Queen Would Have Continued Making New Music If Freddie Mercury Had Lived

Queen drummer Roger Taylor says the band likely would have continued recording new music through today had Freddie Mercury lived.

Mercury died from complications of AIDS in 1991.

Queen released its final album featuring Mercury's vocals, Made in Heaven, in 1995. Since then the band has released just one album under the Queen moniker, 2008's The Cosmos Rocks, which featured Paul Rodgers on lead vocals.

Taylor was asked by BBC Radio 6 Music if Queen would have remained as prolific in the '90s and beyond with Mercury alive and well.

"I do believe that. Me and Freddie ... he was my closest friend and we were very, very close," Taylor said. "We came up together and we literally lived in each others' pockets and clothes some of the time. I do believe we would still be doing stuff together because it was a great collaboration. I don't know if [bassist] John Deacon would allow... of course, John wasn't quite mentally suited for it, the other three were. I would like to think we were still doing stuff together, whatever it might be. I think Brian May and I with Adam Lambert, we just loved doing the show, just seemed to get better and better, while we still can do it, we still will do it."

Deacon retired from music altogether shortly after Mercury's death. Officially he remains a part-owner of the band, though he hasn't performed live since the '90s.

Queen + Adam Lambert have expressed little interest in collaborating on new music together, preferring instead to keep their relationship focused on the stage.

"To me, Queen is Freddie," Lambert said in an interview last year. "My favorite thing is collaborating and putting these concerts together and creating on stage — it's super fulfilling and exciting. To present these ideas to these two gentlemen — especially when they like the idea."

Photo: Getty Images


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