While Queen has been contending with, as guitarist Brian May puts it, a “singer problem”—in the sense that its lead singer has been dead for 20 years, which is occasionally a problem—it hasn’t let that one minor setback stop it from touring, most recently with Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers filling in for the late Freddie Mercury. But now that the band has parted way with Rodgers, and there’s all those arena dollars just waiting to be scooped up, May says he’s considering several options to get Queen back out on the road again, including the possibility of various “duets,” “a TV show where we have all these guest stars” (perhaps not unlike the necrophiliac disgrace that was Rock Star: INXS), or, the most blatantly headline-grabbing of all, pairing up with Lady Gaga.
“I’ve worked with Lady Gaga and she’s very creative and is someone we’ve talked about singing, fronting the band with,” May says. “She’s not just a singer, she writes her own material,” May adds, adroitly acknowledging that singing isn’t exactly Lady Gaga’s strongest suit, even when compared to that suit she had made out of bubble wrap. But still: “Radio Ga Ga.” This whole endeavor would be worth it just for that nightly giggle, no? Anyway, May says Gaga “would like to do something with us,” which she’ll probably get to as soon as she’s done being one of the most popular touring and recording artists on the planet. In the meantime, has May even heard this guy?