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Queen’s Brian May Outraged by AI-Generated Image of Freddie Mercury

On July 13, 1985, Freddie Mercury of Queen takes the stage at the Live Aid rock festival held in London, England. Reuters. 
On July 13, 1985, Freddie Mercury of Queen takes the stage at the Live Aid rock festival held in London, England. Reuters. 
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Queen’s Brian May Outraged by AI-Generated Image of Freddie Mercury

On July 13, 1985, Freddie Mercury of Queen takes the stage at the Live Aid rock festival held in London, England. Reuters. 
On July 13, 1985, Freddie Mercury of Queen takes the stage at the Live Aid rock festival held in London, England. Reuters. 

Sir Brian May has urged British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to block AI “before it’s too late” after being left outraged by an AI-generated image of his former Queen bandmate Freddie Mercury.

The British guitarist decided to check what Meta AI would create when he asked it what the cover of Queen’s 1980 record The Game looked like, according to The Independent.

He was unimpressed with the result, writing on Instagram: “This is what it gave me ! Good job, eh? So this is the kind of intelligence that will soon be ruling the world??! Well, great. Maybe this is the time to realise WE ACTUALLY DON'T NEED AI !!!”

Highlighting the seriousness of his post, he added: “I believe the price we are about to pay for this 'inevitable' development is way too high. We must not allow these hideous Data Centers to be built in the UK. They will destroy our beautiful country, like they are already destroying beautiful America.”

He also wrote, “Dear Andy – you must stop it now. Before it's too late.”

According to The Independent, May’s post comes as a number of artists speak out both in favor and against AI.

In May, 4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry told the Press Association that she felt artists should “embrace” AI while picking up the special international award at the 2026 Ivor Novello Awards.

She said: “To me, it’s just another tool that has shown up to make people’s life easier in some way.”

Perry added, “And I said earlier, like microwaves, when microwaves showed up, everybody thought it was the end of making dinner, and mums were just going to throw it in there, and poof, we were going to be in the Jetsons with this powder that turns into a turkey for Thanksgiving, and it’s not.”

“It’s just this is the future, we have to embrace it, because if we try to run from the future, then we’re running from solution,” she also said.

But dance music producer Nia Archives said AI music “won’t last” while speaking at the launch of the Mercury Prize in July.

Archives said: “I don’t know if AI music will last to be honest with you, I think it’s quite like a fleeting technology moment.”

With Queen, Sir Brian had six UK number one singles and 10 UK number one albums. Some of the band’s best-known songs include “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Killer Queen”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and We Are The Champions.

 

 

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Entertainment

Movie Review: A Tender Love Story with Postapocalyptic Teeth in Ridley Scott’s ‘The Dog Stars’

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Jacob Elordi in a scene from "The Dog Stars." (Fabio Lovino/20th Century Studios via AP)
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Jacob Elordi in a scene from "The Dog Stars." (Fabio Lovino/20th Century Studios via AP)
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Movie Review: A Tender Love Story with Postapocalyptic Teeth in Ridley Scott’s ‘The Dog Stars’

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Jacob Elordi in a scene from "The Dog Stars." (Fabio Lovino/20th Century Studios via AP)
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Jacob Elordi in a scene from "The Dog Stars." (Fabio Lovino/20th Century Studios via AP)

It says something about us that dogs are critical when it comes to postapocalyptic movies. Tom Hanks had an adorable terrier in “Finch” and Will Smith had a heroic German shepherd in “I Am Legend.” Another German shepherd is due to accompany Brad Pitt in next month's “Heart of Beast,” but until then we have “The Dog Stars” and its four-legged Malinois star.

The pup is named Jasper in Ridley Scott's adaptation of Peter Heller's novel, a tale of man and man's best friend trying to find purpose in a brutal, post-pandemic Colorado. What this proves is you can't tell a story about humanity without a little canine.

Scott’s movie is a welcome if slightly odd addition to the postapocalyptic canon, a movie less centered on the kill-or-be-killed mutant hellscape than the costs of survival itself. Ignoring one unhinged sequence toward the end, “The Dog Stars” is a quiet love story set amid sniper fire, RPGs and fuel cans. It's even optimistic.

