Brian May has shared an unreleased “work-in-progress” version of Queen’s Christmas track Not For Sale (Polar Bear), saying he’s eager to hear fans’ thoughts on it.
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Brian May has hinted at a 2026 re-release of Queen’s second album after airing an unreleased track recorded back in 1969.
Queen guitarist Brian May surprised fans with a festive gift by airing a previously unheard and unreleased song from the band during the holiday season.
Titled Not For Sale (Polar Bear), the track dates back to before Queen officially formed in 1970. May originally co-wrote the song with Tim Staffell—then the singer and bassist of the trio Smile—alongside drummer Roger Taylor. According to the Queen Vault fan site, Smile first recorded the song during a September 1969 session at London’s De Lane Lea Studios.
After Smile disbanded, May carried the song forward into his new group, Queen. The band reworked it as a quartet, with May handling the verse vocals while Freddie Mercury took on the chorus. Despite these changes, Queen’s version of the track was never commercially released.
On December 22, May chose to play what he called a “work-in-progress” version of the song at the end of his Planet Rock radio program. While introducing it, he acknowledged that some listeners might recognize an unofficial Smile recording, but emphasized that this particular version had never been publicly heard. He explained that the track is set to appear on an upcoming reconstruction of Queen II planned for next year, adding that he shared it early because he was eager to hear public reaction to the song, which he described as extremely old.
Earlier in the year, Queen also revisited their early recordings by releasing De Lane Lea studio demos on vinyl for Record Store Day. These demos—recorded in late 1971 and early 1972 before the band signed with EMI—were previously included as a CD in the 2024 Queen I box set.
Reflecting on those sessions, May noted that the De Lane Lea demos came closer to the band’s original vision than later recordings, praising the openness of the drum sound and the natural guitar ambience, which he said better matched how the band hoped their music would sound.