Queen: Last News

Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed that he has “never liked” the mix of ‘Under Pressure’, the band’s 1981 smash hit collaboration with David Bowie. Speaking in an interview with Total Guitar (via Guitar World), May revealed that the original version of ‘Under Pressure’ “sounded massively chord-driven,” but that much of its “heavy guitar was lost” following Bowie’s input on the final mix.Recalling the song’s creation, May said ‘Under Pressure’ was the result of spontaneous late nights in the studio, with the initial cut featuring a “pretty heavy backing track.” At first, May said he was “beaming” over the heavier guitar sound because it reminded him of The Who.May raised that comparison to Bowie, who said “‘it’s not going to sound like The Who by the time I’ve finished with it.’” May continued: “[Bowie] didn’t want it to be that way.”The guitarist said that the changes were made because “we all had different ideas of how [‘Under Pressure’] should be mixed,” specifically naming Bowie and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.“Basically it was Freddie and David fighting it out in the studio with the mix,” May recalled, “and what happened in the mix was that most of that heavy guitar was lost.”May went on to reveal that he originally played the main riff of ‘Under Pressure’ on an electric guitar, but that it was replaced by the “acoustic bits which were done first as a sort of demo.” As for the final mix that was eventually released, May admitted that he “never liked it, to be honest.”“I do recognise that it works.

Queen have shared a new clip of the performance of ‘We Are The Champions’ from their live movie Queen Rock Montreal. Check it out exclusively on NME above.After a London premiere earlier this week, a digitally-remastered cut of the recording of the rock icons’ legendary 1981 shows at the 18,000-seat Montreal Forum will be released in 450 IMAX Cinemas tomorrow (Thursday January 18).The live movie includes 12-channel surround sound, crystal-clear images, and IMAX’s customiSed theatre geometry, as the band deliver a set packed with classics including ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ and many more.“I don’t think we quite realised it at the time, but this film has preserved one of the highest peaks in Queen’s touring life, on stage in the old glory days,” said guitarist Brian May.

Queen‘s Brian May has joined Black Sabbath‘s Tony Iommi for a performance of ‘Paranoid’.The guitarists reunited to discuss the Black Sabbath classic for a segment in the new guitar-themed Sky Arts documentary, Greatest Guitar Riffs. “I’m sitting down with my mate, Brian, to talk riffs,” narrated Iommi at the head of the clip.

Brian May has shared that he is concerned over the increase in copyright strikes issued against Queen and Adam Lambert concert videos posted on social media.Yesterday (December 18), May took to his official Instagram page to share a screenshot of a fan’s post in which she claimed to have received a strike from both Universal and YouTube over Queen concert videos she posted on the platform.“Hi guys, it looks like Universal and YouTube are now coming for everyone who posts concert videos of Queen and Adam [Lambert]. I got a strike and deleted most of my concert videos. If you get multiple strikes you may lose your channel.

Noddy Holder has reflected on his friendship with Freddie Mercury, revealing that the Queen frontman would share his aspirations with him.The moment took place during a rare TV appearance from the Slade singer, when he appeared as a guest on the Channel 4 morning show Sunday Brunch over the weekend (December 17).In the programme, the glam icon shared anecdotes about his extensive time in the music industry, particularly the elaborate outfits he would wear on stage during the ‘70s. It was here that he reflected on his relationship with Freddie Mercury – back before the singer found fame with Queen.In the conversation, he recalled the origins of his iconic mirror hat and dispelled the myth that he bought it from the iconic rock singer.“I made the top hat with mirrors.

members of the monarchy, opened up about the royal family’s holiday tradition in a new interview.The firm tends to celebrate at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, each year.“It was the same meal every year. They’re actually boring when it comes to festivities.

Sky Arts have revealed the UK’s favourite guitar riff in a brand new three part documentary series, titled, Greatest Guitar Riffs, which aired on November 24.A poll of 2000 music fans votes was carried out to find out the nation’s favourite riff, and included in the top 40 were Sam Fender’s ‘Seventeen Going Under’, Arctic Moneys’ ‘Do I Wanna Know’ and Pharrell William’s ‘Happy’.But the top choice was revealed as ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ by Guns N’ Roses. The track, which was released in June 1988, quickly topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the rock band’s only US Number One single.It came in at number 88th on Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time list in 2021, and is clearly still a favourite of the UK public.‘Purple Rain’ by Prince was the runner-up, with ‘Sultans Of Swing’ by British rock band, Dire Straits, coming in at third place.Director of Sky Arts, Phil Edgar-Jones, spoke on the series saying: “Whether its’ the late, great Jimi Hendrix, the stalwarts such as Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin, or the new artists coming through, rock n’roll will never die.”“There’s new talent coming through constantly.

