BRIAN MAY: QUEEN Is Not Working On New Music With Singer ADAM LAMBERT

QUEEN guitarist Brian May says that there are no plans at the moment for the band to record new music with "American Idol" finalist Adam Lambert.

Lambert, May and drummer Roger Taylor first shared the stage during "American Idol" in May 2009 for a performance of "We Are The Champions". They teamed up again in 2011 at the MTV European Music Awards in Belfast, Ireland for an electrifying eight-minute finale of "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" and in the summer of 2012, Lambert performed a series of shows with QUEEN across Europe as well as dates in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. They also performed three sold-out gigs at London's Hammersmith Apollo.

Speaking to Gigwise at yesterday's (Thursday, May 21) Ivor Novello Awards in London, England, May stated about the prospect of recording fresh material with Lambert: "No, we're not doing that. Not at the moment anyway. We might do [at some point]. But, at the moment, we're watching with interest while Adam pursues his solo career, and it seems to be going very well. I mean, he's an amazing, amazing artist — there's no getting away from that — so it's very interesting to watch him develop. And I think we're conscious that he doesn't wnna be with us all the time, you know?! That would be so wrong, for us to just, sort of, envelop him and never let him go off and do anything else. It's very important that his own career is progressing now. And we're looking forward to being back together in September to do Rock In Rio [in Brazil], and some dates in Argentina and Venezuela, I believe."

After completing QUEEN's most recent European tour in January, May described Lambert as the only singer the band had found capable of filling the shoes of iconic frontman Freddie Mercury. "Adam is the first person we've encountered who can do all the QUEEN catalogue without blinking," said May. "He is a gift from God." Taylor echoed the guitarist's sentiments, adding: "[Adam's] incredibly musical, and we certainly take anything he says quite seriously."

Lambert, for his part, downplayed the Mercury comparisons, saying: "There's never going to be another, and I'm not replacing him. That's not what I'm doing. I'm trying to keep the memory alive, and remind people how amazing he was, without imitating him. I'm trying to share with the audience how much he inspired me."

Lambert will release his third studio album, "The Original High", on June 16 through Warner Bros. Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden and Los Angeles, California with Max Martin and Shellback as executive producers, the CD displays a fresh sound for Lambert, and includes collaborations with Tove Lo and May.