Queen Tabs William Orbit to Produce New Album
Queen is working with William Orbit on a new album featuring previously unreleased vocals by the late Freddie Mercury. The in-demand producer, who has previously worked with Madonna, Britney Spears and Blur, confirmed the news via Twitter.
Queen Forever,' is is the second posthumous Mercury-related project put together by Queen guitarist
Brian May and drummer
Roger Taylor, and will include some long-discussed
early '80s-era duets between Mercury and
Michael Jackson. According to
NME, 'Queen Forever' is expected to be released around Christmas.
State of Shock' were subsequently recorded, the latter with
Mick Jagger, for a 1984 album by the Jacksons. 'There Must Be More to Life Than This' was redone by Mercury for his 1985 solo disc 'Mr. Bad Guy.'
Unreleased Mercury vocals were also used to produce the 1995 release 'Made in Heaven,' the last Queen album to feature original bassist John Deacon. Mercury died in 1991 from complications related to the AIDS virus. Queen has since released an album with Paul Rodgers, 2008's 'The Cosmos Rocks,' and is touring now with 'American Idol' finalist Adam Lambert. May earlier hinted that new material with Lambert might also find its way onto this forthcoming release.