diff --git a/public/app/core/utils/explore.ts b/public/app/core/utils/explore.ts
index 0f8a0db60c7..2bb45b3d321 100644
--- a/public/app/core/utils/explore.ts
+++ b/public/app/core/utils/explore.ts
@@ -77,12 +77,18 @@ export async function getExploreUrl(
   if (exploreDatasource) {
     const range = timeSrv.timeRangeForUrl();
     let state: Partial<ExploreUrlState> = { range };
-    if (exploreDatasource.getExploreState) {
-      state = { ...state, ...exploreDatasource.getExploreState(exploreTargets) };
+    if (exploreDatasource.interpolateVariablesInQueries) {
+      state = {
+        ...state,
+        datasource: exploreDatasource.name,
+        context: 'explore',
+        queries: exploreDatasource.interpolateVariablesInQueries(exploreTargets),
+      };
     } else {
       state = {
         ...state,
         datasource: exploreDatasource.name,
+        context: 'explore',
         queries: exploreTargets.map(t => ({ ...t, datasource: exploreDatasource.name })),
       };
     }
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/elasticsearch/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/elasticsearch/datasource.ts
index dfebbabe3f1..4ae3dbdbd13 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/elasticsearch/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/elasticsearch/datasource.ts
@@ -226,6 +226,21 @@ export class ElasticDatasource extends DataSourceApi<ElasticsearchQuery, Elastic
     });
   }
 
+  interpolateVariablesInQueries(queries: ElasticsearchQuery[]): ElasticsearchQuery[] {
+    let expandedQueries = queries;
+    if (queries && queries.length > 0) {
+      expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
+        const expandedQuery = {
+          ...query,
+          datasource: this.name,
+          query: this.templateSrv.replace(query.query),
+        };
+        return expandedQuery;
+      });
+    }
+    return expandedQueries;
+  }
+
   testDatasource() {
     // validate that the index exist and has date field
     return this.getFields({ type: 'date' }).then(
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.ts
index a3721c77d95..a78a892efcb 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ import { IQService } from 'angular';
 import { BackendSrv } from 'app/core/services/backend_srv';
 import { TemplateSrv } from 'app/features/templating/template_srv';
 
+//Types
+import { GraphiteQuery } from './types';
+
 export class GraphiteDatasource {
   basicAuth: string;
   url: string;
@@ -117,6 +120,21 @@ export class GraphiteDatasource {
     return tags;
   }
 
+  interpolateVariablesInQueries(queries: GraphiteQuery[]): GraphiteQuery[] {
+    let expandedQueries = queries;
+    if (queries && queries.length > 0) {
+      expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
+        const expandedQuery = {
+          ...query,
+          datasource: this.name,
+          target: this.templateSrv.replace(query.target),
+        };
+        return expandedQuery;
+      });
+    }
+    return expandedQueries;
+  }
+
   annotationQuery(options: { annotation: { target: string; tags: string }; rangeRaw: any }) {
     // Graphite metric as annotation
     if (options.annotation.target) {
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/types.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5620c1f8e5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+import { DataQuery } from '@grafana/ui';
+
+export interface GraphiteQuery extends DataQuery {
+  target?: string;
+}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/influxdb/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/influxdb/datasource.ts
index a08ed91fda9..0adfc1538d4 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/influxdb/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/influxdb/datasource.ts
@@ -176,6 +176,40 @@ export default class InfluxDatasource extends DataSourceApi<InfluxQuery, InfluxO
     return false;
   }
 
+  interpolateVariablesInQueries(queries: InfluxQuery[]): InfluxQuery[] {
+    if (!queries || queries.length === 0) {
+      return [];
+    }
+
+    let expandedQueries = queries;
+    if (queries && queries.length > 0) {
+      expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
+        const expandedQuery = {
+          ...query,
+          datasource: this.name,
+          measurement: this.templateSrv.replace(query.measurement, null, 'regex'),
+        };
+
+        if (query.rawQuery) {
+          expandedQuery.query = this.templateSrv.replace(query.query, null, 'regex');
+        }
+
+        if (query.tags) {
+          const expandedTags = query.tags.map(tag => {
+            const expandedTag = {
+              ...tag,
+              value: this.templateSrv.replace(tag.value, null, 'regex'),
+            };
+            return expandedTag;
+          });
+          expandedQuery.tags = expandedTags;
+        }
+        return expandedQuery;
+      });
+    }
+    return expandedQueries;
+  }
+
   metricFindQuery(query: string, options?: any) {
     const interpolated = this.templateSrv.replace(query, null, 'regex');
 
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/loki/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/loki/datasource.ts
index 65cdcb57f90..69c4701b39e 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/loki/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/loki/datasource.ts
@@ -225,6 +225,21 @@ export class LokiDatasource extends DataSourceApi<LokiQuery, LokiOptions> {
     return merge(...subQueries);
   }
 
+  interpolateVariablesInQueries(queries: LokiQuery[]): LokiQuery[] {
+    let expandedQueries = queries;
+    if (queries && queries.length > 0) {
+      expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
+        const expandedQuery = {
+          ...query,
+          datasource: this.name,
+          expr: this.templateSrv.replace(query.expr),
+        };
+        return expandedQuery;
+      });
+    }
+    return expandedQueries;
+  }
+
   async importQueries(queries: LokiQuery[], originMeta: PluginMeta): Promise<LokiQuery[]> {
     return this.languageProvider.importQueries(queries, originMeta.id);
   }
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/mssql/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/mssql/datasource.ts
index 71779df0342..2b6bb79a40d 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/mssql/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/mssql/datasource.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import { BackendSrv } from 'app/core/services/backend_srv';
 import { IQService } from 'angular';
 import { TemplateSrv } from 'app/features/templating/template_srv';
 import { TimeSrv } from 'app/features/dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+//Types
+import { MssqlQueryForInterpolation } from './types';
 
 export class MssqlDatasource {
   id: any;
@@ -48,6 +50,21 @@ export class MssqlDatasource {
     return quotedValues.join(',');
   }
 
