Bohemian Rhapsody icon Brian May talks life after death as he reflects on Freddie Mercury

Queen legend May is one of the best-loved musicians of all time, and the band’s popularity has swollen even more after the release of hit biopic Bohemian Rhapsody last year.

Iconic frontman Freddie Mercury died in 1991, and – speaking in a 2011 interview with RT – May revealed how he still feels “closeness” with him.

“It’s like a family member – you lose them but you dont quite lose them because you take them with you,” he explained.

“We were so long together – you get that closeness with somebody. Particularly in a creative environment.

“I don’t think fame has anything to do with it or even success. But in a creative environment you learn to know what somebody else might be thinking.

“So I still feel that and Roger [Taylor] does as well, you know, particularly it applies more to if we’re working as queen. what would Freddie say?

“He’s part of the creative process because he’s part of what we are.”

When he was pushed on his beliefs of life after death, he mused: “I’m inclined to think that our view of the universe is very simplified.

BRIAN MAY REVEALS FREDDIE MERCURY’S HEARTWARMING GENEROUS ACT

“In a way that a beetle crawling over a piece of paper has a limited view of the universe, I think we also have a very limited view of the universe.

“So this existence that we know, may be a very small part of the whole picture. And I’m excited to think that may be so.

“I’m not counting on it! Because maybe at the end of your life that’s it, I don’t know.

“One thing is certain, you can’t use it as an excuse. You cant say, ‘OK this life is really bad but the next one…’ You have to make the best of where you are.”

Queen recently unveiled plans for a new Asian tour, as Bohemian Rhapsody continues to sit highly on the UK home video chart.

Earlier this week May helped unveil a new sculpture of Mercury, who was played by Rami Malek in the film.

The movie was so successful that a sequel was recently rumoured to be in the very early stages of discussion.

Bohemian Rhapsody is out now on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download.