Nandi Bushell got to perform with Queen guitarist Brian May in her first TV acting role – check out their performance below.Bushell is appearing in the BBC children’s comedy series Andy and the Band, which sees a fictional band called Andy and the Odd Socks embark on adventures around Planet Rock.“Planet Rock is in distress due to a lack of pure, honest rock music coming from Earth,” reads the BBC’s description. The Godfather of Rock (May) is concerned, but his Goddaughter Emerald (Bushell) beats him to the punch and sets off for Earth.”The series concludes with a Battle Of The Bands competition in which Bushell and May team up.

Queen’s Freddie Mercury thought ‘Somebody To Love’ was “better” than ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, according to a roadie who once worked with the band.Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio after ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was named ‘greatest song of all time’ by over 6500 listeners, former roadie and author of Queen Uncovered Peter Hince remembers the band coming up with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and Mercury’s thoughts on the track.Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio he explained: “The band were recording [album] ‘Night At The Opera’ and we were going around all these different studios in London and doing bits in each place so I was hearing bits and pieces of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, but I didn’t hear the whole thing for quite some time. I remember hearing the opera bit and thinking it’s going to be an introduction tape for the live show – I had no idea it was a song!”He continued: “The video is arguably what helped it become so huge in Britain…and the other thing is that, sadly, Freddie isn’t around anymore and it’s one of his legacies that piece of music so is still something people find very emotional.“Also, nothing really had been done like it before and probably nothing since – with all the technology now it is easier to get certain studio effects whereas with Queen it was all about spending enormous amounts of time and being incredibly innovative.

“The Crown” Monday, which marks the end of the show’s reign on the streaming site. The final season, which has been broken into two parts, will span from 1997 to 2005 with Part 1 focusing on the “relationship blossoming between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed before a fateful car journey has devastating consequences.” “Prince William tries to integrate back into life at Eton in the wake of his mother’s death as the monarchy has to ride the wave of public opinion,” continues the official description.

Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers has praised Adam Lambert and said he is the “perfect” singer for Queen.Rodgers previously fronted Queen between 2004 and 2009, releasing studio album ‘The Cosmos Rocks’ in 2008 along with live albums ‘Return Of The Champions’ (2005) and ‘Live In Ukraine’ (2009).In May 2009, Rodgers announced the end of his collaboration with Queen, sharing that it was “never meant to be permanent”.Lambert stepped in as the band’s next frontman in 2011 and has fronted them ever since.When asked in a new interview with BBC Radio Scotland, what Rodgers thought of Lambert, he replied: “Well, you know, I think he’s perfect for the band… I haven’t really followed them since then [I left], but from what I’ve seen, he’s great.”Queen and Lambert kicked off their 2023 ‘Rhapsody’ tour in Baltimore last week.The band began the gig with ‘Machines (Or ‘Back To Humans’) / ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Hammer To Fall’ and ‘Another One Bites The Dust’. The group also performed ‘Stone Cold Crazy’ for the first time since 2018 and ‘Is This the World We Created…?’ for the first time ever.The 25-song setlist also included Queen’s biggest hits such as ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Killer Queen’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and more.The remaining dates on their tour include Detroit, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and other cities throughout the month.

Queen and Adam Lambert have begun their 2023 ‘Rhapsody’ tour in Baltimore. Here’s everything they played on opening night.The legendary band launched the acclaimed show back in 2019, and brought it to the UK, Ireland and Europe last year.

Queen and Adam Lambert are set to embark on their North American ‘Rhapsody’ tour next week – find all the details below.The legendary band launched the acclaimed show back in 2019, and brought it to the UK, Ireland and Europe last year.Per a press release, Queen and their frontman Lambert are now taking the newly “expanded and updated” production back to the US and Canada “where it first began”. The group have promised an “even more ambitious show” at the upcoming dates.Queen’s 2023 Rhapsody’ tour is scheduled to begin with two consecutive nights at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland next Wednesday (October 4) and Thursday (5).From there, they’ll visit Toronto, Detroit, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and other cities throughout the month.

Queen‘s Brian May played a critical role in a NASA mission to bring the largest asteroid sample ever back to Earth.The legendary guitarist – who is also an astrophysicist and received his PhD from Imperial College in 2007 – assisted in helping to identifying the site from which the sample was taken.May is an expert in stereoscopy, which is the process of dealing with a pair of two-dimensional images that, when viewed by both eyes, can be used to create a 3D scene. The process was essential in helping to identify where the spacecraft could collect samples without damaging or destroying itself.Today (September 24), it was announced that a capsule containing about 250g of rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu as part of NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission had parachuted into the desert in Utah.A post shared by Brian Harold May (@brianmayforreal)May and his collaborator Claudia Manzoni contributed in the shortlist of possible sample sites on Bennu.

