Brian May has moved to clarify Queen's live future, saying he is 'on a break' rather than retired from the road. In a recent Zoom interview with Rolling Stone, the guitarist said he had been misinterpreted and slightly misquoted after remarks that suggested he had sworn off touring. He said he never claimed Queen would never tour again, but that he is enjoying his break and does not expect to commit to nine-month-long tours again. May added that he is happy to play when he wants, citing recent appearances with Andrea Bocelli at the Starmus Festival and with Benson Boone.
May has also been busy in the studio. He worked on the score for Masters of the Universe with Daniel Pemberton, and the album is due out soon on vinyl. For a rock version of the Eternia theme, he enlisted The Darkness: Dan Hawkins played bass, Justin Hawkins recorded vocals on an iPhone in a hotel room while on tour, and Rufus Taylor played drums at Roger Taylor's studio. May also contributed to a William Shatner track based on Dylan Thomas for the 95-year-old's heavy metal album, has a new track with his grandson due in a couple of months, worked with Graham Bonnet on a song dedicated to Rory Gallagher, and collaborated with TV's Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick on a track about bringing animal and human medicine together.
Looking back at Queen's 1980 score for Flash Gordon, May recalled being told a rock band could not score an entire film. He said producer Dino De Laurentiis initially rejected his main title theme as 'not for my film,' while director Mike Hodges reassured him it would be fixed; De Laurentiis later praised the music at the premiere. May also discussed Highlander, whose score has never been released while its songs appeared on A Kind of Magic. He said he would love to put out the score someday and recalled working with Michael Kamen, including on the orchestration for 'Who Wants to Live Forever,' which weaves in what Kamen called the Highlander theme.
The newly restored Queen Budapest concert film brought back memories of the band's first-ever stadium tour. May said the Budapest show took place behind the Iron Curtain, where no rock group had been able to play, after two sold-out Wembley Stadium nights and a year after Live Aid, with Freddie Mercury in wonderful form. He praised the original Hungarian cinematographers and said the visuals were restored by a New Zealand team while the sound restoration was handled by the band. Roger Taylor said watching it left him feeling exhausted, and May said he felt proud of the film.
On other Queen projects, May said he remains interested in a 360-degree surround retrospective idea, though not one modeled on ABBA's virtual shows, but that progress has been slow and he does not know the current status. He also confirmed Queen tried new music with Adam Lambert once in Nashville early in their relationship, but the attempt did not feel right and they never returned to it. May said they are still in touch and he saw Lambert's Roundhouse show, but they have not discussed working together; he is not eager to be a touring animal again, though he cannot say never.
Sources: Rolling Stone.