Queen guitarist Brian May opens up about the worries that trouble him at night, admitting, “I feel disheartened by the state of humanity.”
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Brian May has expressed worry about what lies ahead for humanity
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The start of a new year often brings fresh hopes and the promise of new possibilities. Queen guitarist Brian May captures this sentiment in his annual message to fans, calling it a time for “new opportunities – new dreams – new challenges – new fulfilments.”
“The FUTURE is still out there!!” May exclaims. “Let’s go find it!!”
Yet, in a recent interview with Radio Times, the 78-year-old musician admits that staying optimistic about the future is becoming increasingly difficult given the current state of the world.
“I feel disheartened by humanity,” May says. “It keeps me awake at night—the cruelty, ignorance, deception, and the rewriting of history. An appreciation for art and music makes it hard to understand how anyone could want to harm others.”
He continues, “There’s so much suffering already; why would we want to add to it? We’ve lost the ability to have meaningful discussions and respect differing opinions, and the level of polarization is appalling.”
Fans do, however, have something to look forward to: the upcoming reissue of Queen’s celebrated second album, Queen II.
On December 22, May gave fans an early holiday surprise by releasing a previously unheard track from Queen, which will be included in the new box set.
Titled Not For Sale (Polar Bear), the song actually predates Queen’s formation in 1970. It was co-written by May and vocalist/bassist Tim Staffell for their earlier band, Smile, a power trio completed by drummer Roger Taylor. According to the Queen Vault fan site, Smile first recorded the track in September 1969 at De Lane Lea Studios in London.
After Smile disbanded, May brought the song to Queen. The band reworked it, with May singing the verses and Freddie Mercury handling the chorus.
At the end of his December 22 show on Planet Rock radio, May shared what he called a “work-in-progress” version of the track.
“My final version might surprise you,” he said. “Some of you may have heard a bootleg by Smile, but this is a very early version that no one has heard before. It will appear on the rebuilt Queen II album next year, but I wanted to sneak it out early to see what people think. It’s a very old song called Polar Bear.”