{"id":372708,"date":"2026-10-14T06:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T06:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/372708\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T06:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T06:28:13","slug":"roger-taylor-violence-insane-in-a-beautiful-world-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/372708\/","title":{"rendered":"Roger Taylor: Violence Insane In A Beautiful World interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Six decades into a long, loud, louche career as a legendary rock\u2019n\u2019roll playboy, Roger Taylor<\/a> is in wistfully nostalgic mood. Speaking to Classic Rock from his holiday retreat in sunny France, the 77-year-old drummer, singer, songwriter and one-man band admits he\u2019s had a lazy morning so far, playing Scrabble on his computer. This brings back bittersweet memories of his classic Queen<\/a> days, when he and Freddie Mercury<\/a> would engage in epic Scrabble battles during downtime in the studio.<\/p>\n

\u201cFred was very good at it, actually,\u201d Taylor muses. \u201cI always liked a bit of Scrabble. It\u2019s not about words, it\u2019s about points.\u201d Quite so. Like most things in life.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Scrabble addiction aside, Taylor once claimed he and Mercury were the \u201cnaughty ones\u201d in Queen, sharing a flat and a rowdy party lifestyle in the band\u2019s early days. Does he miss their sex, drugs and rock\u2019n\u2019roll antics today? \u201cYeah, I do, really,\u201d he sighs. \u201cBecause I couldn\u2019t really get up to it all now. Too old. I think it would kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From Louder<\/p>\n

And yet, against all odds, Queen have kept themselves very much alive since Mercury\u2019s death in 1991, carving out a phenomenally successful new career phase. They are currently in semidormant mode but, as Taylor will later reveal, they have multiple projects on the horizon.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the band\u2019s most prolific member has been writing and recording his seventh solo album, Violence Insane In A Beautiful World<\/a>, the follow-up to his warmly received 2021 album Outsiders<\/a>. By turns sunny and sombre, and shot through with world-weary wisdom, this is one of Taylor\u2019s most musically and emotionally mature non-Queen collections to date. Indeed, it may well be his best so far.<\/p>\n

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Bookending the album with two different versions, the key track Beautiful World moves from joy to horror as it zooms in on a human race facing possible annihilation through war, political division and ecological disaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is basically from the viewpoint of somebody outside the Earth looking at it and thinking it\u2019s a great place,\u201d Taylor explains, \u201cthen on closer inspection they find rather a lot of bad stuff going on. We seem to be on some course of destruction, or self-destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Taylor seems oddly cheerful for a man who believes a genuine apocalypse is lurking just around the corner. \u201cThere have been, I think, four extinction-level events before,\u201d he says solemnly.<\/p>\n

So humankind is heading for another one?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s inevitable, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

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All the same, there is a cautiously hopeful message running through the song\u2019s cheeky lyrical refrain: \u2018Don\u2019t fuck it up\u2019. This is not just Taylor\u2019s self-help advice to his fellow humans, but also a smart slogan to live by generally.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, don\u2019t fuck it up,\u201d he says, laughing. \u201cExactly. I mean, you\u2019re gonna fuck up some things, but, yeah, it is a good general watchword.\u201d<\/p>\n

How many times has Taylor himself come close to fucking up?<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we all make mistakes, don\u2019t we?\u201d he says. \u201cBut I have five children and they\u2019re basically lovely\u2026 when they behave. So yeah, I think of myself as a very lucky person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Queen\n<\/p>\n

