John Deacon makes rare Queen contribution with Brian May and Roger Taylor for signed album

John Deacon has made a rare contribution on a Queen album with Brian May and Roger Taylor for a signed album.

For their first public project in decades, Deacon, May and Taylor have all written their signatures on a copy of Queen’s seminal 1975 record ‘A Night At The Opera’.

Though Taylor and May regularly donate items for the charity, this is the first time Deacon has signed memorabilia since officially leaving the band in 1997.

It’s been confirmed by the Mercury Phoenix Trust that the signatures are “100 per cent authentic”, having been signed in “the last two weeks” – despite Deacon living anonymously for the last few decades.

The album will be up for silent auction at the annual Freddie Mercury Birthday Party in Montreux, a fundraiser for a charity set up in Mercury’s name. It takes place at the Casino Barrière Montreux on September 6, where Queen’s legendary Mountain Studios was formerly located.

The proceeds will go towards HIV/AIDS Awareness in honour of Mercury’s death from complications associated with the condition. You can find all auction bidding details here.

Though the bassist is still technically involved in the band, he has not contributed to any of Queen’s music since the death of frontman Freddie Mercury.

Explaining the setup, Brian May told Mojo last year that he and Taylor “get messages that he’s happy with what we’re doing, but he doesn’t want the stress of being involved creatively, and we respect that.”

May also told The Guardian in 2023 that Deacon has a say in the band’s business matters, elaborating: “If we have any major decision, business-wise, it’s always run past John. It doesn’t mean he talks to us – generally he doesn’t – but he will communicate in some way. He’s still very much part of Queen.”

Meanwhile, Taylor has previously said that, were Mercury still alive, the band would still be making music. 

“Me and Freddie… he was my closest friend and we were very, very close,” he told BBC Radio 6 in 2020. “We came up together and we literally lived in each other’s pockets and clothes some of the time!”

However, he also said that it was unlikely that Deacon would have stayed in the band given his shyer personality.

“I do believe we would still be doing stuff together because it was a great collaboration. I don’t know if John Deacon would allow… of course John wasn’t quite mentally suited for it, the other three were,” he said.

Elsewhere, Brian May has spoken on the possibility of new Queen material: “I think it could happen”.