Louder Sound published an interview that Queen guitarist Brian May gave to Sounds back in 1989 in which he called the band’s 1982 album, ‘Hot Space,’ a ‘mistake’ due to its bad timing.
Following the extensive Game tour in support of their 1980 album, ‘The Game,’ Queen collaborated with David Bowie on the 1981 single ‘Under Pressure.’ The band also started working on their new album around this time. They recorded their tenth studio album, ‘Hot Space,’ in two distinct places: Mountain Studios in Montreux in the summer of 1981 and Musicland Studios in Munich from December 1981 to March 1982.
‘Hot Space’ was finally released on May 21, 1982, marking a drastic shift in the band’s sound. It departed from their trademark tone of the ’70s by blending dance, disco, funk, pop-rock, and R&B. Roger Taylor and Brian May were not much content with the new direction, while Freddie Mercury and John Deacon were in favor of it. When asked about whether there was any time that Queen had lost its way in his 1989 interview, May quickly recalled the period they made ‘Hot Space.’
The guitarist explained that making ‘Hot Space’ was a ‘mistake‘ since it was not the right time to implement these kinds of disco and funk sounds. Considering that period, disco had started to lose its popularity. There was an anti-disco sentiment during the early-1980s, being subject to criticism of consumerism and overproduction. So, Brian May’s consideration of ‘Hot Space’ as a ‘mistake’ is understandable. The musician also added that they tried to do what Michael Jackson did on his ‘Thriller’ album, but they failed.
When asked whether Queen ever got off the track, Brian May replied:
“Oh yeah. I think ‘Hot Space‘ was a mistake, if only timing-wise. We got heavily into funk, and it was quite similar to what Michael Jackson did on ‘Thriller.’ But the timing was wrong. Disco was a dirty word.”
You can listen to the album below.
