Brian May

Brian Harold May CBE (born 19 July 1947 in Hampton, London, England) became famous in the 1970s and 1980s as the virtuoso guitarist of the rock group Queen and composed many of their hits, including "We Will Rock You", "Hammer to Fall", "Tie Your Mother Down", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "I Want it All", and "The Show Must Go On".

Related Topics:
CBE - 19 July - 1947 - Hampton - London - England - 1970s - 1980s - Virtuoso - Guitarist - Queen

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He was also known for creating harmonious guitar riffs and solos, and in studios would often overdub his guitar leads in an orchestral style, adding to the harmonies.

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He remained an active musician in the 1990s, after Freddie Mercury's death, publishing two solo albums and taking part in special events like Pavarotti and Friends, Montreux Jazz Festival, 46664 at Cape Town, and Party at the Palace for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.

Related Topics:
1990s - Freddie Mercury - Queen - Golden Jubilee - 2002

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May has played a range of guitars, most often the Red Special, which he designed with his father, Harold May, and built with wood from a most unlikely source — an old fireplace. His comments on this instrument, from Queen In Their Own Words (ed. Mick St. Michael, Omnibus Press, 1992, p62) are:

Related Topics:
Guitar - Red Special

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:"I like a big neck - thick, flat and wide. I lacquered the fingerboard with Rustin's Plastic Coating. The tremolo is interesting in that the arm's made from an old bicycle saddle bag carrier, the knob at the end's off a knitting needle and the springs are valve springs from an old motorbike."

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In addition to using his homemade guitar, he prefers to use coins (especially sixpenny pieces) instead of a more traditional plastic plectrum, on the basis that their rigidity gives him more control in playing. He is known to constantly carry coins in his pockets specifically for this purpose.

Related Topics:
Sixpenny pieces - Plectrum

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May's early heroes were Cliff Richard and The Shadows, whom he says were the most metallic thing out at the time. Many years later he gained his opportunity to play on separate occasions with both Cliff Richard and Shadows lead guitarist Hank Marvin. May was proud upon hearing that Cliff Richard had mentioned in an interview that he would have Brian May in his personal fantasy band. As well as recording with Hank Marvin, May also contributed to the 1996 album "Twang!: A Tribute to Hank Marvin & the Shadows," playing FBI. The album featured other greats such as Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, and Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt of Status Quo.

Related Topics:
Cliff Richard - The Shadows - Hank Marvin - Mark Knopfler - Dire Straits - Tony Iommi - Black Sabbath - Ritchie Blackmore - Deep Purple - Peter Green - Fleetwood Mac - Neil Young - Francis Rossi - Rick Parfitt - Status Quo

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May, unlike fellow bandmates Mercury and Roger Taylor, and in contrast with many rock stars, never recreationally used drugs, was not sexually promiscuous, didn't smoke and rarely drank. He was known for being rather quiet and reserved at parties. When he does drink, his favorite beer is Guinness.

Related Topics:
Roger Taylor - Rock star - Beer - Guinness

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May has stated in interviews that he suffered from depression in the late 1980s, even to the point of contemplating suicide, and that drug use would have exacerbated any problems he faced. At the time, during the recording sessions of the Queen album The Miracle he was leaving his wife, Queen was not playing any live shows, and his father died.

Related Topics:
Depression - Suicide - The Miracle

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May also wanted to be sure all of his experiences were completely real, and he felt that was impossible under the influence of any narcotics.

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May's father Harold had been a longtime cigarette smoker, and this likely contributed to his early death. As a result, May dislikes smoking, even to the point where he specifically prohibits smoking indoors at his more recent concerts.

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His avoidance of alcohol can be traced to an early concert where Queen played with the band Aerosmith, and May had a conversation with fellow guitarist Joe Perry backstage. Perry brought out a bottle of whiskey, which the two drank between themselves. May felt so unpleasant during the concert that he promised himself never to have more than one drink before playing.

Related Topics:
Aerosmith - Joe Perry - Whiskey

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In Queen's three-part vocal harmonies, his was generally the mid-range backing vocal, sounding not unlike Mercury's, albeit not quite as strong. On some of his songs he sings the lead vocal, such as "Some Day One Day", "All Dead, All Dead", "Leaving Home Ain't Easy" and "'39".

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He was the tallest member of Queen, and at 6' 1", the only member over 6 feet tall.

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May attended Hampton School and the prestigious Imperial College London and had been part way through a Ph.D. course there when Queen became successful, and never completed his astronomy doctorate. He had written most of his thesis but never submitted it, although his professors claimed it was strong enough to earn him the doctorate. He was a coauthor on at least one scholarly publication http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1974MNRAS.166..439H&db_key=AST&link_type=ABSTRACT&high=430f64f97313399. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science in November 2002 by Hertfordshire University, although it is not typically customary in the United Kingdom for honorary doctors to be called "Doctor".

Related Topics:
Hampton School - Imperial College London - Ph.D. - Astronomy - Thesis - Honorary - Doctorate of Science - 2002 - Hertfordshire University

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Throughout the last several years, he has overseen the remastering of Queen albums and various DVD and Greatest Hits releases. In 2004, he announced he and drummer Roger Taylor were going on tour for the first time in 18 years as "Queen," along with Free/Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers. The tour is being billed as "Queen + Paul Rodgers Spring 2005." In the Queen's birthday honours list of the same year, he was made a Commander of the British Empire "for services to the music industry".

Related Topics:
Free - Bad Company - Paul Rodgers - Queen's

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He has been quoted throughout the years as saying: "I live in my head too much."

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May has also been a vegetarian for a number of years.

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