Sir Brian May has always been outspoken on any topic he feels passionate about, be it politics and Brexit, or the protection of British wildlife and abolition of fox hunting. As a man of great artistic individuality and moral integrity, the guitarist of British rock band Queen has never shied away from speaking his mind. Now 78 and still actively performing, May has used his platform to speak out at a new issue – the current societal landscape in the United States of America.
Speaking to Richard Eden of the Daily Mail, May said “America is a dangerous place at the moment, so you have to take that into account.” Indeed, since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term as president in January last year, British touring acts have been apprehensive to cross the pond. The US has been plagued by mass shootings and assassinations of prominent figures, violence in the pursuit of expelling illegal immigrants, and Trump’s economic warfare costing the average citizen more each week. This has all created an ever-deepening civil unrest on American streets, with both domestic and international tensions reaching a fever-pitch.
May goes on to say “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.” He’s not wrong, Queen have been incredibly popular in the US, having had 2 number one hits with ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ and ‘A Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, their international mega-hit ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ falling short at second place. They have spent 346 weeks on Billboard’s Artist 100, with five successive top 10 albums between 1975 and 1980, when ‘The Game’ got them their first US number one record.
His remarks this week follow a public conflict the band had with the US President during his first term in 2020. Trump has drawn criticism from many acts for using their music without permission for his rallies and campaign videos, with notable examples like Bruce Springsteen refusing to humour his use of ‘Born In The USA’. In this instance, Queen attempted to withdraw usage of their songs ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are The Champions’ due to disagreements with Trump’s policy.
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Queen are currently on a pause from recording and touring since wrapping their Rhapsody tour, which ran from 2019 to 2024 and made two laps of the States. After frontman Freddie Mercury’s passing in 1991, they have performed since 2011 with American Idol star Adam Lambert as vocalist. While the last Queen + Adam Lambert show was in Tokyo in 2024, May’s last public performance was with Queen drummer Roger Taylor at The Last Night Of The Proms in September 2025.
Earlier this year Sir Brian also announced he would never play Glastonbury Festival, due to objections with how its organisers at Worthy Farm treated their local wildlife. Amidst the uncertainty of Queen’s immediate future, he has hinted that things are far from over. Again speaking to the Daily Mail, he made allusions to new music and potential shows, saying “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.”
