Roger Taylor has released I See You Now, the latest single from his forthcoming solo album Violence Insane In A Beautiful World, accompanied by a black-and-white video created by his wife Sarina Taylor and long-time collaborator Simon Lupton.
by Paul Cashmere
Roger Taylor has released I See You Now, the second preview of his forthcoming seventh solo album Violence Insane In A Beautiful World, with the Queen drummer and songwriter turning inward for a love song inspired by his relationship with his wife, Sarina Taylor. The single was debuted on BBC Radio 2 by Vernon Kaye on August 12, ahead of the album’s September 18 release through Columbia Records.
I See You Now follows Come On Summer (It’s Party Time), which introduced the album earlier this year with a guest performance from The Ndlovu Youth Choir. The new song takes a markedly more intimate approach, built around Taylor’s observation that a long relationship can reveal aspects of another person that are not immediately apparent.
“We’ve been together, for some time now, through all kinds of weather, but we’re still dreamin’,” Taylor sings at the beginning of the track.
Explaining the song’s meaning, Taylor said, “It’s a love song, it’s really about my wife. We’ve been together for quite some time, and I think when you really get to know someone, at first you really don’t see everything about them, but when you really get to know someone, it’s ‘oh, I see you now, that’s it.”
The accompanying video takes the song into similarly personal territory. Sarina Taylor and Simon Lupton have created a monochrome visual treatment, with the otherwise black-and-white film broken by Taylor’s ruby red hi-tops.
Violence Insane In A Beautiful World is Taylor’s first solo album since 2021’s Outsider, which reached No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart. The new record expands his solo catalogue to seven albums, beginning with Fun In Space in 1981 and continuing through Strange Frontier, Happiness?, Electric Fire, Fun On Earth and Outsider. Taylor also released three albums with his band The Cross between 1988 and 1991.
One of the album’s most notable inclusions is Taylor’s interpretation of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy. The song is the only track on the record not written by Taylor, with the album credits identifying Lennon as its songwriter. The cover places a major piece of the Beatles and Lennon songwriting catalogue within Taylor’s latest body of solo work.
Jealous Guy is surrounded on the tracklist by original Taylor compositions including Violence Insane, What Really Matters, Don’t Photograph Food, I See You Now, Chump and Spit In His Eye. The album opens with A Beautiful World featuring The Ndlovu Youth Choir and closes with A Great Big Beautiful World (Reprise), also featuring the choir.
The album’s title reflects a broader concern with the state of the world. Taylor has described the record as having an overarching theme without being a concept album, pointing to the contradiction between the beauty of the world and the violence taking place within it.
“There is a theme, you know, it’s in the title really, what a beautiful world we live in, don’t fuck it up,” Taylor said. “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.”
Taylor’s solo career began while Queen was still at the height of its activity. His first solo single, (I Wanna) Testify, was released in 1977, followed by Fun In Space in 1981, an album on which Taylor performed all the vocals and played most of the instruments.
His Queen songwriting catalogue includes Radio Ga Ga, A Kind Of Magic, These Are The Days Of Our Lives and The Invisible Man, while he also contributed songs and vocals throughout the band’s 15-album career. His work outside Queen has included collaborations with artists including Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Robert Plant, Phil Collins, Elton John and Foo Fighters.
The new album also comes during another significant period for Queen. Taylor and Brian May recently curated a Collector’s Edition of Queen II featuring a 2026 mix, studio material, outtakes, demos, live recordings and radio sessions. Taylor and May have continued to perform together as Queen, including their 2025 appearance at the BBC Proms for a new orchestral arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody marking the song’s 50th anniversary.
For Taylor, Violence Insane In A Beautiful World therefore sits between the continuing legacy of Queen and a solo catalogue that has developed over almost five decades. The decision to include Jealous Guy alongside newly written material gives the album an additional connection to the wider British rock songwriting tradition, while I See You Now offers a more personal perspective on the record.
Taylor will support the album with six UK shows in September, beginning in Newcastle on September 21 and concluding in Swansea on September 29. The tour also includes dates in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and London, with the Roundhouse show marking a return to a venue where Taylor previously appeared as a guest of Foo Fighters in 2011.
Violence Insane In A Beautiful World Tracklisting
A Beautiful World – Feat. The Ndlovu Youth Choir
Violence Insane
What Really Matters
Don’t Photograph Food
I See You Now
Chump
Spit In His Eye
Jealous Guy*
Come On Summer (It’s Party Time) – Feat. The Ndlovu Youth Choir
A Great Big Beautiful World (Reprise) – Feat. The Ndlovu Youth Choir
All songs written by Roger Taylor except *John Lennon
Violence Insane In A Beautiful World Tour
September 21, Newcastle, O2 City Hall
September 22, Edinburgh, Usher Hall
September 24, Birmingham, The Alexandra
September 25, Manchester, Opera House
September 28, London, Roundhouse
September 29, Swansea, Building Society Arena
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