By kind courtesy of Jacky Smith of The Official International Queen Fan Club [OIQFC], please enjoy below Brian May‘s recent update letter for the Fan Club Summer 2024 Magazine.
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Hello dear Folks –
Bri here with a timely timely update ! Well, as Avril would say … everything is changing !!
As I write, there are lots of stories leaked to the Press, about a deal being done between us and the Sony company. So the fact that we are working on a Special Deal with them is no longer a private thing.
It’s actually very exciting—a completely new adventure, in which we retain artistic control of the Queen legacy we built up over all those years, but we divert the monies it makes out there to Sony, in return for a large sum of coins ! I’ve probably already said too much, but this is a decision which will free our children and loved ones from the burden of running the very complex beast which is “Queen” once we are gone, and liberate us from many of the ties which at present hold us back. For me, it will also give me more immediate power to help Britain’s wild animals (see below !!)
We are hopefully close to signing an agreement as I write this message, but of course there can be many a slip between cup and lip, so nobody can take it for granted that it will happen.
Phew ! Glad we got that out of the way !
Aside from that, we’re all taking a break from touring, and catching up with our home lives. And in my own case, catching up with some, to me, very important projects outside the Queen umbrella. My excursion to Starmus was a whirlwind, putting together a collaboration with the amazing Jean-Michel Jarre, and appearing on stage for a song or two with The Offspring … what a blast !! Of course I am part of the team that creates each STARMUS event, so it’s a challenging time all round. But immensely inspiring to be with such talented artists and scientists … all concerned about our planet, and looking for new solutions.
On a completely different subject, I’ve been jumping back into the fight against the tragic badger cull in Britain. Today, I was working on a final edit for our documentary on “Me, the Badgers and the Farmers” – a project Anne Brummer (of “Save-Me”) and I have been working on since long before the Covid lockdown. It’s something very close to my heart – and I think this TV film will finally demonstrate the proof we needed that killing badgers has been a tragic mistake from beginning to end. I wish we could have saved the lives of the 232,000 badgers who have been murdered since Britain came under the rule of the Tories.
Phew ! The world is in turmoil. How powerless do we feel ? But in Britain we get just once chance to reclaim our democracy this coming July 4th. All you other folks have your own problems, I’m afraid. The quality of choices for world leaders must be at an all-time low. And there is violence everywhere, and our very biosphere in which we live and breathe is in peril. What happened to our world ?
July 4th is also hopefully the day our documentary will be aired on BBC Wales. Later it will be available on BBC2 and iPlayer.
What else ? Loads !! I’ve done a track with my old pal Jon Tiven which is a huge “UP” ! I love it !! It’s a song for seminal guitar legend Steve Cropper in collaboration with the coolest guitarist on the planet. You know who that is – right ? Billy Gibbons !!! Yay. Can’t wait to land this record in your laps, folks !! I’m also putting together plans to play with the amazing Andrea Bocelli in Tuscany in July. Yes, it’s a dream invitation and I want to make sure I am worthy. So it’s back to playing every day for me until that moment.
What else … well, Roger and I are neighbours now, so we see each other quite a bit socially. It’s a bit like the Old Days when we first got together. Who knows what might happen ? ?
OK … Need to sleep now !! God Bless yo’all !!!! Take care out there
Bri XX
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