Roger Taylor and wife Sarina pose after the drummer was appointed an OBE, during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, on March 30, 2022 (Image credit: Steve Parsons \/ POOL \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s inspired choice of musical guest on three key tracks on his new album is South Africa\u2019s Ndlovu Youth Choir. The group earned global fame on TV talent shows, but Taylor discovered them last year via their glorious Zulu-language reworking of Queen\u2019s Bohemian Rhapsody<\/a>, which they describe as \u201cwhat the song might have sounded like if Freddie Mercury\u2019s musical journey had never left Africa, the continent of his birth\u201d. Officially endorsed by Queen, this mighty translation even has an accompanying flamboyant video that pays sly homage to the band\u2019s iconic 1976 original.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are fantastic,\u201d Taylor gushes. \u201cThey just totally blew me away when I saw their video for Bohemian Rhapsody. A lot of it is in Zulu, and their own unique take on that song, which has been done so much. I thought it was fabulous. Even the costumes were fantastic. And boy, do they sing beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Classic Rock suggests that Taylor should enlist the Ndlovu Youth Choir to record more Zulu-language versions of Queen songs, starting with the obvious choice: his I\u2019m In Love With My Car. For a brief moment he appears to take this ludicrous proposition seriously. \u201cNo, I couldn\u2019t see that,\u201d he says, frowning. \u201cThat\u2019s entirely from a rock\u2019n\u2019roll perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ndlovu Youth Choir – Bohemian Rhapsody (Official Music Video) isiZulu version – YouTube
\n\"Ndlovu<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Chump, another track on the album, is a thinly veiled attack on the USA\u2019s current president. A thematic sequel to Gangsters Are Running This World<\/a> on Outsiders, withering rant Chump grew partly out of Queen\u2019s decade-long series of legal battles with Donald Trump\u2019s team over his unauthorised use of the band\u2019s We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You in campaign rallies and videos.<\/p>\n

Taylor admits he has never been a party-political animal, and can not imagine endorsing any candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I instinctively don\u2019t trust any politicians,” he explains. \u201cThe ones I\u2019ve come across usually seem to be incredibly self-obsessed. Like anybody else, their naked ambition seems to shine through. Obviously there are some good ones, I just can\u2019t think of any right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s solo albums have always included bolder political statements than Queen, who reportedly made a group pact never to let politics colour their music.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s absolutely true,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re in a band, there are four characters, all with slightly different opinions. So we never really wanted to be overtly political at all. We looked upon ourselves as entertainers, hopefully bringing a modicum of joy and entertainment into people\u2019s lives. We didn\u2019t want to lecture them too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside all this apocalyptic angst and scathing social commentary, Violence Insane In A Beautiful World also contains some of Taylor\u2019s most tender, personal songs to date. What Really Matters is a heart-tugging paean to the importance of kindness, I See You Now an achingly sweet long-term love letter to his wife Sarina. It seems this grizzled rock\u2019n\u2019roll playboy is a soppy old romantic at heart. \u201cSometimes,\u201d he says with a chuckle. \u201cSometimes, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

The album\u2019s sole cover version is a raw, stripped-down version of John Lennon<\/a>\u2019s Jealous Guy, which Taylor first performed on Later With Jools Holland in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never met John, to my great regret,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cBut I\u2019ve always loved that song. I found it so delicately moving, so open-hearted. He was wonderful. I was a huge fan of John Lennon, everything about him, just his voice and his bravery and his brilliant musical ability. I kept it as simple as I possibly could, just a piano.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roger Taylor & Jools Holland – Jealous Guy | Later… with Jools Holland – YouTube
\n\"Roger<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s last solo album, Outsiders, was a top-three hit in Britain, his highest ever placing for a non-Queen release. All the same, he feels his day job with one of rock\u2019s biggest-selling bands of all time has mostly been more a burden than blessing when it comes to side projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt certainly doesn\u2019t help being in a big band,\u201d he argues. \u201cPeople automatically think: \u2018Oh, he\u2019s the drummer in that band, what\u2019s he doing by himself?\u2019 So I don\u2019t think it helps at all. I mean, look at the Stones. Their solo efforts really haven\u2019t done a lot. They need that magical ingredient of the band to be taken seriously. I don\u2019t think being in Queen has ever helped my solo efforts. If anything it might have even been a negative factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lightning\n<\/p>\n

