Tesla have released their version of Queen’s 1977 track “Spread Your Wings”, giving fans another preview of the upcoming covers album Homage, due out July 17, 2026 through Frontiers Music Srl.
The new record sees Tesla revisiting the music that influenced the band long before its rise in the hard rock scene. The album collects interpretations of classic songs tied closely to the group’s musical background and early club days in California, where the band originally built its reputation performing covers before shifting toward original material.
Bassist and keyboardist Brian Wheat explained why “Spread Your Wings” stood out among Queen’s catalog: “‘Spread Your Wings” for me was the song I always wanted to record by QUEEN. I always felt it was the one song they had in their catalog that should’ve been a massive hit, but wasn’t because it was overshadowed by “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You” on the ‘News Of The World‘ album. It was also a song written by John Deacon, who was the band’s secret weapon and whom not many people talk about, the quiet one, shall we say.”
More than four decades after forming, Tesla continues drawing from the same influences that shaped their sound in the beginning. The band has often pointed to artists such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as major inspirations, following a similar path of learning through playing songs from earlier generations of musicians.
Beyond revisiting classic material, Homage also gives vocalist Jeff Keith room to tackle a wide range of styles. The album includes tributes to performers including Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Sam Cooke, David Ruffin, Etta James, and James Brown.
The project also arrives more than 20 years after the band released the Real To Reel series, which later inspired the writing of the original Tesla song “Never Alone”.
Speaking about the new album, Tesla said: “Our new album, Homage, is a thank-you note written in sound. An offering to the great singers and songs that shaped the music we grew up listening to, and the songs we would eventually write. We hope you all enjoy this as much as we did making it. Thank you for all the years — keep it real and keep on rockin’!”
Pre-order Homage here.
