Queen's Brian May surprises fans with unannounced guitar solo at We Will Rock You tour return

10 February 2022, 10:43 | Updated: 11 February 2022, 10:13

Brian May surprises Portsmouth audience with We Will Rock You appearance

Musical fans watching We Will Rock You on tour in Portsmouth had a massive surprise this week.

Before the Queen story was put on the big screen as Bohemian Rhapsody, there was the stage musical We Will Rock You.

Written by Ben Elton, the jukebox musical isn't a straight telling of the Queen story, but instead whimsical fantasy about a distant future where rock music is banned.

• Queen's 20 greatest songs ever, ranked
• Jaw-dropping moment Brian May played 'God Save The Queen' on the roof of Buckingham Palace
• Remembering Freddie Mercury's incredible final performance with Queen - video

As well as the weird tale of characters named Galileo, Scaramouche, Killer Queen and Khashoggi, every night theatregoers expect a stream of massive Queen hits.

And at the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth on Tuesday (February 8), the audience got something even better – a surprise appearance from Queen guitarist Brian May, who popped up for the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' finale.

"To have Brian May here at the Kings Theatre – it was a real coup. It was phenomenal – the audience went absolutely wild," the theatre's artistic director Jack Edwards told BBC News.

"It feels like it's getting back to normal – people just want to be entertained and what better way than to come to the theatre and get the shock of your life?"

Ensemble cast member David Muscat posted a video of the moment on Twitter and quipped: "Had some dude invade our finale last night. At least he knew the guitar solo."

We will rock you live (Brian May) Portsmouth

Dominic Booth, who plays Swing in the production, added: SORRY I JUST PERFORMED BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY WITH BRIAN MAY ABSOLUTELY SHREDDING IT ON THE GUITAR WITH US ON STAGE?!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THE TEARS. I have the BEST frickin job in the world and no one can tell me otherwise!"

The Portsmouth show marked the relaunch of the We Will Rock You UK tour, which has been put on hold for two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We Will Rock You opened in the West End 20 years ago, and has since toured the UK and the globe many times over, with shows in Europe, the US, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Brazil and elsewhere.