Brian May recently spoke with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation. Brian discusses the possibility of a Bohemian Rhapsody sequel and teases Queen’s upcoming tour. Brian also recalls his experiences watching Eddie Van Halen play guitar and talks about the upcoming launch of the Star Fleet Box Set.
SiriusXM's Trunk Nation, hosted by SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk, airs daily at 3 PM ET on SiriusXM’s Faction Talk.
May on a Bohemian Rhapsody sequel:
Brian May: “There's truth to the fact that we talk about it. We'd love it. We'd love to make a sequel. It's finding the right script. It actually took us 12 years to find the right script for the first one. So I guess it's no surprise that it's not easy. There is a story there. An awful lot happened after the end of the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ movie script, if you like, story. Um, but it's whether it would make a film, I don't know. And we don't want to put it out there or make it unless we are sure that it's gonna work and it's gonna move people in the same way as the original film did. The short answer is we'd love to and we haven't found a way of doing it yet.”
Eddie Trunk: “So fans, it's not outta the question. It's just a matter of making sure it's good, like the initial film was. Wait until it's the right time.”
Brian May: “Yeah. It'd be nice to get the same four guys back to players cuz they're so stupendous, all of them, which is great. I mean, Rami's [Malek] amazing. Gwilym [Lee] who played me, incredible. I mean, he fooled my kids. My kids thought I voiced the part, but he did it all.”
May describes watching Eddie Van Halen play guitar:
Brian May: “It was a bit like seeing Jimi Hendrix for the first time. I thought I could play the guitar when I first went to see Jimi at the Saville Theatre in London. And I just thought, ‘Oh my God, either I have to give up playing guitar or else I have to go away and practice and it's gonna change my life one way or the other.’ Same with Edward. When I first saw him at that show with Tony, I just thought, ‘Geez, you know, I have never seen anything like this.’ And I knew in myself that I was never gonna be able to do anything like that. It's a different world, you know, I could never be Jimi Hendrix, I could never be Eddie Van Halen, but I kind of rejoice in the fact that I can be close to these people and to actually work with Edward, it was a pure joy.
“I didn't feel intimidated. I felt nervous cuz I felt a little bit like, what do they call it? Imposter syndrome. You know, like you think, ‘Why am I here? Am I worthy to be here and in the presence of this?’ But it's a moment and then you just think, ‘Ah, what a wonderful experience.’ And Edward was always very complimentary to me. He'd always say, ‘Look, you're one of my biggest influences. I can't believe I'm playing with you. We used to play, ‘Now I'm Here’ when we were starting off as Van Halen and we knew all the Queen songs.’ Um, so it was just very, it was kind of explosively, um, emotional, I suppose. I mean, I don't hope that's not kind of overstating it, but we were incredibly hyped up, incredibly excited, and sort of enamored with the whole idea. Um, and it felt kind of naughty. It felt kinda like, ‘God, we really get to do this.’ It's like having a day off in a theme park or whatever.
On the Star Fleet boxset:
Eddie Trunk: “The way you're delivering this in this form, this box set, which is out on July 14th, it can be pre-ordered now. There's two CDs, there's a vinyl single, there's an LP, there's a bunch of great liner notes, photos. But listening through it, what I thought was so cool was the way you presented it, where I was fascinated by the little chatter you'd hear before and after each take, and some of the things you, I think there's a point where you actually say, ‘Boy, I wish I had done something like this before.’ And you know, there's all this little like, you feel listening to it, it really puts the listener in the room with you guys. You really get that vibe. It's awesome.”
Brian May: “Yeah, that's what I wanted. I'm very happy that it's turned out that way. Um, I remember, I just quite recently, I was looking at The Beatles, the Netflix where they're in the studio and you see them doing ‘Let It Be’ and everything. It kind of reminds me of that because you do, you get to know us by listening to this record. It's a shame we didn't have any video cameras. I don't think video cameras were invented in those days. It's very strange. I mean, 1983, there's no internet, there's no digital, there's no, there's no CDs even, there's no mobile phones for sure. And life was very different. And you were, if you were in a space, you were much more, I think insulated and isolated from the outside world. It was a very intimate thing. Shows were much more intimate. They weren't shared with the whole world on the internet. It was just that performance in that room with those people. And yeah, the world's changed a lot. There's some benefits, but there's, we lost some stuff. We lost some kind of magic and intimacy, didn't we?”
