“To my knowledge no one has ever heard this version,” Brian May says of “very, very ancient song” bound for upcoming Queen II reissue
Brian May gifted Queen fans this week by unearthing the band’s unreleased Christmas song “Not for Sale (Polar Bear).”
The guitarist shared the track during the year-end episode of his Planet Rock radio show, noting that the track originally dated back to the late Sixties when the band — with vocalist Tim Staffell — was known as Smile. The group would later revisit “Not for Sale (Polar Bear)” with Freddie Mercury during the sessions for 1974’s Queen II, a never-heard version that May premiered on his radio show.
“You might possibly have heard a kinda bootleg version of this by Smile, it’s a song that goes back a very long way,” May prefaced on Planet Rock before debuting the track.
“To my knowledge no one has ever heard this version, which is kinda a work in progress and it will appear on the forthcoming rebuild of the Queen II album next year, but I’m sneaking this in because I’m just fascinated to know what people think about it. It’s a very, very ancient song called Polar Bear.”
The Queen II reissue has long been in the works, with May previously mentioning in an interview earlier this year that “Polar Bear” was among the songs cut from the 1974 album that would be included on the rerelease. An exact 2026 release date has not yet been announced for the Queen II reissue.
In addition to “Not for Sale (Polar Bear),” the Planet Rock episode featured a mix of May’s favorite Christmas and seasonal tracks. “I hope people have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year,” the guitarist added.
