Queen's guitarist Brian May. Guitarist of the legendary Queen

Brian, there are rumors about a new Queen archival CD ...

We thought that nothing of the kind was left. But then a few things surfaced, and even I was surprised that they survived. These are unfinished recordings. With new technologies, we can complete them without Freddie, as we did once on the Made in Heaven album. Hope to release it before the end of the year.

Are you going to sing yourself?

What do you miss the most from Queen's days?

Well, definitely not touring nine months a year ... I still feel like a member of the family that Queen was for all of us. There is no substitute for this. And, of course, I miss Freddie himself. It’s like I’ve lost my brother.

How did the real Freddie Mercury differ from the way we imagine him?

From the outside it might seem that he is frivolous, hovering in the clouds. But he was very collected and specific, always very clearly formulated his thoughts, separating what is important to him and what is not. It didn’t seem very polite at times. If at an inopportune moment they approached him and asked "Can I get an autograph?", Freddie could say: "No, you can't." And if he was very busy, he could put it more strongly: “Fuck off, darling”. And many reacted like this: “Wow! Freddie Mercury himself told me "Fuck off"! Great!" I remember we were supposed to play in South America, there were a quarter of a million viewers. And before the concert, the interviewer asked him: "How does it feel to perform in front of such a huge audience?" Freddie replied: “I don’t know, we haven’t performed yet,” which made us laugh a lot.

You wrote half of Queen's hits, but for the common people, Queen is Freddie. Isn't it offensive?

No. Freddie was the face of the group, and this was our collective conscious decision. I myself came up with the design for the cover of the first disc, and if you remember, we are not there, only it is in the spotlight.

Brian, you're not exactly your typical rock star: an astronomer scientist, no drugs or alcohol, no bullying.

Perhaps this is true, I am not quite typical. Although we were all atypical in our own way. But no one ever came up to me and said, “Why didn't you trash the hotel room? You're a rock star! " Yes, we had fun parties, but the issue of alcoholism and drug addiction was not on our agenda.

Hero hit list

Hobby: old stereo photos

Drink: Guinness beer

Actor: Clint Eastwood

We're still impressed by your performance with George Michael at the Freddie Memorial Tribute. Have you ever thought to invite him to perform with you?

George and I are very good friends and he is a great singer, but we are too different musically and stylistically. So the answer is no. In addition, he has his own career, which he is unlikely to want to give up.

How do you feel when your We Will Rock You is being sung at the stadium?

I am very proud ... And I always smile, and maybe also blush a little. At such moments, I feel that music can sink into the human soul much deeper than it is customary to think about the songs that are played on the radio.

So, Brian, can you tell us what to expect from your concert with Kerry Ellis? Is it for your fans, Queen fans or just music lovers?

I think this is for those, and for others, and for others. Our performances with Kerry are not like Queen concerts, although we will be performing a lot of songs from Queen's repertoire. This is something intimate, free and changing from time to time. It's like it happens at home in the living room: we talk to the audience, the candles are on, Kerry is singing, and I play the guitar and a little on the keyboard. In this context, old songs take on new and unexpected power. There will be not only acoustics, some electricity too.

It is clear what to expect in Moscow from Brian May. What does Brian May expect from Moscow?

Since childhood, Red Square has been a symbol of enemy territory for all of us, something very frightening. And now, being in Red Square and feeling the warm attitude of people towards themselves, I still feel some kind of mystery. And this applies to all of Moscow. Over the years, Moscow has been Europeanizing, but I would not want it to lose this mystery.

You are quite comfortable with the new digital world: you blog, you sit on Twitter ...

I have to! Maybe it was easy for me, because, as you know, I am also an astrophysicist, a scientist. I communicate a lot virtually, although in the days of Queen I had little contact with the world, I didn’t even respond to fan letters - I thought that I didn’t have time for that. And now I tweet - and dozens of people answer me, and I answer them. I do charity work, animal rights, and without the Internet, I simply would not be able to conduct my work.

Brian May is the greatest musician of the legendary band Queen... He is the author of the most popular Queen songs and is ranked 26th on the list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

May's guitar playing became the band's trademark and was no less recognizable than the vocals of Freddie Mercury. Some believed that a synthesizer was used when recording the albums, Brian's guitar solos sounded so varied and unusual.

