Brian May Surprised Queen Fans with a Rare Archive Track: an Unreleased 1970s Song Aired at Christmas
On Christmas Eve, legendary Queen guitarist Brian May presented fans with a truly unique gift. During his festive radio show on the British station Planet Rock, the musician aired for the first time an official archival recording of the song Not For Sale (Polar Bear), which had remained unknown to the general public for decades.
The song was originally written by Brian May in the late 1960s for the band Smile, the group that preceded Queen. In Smile, May played alongside Tim Staffell and future Queen drummer Roger Taylor. The track was recorded in 1969 but never received an official release, existing only as rare bootlegs circulated among a small group of collectors.
In the early 1970s, during work on Queen’s second studio album Queen II, the band revisited the song. The composition was reworked, with Brian May singing the verses and Freddie Mercury performing the choruses. Despite the work done on the track, it did not make the final tracklist of the album and remained in the band’s archives for many years.
It was one of these studio versions that May presented during the Christmas broadcast on Planet Rock. The musician described the recording as a “work in progress, ” emphasizing that it had never been officially aired before. According to May, the idea of including the track in the festive programme came from a desire to share a piece of Queen’s early history and hear the audience’s reaction.
The premiere aired on December 22 as part of Brian May’s traditional Christmas show, which also featured classic festive recordings, including Thank God It’s Christmas, Queen’s only official Christmas single released in 1984.
Additional interest in the track comes from the fact that, according to May, Not For Sale (Polar Bear) is planned to be included in an expanded reissue of Queen II, expected for release in 2026. The updated edition is expected to feature remastered tracks, alternative mixes, and previously unreleased recordings from the period when the band’s classic sound was taking shape.
As a result, the Planet Rock Christmas broadcast became not just a festive event, but a genuine historical premiere — the first official public appearance of one of the rarest compositions in the Queen catalogue, shedding new light on the band’s early creative years and their path to global success.
