BRIAN MAY: 'I Have Actually Never Said QUEEN Won't Ever Tour Again'

Brian May says that he was misquoted as saying QUEEN will never tour again.

The 79-year-old QUEEN guitarist clarified a comment he made in an interview with U.K.'s The Times in which he said he was he was done touring. He told The Times: "I made a decision 18 months ago that I didn't want to tour again. A close family friend died when we were in the States, so I said to my tour manager, 'I'll just nip home for a few days and come back.' She looked me in the eyes and said, 'You know you can't do that.'

"I love to play, I love to travel, but the trade-off is sacrificing your freedom," he explained. "I have a wife, grandchildren and a lot of astrophysics I want to do, so I'm thinking maybe 50 years is enough."

Many media outlets interpreted May's comments to mean that QUEEN would not tour again, but he insists that's not the case. He shared in an October 6 update on his social media: "[Reports of me saying that QUEEN won't tour again are] a misinterpretation of what I actually said. I have actually never said QUEEN won't ever tour again. I could never say never. I simply made a personal decision last year to take a break from touring. I've been making lots of music, and Roger [Taylor, QUEEN drummer] and I are constantly working together on QUEEN projects behind the scenes. I don't know what the future holds. I'm ever open to new adventures!"

In The Times interview, May didn't rule out keeping QUEEN alive through other methods, saying: "We do want to do something fairly revolutionary. Not as ABBA did [with digital avatars], but along those lines. ... Last year I went to the Sphere [in Las Vegas], my juices started flowing and I sketched out a whole QUEEN show. I think an immersive experience is still on the cards and it could conquer time and space, but currently you can't make it without A.I. [artificial intelligence] and I have serious misgivings about that. ... Data centers are a massive evil and have to be fought."

This past July, Taylor was asked by "The Rock Show With Shaun Keaveny" on BBC Radio 2 about the possibility of QUEEN returning to the live stage again at some point in the not-too-distant future. The 77-year-old rocker responded: "Well, it is a big machine to gear up, if you know what I mean. But, yeah, really, I think it's more down to Brian than me. I love playing live. I enjoy it, always have. It's really how he feels about it. So if we both wanna do it, I'd be happy to. But we'll see. Never say never. We have been working for a while with [singer] Adam Lambert, who has the most incredible voice."

In June, Lambert was asked by Smooth Radio when fans will get a chance to see him perform with QUEEN again. He responded: "There's nothing on the books with QUEEN. We've never had the conversation saying we're done, but there's nothing actually planned right now. It's sort of up to them. They're the boss. I'm the guest. If they call me and say, 'Hey, we wanna tour again,' I'll say, 'Yeah, sure, I'd love to.'"

This past January, Brian seemingly shut the door on QUEEN's possible return to the U.S., telling the U.K. newspaper Daily Mail in an interview: "America is a dangerous place at the moment, so you have to take that into account.

"It's very sad because I feel like QUEEN grew up in America and we love it, but it's not what it was," the QUEEN guitarist added. "Everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment."

May did not specify what he considers unsafe about the U.S. that would prevent QUEEN from touring there again.

As for when May and Taylor — who have been touring with "American Idol" alum Lambert since 2012 under the stage name QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT — might return to playing live shows, May said: 'I don't know when QUEEN will be back on stage — it's an unknown. We'll take it day by day."

May also hinted at possible new QUEEN music, telling the Daily Mail: "It was time to take a break and spend time with family, take stock. But never say never about not coming back, the rebuild of QUEEN Two is coming back, and there are a couple of things you haven't heard."

May's wife, actress and singer Anita Dobson, said QUEEN would no longer embark on large-scale tours due to health issues and the fact that the members of the band were "getting old."

Dobson's comments came after Taylor told Rolling Stone magazine that he, May and Lambert had no plans to stage a final farewell tour.

"I don't think we're done," he said. "And I don't think we're going to say a final farewell tour. Because it never is, is it?"

When pressed if QUEEN will be "resting forever," he replied: "At one point we will be."

In 2024 Brian revealed that he suffered a minor stroke. Although the episode initially left the now-79-year-old rock legend unable to use his left arm, he has since regained enough movement to be able to play music again.

May's stroke came four years after he had a "small" heart attack. At the time, he said was shocked to realize he wasn't as healthy as he thought, and he was "very near death". He discovered three arteries were "congested and in danger of blocking the supply of blood to my heart", and subsequently had surgery to fit three stents — tiny tubes to hold open blocked arteries.

Six years ago, May had to be hospitalized after he tore his buttocks "to shreds" while gardening. As a result, he developed severe sciatica and suffered what he later described as a "small heart attack" from the medication. May then had a bad reaction to his heart attack medication and nearly died. More recently, Brian underwent cataract eye surgery.

He later said that he believed that coronavirus may have played a role in his heart attack because of the way the virus thickened the blood. As a result, he said he was living a "ridiculously careful" life with Dobson — whom he credited with saving his life.

"She was incredible," he told the Daily Express back in 2020. "I couldn't do anything and she just kind of nursed me, so I will forever be in her debt; she did an incredible job on me."