Brian May Shares 50-Year-Old Queen Track as Holiday Surprise

Fans of Queen received an unexpected present this holiday season when guitarist Brian May broadcast a song that had been sitting untouched in the band's vault since the early 1970s.

The track, titled “Not for Sale (Polar Bear),” was recorded during sessions for Queen II in 1974 but never made it onto the finished album. May played the song for the first time publicly during his Planet Rock Christmas Special on December 22.

“It's a song that goes back a very long way but to my knowledge, no one has ever heard this version,” May said during the broadcast.

The guitarist acknowledged that a bootleg recording of the song by Smile, the band he formed before Queen, may have circulated among collectors over the years. However, he stressed that the Queen version featuring Freddie Mercury on vocals had remained unheard until now.

May described the recording as a “work in progress” from that era and explained his reasons for debuting it during his holiday program.

“I'm sneaking this into my Planet Rock special because I'm fascinated to know what people think about it,” he said.

The song will be included on a rebuilt edition of the Queen II album scheduled for release in 2026.

May closed his announcement with a message for listeners: “I hope people have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!”

Queen continues to perform with Adam Lambert handling lead vocal duties alongside May and drummer Roger Taylor.