An iconic rock band is sharing an unreleased song from 1974.
Queen guitarist Brian May unveiled the band’s lost tune “Not for Sale (Polar Bear)” Monday on the UK radio station Planet Rock. It was originally recorded for the group’s second album, “Queen II,” but was cut from the final track listing.
“People might possibly have heard a bootleg version of ‘Not for Sale (Polar Bear)’ by Smile, it’s a song that goes back a very long way, but to my knowledge no one has ever heard this version,” May said, according to NME.
Smile was a 1960s rock band featuring May, drummer Roger Taylor and singer-bassist Tim Staffell. May and Taylor later formed Queen with legendary lead vocalist Freddie Mercury.
May said Queen’s “Not for Sale (Polar Bear)” has been dug up from the archives and will get an official release on the upcoming reissue of “Queen II” in 2026.
“It’s a work in progress and will appear on the forthcoming rebuild of the ‘Queen II’ album – coming next year – but I’m sneaking this into my Planet Rock special because I’m fascinated to know what people think about it,” May said. “I hope people have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!”
Fans can listen to the song on YouTube or May’s Christmas special online at hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock. The British rock radio station will also rebroadcast it on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, at 8 a.m. ET (1 p.m. London time).
“Thank you Brian for this Christmas present!” one fan wrote on YouTube.
“That clean, pristine, angel like early days Freddie’s voice is amazing! It’s really a work in progress it seems but to hear Freddie on something ‘new’ made my year,” another said.
Freddie Mercury and Brian May of rock band Queen perform live on stage in this undated photo. (Photo by Ian Dickson/Redferns via Getty Images)Redferns
Queen is one of the best-selling rock bands of all time, known for hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions,” “Fat Bottomed Girls,” “Somebody to Love,” “Under Pressure” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” The band also released the holiday classic, “Thank God It’s Christmas,” as a single in 1984 and on the Queen+ “Greatest Hits III” album in 1999.
May, 78, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Queen bandmates Mercury, Taylor and bassist Roger Deacon in 2001 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. After Mercury’s death in 1991, May and Taylor continued to perform as “Queen +” with different singers, including Paul Rodgers (of Free and Bad Company) and “American Idol” star Adam Lambert.
Queen remains popular today with more than 61 million monthly listeners on Spotify. The band released a new version of “We Will Rock You” last year with rapper Megan Thee Stallion and recently shared a remix of “Who Wants to Live Forever” for the final season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
