Between 2005 and 2006, Queen + Paul Rodgers embarked on a world tour, which was the first time Queen toured since their last tourwith Freddie Mercury in 1986. The band’s drummer Roger Taylor commented; “We never thought we would tour again, Paul [Rodgers] came along by chance and we seemed to have a chemistry. Paul is just such a great singer. He’s not trying to be Freddie.” The first leg was in Europe, the second in Japan, and the third in the US in 2006.Queen received the inaugural VH1 Rock Honors at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 25 May 2006.The Foo Fighters paid homage to the band in performing “Tie Your Mother Down” to open the ceremony before being joined on stage by May, Taylor, and Paul Rodgers, who played a selection of Queen hits.