Legendary Queen guitarist Brian May declared that the US has become too much of a “dangerous place” for his band to tour in the near future.
May, 78, said that Queen, who last toured with American Idol alum Adam Lambert in 2023, did not come to the decision lightly when they ruled out playing gigs in America.
“America is a dangerous place at the moment, so you have to take that into account,” May told the Daily Mail on Thursday.
“It’s very sad because I feel like Queen grew up in America and we love it, but it’s not what it was. Everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment.”
May did not specify what he considers unsafe about the US that would prevent Queen from touring there again.
The guitarist’s comments come amid the rise in anti-ICE protests across America and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this month.
However, the rocker did open up about another place he refuses to perform.
May said political differences would prevent him from ever performing at the world-renowned Glastonbury Festival, which is held annually in the UK.
“I wouldn’t do Glastonbury next year because of the politics of the people who run it. Unless that changes, I won’t do it,” he said.
“They like killing badgers, and they think it’s for sport and that’s something I cannot support because we’ve been trying to save these badgers for years, and they are still being killed, so that’s the reason we’re missing out on it.”
A longtime animal rights activist, the guitarist founded the Save Me Trust to campaign for the rights of foxes and badgers and later quit his role as vice president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) over what he described as “appalling” animal welfare standards on farms approved under its “assured” scheme, according to the Daily Mail.
Asked whether the band had ever turned down the gig, May said it had never been discussed.
“I don’t think the conversation of us doing it has ever taken place because they know how I feel,” he shared.
Although May has only openly ruled out the US and Glastonbury Festival for Queen performances, his wife of 26 years, Anita Dobson, may welcome the move, having recently said she pleaded with the 78-year-old to stop touring two years after he suffered a stroke.
“I want him home,” Dobson said.
May and Queen drummer Roger Taylor has been touring with Lambert as “Queen + Adam Lambert” since 2012, with the American Idol alum taking over vocals for rock icon Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991.
The band wrapped up its most recent tour in February 2024, closing with a final show at the Tokyo Dome in Japan during the “Rhapsody Tour.”
When asked when the band might return, May said he was unsure but believes it is not over.
“It was time to take a break and spend time with family, take stock,” he told the Daily Mail. “I don’t know when Queen will be back on stage – it’s an unknown. We’ll take it day by day.”
As for any new music Queen might be working on in the meantime, May alluded that something might be in the works.
“But never say never about not coming back, the rebuild of Queen Two is coming back, and there are a couple of things you haven’t heard,” the rocker shared.
