influential for her.
“I loved Queen and knew it would be fun to learn all the solos and parts,” she recalled. “We only did one gig in the end, at a Queen convention near Hull. It went great. That probably ended up influencing my rock playing more than anything else because I spent an entire summer solidly trying to get inside Brian’s playing, hearing all the little details.”
Emily’s favorite songs to perform included “Hammer To Fall,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “We Will Rock You,” and “The Show Must Go On,” with a particular fondness for “A Kind Of Magic” and its fast staccato licks.
Brian’s influence is also evident in The Last Dinner Party’s album Prelude To Ecstasy, particularly in the soaring modal leads of tracks like “Nothing Matters” and the single-note riffs that define their sound, setting them apart from the more common chordal approach used by many rock bands.
“The single note thing has massively influenced the way I write parts in The Last Dinner Party,” she noted. “Listen to what I play on ‘Portrait Of A Dead Girl’ or ‘Sinner’… it’s all single note ideas, which comes from Brian.”
Related Topics
- Rare Beatles Photos, Edward VII’s Grand Piano, and More to Be Auctioned in Dallas
- This Dancing Italian Pianist on America’s Got Talent Outshines Beethoven
- Brad Kella Celebrates ‘Bucket List’ Moment with Liverpool FC Support
