Queen’s Brian May Says John Deacon Estrangement Is Still ‘Quite Hard’

Queen has gone on for decades since the disintegration of the band’s original lineup, but there’s still a lot of respect for those who were part of their journey.

Brian May, 77, recently opened up to Rolling Stone about where they stand with the group’s ex-bassist, John Deacon, 74. Deacon began to withdraw from the band in 1991, following the death of Freddie Mercury at 45, and last appeared publicly as a member of Queen in 1997.

“I think both Roger and I find it quite hard, but he doesn’t want to and we have to respect that,” May shared.

“He wants to be separate. He’s still part of the destiny of the band, though. If we’re trying to make business decisions, he’s always consulted, but it happens through the management or through our accountant,” he continued.

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“We don’t speak, which is a shame, but we do know that we have his blessing. That’s important.”

Last fall, May explained why Deacon is still consulted on business decisions in a chat with Mojo4Music.

“John still has a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ say. We get messages that he’s happy with what we’re doing, but he doesn’t want the stress of being involved creatively, and we respect that,” he explained.

“Freddie we can’t talk to, sadly. But the four of us worked as a team for so long that Roger and I have a pretty good idea what our fellow Queen members would be saying.”

Since his retirement, the musician has remained publicly silent throughout the 21st century about his contributions to the band, having not given a single interview since the 1990s.

In some ways, the two feel that Mercury is more present to them day-to-day than Deacon has been. “Brian and I often think he’s in the room in the corner, ’cause we know exactly what he’d say and what he’d think. Even though it was all those years ago now that we lost him,” he said.

May even admits he’s seen Mercury in dreams, adding, “It’s always very prosaic. It is never a surprise that he’s there. I don’t think ‘You shouldn’t be here.’ It’s just like he’s part of my life, as he always was.”