(Audio clips courtesy of Sirius XM's Trunk Nation)
When Queen took a break for the first part of 1983, Brian May put his time to good use. Waking up one morning in Los Angeles, he decided to phone a few friends and invite them to collaborate on some tracks in California’s famous Record Plant studios. The resulting collaboration was a great success, and Brian would later mould the recordings into a unique mini-album, Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Project.
A new video in the "Star Fleet Sessions" series is now available. Watch Star Fleet Sessions: Meet The Band (Episode 2) below:
Watch Star Fleet Sessions: How It Began (Episode 1):
Pre-order Star Fleet Project here, and listen to "Star Fleet" (Edited Single Version / 2023 Mix) here and below.
This third release in the “Brian May Gold Series” offers an extensively revisited and expanded box set edition of these now legendary sessions. The set is a complete document of the two days, April 21 and 22, 1983 that May spent in the Record Plant, Los Angeles accompanied by top rock music luminaries Edward Van Halen (guitar), Alan Gratzer (drums), Phil Chen (bass) and Fred Mandel (keyboards). The box set includes a spectacular 23-track CD filled with previously unreleased material.
Containing 2 CDs, 1 vinyl LP, and a vinyl single, as well as other collectors items, Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Sessions will be launched as a Deluxe Edition box set, worldwide on July 14.
A separate exclusive 7” double A side single, also available on CD comes same day, July 14, featuring newly mixed single versions of “Star Fleet” and “Let Me Out”. A special red vinyl version will be available exclusively through the official Queen Online store and is available to pre-order here.
The July 14 box set release is ushered in with a special stand alone digital single, “Star Fleet" (Edited Single Version) which becomes available to coincide with today’s, June 1, box set announcement. The single digital track is available immediately for digital download and streaming.
As May writes in his introductory sleeve notes in the box set: “We are going to give you everything. Every take of every song. The things that went wrong, the laughing, the finding new things to do. But it won’t be just a remaster – we’ve rescued everything from the original multitracks, every detail magnificently remixed, and more! You’ll hear every take from the historic 1983 sessions plus fragments of conversations, out-takes and musical experimentation.”
The original 3-track mini album, released October 31,1983, featured a full-length take of “Star Fleet”, May’s hard rock re-imagining of the signature tune from the Japanese-made kids science fiction series of the same name. The programme was compulsive regular viewing for Brian and his 4-year-old son Jimmy on Saturday morning TV, inspiring Brian’s attachment to its title song, written by English musician Paul Bliss. The album also featured "Let Me Out", including extensive opportunities for May and Van Halen to solo, and "Blues Breaker" a 13-minute piece of completely spontaneous improvisation from all members of this ‘supergroup’ of musicians.
May says: “If Paul hadn’t written a very catchy song as the theme tune for that kid’s TV science fiction drama series, things would have been different. The signature tune began to stick in my head, and I could hear my own arrangement of the tune developing in my mind. But how to record it?”
“So, one morning, I woke up in Los Angeles, on a break from activities with Queen, and made some phone calls. I’ve told the story of what happened next in the material you will find in this box. The outcome was something I will forever treasure.”
“We did a little preparation, on the phone and at home with tiny Rockman amps and earphones. Then we went in. The tapes rolled. My LA neighbour Alan Gratzer beat the Hell out of his kit with the fattest, heaviest drum sticks I had ever seen. Phil Chen, a friend I had met when he played with Rod Stewart, brought his unusual style of funk-orientated rock playing to the party, along with his sunny Caribbean energy and humour. And Fred Mandel, one of the classiest keyboard players I have ever met, tickled both the ivories and some very technical synth patches to bring the spacey riffs to life. Ed (I can still never call him “Eddie Van Halen” because he more than once told me he found it annoying!) played the guitar as if it were a piano … tapping and snapping, and sliding and skipping around the fingerboard like an electric sprite - always with a cheeky smile. If anything he did was difficult for him, he never showed it. A total original. Pure joy. What an everlasting privilege to play with him.”