Popular videos of Brian May

Brian May Fantastic Guitar Solo Queen Freddie Mercury

Top 10 Brian May Solos (on Queen)

Brian May biography

Brian May was born in 1947 in London and graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, is an astrophysicist. May's first guitar was given on his 7th birthday, but the Red Special, on which he performed his most famous guitar solos, he designed with his father in 1963. Before Queen was formed, Brian played in several musical groups - Nineteen Eighty-Four and Smile. But in 1970 the legendary Queen line-up was assembled, which has gone down in the history of music forever.

Brian May is the author of such hits of the group as"We Will Rock You", "The Show Must Go On", "Who Wants To Live Forever" and others. It was May and Murky who wrote most of the band's songs. After the death of Freddie Mercury and the collapse of Queen, Brian May took up a solo career and recorded 8 successful albums. In addition, the musician is the founder of the animal welfare fund. Brian May has been married twice and has 3 children from his first marriage.

Brian Harold May Born July 19, 1947 in Great Britain (Hampton, Middlesex). His musical education began quite early. When Brian was five years old, his parents enrolled the boy in a music school to study the piano. He hated these activities, since they were held on Saturdays, when ordinary children could play peacefully. Brian's father was a capable musician himself and, in addition to the piano, had a knack for playing the ukulele. He decided to teach his son the same when he was six years old. Brian really enjoyed learning to play the ukulele, so he wanted to have his own. He received the cherished instrument as a gift from his parents for his seventh birthday. The guitar turned out to be, unfortunately, too big and needed modification. With the help of his father, Brian managed to fit the instrument to the tedious size. Since the boy loved electric sound, he also made a pickup, consisting of a copper wire wrapped around 3 small magnets.

Over time, Brian's interest in music grew, especially after listening to records from the Everly Brothers and buddy Holly. From time to time he tried to find the chords of their songs, gradually switching to a self-made solo. Gradually, he began to analyze and disassemble songs like puzzles that he had to solve. Despite the fact that the boy hated the piano, he attended classes until he was 9 years old and until he passed the 4th level of theory and passed practical exams. At this point, Brian decided to stop his piano lessons. From now on, since he was previously forced to play, he began to get a little pleasure from the instrument.

Brian did not give up his guitar, but felt that his instrument was inadequate to the music he was trying to imitate. With little money during this period, Brian was unable to afford the new Les Paul or Stratocaster that many of his friends had. However, here the masterful abilities of Brian and his father came to the rescue: in 1963, they decided to independently build a guitar for Brian's individual needs. Particular difficulties were caused by the selection and search for parts for the guitar. So the neck, for example, was hand carved by Brian from an old mahogany mantelpiece. The deco had to be made partly from oak and whatever wood they could find. A box of buttons went on the frets. Problems were caused by homemade pickups that could not produce the desired sound. I had to purchase 3 pieces that went through manual adjustment. The bridge was hand-carved from steel, and the tremolo system consisted of two springs from a motorcycle. Brian and his father have created a masterpiece - the guitar known as the Red Special.

Brian graduated from high school in 1965 and soon began studying astronomy at Imperial College London. At the same time, Brian was actively performing with a group called "1984", whose repertoire was everything: from to Snake Dancer. The group lasted until 1968. However, soon Brian, together with Tim Staffel, vocalist and bassist of "1984", decided to assemble a new line-up. Roger Taylor came to them on the announcement. In the same year, May composes his first melody. Later, Freddie Mercury came to them, and the group was renamed Queen.

For 30 years of his musical career, Brian May has earned himself a place of honor in the world history of rock. Brian can be called one of the most successful producers and poets of his generation. The list of songs Bayan wrote during the course includes hits such as "Fat Bottomed Girls", "We Will Rock You", "Tie Your Mother Down", "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "I Want It All". For his musical ability, he is often called a virtuoso. To date, 22 compositions that belong to the pen of Brian May have entered the top 20 world charts.

In the summer of 1984, Guild Guitars released a copy of Brian's homemade guitar under the name BHM1. Mei was directly involved in the entire production process. Unfortunately, however, in 1985 Guild Guitars and Brian had a disagreement over the design of the instrument, so production of the BHM1 soon ceased.

