Queen guitarist Brian May wants every audience member to leave their live shows feeling “completely satisfied.” In fact, he wants them to have such an unforgettable time that he believes a successful Queen show should be like “good sex.”

Queen are due to tour Japan in 2024 alongside vocalist Adam Lambert. The musician has performed as part of the band since 2011, fulfilling the iconic frontman role made legendary by Freddie Mercury.

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In the latest episode of Queen The Greatest Live on their official YouTube channel, discussion centres around their famous encores. The video series is in its 41st week out of 50, and celebrates Queen’s Golden Jubilee with exclusive clips from 50 “extraordinary moments.”

“They know we’re gonna go off, and they know we’re gonna come back on. But there’s a reason for doing that ‘cause you have to go off and refresh at that point,” says May in the video.

“It’s a nice feeling because you know that they want it. It is like, ‘Do you really want this? Are you not tired yet? Have you not had enough yet?’ [Laughs] so there’s an element of showbiz in that if you like,” he later adds.

In their early years, the band would end their shows with tracks such as In The Lap Of The Gods, or covers of Jailhouse Rock and Big Spender. In 1977, however, they made the change to perform hard hitters We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions for their grand finale.

The encore plays a huge role in Queen shows, as the band want it to have a lasting impact on the crowd: “It’s like good sex. You know, you want to come out of it thinking, ‘Yeah, that was everything it should have been.’ And you want people to be talking to each other: ‘Ah, that was awesome. Do you remember the bit where…?’ Just like we used to as kids when we left The Who shows,” says May.

Get tickets for Queen’s Japan tour via their official website.