In an interview with The Mirror at ITV’s Palooza event in London on Tuesday, regarding the BRIT Awards dropping the traditional gendered system for awards categories, Brian May has been quoted saying, “It’s a decision that has been made without enough thought. A lot of things work quite well and can be left alone.”. Also stating that Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991 would have found today’s PC culture “Difficult”.
He then went on to say, “I get so sick of people trying to change things without thinking of the long-term consequences, some of these things are an improvement, some of them are not.”, adding “[Freddie Mercury] was a musician, he was our friend, he was our brother. We didn’t have to stop and think: ‘Ooh, now, should we work with him? Is he the right colour? Is he the right sexual proclivity?’ None of that happened, and now I find it frightening that you have to be so calculating about everything.”. Today, however, May took to Instagram to defend himself. Blaming “predatory press hacks” that have unfairly made him seem “Unfriendly to trans people.”.
He explains that his words were “subtly twisted”, and that his “heart is open as always to humans of all colours, all creeds, all sexes and sexualities, all shapes and sizes – and all creatures.”.
For the 2022 ceremony, the British male solo artist and British female solo artist categories will be replaced by a singular artist of the year award, and the same will be applied to the previously gendered international solo artist categories. Regarding the changes, BRIT’s Chair Tom March commented, “It is important that The BRITs continue to evolve and aim to be as inclusive as possible. It feels completely the right time to celebrate the achievements of artists for the music that they create, and the work that they do, irrespective of gender.”. Last year, British non-binary singer Sam Smith was left out of the categories despite being nominated for a number of other awards.
Queen and Adam Lambert are currently set to begin their UK and European ‘Rhapsody Tour’ in Belfast in May 2022, the tour was postponed in February 2020 after their Australian dates due to COVID-19. See here to get tickets. Since the last dates of the tour, drummer Roger Taylor has embarked on a series of solo shows in the UK. On the final night of the tour, October 22nd, Taylor was joined by May for a surprise performance of a number of Queen classics, as well as a cover of Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti”. See a fan video of the performance below.
