POP groups, generally, have as much time for tribute bands as they do for trips to the local library or pressing wild flowers in books.

After all, the tribute acts are all too often a poor copy of the original - and made up of blokes who look like they work for the DSS.

That's why it's a surprise to learn Queen drummer, songwriter and singer Roger Taylor is not only content with the arrival of a new tribute band, he's been part of its creation.

Roger formed The Queen Extravaganza, which has already began touring in Europe and comes to Glasgow next month.

The 65-year-old said: "There are so many of these bands.

"There are ABBA ones and Led Zeppelin ones and I don't know how many Pink Floyds there are now."

Roger adds, grinning; "I think one actually broke up due to musical differences. But of the Queen tributes, some of them are very funny and some of them are really not funny at all. The terrible ones are cheesy and panto-like, more about dressing up in a Brian May wig and a Freddie Mercury moustache.

"But what they're missing out is the fact that the music is quite complicated and not easy to perform."

Roger adds; "It's flattering on one level because imitation is a form of flattery, but when they're not doing it very well it's a bit distressing."

Roger's own Queen, Brian May et al, still tour episodically.

But he believed there was room for an excellent tribute band to deliver Queen hits such as Bohemian Rhapsody and A Kind Of Magic.

He said: "So I set about conducting an online audition process in North America and fans were invited to vote for those they liked. A young French Canadian singer emerged called Marc Martel, whose vocal resemblance to Freddie was so strong his audition clip got 8.5 million hits on YouTube.

"He was good enough to build a band around, and once the band was formed, the hard work really began for everyone involved.

"I spent some weeks with them in Canada rehearsing, and they found out what works and what they're good at.

"They've got some brilliant arrangements of a lot of our old stuff and I've sort of let them get on with it now."

Praise indeed.

After all, who can come close to the original Queen, one of the biggest rock groups in music history with 18 No.1 albums and No.1 singles?

Freddie Mercury died in 1991, when he was 45. Yet, the longevity of the band has been helped thanks to the huge success of the Ben Elton- written smash hit show, We Will Rock You.

However, Roger reveals he is keen to extend the Queen legacy even further, with a new film biopic of Freddie Mercury, starring Ben Whishaw as the legendary frontman.

He said: "This one does seem to be taking an awfully long time to come together.

"But Ben is an absolutely fantastic actor. We want someone playing Freddie who is credible and will do him justice.

"We were very keen on Sacha Baron Cohen at one point but I guess we didn't want to make a comedy.

"We take Freddie's legacy very seriously and I'm not sure Sacha (in the lead) would have done that."

But who will play Roger Taylor in the movie?

"I try to keep at arm's length because you can't really make a film that you're portrayed in and be closely involved, " he says, grinning.

"I think for Brian and me, our main job, once all the ducks are in line, is to make sure the music is great."

Roger still misses his friend Freddie, whom he met back in 1969 when they worked at Kensington Market. He said: "We became closer and closer at the end of Freddie's life and I think we were co-dependent in many ways.

"Freddie was my best friend. We stuck together for an awfully long time and I think we all felt we needed one another.

"But what makes Freddie's death all the more painful is that if he'd lived a couple more years he would have benefited from breakthroughs in HIV treatment and might have been saved.

"It was a horrible period, just horrendous for us to lose one of our family."

l The Queen Extravaganza O2 ABC September 18