Brian May Says He Wants a Residency

Queen‘s Brian May saw the Eagles play the Sphere in Las Vegas not long ago, and he hasn’t stopped thinking about it since.  ”I was blown away,” he tells Rolling Stone in his interview for our new digital cover story on “Bohemian Rhapsody” at 50. “It’s one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in my life. Such a wonderful marriage of sound and wonderful music and incredible visual contact content. And yeah, it’s got my mind working.”

May has since decided that he wants Queen’s current incarnation, with Adam Lambert on vocals, to put on their own production at the futuristic venue. “ I’m very keen on the Sphere,” he says. “I sat there watching the Eagles, thinking, ‘We should do this. The stuff that we could bring to this would be stupendous.’ So, yeah, I would like to do it. We’re having conversations.” (To hear an audio-documentary version of the full cover story on our Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, press play above, or go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify.)

A Sphere residency would be perfect for May, who is still enthusiastic about performing live, but less so about circling the globe to do it. “ I’ve had 50 years of touring, and there’s a part of me that thinks it’s enough,” he says. “I don’t like the idea that you wake up in your hotel room and you’re trapped. I had a few experiences recently where stuff happened at home with my family and I could not go home. It got under my skin and I just thought, ‘I’m not sure if I want this anymore.’ I feel like I’ve given up my freedom too many times. So my feeling at the moment is I don’t want to tour as such. I still want to play shows. I still want to innovate.”

In his own interview for the cover story, Queen drummer Roger Taylor reaffirms that he wants the band to go on. “ I don’t think we’re done,” Taylor says. “And I don’t think we’re gonna say, you know, final farewell tour or whatever. ’Cause it never is, is it?”

Meanwhile, May says the idea of new studio recordings with Lambert is “always in the mind. Not many people know, but Adam and we have been in the studio trying things. Nothing really materialized so far. Some things are meant to be and some things are not.” 

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