The show must go on

Inside the world of a Freddie Mercury tribute act

You may not know Steve Larkins, but you may recognise his voice.

He was the voice of Ronald McDonald urging a generation of Kiwi kids to ‘make it click’ and behind the reprised version of the famous Chesdale cheese ad, not to mention a catchphrase as a robotic dog who said “Total Span can”. He also performed the theme song for the Power Rangers: Dino Thunder.

But for a musician more at home behind the keyboards than in front of the stage, he had a music epiphany when he first performed as the late Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury.

“The penny just dropped . . . I thought, ‘it can’t be this easy’.”

His take on Mercury would lead to a 12-year-long career on cruise ships, performing in 800-1400 seat theatres twice a week, as he and his wife Sharon sailed around the world, performing to over two million people during that period.

As part of his act, under his stage name Mercury Rising, Larkins would close each set with a stirring rendition of We Are the Champions as those in the audience waved their cellphone lights.

“At that moment I often think, ‘how did I get here’.”

How Larkins got there was certainly unconventional. Born and raised in Dunedin, he discovered a passion, particularly piano and keyboards, when Elton John brought out Crocodile Rock.

“I thought, ‘well, I want to be Elton John’ . . . that is who I wanted to be, or at least emulate.”

So Larkins, a Protestant, learnt piano from Catholic nuns at a Dunedin convent. When he left school he would perform in bands playing the local pub circuit, while working a day job with the Government Tourist Bureau.

“I went on the road . . . and I’m still on the road.”

He was also a former member of Ardijah, toured with the likes of Midge Marsden, Ray Columbus and Dave Dobbyn, and was also part of When the Cat’s Away.

You can catch a glimpse of pre-Freddie Mercury Larkins in the background of their hit cover song, Melting Pot, which largely features the five female singers.

“I had always worked in bands when members were equal members, so that was a bit of a wake-up call realising I was a hired gun in that respect.”

But touring life as a musician for hire wasn’t all “one-night stands”, with Larkins working some longer stints, including playing keyboards in a band based at the Skyline in Queenstown.

He regarded himself as a “jack of all trades, master of none”.

“My mother used to say, ‘You are so hey nonny, just tripping through the daisies’.”

“And I did just trip through the daisies to a certain extent, that gave me freedom.”

Larkins recalled going on a tour with other Kiwi acts, such as Hello Sailor, to support New Zealand troops in East Timor.

“I did this one little item as Freddie performing We Will Rock You.

‘‘I pranced around comedically like Freddie, and everyone said, ‘You’ve got to do something with that’.”

A mate recommended Larkins to a promoter on the Auckland pub circuit, and armed with an hour’s worth of Queen material, he went to work.

“First gig I bought this leather jacket and leather pants, and got these teeth made, so I could feel the part, and then dyed my hair

“I thought, ‘what have I done’.”

Three songs in and he had the crowd in the palm of his hands:

“I had gone from being a musician to an entertainer.”

Larkins said he wasn’t playing a verbatim Mercury, but rather a caricature. “It was funny and uplifting.”

“That is the reason I do it, it is not because I’m in the headspace where I think I’m Freddie Mercury.”

And he wasn’t a tribute artist or an impersonator, but preferred his show being a “comedic salute” to Mercury and the music of Queen.

He noted that during his lengthy spell as the flamboyant frontman he was playing the 39-year-old version of Freddie Mercury – not bad considering Larkins was now 64.

“Freddie was a thin man . . . and I’m not,” he added.

But his act was popular, and between 2008-2020 he performed on cruise ships around the world, with his wife taking care of costumes, make-up, and assisting with lighting and production.

Performing in a theatre of up to 1400 people was not for the “faint-hearted”, but he found transforming into his version of Mercury made it easier.

After the first song, It’s a Kind of Magic, he would always tell the audience that “this is your Wembley”, with the front row his very own moshpit.

He would do a couple of performances a week, maybe two performances on a single night.

While on a cruise he would go over the music with the resident band, rehearsing for an hour and then perform an hour-long show the same night, maybe another one a few hours later.

The couple were so busy they would fill a New Zealand passport in no time, taking up to 150 flights a year. That could include exiting a ship in Malta then flying to Oslo to board another ship, before disembarking at a fiord to catch another cruise in the south of France.

Those short-term contracts, for about a week depending on the cruise, were arranged by his Miami-based agent.

That meant 12 years of going from ship-to-ship, and living out of a suitcase, a lifestyle that the couple loved.

​It meant seeing some of the world’s great destinations, with Naples, in Italy, and Santorini, in Greece, some of his favourites.

Sometimes they would have a larger cabin to enjoy, and while on a cruise they could catch a show or dine at one of the many restaurants.

He recalled an agent once sharing advice about life on a cruise: “You have a choice between the buffet and the gym.”

“I normally turned to the buffet,” he said.

He recalled the moment the couple were on The Ovation of the Seas, a cruise from Sydney to the Bay of Islands, when news came that New Zealand had closed the borders due to the global pandemic.

The couple decided to return to New Zealand, later settling in the coastal Otago township of Waikouaiti where they had previously bought an historic homestead, Garden Lodge.

“I love it here,” Larkins said.

“It’s been perfect timing really as since we have been back, we have two beautiful granddaughters and two more on the way and spending more time with the family.”

He memorably reprised Mercury Rising for a YouTube clip, marketing some sections at the site, with a nod to his favourite Queen track: Bohemian Rhapsody:

This is the real life, living the fantasy.

Here in the beautiful, Waikouaiti.

He had also performed a few dozen Covid-interrupted Mercury Rising shows around the country, and was touring again to the likes of Mosgiel, Milton, Upper Hutt, Ohope, Gisborne, Alexandra, Carterton and more in the coming weeks.

Larkins said his voice was better due to the break, and he was looking forward to performing before audiences again.

And he was also looking forward to getting back on the cruise ships, once they are back up and running in Australasia.

And he had no plan to retire, “but it may hit me at some point”.

But until then, the show must go on.

And thanks for reading this far, it is appreciated. I’m taking a week off to spend some time with my family.