Queen’s Brian May explains why he won’t tour anymore

The 79-year-old Queen co-founder and guitarist Brian May explained in an interview with The Times why he doesn’t want to tour anymore. The musician has faced several health issues in recent years and said that he feels 50 years of touring is enough.

Brian May explains why he won’t tour anymore

“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.’ 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.”

“We do want to do something fairly revolutionary. Not as ABBA did (with digital avatars), but along those lines. Last year I went to the Sphere (in Las Vegas), 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 A.I. and I have serious misgivings about that. Data centers are a massive evil and have to be fought,” Brian May said.

Queen’s most recent concert happened on February 14, 2024 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Since then Brian May has been involved in other musical projects like Steve Cropper’s final album, William Shatner’s upcoming Heavy Metal album and Tony Iommi’s (His best friend) new album. Drummer Roger Taylor released his new solo album “Violence Insane in a Beautiful World” (2026).

Since 1997, when John Deacon decided to retire from music and public life, Taylor and May are the only remaining active members of the band. The guitarist talked about their relationship with Deacon during the past decades, which is not direct.