Jacob Elordi stars as Hig, a mechanic and pilot who has survived a pandemic that wiped out most of humanity, including his beloved wife. He's holed up at an abandoned airport in Erie, Colorado, accompanied by the ever-alert Jasper — who's a good boy? — and an ex-military man, Bangley, played by Josh Brolin. He's not such a good boy.

Hig spends his days flying his Cessna into Denver to scavenge for food and supplies, or looking after other pockets of survivors, like a Mennonite community whose connection to the land and simple ways seem perfectly suited for the End Days.

Scott and screenwriter Mark L. Smith haven't quite figured out what nasty things are out there, lurking in the dark. Sometimes it's just roving survivalists and sometimes it's a wave of incoherent, shirtless, heavily tattooed cultists who suddenly swarm, like from “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.”

Our hero hopes there are other sane uninfected folk out there, but his gruff pal disagrees. “What do you expect to find?” Bangley asks. Stay in the compound, with power, weapons and food, he argues: The virus pulled the mask off civilization. Stay and wait to die.

Hig disagrees — “I can't do this anymore” — and sets off for Grand Junction, where he thinks he heard a radio transmission. First, though, he comes across a young widow and her protective father, played by Margaret Qualley and Guy Pearce.

There's loads of survivor's guilt to get through before these stupidly beautiful people can think about romance. One lovely scene has them confessing what they miss most about their lives before the virus — driving to music, even traffic. Watching Qualley as she hears recorded music for the first time in years, the joy washing over her face, is a delight.

Just as this quiet love story gets going, it's time for more knife-slitting and killer hordes. And for Allison Janney to appear in what surely will be 2026's most bananas performance by an actor in a post-apocalyptic airport.

What Scott and Smith have managed is very hard, putting a tender love story into a zombie flick, like that Trojan Horse trick from “The Odyssey.” One odder decision is to film this Colorado-specific tale in Italy, with the Dolomite mountains filling in for the Rockies.

The filmmakers found the perfect song — Hozier's gorgeous “Like Real People Do” plays at the beginning and end — to go with the perfect postapocalyptic couple. And that dog — such a good boy.

Entertainment

US Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Dies at 80

A photo of the late US singer-songwriter Dolly Parton is displayed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee on August 25, 2026. (AFP)
A photo of the late US singer-songwriter Dolly Parton is displayed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee on August 25, 2026. (AFP)
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US Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Dies at 80

A photo of the late US singer-songwriter Dolly Parton is displayed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee on August 25, 2026. (AFP)
A photo of the late US singer-songwriter Dolly Parton is displayed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee on August 25, 2026. (AFP)

Dolly Parton, the country music star who rose from grinding poverty in Tennessee to become a rhinestone-studded cultural icon with hits like "Jolene" and "9 to 5," has died at 80, her family said Tuesday.

Parton was more than a singer -- she wrote 3,000 songs, acted in major Hollywood films and donated millions of dollars to charities in her home state and beyond.

She was also an accomplished businesswoman, with her interests spanning from her popular Dollywood theme park to cosmetics, pet apparel, baking mixes and even a truck stop.

"Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus," her nephew Bryan Seaver said in a video announcing her death on social media.

He said the multiple award-winning artist -- known for her glittering style, curvy figure and larger-than-life blonde wigs -- had "opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life."

Parton died after a brief battle with cancer, her third cousin Brent Allen confirmed to AFP.

"I feel like she's one of the last of the salt of the earth. She brought people together," Allen told AFP in Sevierville, Tennessee, the singer's home town.

Parton had recently spoken about unspecified health challenges. Her husband Carl Dean died last year.

A small private funeral service will be held, People magazine said, citing the singer's representatives.

President Donald Trump ordered flags lowered across the United States, and New York's Empire State Building was to be lit in pink at 9:25 pm -- a nod to Parton's hit song and movie "9 to 5".

- 'Devastated' -

The news sparked a rare moment of unity in a country often bitterly at odds over Trump's presidency, the war against Iran and cultural issues.

"May her legacy live on through her songs, the lives she touched, and the countless artists she inspired. There will never, ever be another one like her," the Grand Ole Opry, America's temple of country music, said on social media.

