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Queen's Roger Taylor has announced details of his new solo album, Violence Insane In A Beautiful World.
Taylor's new record, his first solo release since 2021's Outsider, will be released on September 18 via Columbia.
While not a concept record, Violence Insane In A Beautiful World does have an overarching theme.
“It's in the title really," says Taylor, "what a beautiful world we live in, don't fuck it up. There seems to be all this insanity at the moment. The violence in the world seems to be as bad as it ever was, at any point, and certainly in my lifetime. It's just horrific, a lot of insane violence. And we do seem to be fucking up the world, plastics in the sea, and all these awful wars everywhere, and hatred born of different religions.
“It's a beautiful world, you know. And kindness is very important, I think, it seems to be forgotten quite a lot.”
The album's first single, Come On Summer (It’s Party Time), featuring The Ndlovu Youth Choir from Limpopo, South Africa, is out now.
The album's opening track, A Beautiful World, inspired the record's striking artwork, which features a photograph of earth taken from space.
"A Beautiful World is written from the view of an alien in a spacecraft literally orbiting the world and thinking how beautiful it is," Taylor explains. "On close observation, he sees there's problems, there's infection, all the violence and horrors that occur, and then there's a list of all the great things about the earth."
Taylor admits that, while the tone of the album is hopeful, he isn't overly optimistic about the state of the world in 2026, or indeed the current political climate in Britain.
“With Nigel Garage (sic) looming, no," he says. "My wife says she's leaving the country if he gets in, and I don't blame her. It's like Trump, really. You can't believe how popular he was. I'm not sure he's quite as popular now, people are finally coming to their senses, but I can't believe how popular Farage, who is intrinsically a horrible man, is, but he's a populist, demagogue, politician appealing to the lowest sort of ideals.”
The track-list for the album, which features a cover of John Lennon's Jealous Guy, is as follows:
1. A Beautiful World feat. The Ndlovu Youth Choir
2. Violence Insane
3. What Really Matters
4. Don’t Photograph Food
5. I See You Now
6. Chump
7. Spit In His Eye
8. Jealous Guy
9. Come On Summer (It’s Party Time) feat. The Ndlovu Youth Choir
10. A Great Big Beautiful World (reprise) feat. The Ndlovu Youth Choir
Taylor will promote the album with a UK tour in September.
The dates are:
Sep 21: Newcastle O2 City Hall
Sep 22: Edinburgh Usher Hall
Sep 24: Birmingham The Alexandra
Sep 25: Manchester Opera House
Sep 28: London Roundhouse
Sep 29: Swansea Building Society Arena
Fans who pre-order Violence Insane In A Beautiful World via the official store between 11am on June 10 and 11:59pm on June 13 will receive exclusive access to an early ticket pre-sale for the tour. Pre-sale codes will be distributed via email on June 14, ahead of the pre-sale on June 15.
Early access ticket pre-sale is available to customers with a UK billing address only.
General ticket sale opens on June 17 at 10am.
