Queen guitarist Brian May discussed the band's 50th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the late Freddie Mercury .
When the interviewer asked, “2021 marks Queen’s 50th anniversary. Could you have imagined in 1971 that the band would still be as big today as it ever was?”, the musician replied:
“I could never have imagined it. I don’t think we could have imagined any of this, to be honest. When we started, we had what we thought were big ideas, like maybe one day playing like Rainbow . And that’s what happened. What happened to us is simply incredible, and I still pinch myself to wake up sometimes. I think, ‘Did all this really happen?’ It’s incredible, none of us could have predicted it. And, of course, we were just kids.”
In the interview, when mentioning the film Bohemian Rhapsody and its resounding success, Brian May was asked if they are considering making another film. He states that they are thinking about it, there are some ideas, but it's difficult to make a sequel to the film because it would be an extremely tiring process.
"So, yes, we're thinking that maybe that could happen, but it would have to be a great script, so it's going to take a while to develop that," he said.
Furthermore, the 30th anniversary of Freddie Mercury's death was mentioned. Brain believes that if he were still alive, they would undoubtedly be together as a band. "The mothership would still be sailing around the world and we'd take some time to do our solo things, but Queen would continue," he stated.
“Yes, he loved it, he lived for the music, he lived for the band, it was his family, as it still is my family, I must say, although I struggled with it, and Roger did too. You can’t really get away from the fact that Queen is our family more than anything else, really.”.
Continuing to talk about Freddie, Brian May says: “I don’t think I even realized that Freddie is a genius, actually – a very eccentric kind of genius. And you wouldn’t have thought so if you met him on the street or in Kensington Market around 1970. You would have thought: ‘a strange guy, obviously thinks he’s a rock star’. But he had incredible faith in himself, incredible drive, and he championed common sense.”.
Brian May recounts that Freddie Mercury let nothing and no one stop him from achieving what he wanted. He didn't care who might feel uncomfortable with his goals. "Freddie was never like that. He would say, 'I want to do this, I'm going to do it. If you don't want me to do it, get out of my way.'" And even more, this attitude is what led Freddie to have such a lasting legacy.
“And some people may have thought him rude, but overall, Freddie achieved what he did because he was so focused and had so much faith. A fantastic voice too. A gift from God, obviously,” said May.