A superlative show of back-to-basics passion and purpose, Star Fleet brims with the freedom of an off-the-cuff break from the day jobs for all involved.
The record emerged on October 20, 1983 as a set of blistering guitar work, rock’n’roll spontaneity and vibrant melody, infused with a palpable chemistry and respect between the players. Spawning a single in the title-track, the mini-album reached No 1 in the British ‘Kerrang’ rock charts.
Now, of course, the record stands in part as a celebration of those we’ve lost: a chance to reconvene with great, much-missed talents. As Brian puts it, “It’s been very exciting to open up the vault to find these tapes where, in the blink of an eye, I’m trading licks with my friends, including the fantastic Ed Van Halen. It’s highly emotional, especially since Ed is sadly no longer around. We have since also lost Phil - so the rest of us cherish these fleeting moments together.”
The troupe also worked on an earlier May song, the bluesy “Let Me Out”, while the set closes with the titanic “Blues Breaker”, almost 13 minutes of scorching guitar interplay between Brian and Edward: not so much duelling as sharing ideas and passions. As Brian explains, “It was inspired by John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, the album with Eric Clapton reading The Beano on the front cover. Edward said, ‘This is great for me, I haven’t played like this in years. This is where I come from! I didn’t come up doing tapping and all the fireworks. I grew up doing blues, wanting to be like Eric Clapton and do something melodic.”
If that sense of liberation rings out, so does a spirit of shared adventure. “There was a lot of ebullience, a lot of exploration, discovery and astonishment,” says Brian. “And some truly magical moments when everything gelled together - a fusion of energies!”
Across two CDs, a 12” vinyl LP, a 7” vinyl single, the ‘Star Fleet Sessions’ box set houses the proof. Presented in 180g transparent red vinyl, the original LP issue has been treated to a full new mix, executed by Queen sound engineers Justin Shirley-Smith and Kris Fredriksson under Brian’s direction at his Surrey studio from the original multitrack tapes and, says Brian, “cut at half-speed for maximum fidelity”. The single features two tracks. The A-side is an edited version of “Star Fleet”, with brand-new intro guitar harmonies from Brian. The B-side mirrors the original B-side “Son of Star Fleet” which Brian explains “was a way of including the rest of the original long version of the recording on a 7” record; effectively the whole recording is split between the two sides.”
CD1 Star Fleet Project + Beyond features the single version of the title track alongside full-length album versions of “Let Me Out” and “Blues Breaker”. Also included is an interview with Cynthia Fox conducted on Los Angeles radio station KMET in October 1983, on the day of the single release, and a Rockline interview with Bob Coburn. A live version of “Let Me Out” from the Palace Theatre in LA follows, segueing into “We Will Rock You” and a reworking of the same song’s adored fast rendition. The line-up of May, powerhouse drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Neil Murray, guitarist Jamie Moses, keyboardist Spike Edney and backing singers Cathy Porter & Shelley Preston finds The Brian May Band on fire. Finally, CD1 closes with the full LP version of “Star Fleet”, “just as the day it happened,” says Brian, “as if we were in the room.”
CD2 Star Fleet - The Complete Sessions features 23 tracks that go deeper into that room. The disc boasts a newly-created mix from the entire original analogue session tapes, featuring songs in the process of evolution (some with guide vocals) plus discussion, banter, laughs and, says Brian, “some ‘mistakes’, if there are such things”. Amps blow, mics break, strings snap – the results take you as close as it is possible to get to the Record Plant in April 1983.
And Van Halen fans, take note: the “Star Fleet” takes feature eight Edward guitar solos, “never quite treading the same path twice,” says Brian. “Ed was a wonderful soul. Listening to him and me, I feel completely outclassed by him in the studio. But in a very pleasant way – what a joy for me to be around a guy who could do all that. Such a privilege."
“So, you’ll hear us in the studio trading licks,” adds May. “We’ve cleaned up the mix and now EVH’s sound is larger than life. You’ll hear the development of his solo, which I always thought was one of the greatest things he did… a real immortal classic of Ed Van Halen pieces.”
