Tesla\u00a0have released their version of\u00a0Queen\u2019s 1977 track \u201cSpread Your Wings\u201d, giving fans another preview of the upcoming covers album\u00a0Homage, due out July 17, 2026 through\u00a0Frontiers Music Srl.<\/p>\n
The new record sees\u00a0Tesla\u00a0revisiting the music that influenced the band long before its rise in the hard rock scene. The album collects interpretations of classic songs tied closely to the group\u2019s musical background and early club days in California, where the band originally built its reputation performing covers before shifting toward original material.<\/p>\n
Bassist and keyboardist\u00a0Brian Wheat\u00a0explained why \u201cSpread Your Wings\u201d stood out among\u00a0Queen\u2019s catalog: \u201c\u2018Spread Your Wings\u201d for me was the song I always wanted to record by\u00a0QUEEN. I always felt it was the one song they had in their catalog that should\u2019ve been a massive hit, but wasn\u2019t because it was overshadowed by \u201cWe Are the Champions\u201d and \u201cWe Will Rock You\u201d on the \u2018News Of The World\u2018 album. It was also a song written by John Deacon, who was the band\u2019s secret weapon and whom not many people talk about, the quiet one, shall we say.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than four decades after forming,\u00a0Tesla\u00a0continues drawing from the same influences that shaped their sound in the beginning. The band has often pointed to artists such as\u00a0The Beatles\u00a0and\u00a0The Rolling Stones\u00a0as major inspirations, following a similar path of learning through playing songs from earlier generations of musicians.<\/p>\n
Beyond revisiting classic material,\u00a0Homage\u00a0also gives vocalist\u00a0Jeff Keith\u00a0room to tackle a wide range of styles. The album includes tributes to performers including\u00a0Elvis Presley,\u00a0Freddie Mercury,\u00a0Sam Cooke,\u00a0David Ruffin,\u00a0Etta James, and\u00a0James Brown.<\/p>\n
The project also arrives more than 20 years after the band released the\u00a0Real To Reel\u00a0series, which later inspired the writing of the original\u00a0Tesla\u00a0song \u201cNever Alone\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the new album,\u00a0Tesla\u00a0said: \u201cOur new album, Homage, is a thank-you note written in sound. An offering to the great singers and songs that shaped the music we grew up listening to, and the songs we would eventually write. We hope you all enjoy this as much as we did making it. Thank you for all the years \u2014 keep it real and keep on rockin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n