With the concert film of their landmark 1986 Budapest gig about to be reissued, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen have given an interview to The Times that covers everything you’d expect. And a couple of new revelations.
For starters, even though Freddie Mercury told his bandmates about his HIV diagnosis in 1989, May thinks he knew during the band’s final 1986 tour.
“He came off stage at Knebworth and said: ‘I can’t do this any more,’ ” May recalls. “He did have a tendency to be dramatic, so we thought Freddie was just being Freddie, but I now realise he already knew the prognosis, which was grim.
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“I remember reading about young men dying in America, and then we saw Freddie with these strange symptoms, so we put two and two together. It’s incredible that he carried on with such confidence and energy to the very end.”
Understandably, the singer’s death in November 1991 shattered the group. “I was on my way to see him when I got the news,” Taylor says. “It really broke us up, and I don’t think John Deacon did cope. He went to pieces. He didn’t want to go on in the music industry after that.”
Indeed, Deacon retired from public life in 1998, though he remains a silent partner in the band’s various projects.
Since then, Queen have continued, largely as a touring entity with a replacement singer and bassist. May, though, drops a bombshell near the end of the interview: “I made a decision 18 months ago that I didn’t want to tour again,” the guitarist says.
“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.
“I have a wife (the actress Anita Dobson), grandchildren and a lot of astrophysics I want to do, so I’m thinking maybe 50 years is enough.”
The guitarist, who despite his huge success has always been a sensitive fellow, also revealed something deeply personal. When asked if he’s happy, May admitted: “Well, I’m a depressive. I’ve been diagnosed as such.
“Depression is an animal that lives inside you, so happiness is found in those moments when depression is hidden in a corner. That’s when you’re experiencing life to the full, in spite of it, or perhaps because of it.”
“The depression is always there, and if I don’t look out it will kick me in the teeth,” he continues. “I can only find happiness in moments. As a rock star, you do get a lot of great moments.”
One can only hope he continues to find them.
