Coming soon: 'Queen -- the musical'

LONDON, England -- The British comedian and writer Ben Elton is working on a new musical with rock superstars Queen, featuring a string of their hits.

The band's guitarist Brian May told a London radio station: "The rumour is that we are doing a musical, which is true ... Ben Elton has written us a fantastic script."

May said the musical should be ready to open by the end of this year or the beginning of next.

He said band members will not be appearing, adding: "Young people will be in it. There'll be a lot of Queen songs and some new ideas in there."

Queen were one of the world's biggest rock groups in the 1970s and 1980s. Their lead singer, Freddie Mercury, died of AIDS in 1991.

Elton scored a huge hit with his first West End musical "The Beautiful Game" about a football team caught up in Northern Ireland's troubles.

He collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the production, which was recently named best musical of the past 12 months by the Critics' Circle, in the UK.

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