Alternative Press caught up with Queen guitarist Brian May to get his take on the huge influence Queen has on the latest generation of musicians. They also mention Panic!’s cover of “Killer Queen” on the Nothing Rymes with Circus tour.

Are you aware of Queen’s influence on a lot of today’s modern bands?
Yes, I find it very flattering. I was lucky enough to bump into My Chemical Romance recently and they were so incredibly knowledgeable about what we’ve done, I couldn’t believe it. I’m always surprised when people have really gotten into our work and what they’ve taken in as part of their ammunition, as you like. It’s great because it keeps us young in a way, interacting with these people.

Why are you surprised younger bands are influenced by Queen?
Living in England, you get so used to everyone being skeptical. The press we get in England is still generally negative, so you go out like a porcupine with all your prickles up expecting people to hate you. It’s wonderful when people that we respect and we understand actually cite us as an influence.

Have you heard of Panic! At The Disco?
No, I’m afraid I haven’t.

They’re very young and they planned to cover “Bohemian Rhapsody” on their first arena tour last year, but they decided on “Killer Queen” instead. When you hear a band are going to cover that song, do you get kind of worried?
I just wish them luck. [Laughs.] In order to do it right, you need a lot of people because we multi-tracked ourselves in the studio hundreds of times – so as a four-piece, that’s pretty difficult to do.

Source: AP Magazine – June 2007

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