Brian May joins Roger Taylor for surprise Queen reunion at solo live show

26 October 2021, 21:15 | Updated: 5 October 2023, 12:03

Gold Meets... Brian May

By Mayer Nissim

The bandmates play Little Richard's 'Tutti Frutti' and their own 'A Kind of Magic'.

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Roger Taylor welcomed a surprise guest at his recent live solo show, with Brian May popping on stage to play a couple of songs with his fellow Queen bandmate.

The drummer has been touring his sixth solo studio album Outsider and played the final date at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on Friday (October 22).

"It's my brother from another mother!" Taylor quipped as May joined him, after he played a set mixing up Queen's hits with his own solo work.

Roger Taylor Outsider Tour 2021:Tutti Frutti~A Kind Of Magic with Brian May

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May then played guitar as Taylor and his band performed Little Richard's 'Tutti Frutti' and Queen's 'A Kind of Magic'.

The full setlist was as follows:

  1. Strange Frontier
  2. Tenement Funster
  3. We're All Just Trying to Get By
  4. A Nation of Haircuts
  5. These Are the Days of Our Lives
  6. Up
  7. Gangsters Are Running This World
  8. Absolutely Anything
  9. Surrender
  10. Man on Fire
  11. Rock It (Prime Jive) – ((Tyler Warren on vocals))
  12. Under Pressure
  13. Say It's Not True
  14. I'm in Love With My Car
  15. Outsider
  16. More Kicks (Long Day's Journey into Night... Life)
  17. Drum Battle
  18. Foreign Sand
  19. Tutti Frutti (with Brian May)
  20. A Kind of Magic (with Brian May)
    Encore:
  21. Rock and Roll
  22. "Heroes"
  23. Radio Ga Ga
Roger Taylor and Brian May
Roger Taylor and Brian May. Picture: Getty

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Taylor has said that his recently-completed tour may well be his last solo jaunt, but added that he has no intention of giving up playing with Brian May as Queen.

"I might not be able to do it again in a solo capacity, although I have a great band, so I thought this will be the last time I do it solo," he said.

"But Brian and I intend to continue with Queen as long as we can do it properly."

However, he has he ruled out bassist John Deacon ever rejoining the band.

"I don't think he's quite equipped for that - he's really fragile. He can't deal with company or the outside world, so far as I know," Taylor said.