Almost 60 years ago, Roger Taylor faced a life-changing decision. The future Queen drummer found himself at a career-defining crossroads. In 1967 he left the family home in Cornwall to study dentistry in London. Before long he would switch courses, meet Brian May,<\/a> and help launch a planet-conquering pomp-rock supergroup. But with the full benefit of hindsight, the key question is: did he make the right choice? His contribution to the pantheon of rock is assured, of course. But he is also, let\u2019s be frank, a sad loss to dentistry. Where did it all go wrong, Roger?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no!\u201d He replies, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s dentistry\u2019s gain that I never became one! What a horrible job. You\u2019re battling decay. I never wanted to be a dentist, somebody just told me they made a lot of money. I really wanted to get to London to join a band, or to make a band. That was all I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six decades and nine lifetimes later, amazingly, Queen are not only still going but are thriving. In their heyday they sold 300 million albums, conquered stadiums across the globe, played a legendary set at Live Aid<\/a>, and weathered multiple changes in fickle pop fashion, including the punk wars of the late 70s, which failed resoundingly in their threat to replace the older generation of glam-rock dinosaurs.<\/p>\n

Indeed, as it happens, Taylor was a Sex Pistols fan. \u201cI really loved the Pistols album,\u201d he says. \u201cGreat producer, mate of mine, Chris Thomas. Because we were in the same studio for a while in 1976-77, somewhere around there. They were doing their first album, and it was dreadful at first until Chris came in and made a great record.\u201d<\/p>\n

During this shared studio time, Taylor witnessed the infamous exchange between Sid Vicious and Freddie Mercury<\/a> which has passed into rock folklore: \u201cSid put his head in the studio and said: \u2018Hello, Freddie, are we bringing ballet to the masses?\u2019 And Freddie said something like: \u2018Oh, Mister Ferocious, we\u2019re doing our best here…\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor actually has positive memories of the young John Lydon<\/a>: \u201cJohn was alright, actually. He was quite a character. We got on quite well. It\u2019s just that Sid Vicious was such a dick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Queen\n<\/p>\n

Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor shooting the opening section of the music video for Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody at Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, 10th November 1975 (Image credit: Watal Asanuma\/Shinko Music\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Fast forward another 15 years, and Queen somehow survived their biggest blow yet, the death of Freddie Mercury, a tragic rupture which would have finished off most bands. That was followed soon after by the departure of bass player John Deacon, who was devastated by Mercury\u2019s loss, and felt the remaining trio could not continue without their flamboyant frontman.<\/p>\n

Taylor insists there was never a personal falling out with Deacon, but admits they no longer communicate. \u201cJohn is a real recluse,\u201d he says. \u201cI think he speaks to our lawyers and our accountant and that\u2019s it. I really don\u2019t know what John is doing now. He\u2019s probably sitting in a room somewhere, counting his money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of money, the last decade has proved staggeringly lucrative for Queen. Their careerspanning film Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) became the most successful music biopic of all time, raking in more than \u00a3600 million. Indeed, it was beaten only this year, by the billion-dollar Michael Jackson blockbuster Michael. Both films were produced by Graham King, who sent Taylor a sympathy message when their box-office record was toppled.<\/p>\n

When Taylor spoke to Classic Rock in 2021, he was scathing about Sacha Baron Cohen<\/a>, who was initially cast as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, but later replaced by Rami Malek. The Queen drummer dismissed the Ali G comedian as too tall, too pushy and a bad actor who would have been \u201cshit\u201d in the role. People mellow over time, of course, so it\u2019s refreshing to hear that Taylor\u2019s opinion of Cohen remains bracingly sour.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I stand by that,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t want a subversive comedian playing my best friend Freddie. He really wanted it to be dark, and pretty scuzzy. We wanted to make great entertainment; that was all it was. But it worked out great. I\u2019m thrilled with the success of the film.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Adam\n<\/p>\n

Adam Lambert onstage with Queen at Chase Center on November 08, 2023 in San Francisco, California (Image credit: Miikka Skaffari\/Getty Images))<\/p>\n

