JENNY SCOTT meets a band following in the footsteps of genuine rock legends. . .

THE lighting is suitably ethereal and the four protagonists are sitting in a diamond formation, waiting to launch into the opening harmonies of Bohemian Rhapsody.

This is not the original classic image of Queen as we know them, but instead four die-hard fans, recreating the opening shot of the landmark video with the help of the BBC.

For just before Christmas, Queen tribute act Ga Ga -- who come to Blackburn next week -- were asked to take part in a documentary due to be broadcast in June, working with original cameraman and assistant director to show how the Bohemian Rhapsody video was made.

"It was really good fun," said Ga Ga's drummer Graham Patrick.

Because there are only three band members in Ga Ga, as opposed to four in Queen, the group had to co-opt a friend to join them. There was, however, a further problem.

"We couldn't actually look less like Queen if we tried," said Graham. "But we've never gone in for that -- we've never tried to dress up like them. Fortunately the point of the documentary was to show how the video was made, so it didn't matter if we didn't look exactly like Queen.

"The biggest thrill is that the BBC approached us to do it. Somebody, somewhere in the BBC knows we exist. That gives us a bit of kudos."

Ga Ga weren't exactly lacking in kudos anyway, though, with a copy of their CD apparently sitting in the collection of no less a person than Queen guitarist Brian May himself.

Graham has been a fan of the band since he was 12.

"I saw them doing Killer Queen on Top Of The Pops and I was just mesmerised," he said. "I don't know what it was -- there was something about Freddie Mercury's flamboyance that I liked."

However, it was drummer Roger Taylor who Graham began to imitate, miming with a broken snooker cue and a bent coat hanger before getting his first drum kit at 18.

After playing in a number of different bands, Graham got together with John Holmes (lead guitar and vocals) and Tony Pilling (bass) to form Ga Ga's predecessor Wanted.

"We started off playing a mixture of stuff in pubs and social clubs - anything from Michael Jackson to U2," said Graham. "Then, because we were Queen fans, we started putting more of their music into our act.

"Eventually we were asked to do a show for charity, just with Queen songs. Two months before we did the show, it had sold out."

That was 1996. The band changed its name to Ga Ga and haven't looked back since.

Ga Ga play King George's Hall, Blackburn on Thursday. For details, call 01254 582582.