Queen will no longer tour, guitarist Brian May has confirmed. The decision was made with drummer Roger Taylor around 18 months ago after the death of a close family friend caused May to rethink his life on the road.
In an interview with The Times, the musician said that the two were in the United States when he learned of the loss. He told his tour manager that he would be home for a few days and then return. The answer he received made him realize that he could no longer continue in the same way.
“I love playing, I love traveling, but the price is sacrificing your freedom“, says May.The guitarist points out that he has a wife and grandchildren, and also wants to get more seriously involved in astrophysics again. “Maybe 50 years is enough“, he says of his career on stage.
The last major tour ended in 2024.
May and Taylor remained the only members of Queen who continued their concert activities after the death of Freddie Mercury and the retirement of John Deacon. In recent years, however, the two have also turned to their own projects.
Their last live performance as Queen is listed as their participation in the tribute concert for drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022. May then continued with Adam Lambert as part of The Rhapsody Tour, which ended in Japan in February 2024.
This does not mean that the musicians are ending all work related to Queen. The decision concerns new tours, while individual projects and appearances remain possible.
May also abandoned the idea of an artificial intelligence show
Brian May has considered a concert experience similar to ABBA Voyage in London, which would use digital images of the Swedish group. He even spent considerable time planning a possible Queen show.
The musician ultimately abandoned the idea because, in his opinion, it would require “massive use of artificial intelligence“. May has changed his attitude towards the technology and is now warning about the consequences of building huge data centers that serve artificial intelligence systems.
In the same interview, he sent a message to Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, urging him to oppose such centers before it was too late.
Sources: marica.bg, the-independent.com