Brian May, Queen’s 79-year-old guitarist, has revealed that he no longer wants to tour. He has also explained why.
May described the moment he reached that conclusion and the personal loss that shaped it.
“I made a decision 18 months ago that I didn’t want to tour again,” May said. “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.'”
He went on to explain the trade-offs of life on the road and the priorities pulling him away from it.
“I love to play, I love to travel, but the trade-off is sacrificing your freedom,” May continued. “I have a wife, grandchildren and a lot of astrophysics I want to do, so I’m thinking maybe 50 years is enough.”
The comments mark a significant shift for a guitarist who has spent decades on the road with Queen. They also raise questions about what the decision means for the band’s live future.
Queen’s most recent full run was the Rhapsody Tour with Adam Lambert. It ended in Japan in February 2024, and no new Queen tour is currently scheduled.
May and drummer Roger Taylor first returned to the road without Freddie Mercury and John Deacon as Queen + Paul Rodgers. That lineup toured together from 2005 to 2009 and released the album The Cosmos Rocks in 2008. The pair have performed as Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, covering arenas and stadiums around the world.
Taylor has sounded more open-ended about the future. In July, the drummer said the decision was “more down to Brian” and that any return to the stage would depend on both of them. “Never say never.”
May’s interest in astrophysics is well documented. He began doctoral research at Imperial College London in 1970, studying interplanetary dust, but set the work aside in 1974 as Queen’s success took off. He returned to it decades later and completed his PhD in 2007. His remarks suggest that he now wants to spend more time on that research.
Source: The Times
