Brian May Says Queen’s Touring Days Are Over

Queen guitarist Brian May says that touring with the band has come to an end. In a new interview with The Times, May reveals that he and drummer Roger Taylor privately agreed 18 months ago that they no longer wanted to go back on the road.

May says the choice was shaped by a painful moment during a US tour stop, when a close family friend died back home. He recalls telling his tour manager he would simply fly back for a few days and return, only to be told plainly that leaving mid-tour wasn’t an option. That experience, he says, crystallized how much of his personal freedom touring life demands.

• May and Taylor reached their decision against touring 18 months before the new interview published.
• Queen + Adam Lambert’s Rhapsody world tour closed out at Tokyo Dome in Japan on February 14, 2024.
• May and Taylor’s most recent appearance billed simply as Queen came in 2022, at a tribute concert for late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
• In January, May told the Daily Mail he wasn’t keen on touring the US, describing it as “a dangerous place at the moment.”

Why Brian May Says He’s Stepping Back From Touring

May frames his decision partly around what he’d be giving up by staying on tour. He points to his wife, actress Anita Dobson, his grandchildren, and his long-standing interest in astrophysics as pulls toward home. “I’m thinking maybe 50 years is enough,” he tells The Times, reflecting on five decades spent on the road.

The guitarist had signaled some of this fatigue before making it official. In September 2025, he told Rolling Stone he’d logged “50 years of touring” and sensed it might be enough, though at that point he stopped short of ruling it out entirely. His comments to The Times mark a firmer conclusion.

May’s reluctance to tour also extends to concerns about safety in the United States. Guitar Player reports that his wariness is tied in part to the fatal shootings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both of whom lost their lives at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stationed in Minnesota.

Could a Queen Sphere Show Still Happen?

Even with group touring off the table, May says he hasn’t abandoned the idea of bringing Queen to audiences through other means. He describes visiting the Las Vegas Sphere last year and leaving with a full concept for a Queen show already sketched out in his head. “I think an immersive experience is still on the cards,” he says, adding that such a format “could conquer time and space.”

What’s holding him back is the artificial intelligence such a production would likely require. May calls the data centers that power AI systems “a massive evil” and says he has serious reservations about using the technology, even for a project built around his own band’s material. In an earlier conversation with Absolute Radio, he said he had pulled back from an ABBA Voyage style avatar concert specifically because of the scale of AI involved.

Brian May Recalls Freddie Mercury’s Final Show

In the same Times interview, May looks back on Queen’s last concert with Freddie Mercury, played at Knebworth on August 9, 1986. He recalls Mercury coming offstage afterward and declaring, “I can’t do this any more,” a line the band took at the time as typical theatrical flair from their frontman.

Looking back, May now believes Mercury already sensed the severity of his health at that point, ahead of an AIDS diagnosis the following year. Mercury died on November 24, 1991, at age 45. Taylor tells The Times he was on his way to see Mercury when news of his death reached him, and that bassist John Deacon struggled badly afterward, stepping away from the music industry entirely.

More Info

• “Freddie came off stage at Knebworth and said, I can’t do this any more." Queen’s Brian May recalls the moment he learned that Freddie Mercury had played his final gig with the band, and says Queen won’t tour again | loudersound.com
• Brian May confirms that Queen will never tour again: 50 years is enough | Far Out Magazine
• Brian May Says Queen Wont Tour Again: 50 Years Is Enough | Rolling Stone
• Brian May Says Queen Is Done Touring for Good | Ultimate Classic Rock
• Brian May says Queen’s touring days are over after a friend’s death | Guitar Player
• Brian May Says Queen Won’t Tour Again: ‘50 Years Is Enough’ | imdb.com