ADAM Thompson can still hear the soundtrack to his youth growing up in the Goulburn Valley.
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Radio station 3SR had all the royalties; country music was, in fact, king.
The flamboyant frontman of Chocolate Starfish said discovering British rock band Queen was a revelation.
"Back then 3SR played some pretty conservative country artists like Slim Dusty," he said.
"So the first time they played Tie Your Mother Down by Queen, it just blew my mind!
"Queen's collaboration of opera and rock and in a voice to die for was incredible."
Having lost his mum at age 12, Thompson said his discovery of Queen and iconic lead singer Freddie Mercury came at a time when he desperately needed an outlet.
"I remember hearing the emotion in Freddie's voice," Thompson said.
"Nobody in my family was a singer; everybody in Tallygaroopna played football.
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"I went through a very experimental stage when I was about 13 or 14; I would try on Mum's clothes, which later became the inspiration behind (Chocolate Starfish cover hit) You're So Vain when I was close to 28.
"I remember the band saying to me: 'You can't do that, you're a straight guy and Freddie was a gay guy.'
"My mates at Shepparton knew that's just how I did things; I liked to take a risk and experiment."
The theatrics and risk-taking certainly paid off in the form of Chocolate Starfish.
They've put on a hugely successful run of Classic Album Series concerts, with an ode to Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell (2017) and INXS's KICK (2018).
Now Thompson will pay tribute to the immeasurable talent of Queen, Freddie Mercury and the acclaimed soundtrack of the smash-hit Golden Globe winning music biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Bohemian Rhapsody Live in Concert was originally just a one-off event, slated for April 2019 in Melbourne.
Thompson announced the show just as the biopic landed in 2018 and the concert sold-out within minutes.
Having already played a sold-out show in Shepparton, Thompson is heading to Horsham on March 14.
WHAT: Adam Thompson Bohemian Rhapsody Live in Concert, Horsham Town Hall
WHEN: March 14, 8pm
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