A badge and a booklet featuring extensive liner notes complete the box set. A poster will be exclusive to box set orders placed via QueenOnline.com, where 180g black vinyl, cassette and picture-disc vinyl albums will also be available.
Complete with a digital recreation of the original 1983 source material’s artwork, Star Fleet Sessions doesn’t just gleam anew. Across 136 minutes of audio, the box set takes you behind the curtain, highlighting the electricity that made the project such a special chapter in Brian’s life and career.
“It’s all here. ALL of it ! Every note we played on those two unforgettable, exhilarating days is right here, on show for the first time. Hearing these sessions, especially through the new restoration and mixes we’ve now produced, still sends shivers up my spine,” he says. A time capsule of an unrepeatable moment, this much-anticipated, lovingly curated box set proves why.
Tracklistings:
Star Fleet Sessions Box Set | Format: 2CD + LP (Red Vinyl) + 7” (Black Vinyl)
CD1: Star Fleet Project + Beyond:
"Star Fleet" (Edited Single Version / 2023 Mix)
"Let Me Out" (2023 Mix)
"Blues Breaker" (2023 Mix)
Cynthia Fox Release Day Interview 1983
Bob Coburn Rockline Interview 1984
"Let Me Out" (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
"We Will Rock You" (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
"We Will Rock You" - Fast (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
"Star Fleet" (Complete Version / 2023 Mix)
CD2: Star Fleet The Complete Sessions:
"Star Fleet" (Take 1)
"Star Fleet" (Take 2)
"Star Fleet" (Take 3)
"Star Fleet" (Take 4)
"Star Fleet" (Take 5)
Solo Jam
"Star Fleet" (Take 7)
"Star Fleet" (Take 8)
"Star Fleet" (Take 10)
"Star Fleet" (Take 11)
"Star Fleet" (Alternative Overdub EVH Solo)
Jam
"Let Me Out" (Rehearsal 1)
"Let Me Out" (Rehearsal 2)
Boogie Woogie Jam
"Let Me Out" (Take 1)
"Jazz Police"
"Let Me Out" (Take 3)
"Let Me Out" (Take 4)
Jam (Let's Do The Show Right Here)
"Let Me Out" (Take 6)
Funky Jam
"Let Me Out" (Take 7 False Start)
LP: Star Fleet Project (180g Red Vinyl):
"Star Fleet" (2023 Mix)
"Let Me Out" (2023 Mix)
"Blues Breaker" (2023 Mix)
7” Single "Star Fleet":
"Star Fleet" (Edited Single Version / 2023 Mix)
"Son Of Star Fleet" (2023 Mix) – Exclusive to the box set 7”
Star Fleet Project + Beyond CD:
"Star Fleet" (Edited Single Version / 2023 Mix)
"Let Me Out" (2023 Mix)
"Blues Breaker" (2023 Mix)
Cynthia Fox Release Day Interview 1983
Bob Coburn Rockline Interview 1984
"Let Me Out" (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
"We Will Rock You" (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
"We Will Rock You" - Fast (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
"Star Fleet" (Complete Version / 2023 Mix)
Star Fleet Project / LP 180g black vinyl / LP picture disc / Cassette:
"Star Fleet" (2023 Mix)
"Let Me Out" (2023 Mix)
"Blues Breaker" (2023 Mix)
"Star Fleet" / "Let Me Out" - Double A Side Single (7” Vinyl (Red) / CD Single):
"Star Fleet" (Edited Single Version / 2023 Mix)
"Let Me Out" (Single Edit / 2023 Mix) – Only available physically on this 7” Vinyl & CD single
Credits:
- Content supervised by Kris Fredriksson.
- Mixed by Justin Shirley-Smith and Kris Fredriksson, Allerton Hill Studio.
- Mastered by Adam Ayan, Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, Maine.
- Half Speed vinyl mastering by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios.
- Artwork by Richard Gray and Brian May.
- Photography by Phil Chen, James “Motor” Merritt, Elizabeth “Lizard” Frye, Brian May, Ron Galella / Getty Images.
