Brian May Reflects on Stepping Back from Touring as Queen Explores New Performance Ideas

Brian May said he decided 18 months ago he did not want to tour again with Queen.

"I made a decision 18 months ago that I didn't want to tour again. 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,'" May told The Times.

"I love to play, I love to travel, but the trade-off is sacrificing your freedom. I have a wife, grandchildren and a lot of astrophysics I want to do, so I'm thinking maybe 50 years is enough," he said.

May said Queen's music will continue, but the group is considering nontraditional ways to perform.

"We do want to do something fairly revolutionary," May said. "Not as ABBA did [with digital avatars], but along those lines. Last year I went to the Sphere, my juices started flowing and I sketched out a whole Queen show. I think an immersive experience is still on the cards and it could conquer time and space, but currently you can't make it without AI and I have serious misgivings about that. Data centers are a massive evil and have to be fought."

Drummer Roger Taylor said he is unsure about Queen's future with live performances.

"Well, it is a big machine to gear up, if you know what I mean," Taylor said on BBC Radio 2 in July. "But, yeah, really, I think it's more down to Brian than me. I love playing live. I enjoy it, always have. So if we both wanna do it, I'd be happy to. But we'll see. Never say never."