Welsh singer Jayce Lewis had his very own Bohemian Rhapsody when a member of music legends Queen agreed to appear on his new album.
The group’s drummer Roger Taylor stars on the Welsh electro-rocker’s new album Nemesis after Jayce met a friend of the famed sticksman at his London show.
“I was doing a headline gig in London and in the crowd there was a chap called Joshua Macrae, who used to be the drummer for Roger’s side project The Cross,” says the singer, from Kenfig Hill, near Bridgend.
“Joshua said ‘I love your sound’ and he was full of praise for the live show.
“He also said ‘one of the noticeable things is that the energy you’ve got as a performer reminds me of a certain frontman’ and I could only assume he must have been talking about Freddie Mercury!
“From there we developed a friendship and kept in touch. Then I asked if Roger would be interested in drumming on the record. Joshua requested I send Roger some material, which I did and he picked a track called Wrath.
“The song is very much similar to the We Will Rock You days of Queen, so naturally Roger liked this particular track and happily put his mark on the song.
“When I went to meet him at his studio, which is in his country mansion in Surrey, he had Freddie Mercury’s piano in the foyer of the studio, which is impressive.”
The musician admits regret that he wasn’t tempted to tinkle the ivories because he was too nervous.
“In hindsight I wish I had, but it was a bit overwhelming,” laughs Jayce.
“It was just a privilege to have him drumming on the album.”
For Jayce, who describes his music as punk-industrial, it’s been a tireless few years of touring since his debut self-titled album in 2010.
In that time he’s toured with some of rock’s biggest names including Gary Numan, Killing Joke and Limp Bizkit.
In fact it was on a tour of Europe’s arenas with Limp Bizkit, playing to crowds of 5,000, that he befriended the US band’s guitarist Wes Borland, who also appears on Nemesis.
“We just spent a lot of time on the tour bus together,” said Jayce. “We hatched a few ideas about how Limp Bizkit create sounds through programming and how I do it. We were chewing the fat basically, then I can’t remember whether it was me or him who suggested it, but we agreed to do a song together.”
The album, which also includes guest appearances from Jayce’s long-time friend Gary Numan and Alien actor Lance Henriksen, who adds his distinct voice to one of the songs, will be released under the name Protafield.
Nemesis is released tomorrow. Find out more at www.jaycelewis.com
What do you think?
What do you think about this story? Have your say by leaving your comments below.
Have your say below