Queen to release first new material in over a decade? Roger Taylor reveals all

15 October 2024, 11:03

By Mayer Nissim

Could Queen become a recording band again without Freddie Mercury?

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Over their two-decade career, Queen released 14 stunning albums that were a landmark in rock history.

And after the tragic death of frontman Freddie Mercury in 1991, surviving members Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon worked through their grief to complete the posthumous Made in Heaven album that Freddie had started.

Brian, Roger and John worked with a number of other artists at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, and as a trio recorded 'No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)' in 1997.

John Deacon retired after this release, and it was as a duo that Brian and Roger played the 46664 concert in honour of Nelson Mandela in 2003.

Eventually, Queen reconvened for several massive world tours, first as Queen + Paul Rodgers between 2004 and 2009, and since 2011 as Queen + Adam Lambert.

Queen - No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) (Official Video)

As well as reissues, previously "lost" tracks like 'Face it Alone' and various one-off collaborations and duets, 14 new songs were released as The Cosmos Rocks in 2008, credited to Queen + Paul Rodgers.

Despite the continued success of Adam Lambert's years with Queen and the release of two live albums, the partnership has not released any studio work since hooking up.

Now, drummer Taylor has hinted that could change.

Queen + Paul Rodgers: Live In Ukraine 2008. YouTube Special. Raising funds for Ukraine Relief.

Quizzed on whether they might record new music as Queen, Roger told Uncut: "I think we might.

"Brian and myself were talking the other day, and we both said that if we feel we have some good material, why not?"

He added: "We can still play. We can still sing. So I don't see why not."

It's not the first time the surviving Queen members have suggested such a thing.

As recently as last year, Brian May confirmed that there had been some tentative work in the studio, when The Sun quoted him as telling a US radio station: "We have dabbled a little. It is just that you haven’t heard any of it.

"It would have to be something so special that we would feel we would want to launch it on the public."

Queen + Adam Lambert - Somebody To Love (Live on X-Factor 2014)

And Adam Lambert himself added: "It's a lot of pressure if you think about it.

"If they’re going to put something out that’s new, it’s got to be at a certain level. It has to be the right thing.

"And I've always said, 'Is it appropriate for me to be doing new material?'. I feel like it scares me."

Queen + Adam Lambert on stage in 2023. Picture: Getty Images

A couple of years earlier, May told Guitar Player Magazine: "I always say, 'I don't know.' It would have to be a very spontaneous moment.

"Actually, Adam, Roger and myself have been in the studio trying things out, just because things came up."But up to this point we haven't felt that anything we've done has hit the button in the right way.

"So it's not like we're closed to the idea, it's just that it hasn't happened yet."