Speaking in the latest issue of MOJO, on sale now, Brian May has discussed the possibility of brand-new Queen material.
“I think it could happen,” May tells MOJO’s Mark Blake when asked if he could imagine writing another Queen song. “Both Roger and I are constantly writing and coming up with ideas and doing things in our studios. I could have the beginnings of a Queen song right there in front of me now. It’s just whether the idea reaches maturity or not. It’s whether that seed can grow.”
Elsewhere in the issue, May and bandmate Roger Taylor discuss the creative dynamics within Queen, where all four band members — May, Taylor, Freddie Mercury, and bassist John Deacon — were responsible for writing the band’s biggest hits.
Despite penning tracks such as We Will Rock You, Flash, and Hammer To Fall, May reveals he always felt nervous when showing his songs to his bandmates.
“Every time I brought a new song to the boys I’d be as nervous as hell, thinking, They’re gonna say it’s rubbish, they’re gonna hate it...” he recalls. “I’d always be embarrassed and apologising. That never ever went away.”
Taylor, too, admits to “always” having similar misgivings when bringing his material to the rest of the band.
“I used to make a little demo and see how that went down,” laughs the drummer. “It’s true that Brian and I had an advantage over John because we could sing, but Freddie was an enormous help to John in his writing — and to all of us, actually. We’d say, ‘You’re the leader,’ and he’d say, ‘No, no — I’m the singer.’”
After their 1989 album The Miracle, Queen took the decision to credit songs four ways, which further deepened their collaborative working method.
“On [1991 single] The Show Must Go On, I only had one afternoon with Freddie — who was ill by then [Mercury died of complications from AIDS/HIV later that year],” recalls May. “I was nervous because I wasn’t going to say: Freddie, this is about you. But at the same time, it’s a song about a clown who’s suffering and has to paint his smile on. We only wrote one verse together — that was all we managed that afternoon — but it was enough to push me forward with the song. A few weeks later, Freddie came back to record the vocal. He could hardly stand, but he’s propping himself up, knocking back the vodka and saying, ‘Play the fucking tape! I’ll get it’ — and he was stupendous.”
Anyone familiar with similar anecdotes about Freddie Mercury might not peg the singer as the shy and retiring type, but May remembers another side to his late bandmate.
“Deep down Freddie was one of the shyest people I’ve ever met, but he was so full of bluster you’d forget,” recalls the guitarist. “Freddie would always be excited, and his excitement would take over… He’d be so full of excitement he could hardly speak. Freddie’s ideas were off the wall and cheeky and different — and we tended to encourage them. Sometimes the idea he brought in was brilliant, and sometimes not brilliant.”
May goes on to recount one such “not brilliant” idea Mercury suggested:
“He came in one day and announced, ‘I’ve got this amazing idea. You know Michael Jackson has just put out this album called Bad? … Well, listen… What do you think about us calling our next album Good?’ We all looked at each other and said, ‘Well, maybe we should think about it, Freddie.’ It wasn’t one of his world-shattering ideas, but looking back, maybe we were wrong...”
“People talk about Freddie’s antics, but he was fantastically gifted, a really unique, irreplaceable talent...” Get the latest issue of MOJO to read the full exclusive interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor. Plus! Bowie, blow, and Jon Bon Jovi: the inside story behind the making of Queen’s Under Pressure. More info and to order a copy HERE!
