Brian May and Roger Taylor were awarded the 2025 Polar Music Prize at a gala ceremony held in Sweden on Tuesday (May 27). The Queen rockers were recognised for the entirety of their career at the Polar Music Prize gala at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm. Brian, 77, issued an emotional message on stage, telling the audience: “In this special moment, I contemplate how that younger Brian May in 1974 would have felt if he knew that we would be living this kind of dream 50 years in the future.”
Roger, 75, said: “When we started our band…we had ambitions, but never dreamed of the journey that was to follow. We were fortunate in the fact that our four wildly different personalities came together to achieve a wonderful chemistry. The Polar Music Prize is exceptional in the fact that unlike other awards it recognises the entirety of an artiste’s career. What an honour to be included in the glittering cavalcade of previous laureates.”
He added: “True Olympian company indeed. We are so proud to be the recipients of this incredibly prestigious award.” Brian shared an image of the duo collecting their award on stage, alongside the caption: “Rog and me tonight in Stockholm !!! Big thanks to the Polar Awards.”
Emotional fans flooded the comments with supportive messages, with one writing: “Congratulations! Your speeches were very moving. I may have cried. Love you guys so much!!!”
Another gushed: “We all watched with teary eyes and we are so happy you got this honour and recognition! Thank you for the heartfelt speeches, and thank you for keeping Queen alive and breathing, it means the world! I’ve missed you guys together, and Adam was the icing on the cake!”
“Congratulations!! You deserve it sooo much,” added a third as someone else echoed: “I saw your acceptance speeches and they were excellent, even though you brought tears to my eyes when you were talking about your dear dad Bri. Well done and big congratulations!”
Queen was formed in 1970, by Brian and Roger alongside Freddy Mercury. The trio were later joined by John Deacon and went on to become one of the most successful bands in history.
The band recently made headlines as it was revealed former frontman Freddie, who died in 1991, secretly fathered a child. His daughter has been hidden from the public for 48 years, but DNA results prove she is the rock star’s biological child.
Biographer Lesley-Ann Jones confirmed the bombshell, asserting “requisite verification was obtained” amidst fan scepticism about the claim’s authenticity.
Extremely few, including his close family, Queen bandmates, and former partner Mary Austin, were aware of his daughter, who was kept out of the public eye.