Brian May Says Queen Won’t Tour Again Because He Has a ‘Lot of Astrophysics’ to Do
· Vice
It’s been more than two years since Queen and Adam Lambert finished their Rhapsody world tour. From the way founding frontman Brian May talks these days, that might have been their last tour.
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Speaking with The Times, May indicated that touring is no longer in their purview. “I made a decision 18 months ago that I didn’t want to tour again,” May confessed. “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,” he continued. “I have a wife [actress Anita Dobson], grandchildren and a lot of astrophysics I want to do. So I’m thinking maybe 50 years is enough.”
Queen may be done touring, but performing is not completely out of the question
However, while Queen probably won’t ever do a full-on tour again, that doesn’t mean they won’t play gigs. In fact, May has some ideas for how they could create new concert experiences for their fans.
“We do want to do something fairly revolutionary,” the legendary musician said. “Not as ABBA did, but along those lines.” He then shared where he got some inspiration for his new ideas. “Last year I went to the Sphere. 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.”
He does have some hesitations, however, with the structure of planning one of these experiences. “Currently you can’t make it without AI, and I have serious misgivings about that,” May said. “Data centers are a massive evil and have to be fought.”
Brian May previously confessed that he’s just very tired after 50 years of touring
To be fair, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard May admit he’d rather not keep touring. In September 2025, he told Rolling Stone that he was pretty tired of being on the road. At the time, though, he did not rule out a possible return.
“I’ve had 50 years of touring, and there’s a part of me that thinks it’s enough,” he said. “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,” he continued. “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.”
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