In 2020, Elash and The Sgt. created ‘Fat Bottomed Boys’. In doing so, they took on a massive task: to perpetuate Queen’s legacy through new songs; original compositions in the “royal” family tradition.

They rose to the challenge, and continue to meet it with panache: their three albums, ‘Let’s Do It!’ (2020), ‘Too Much is Not Enough’ (2021) and ‘The King of Rhye’ (2022) are critically acclaimed. Moreover, they have captured the hearts of fans, seduced by an idea never heard or published before.

Throughout these three albums, ‘Fat Bottomed Boys’ explore rock in all its guises – pop, prog, hard rock, funk, new wave and more – reinventing themselves with each new song. ‘Fat Bottomed Boys’ have had the pleasure of several international collaborations. These include a contribution to the soundtrack for ‘Borrowed Time 3’, a Franco-American film, and producing a full soundtrack for the Australian novel, ‘The King of Rhye’.

Fans will especially treasure the virtual duet with Freddie Mercury on the track ‘New York’, which was released worldwide in 2021.

Since 2022, Elash and The Sgt. are also official ambassadors of Brian May Guitars, founded by the Queen guitarist.

In concert, the true energy of ‘Fat Bottomed Boys’ is able to shine. A powerful sound, flamboyant outfits and a show that dazzles, enough to give their audience an intense and timeless moment.

Elash and The Sgt. Exclusive Cover Interview – October 2023 Edition

Please share your background

Elash: 1986 I saw the release of a film called Highlander. I was still young, but my older brother went to the theater and bought the OST. That was my first encounter with the band Queen. I remember playing with my action figures recreating the concert from the Live Magic album. But I was not really into music yet. In 1991, after coming back from school, the newscaster on television announced Freddie Mercury’s death. When my friends fell for Nirvana, Metallica or Michael Jackson, I fell for Queen. I then learnt to play the guitar, played music with friends, wrote songs… I soon wanted to become a rockstar. My mother didn’t take kindly to it, so I studied sound engineering instead. I worked in a sound recording studio, recording and mixing music made by other artists. 15 years later I read an ad looking for a bassist to join a Queen tribute band. I didn’t really play the bass at the time, but whatever… I could join the band. And voila!

After some years dissecting and playing Queen’s music I had an idea: why not make our own songs but in the style of Queen, paying an homage to the greatest band in history? We tried a couple of songs. Then Covid came, and lockdown. We did some more songs, and soon a whole album by the end of June ‘20. We released our first album “Let’s do it!” on September 5th, the day Freddie Mercury was born.

The Sgt.: Like Elash, I also discovered Queen through the film Highlander, my father was a fan. For Christmas 1994, I received my first CD player. To go with it, my father offered me 2 CDs: the album A Kind Of Magic and Queen’s Greatest Hits II. I listened to these CDs so much that I wore them out, until they became unlistenable. By the time I was 10, I was able to sing all the lyrics on these two records… in perfect gibberish!

I fell in love with rock in general, 60s and 70s English rock in particular, and Queen, more precisely. I always wanted to be a singer in a rock band, and obviously sing Queen songs. I’ve tried several times to put together a Queen cover band, but never managed to find the right musicians… Until 2015. The band “Rock You – Queen Tribute”, which still exists, introduced me to Elash and Nico, who are now my friends and colleagues in Fat Bottomed Boys.

Childhood to Adulthood – How was your transition from childhood to adulthood and what are the bad and good things you remember?

Elash: I’m still a child, but with some experience now! In our area, when you’re young you are reckless and full of ambition, but also easily susceptible. Now we are old, it’s easier to know who we can trust or not, but the world looks more complicated. Our music can easily be heard all over the world thanks to streaming platforms, but we are a water drop in the ocean. If people don’t know us they are unlikely to stumble upon us by chance.

The Sgt.: Between childhood and adulthood, there’s adolescence, and I think I got stuck in that period. I’m very nostalgic about my years at highschool, my gang of friends back then, the carefree way of life, and the problems that weren’t really problems at all. I’m thinking of writing a song about that for a future album!

Struggle – What hardships have you gone through in life?

Elash: we are both lucky and unlucky to live a stable and peaceful life, I think. It’s lucky for us, but unlucky at the same time because it can be more difficult to find subjects for songs.

The Sgt. and I are middle-class, white, cis-men. However we are both aware of today’s challenges: discrimination, global warming, veganism, women and LGBT rights… We can’t always pretend to be the ambassadors of these causes, but we talk about these topics in some of our songs, especially in the last album. “Get Away” is a song about Ruby Bridges, “It Girl” highlights a woke, feminist girl.

The Sgt.: Apart from my encounter with that good-for-nothing Elash, I think I’m a pretty lucky guy.

What do people usually not know about you?

Elash: I’ve been elected first runner up Miss Moreol ‘99! It was a dance club at the seaside. I dressed as a girl, I had long hair at the time. People were not really sure if I was a girl or not… It was a very local contest, I didn’t offend or impersonate anyone, it was just for fun!

The Sgt.: People don’t know what’s behind my abundant hair! People don’t know Elash’s real first name. I can reveal this great secret for a fee.

What sets you apart from your competitors in the industry and in life?

As far as we know, we are the only band in the world claiming the throne. Okay, it sounds pretentious. Since Mercury’s death in 1991 and the posthumous album “Made in Heaven” in 1995, Queen has not released any new music. With all due respect to our idols, we bring the world some new songs we would have liked them to do. We are not lookalikes though, we don’t have Mercury’s voice and genius, but we are filling a void.

We don’t do plagiarism. We do our own melodies, with our own influences too. We learnt from our mentors to constantly reinvent ourselves, and try new things.

What are your upcoming major events – Unforgettable Moments or products/services that you want to promote/inform?

Our 4th album “Haters gonna hate” will be out on all streaming platforms on November 24th. There will be some concerts to accompany the album release, but only in France for the moment. We are hoping we can do some concerts in the UK, and hopefully a world tour someday!

What are your food preferences and physical attributes?

Elash: I tend to be vegetarian. I can still eat meat from time to time, but animal care is a real concern. Because of global warming of course, but I get no pleasure eating bad quality meat from animals bred in gigantic farms who have never seen daylight and never eaten a blade of grass.

The Sgt.: Like Elash, I’ve greatly reduced my meat consumption. I’m very concerned about the plight of animals, and about ecological issues too – how could I not be? But I also have to admit that I’m addicted to junk food, and I have to exercise to avoid becoming a real Fat Bottomed Boy!

What expert advice would you like to give?

Elash: it sounds cliché, but I would say “never give up”. Stay true to yourself, give yourself the means to achieve your ambitions. Success needs time, and luck.

The Sgt.: Do what Elash does, not what I do! I’m a slacker who puts everything off until tomorrow. So if I had to give one piece of advice: do exactly the opposite of what I do, and you’ll reach all of your goals much more quickly! Oh, and find an Elash, who’ll give you a few kicks up the arse to get you going.

Please share your social media handles and website links

We are easy to find, it’s @fatbottomedboysmusic on every social media. And you can find all info, concert dates, photos, articles, shop and more on our website:

https://www.fatbottomedboys.fr