In the time since the drummer\u2019s last solo album was released, Queen have also concluded their Rhapsody tour with Adam Lambert<\/a>, a five-year global extravaganza which finally ended in February 2024. Taylor claims Lambert is \u201con a slightly different path\u201d than Queen these days, so is their partnership over?<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t close the door, no,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were with him for ten years, out touring with Adam. It was very, very successful and very satisfying. I really enjoyed working with him. He\u2019s a very unselfish performer, and boy can he sing. He\u2019s got the most amazing natural gift. And he never tried to be Freddie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor and May even tried recording new Queen material with Lambert, but he admits that has now been shelved. \u201cWe never really finished anything with Adam, which is to my regret, because I am a huge admirer of his voice. I think we could have done good stuff, but he\u2019s doing lots of other things, and it didn\u2019t really work out in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, in yet another record-breaking mega-deal, Queen sold their back catalogue rights to Sony for a reported \u00a31 billion. The terms exclude live performance and certain territories, but May and Taylor are now essentially signed to the Sony\/Columbia label.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very happy to be there,\u201d Taylor says. “We actually knew \u2018Mister Sony\u2019 in the old days, Akio Morita. He used to come along with his family to our shows in Tokyo, so it\u2019s a sort of a final coming round again in a way. And so far we\u2019ve found them very charming people to get on with.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that widely reported billion-pound figure is even close to accurate, it dwarfs recent catalogue sales by Bruce Springsteen<\/a>, Bob Dylan<\/a>, Neil Young<\/a> and Michael Jackson. Taylor says the Sony deal \u201cmight be the best idea I ever had\u201d, but he is coy about sharing the exact price tag. \u201cNo I don\u2019t wanna tell you the number,\u201d he says, grinning. \u201cI don\u2019t want to embarrass any other acts.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a more personal note, Taylor speaks fondly of old friends and musical comrades who have passed away in recent years, including Jeff Beck<\/a> and Taylor Hawkins. On picking up his OBE in 2022, he dedicated the award to the Foo Fighters<\/a> drummer. Hawkins was not just a friend, but also godfather to Taylor\u2019s son Rufus, who currently plays drums in The Darkness<\/a>. \u201cWe loved one another,\u201d he says of Hawkins. \u201cI love the Foos, actually. Not quite the same without Taylor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Taylor\n<\/p>\n

Taylor Hawkins and Roger Taylor (Image credit: Kevin Mazur\/WireImage for VH-1 Channel)<\/p>\n

This autumn, Taylor completed a modestly scaled UK tour around Violence Insane In A Beautiful World. But Queen also have some fresh schemes brewing, starting this month with a digitally restored cinema and DVD release of their classic 1986 concert film Hungarian Rhapsody: Live In Budapest, one of Freddie Mercury\u2019s final live performances.<\/p>\n

Teasingly, Taylor hints that he and May have been in the studio touching up some old recordings, and are also planning some kind of live performance, but he is vague on details. Unconfirmed rumours have already begun circulating about a run of Queen shows at the hi-tech Sphere in Las Vegas, which would see them following in the footsteps of U2<\/a>, Eagles<\/a> and Metallica<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Taylor remains tight-lipped, claiming the final plans are still unclear, but something typically grandiose and Queen-sized is clearly in the works.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, most certainly,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve got some ideas for some kind of spectacular shows. It\u2019s very difficult, there\u2019s so much computing power needed these days and programming stuff. But Brian and I talk about it quite a lot. So yeah, it probably won\u2019t be the last the world hears of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queen are rock\u2019s great survivors. Brian May is playing guitar again following heart surgery and a stroke, and Taylor is still writing and recording despite creeping arthritis in his hands. Both he and May are now in their late seventies and could easily be enjoying a luxurious retirement by now, playing endless games of Scrabble inside their own gold-plated pyramid. And yet both are still working, still making new music, still touring. Slowing down, maybe, but not stopping.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian will say the same thing,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cWe do it because we love it, and really, this is what we do. Also the idea of retirement is horrific. I\u2019m just gonna sit here and not do much and rot away till I die? No thanks. I find when you\u2019re working, you get fired up, it gives you a reason to get up, you know? Although I got up pretty late today. I don\u2019t do it very quickly these days. It takes a while for an album to assimilate itself. But yeah, I\u2019m very pleased to still be doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Violence Insane In A Beautiful World is out now via Columbia.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Roger Taylor: Violence Insane In A Beautiful World – Today’s Best Prices<\/p>\n

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