Queen and Adam Lambert’s ‘Rhapsody Tour’ kicks off in just two weeks, it isn’t too late to pick up last-minute tickets to catch the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers live this year.In fact, as of now, tickets are available for all 23 concerts on the nationwide run.That includes back-to-back gigs at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Oct. 12 and Friday, Oct.

Queen guitarist Brian May has expressed his views on the use of artificial intelligence to make music, saying that he finds the prospect “massively scary”.The guitarist was speaking as part of an interview with Guitar Player when he revealed his concerns about the extent to which the use of AI could change the music industry for the worse.“My major concern with it now is in the artistic area,” he began when asked about his thoughts on the advancement of AI platforms. “I think by this time next year the landscape will be completely different.

Brian May and Roger Taylor have confirmed the line-up of their ‘official tribute band’ Queen Extravaganza and announced a run of tour dates for 2024.Queen Extravaganza has been touring together for over a decade and features a line-up that was hand-picked by May and Taylor to perform their music.May and Taylor have now confirmed that the line-up for next year’s tour includes Nick Radcliffe on guitar, François-Olivier Doyon on bass, George Farrar on drums and Alirio Netto and Gareth Taylor on vocals.You can see the full list of 2024 dates below and buy your tickets here.FEBRUARY26 – Wolverhampton, Civic Hall27 – Bradford, St George’s Hall28 – Newcastle, O2 City HallMARCH1 – Glasgow, SEC Armadillo2 – Derby, Arena4 – Swansea, Arena5 – Bristol, Beacon6 – London, Eventim Apollo8 – Stockton, Globe9 – Manchester, O2 Apollo10 – Oxford, New Theatre12 – Eastbourne, Congress Theatre13 – Ipswich, Regent Theatre15 – Plymouth, Pavilion16 – Bournemouth, International Centre 17 – Truro, Hall For Cornwall19 – Dublin, Olympia Theatre21 – Belfast, Waterfront HallMeanwhile, in other Queen news, an auction took place earlier this week saw over 1,400 of Freddie Mercury’s personal possessions sold off, which May admitted was “too sad” to think about.The auction saw handwritten lyrics for some of Queen’s most famous songs, jewellery worn by Mercury, and his collection of artwork go under the hammer.In a social media post, May said of the action: “Freddie’s most intimate personal effects, and writings that were part of what we shared for so many years, will go under the hammer, to be knocked down to the highest bidder and dispersed forever.“I can’t look.

Queen’s Brian May has admitted that an auction, which saw over 1,400 of Freddie Mercury’s personal possessions sold off, was “too sad” to think about.Held at Sotheby’s earlier this week (September 6), the auction saw handwritten lyrics for some of Queen’s most famous songs, jewellery worn by Mercury, and his collection of artwork go under the hammer.The item that fetched the most at the auction house was the piano that Mercury used to compose the hit song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – a 1973 Yamaha Grand, which sold for £1.7million. This surpassed the amount that John Lennon’s piano, which he used to write ‘Imagine’, reached in a previous auction.Ahead of the auction, May shared an old photo on Instagram of Mercury playing the guitar.A post shared by Brian Harold May (@brianmayforreal)He wrote: “At the time this photo was taken I’m sure it didn’t seem very important to see Freddie’s fingers dancing on my own home-made guitar.

Freddie Mercury’s piano – which he used to compose Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – has sold for £1.7million at auction.Held at Sotheby’s on Wednesday (September 6), the auction saw 1,500 pieces of the late singer’s possessions go under the hammer, including handwritten lyrics for some of Queen’s most famous songs, jewellery worn by Mercury, and his collection of artwork.The item that fetched the most at the auction house earlier this week was the piano that Mercury used to compose the hit song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – a 1973 Yamaha Grand, which sold for £1.7million. This surpassed the amount that John Lennon’s piano, which he used to write ‘Imagine’, reached in a previous auction.

Queen now. Royally grooving the night away, Meghan Markle was spotted snapping flicks with Hollywood hotshots Kelly Rowland, 42, and Kerry Washington, 46, at Beyoncé’s third Renaissance World Tour stop in Los Angeles on Monday — Queen Bey’s 42nd birthday.

Dave Grohl, Chad Smith and Shane Hawkins have come together to play a series of rock classics at a pizza bar in California. Check out fan-captured footage of the moment below.The intimate, star-studded set took place at the Rock N Roll Pizza Bar in Simi Valley, California on Monday evening (August 21), and was part of a set by famous covers band Chevy Metal.The band was formed by late drummer Taylor Hawkins, who often performed with the side project in his time away from his Foo Fighters commitments.