Brian May shared a video on his official Youtube channel to talk about the backstory of how the ‘Star Fleet Project’ came to be with Eddie Van Halen when Queen was on a brief hiatus in 1983; he explained:
“In 1983, it was a time when Queen, this band, which we had put together as boys, had matured and had become something big around the whole world. Incredible. We had hit singles everywhere. The members of Queen had become slightly, I think, irritated with each other or just too much. We’ve been touring, recording, touring, recording the whole time without a break.”
During Queen’s break, May was in L.A., so he decided to call up Eddie Van Halen for a recording session. The guitarist explained:
“In 1983, we decided we needed a break. And what I remember most vividly is waking up in L.A., one of my favorite places, and thinking I could do anything today. The sun is shining. I’ve got friends here. Why don’t I make some phone calls? And that’s what happened. I got on the phone to Eddie Van Halen. ‘Do you fancy coming to the studio?’ ‘Yeah. I mean, yeah.’”
They gathered some of their musicians friends in the scene, and Brian knew that this was the perfect time to try something new, so he added:
“Phil Chen, bass player extraordinaire. Fred Mandel, great keyboard player who was already involved with Queen. He’d done a lot of stuff on ‘Radio Gaga,’ a magnificent keyboard player, actually, and Alan Gratzer, the drummer of REO Speedwagon, lives about 30 yards away, well, 100 yards away on my street in L.A. We talked before, wouldn’t it be nice to do something together? You never know. Well, this was the moment.”
May recently announced that ‘Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Sessions’ will be released worldwide as a Deluxe Edition box set on July 14 as part of the guitarist’s ‘Brian May Gold Series.’ As fans wait for the release, you can listen to the special stand-alone digital single, ‘Star Fleet (Edited Single Version),’ below.
You can watch Brian May’s video on his official Youtube channel and listen to ‘Star Fleet (Edited Single Version)’ below.