+  interpolateVariablesInQueries(queries: MssqlQueryForInterpolation[]): MssqlQueryForInterpolation[] {
+    let expandedQueries = queries;
+    if (queries && queries.length > 0) {
+      expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
+        const expandedQuery = {
+          ...query,
+          datasource: this.name,
+          rawSql: this.templateSrv.replace(query.rawSql, {}, this.interpolateVariable),
+        };
+        return expandedQuery;
+      });
+    }
+    return expandedQueries;
+  }
+
   query(options: any) {
     const queries = _.filter(options.targets, item => {
       return item.hide !== true;
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/mssql/types.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/mssql/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a166a5c9aa1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/mssql/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+export interface MssqlQueryForInterpolation {
+  alias?: any;
+  format?: any;
+  rawSql?: any;
+  refId?: any;
+  hide?: any;
+}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/mysql/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/mysql/datasource.ts
index f9d6cd79d39..d035a3633f2 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/mysql/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/mysql/datasource.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import { BackendSrv } from 'app/core/services/backend_srv';
 import { IQService } from 'angular';
 import { TemplateSrv } from 'app/features/templating/template_srv';
 import { TimeSrv } from 'app/features/dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+//Types
+import { MysqlQueryForInterpolation } from './types';
 
 export class MysqlDatasource {
   id: any;
@@ -47,6 +49,21 @@ export class MysqlDatasource {
     return quotedValues.join(',');
   };
 
+  interpolateVariablesInQueries(queries: MysqlQueryForInterpolation[]): MysqlQueryForInterpolation[] {
+    let expandedQueries = queries;
+    if (queries && queries.length > 0) {
+      expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
+        const expandedQuery = {
+          ...query,
+          datasource: this.name,
+          rawSql: this.templateSrv.replace(query.rawSql, {}, this.interpolateVariable),
+        };
+        return expandedQuery;
+      });
+    }
+    return expandedQueries;
+  }
+
   query(options: any) {
     const queries = _.filter(options.targets, target => {
       return target.hide !== true;
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/mysql/types.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/mysql/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6be0d2549d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/mysql/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+export interface MysqlQueryForInterpolation {
+  alias?: any;
+  format?: any;
+  rawSql?: any;
+  refId?: any;
+  hide?: any;
+}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/postgres/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/postgres/datasource.ts
index 360fc9f923f..cc0df228b1e 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/postgres/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/postgres/datasource.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import { IQService } from 'angular';
 import { BackendSrv } from 'app/core/services/backend_srv';
 import { TemplateSrv } from 'app/features/templating/template_srv';
 import { TimeSrv } from 'app/features/dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+//Types
+import { PostgresQueryForInterpolation } from './types';
 
 export class PostgresDatasource {
   id: any;
@@ -49,6 +51,21 @@ export class PostgresDatasource {
     return quotedValues.join(',');
   };
 
+  interpolateVariablesInQueries(queries: PostgresQueryForInterpolation[]): PostgresQueryForInterpolation[] {
+    let expandedQueries = queries;
+    if (queries && queries.length > 0) {
+      expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
+        const expandedQuery = {
+          ...query,
+          datasource: this.name,
+          rawSql: this.templateSrv.replace(query.rawSql, {}, this.interpolateVariable),
+        };
+        return expandedQuery;
+      });
+    }
+    return expandedQueries;
+  }
+
   query(options: any) {
     const queries = _.filter(options.targets, target => {
       return target.hide !== true;
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/postgres/types.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/postgres/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d75701e6466
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/postgres/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+export interface PostgresQueryForInterpolation {
+  alias?: any;
+  format?: any;
+  rawSql?: any;
+  refId?: any;
+  hide?: any;
+}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/datasource.ts
index 86dbe75abc8..27f214bd496 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/datasource.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import {
 import { safeStringifyValue } from 'app/core/utils/explore';
 import { TemplateSrv } from 'app/features/templating/template_srv';
 import { TimeSrv } from 'app/features/dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
-import { ExploreUrlState } from 'app/types';
 import TableModel from 'app/core/table_model';
 
 export interface PromDataQueryResponse {
@@ -625,25 +624,19 @@ export class PrometheusDatasource extends DataSourceApi<PromQuery, PromOptions>
     });
   }
 
-  getExploreState(queries: PromQuery[]): Partial<ExploreUrlState> {
-    let state: Partial<ExploreUrlState> = { datasource: this.name };
+  interpolateVariablesInQueries(queries: PromQuery[]): PromQuery[] {
+    let expandedQueries = queries;
     if (queries && queries.length > 0) {
-      const expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
+      expandedQueries = queries.map(query => {
         const expandedQuery = {
           ...query,
+          datasource: this.name,
           expr: this.templateSrv.replace(query.expr, {}, this.interpolateQueryExpr),
-          context: 'explore',
         };
-
         return expandedQuery;
       });
-
-      state = {
-        ...state,
-        queries: expandedQueries,
-      };
     }
-    return state;
+    return expandedQueries;
   }
 
   getQueryHints(query: PromQuery, result: any[]) {
diff --git a/public/app/types/explore.ts b/public/app/types/explore.ts
index cd97de0d664..90c691839ff 100644
--- a/public/app/types/explore.ts
+++ b/public/app/types/explore.ts
@@ -305,6 +305,7 @@ export interface ExploreUrlState {
   range: RawTimeRange;
   ui: ExploreUIState;
   originPanelId?: number;
+  context?: string;
 }
 
 export interface HistoryItem<TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery> {