Queen drummer Roger Taylor recently addressed the band’s future on stage, discussing Brian May’s health and whether a live comeback with May and singer Adam Lambert could be on the horizon.
The conversation touched on May’s recovery following his recent health scare. It also addressed whether he would be up for the physical demands of another full tour.
“Brian May is in pretty good shape. I am not sure he’d be up for doing the whole grueling tour,” Roger Taylor said. “I’ve always loved touring. I think [May] loved it up to a point, and then not, up to a point.”
Taylor went on to describe how the band has been exploring alternative ways to perform live, drawing inspiration from a recent experience at the ABBA Voyage virtual concert.
“We’ve been thinking about using some kind of technology to present some kind of show, fairly revolutionary,” he continued. “[Me and May have both visited the ABBA Voyage virtual concert] and were pretty blown away by that. It gave us a whole new outlook about what possibly could be achieved, not necessarily involving live playing. We’re just banging ideas around at the moment … We talk about it a lot, and we’re gonna get there, I hope.”
The idea of a Queen avatar show is far from a passing thought. It has clearly been on the table for some time. May’s health history adds weight to why the band is weighing digital alternatives so seriously. He suffered a heart attack in 2020, which required three stents. He also experienced a minor stroke in September 2024. Those episodes have naturally shaped the conversation around how much physical strain another traditional tour would place on him.
ABBA Voyage remains the clearest reference point for what Queen could attempt. The London residency features digital avatars of the Swedish pop group performing alongside a live band. It stands as the only show of its kind to have proven commercially successful so far. That track record appears to be exactly what has caught May and Taylor’s attention, giving them a working model to study rather than an untested concept.
Taylor has reinforced that a return to the stage in some form remains firmly on the table. He has described a live comeback as “a possibility,” while making clear nothing has been finalized yet. That framing lines up with his comments about “banging ideas around.” It suggests the band is still in an exploratory phase rather than close to a formal announcement.
May himself has voiced more caution about the avatar route than Taylor’s enthusiasm might suggest. He has indicated he has “backed off” from pursuing an ABBA Voyage-style show, pointing to concerns over the technology involved.
“You can’t do it without massive use of A.I., with all the consequences of that,” May said, explaining his hesitation about leaning on artificial intelligence to bring such a production to life.
That tension between Taylor’s openness to a tech-driven show and May’s reservations about its cost, both financial and ethical, may end up shaping whatever direction Queen ultimately takes. No official announcement has been made regarding a new tour or show format. However, the band’s internal discussions suggest a decision, one way or another, may not be too far off.