Her co-stars from "9 to 5," which sparked her soundtrack smash when it came out in 1980, expressed shock.

Oscar winner Jane Fonda said she was "devastated" while Lily Tomlin said only: "No words."

Trump called Parton's passing a "true loss for millions of people."

"There has never been anyone like her, and never will," he posted on his Truth Social network.

- A world 'less sparkly' -

Born in 1946 as one of 12 children in rural Tennessee, Parton headed for the country music capital Nashville right after graduating from high school.

By 1967, at age 21, she was among the most recognized figures in American music, having joined Porter Wagoner's syndicated country music television show that broadcast her voice and face into millions of US homes.

During a prolific career that spanned six decades, Parton penned some 3,000 tunes.

They included "Jolene,Coat of Many Colors" and the iconic ballad "I Will Always Love You," which became an international success for Whitney Houston.

Releasing 49 studio albums and more than 100 compilation and collaboration albums, she earned the title of "queen of country music."

Never one to downplay her striking looks, Parton essentially wrote the book on how a woman can rule the airwaves in a male-dominated industry, ultimately becoming an American treasure with songs covered by everyone from Shania Twain to Sinead O'Connor.

Pop artist Taylor Swift, who also got her start in country music, called Parton "eternally generous", while rockstar Jack White -- who covered "Jolene" with the White Stripes -- wrote on Instagram: "Instant Sainthood."

Last year, Parton postponed a series of Las Vegas concerts, citing ongoing health concerns. In May, she canceled them altogether, sparking new fears.

In videos posted to her social media accounts, she said that while treatment for an unnamed illness was going well, she was not ready to perform.

Just last week, she said in a statement to People magazine: "I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I'm gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life."

"She brought so many people together, we will all miss her so much," said Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

Entertainment

Australia’s Music Industry Bans AI-Generated Tracks from Official Charts

Madonna poses before the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 collection presented in Paris, on Sept. 29, 2025. (AP)
Madonna poses before the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 collection presented in Paris, on Sept. 29, 2025. (AP)
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Australia’s Music Industry Bans AI-Generated Tracks from Official Charts

Madonna poses before the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 collection presented in Paris, on Sept. 29, 2025. (AP)
Madonna poses before the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 collection presented in Paris, on Sept. 29, 2025. (AP)

Australia’s recorded music industry will bar tracks wholly generated by artificial intelligence from official charts as burgeoning generative technologies threaten artists’ livelihoods, a representative said on Tuesday.

The crackdown comes as a variation of Madonna’s pop hit “Like a Prayer” created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums has spent 16 weeks in the Australian top 20, stoking debate about generative AI’s place in music. It peaked at number two on the Australian Record Industry Association’s top 20 Australian singles chart in May and remained in fourth place on Tuesday.

Wholly AI-generated tracks will be banned from the ARIA charts from Monday next week, but some AI-assisted music will remain eligible, an ARIA statement said.

Tracks can be eligible only if “humans wrote the song and performed the lead vocal and the primary instruments,” among other requirements, the statement said.

AI-generated music would also be ineligible for the Australian industry’s prestigious ARIA awards.

ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said: “These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry in what is — to say the least — a rapidly developing space.”

“The ARIA Charts will always remain a transparent measurement of the music Australia consumes, but a chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent,” Herd added.

Eligible music must also be produced using legal AI services. Music was appearing on streaming services that had apparently been developed with AI tools trained on artists’ music without authorization.

The Australian rules are in step with new principles released in July by the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The federation represents the recording industry worldwide.

The international guidelines state that to qualify for official music charts, a track must be “substantially human made.”

Sydney Conservatorium of Music composer and lecturer Alexis Weaver told Australian Broadcasting Corp. the debate around AI in music was “exceptionally fraught and very emotional for a lot of musicians and so everyone will have a different opinion.”

Weaver applauded ARIA’s move as a “wonderful step forward” that sent a message ARIA wanted to “prioritize and value human creativity.”

“It can be quite hard to avoid AI tools in the current landscape,” Weaver said. “There is a way to use it while you’re still steering the ship and making the main creative choices.”