Queen songs are not about the life of a rock star - they tend to be about the lives of normal people, which is why I think the songs connect so much. We're very lucky that they seemingly connect with every generation.

We do play to our audience. It's very important. You can't create music in a vacuum.

I think music is about our internal life. It’s part of the way people touch each other. That’s very precious to me. And astronomy is, in a sense, the very opposite thing. Instead of looking inwards, you are looking out, to things beyond our grasp.

I'm not a person for sitting on beaches. What would I do?

In print, people can do anything to you. Everything you do is picked apart. People love it; they're waiting for you to make a mistake.

I spent 20 years of my life building up Queen, and now Im spending years of my life trying to get away from it.

Not for a million - years. I mean, I like the INXS boys, but I found the process very degrading, really. Reality television has eaten away at our standards of excellence. I don't like this whole culture, which has evolved, of TV being the king.