QUEEN Guitarist Talks Band's Future In New Audio Interview

According to BBC's 6 Music, 2011 has been quite the year for the legendary British rock band QUEEN, which celebrated its 40th anniversary. As well as re-releasing, remastered versions of its back catalogue the group also picked up a number of awards, including being named Global Icons at the MTV Europe Awards.

"It really is great to be appreciated and to be part of what is often regarded as a young persons medium," QUEEN guitarist Brian May told BBC's 6 Music.

So where do the band, which is essentially just Brian May and Roger Taylor, go from here?

"Are we QUEEN? In a sense we are, but in another sense, we never can be," he said. "We keep getting asked to do things, which is great, but it's that being QUEEN thing. I think we'll have to make a film, 'Being QUEEN, what does it mean?' The good thing about it is, we are a sort of open book; we can interact with people when it comes up."

You can listen to the interview using the audio player below.

QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor recently told Billboard that he and May are in talks to hit the road next year with "American Idol" singer Adam Lambert. After going public with the fact that QUEEN is essentially retired as an active touring unit, Taylor said, "[Lambert] has grown into a really great performer with an astonishing voice with a range that's great. We would like to work with him again. There's nothing signed just yet but we're talking about live dates. It could be very exciting."

1991's "Innuendo" was the last album of new music QUEEN released during Freddie Mercury's lifetime. Mercury died of AIDS on November 24, 1991 at age 45.

In 1995, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon overdubbed Mercury's final piano and vocal recordings to create the band's 15th — and final-four man QUEEN album — "Made In Heaven".

Deacon officially retired from music in 1997 — although he is still a voting member and quarter partner in QUEEN.

In 2008, Brian May and Roger Taylor, who had been touring with Paul Rodgers as QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS, released the chart bomb, "The Cosmos Rocks", before calling it a day as a trio and a recording entity — despite a string of globally sold out concerts.

Recently released are deluxe editions of their final five albums as part of the band's 40th-anniversary celebration. The albums — "The Works" (1984),"A Kind Of Magic" (1986),"The Miracle" (1989),"Innuendo" (1991),and "Made In Heaven" (1995) — all of which are sold in a exclusive box set through Amazon.com.