In October 1991, Brian becomes the organizer of the rock part of the Seville Guitar Legends Festival. For performances, he selected Nuno Bettencourt, Joe Satriani, Steve Way, Joe Welch and many others. In April of that year, an advertising agency in London asked Brian to write music for a Ford car advertisement. "Driven By You" was so popular that Brian's solo single was released on November 25th. This composition entered the top 10 of the British charts. In addition, for Driven By You, Brian received an Ivor Novello award in the Best Advertising Music category. In September 1992 Brian's long-awaited album "BACK TO THE LIGHT" was released. And throughout 1993, Brian gave a series of concerts in support of his album in the US and Europe, including several concerts that The Brian May Band hosted as a support group for Guns'n'Roses. Soon, Brian went on tour with his The Brian May Band again, and in 1994 a video and audio version of the live album was released, which was recorded during a performance at the Brixton Academy.

In addition, Brian is excellent at writing musical scores for films. Queen were the first to write a soundtrack for a feature film. It was a fantastic Flash Gordon. In 1986, the music was written for the cult film "Highlander", and in 1996 - the opera for the film "Pinnochio" by Steve Baron. Brian did not pass by his attention and the world of theaters: he wrote and performed music for "Macbeth" company "Red and Gold Theater", which was held at the Riverside Theater in London in 1987. Brian's solo career was marked by the release of two highly successful albums: "Back To The Light" in 1991, which included the songs "Too Much Love Will Kill You" and "Driven By You" by the award-winning Ivor Novello, and "Another World" 1998. Over the years, Brian's songs have been a source of inspiration for many bands and artists. Def Leppard, Ted Nugent, George Michael, Five, Elaine Paige, Shirley Bassey and Metallica have recorded their versions of his songs.

One of Brian's latest musical achievements is the soundtrack to the art film "Furia" (France). In addition, Brian constantly collaborates with young artists. He also wrote the themes for the TV shows "Fun At The Funeral Parlor" and "The Scretch". In recent years, Brian has released 3 compilations under the series "The Best Air Guitar Album In The World", which include his favorite songs from various bands. He also contributed to the surround sound work on two Queen albums, "The Game" and "A Night At The Opera". Very often, Brian and Roger Taylor took part in charity concerts together, which are aimed at solving various global problems of our time.

In November 2002, the University of Hertfordshire awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree. As an amateur professor, he has participated in the BBC's Sky at night, hosted by his longtime friend Patrick Moore. In co-authorship with the hosts of the program, he published a book: “Big Bang! The Complete History of the Universe ". The edition was published in Russian in 2007. On April 14, 2008, he was appointed Rector of the John Moores University of Liverpool. In 2011, Brian May took part in the recording of the track You and I, which was included on Lady Gaga's album Born This Way.

Amplifiers

Vox AC30 / 6TB Top Boost Combo / 2x12

Guitars

Home-Made "Red Special" Electric Guitar

Guitar Effects

Dunlop Original CryBaby Wah Pedal
Glen Fryer Treble Booster Brian May Model
Rocktron Midimate Foot Controller

• He attended Hampton High School. Graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Imperial College London. He has a number of publications on astronomy, and also wrote a Ph.D. thesis, and only after almost 40 years he defended it, since the fame of the Queen group threw aside the scientific career of a musician.
• He became interested in the guitar at the age of 7. In 1963, together with his father, he began to design his own guitar. The young musician did not have money for a Fender Stratocaster, but this did not stop Brian. A beam from an 18th century fireplace and details from an old cabinet came under my arm. Buttons and parts from an old motorcycle were also involved. After two years, the product was ready. This is how the Red Special guitar appeared, which cost the musician only 8 pounds.
• Brian talked about creating his guitar this way: “I started with the classical Spanish guitar and started experimenting to see how the sound changed. I didn't want my guitar to sound like a Fender. I also knew I wanted 24 frets and I could never figure out why people stopped at 22. ”
• Brian May's musical career began in 1968. At first he was in the group Smile, which later reborn as Queen.
• Brian May on the band's favorite album: “They were all important milestones in our development. Queen II will always be my personal favorite, as it was then a huge leap forward ... the biggest leap we have ever made in our history. Suddenly we found the opportunity to dispose of all the power and knowledge that we had accumulated, we also had the money and time to use it. "
• Now I’m Here, We Will Rock You, Dragon Attack, I Want It All, God Save The Queen, Hammer To Fall and many other Queen songs were written by Brian May.
• His main instrument to this day is the Red Special, but the musician uses a number of other guitars on stage and in the studio: Gibson Flying V, Fender Telecaster, Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Firebird and Ibanez JS. The guitarist's favorite amp is the Vox AC30.
• A sixpenny coin instead of a pick is Brian May's calling card: “I feel like it gives me closer contact with the strings and more control over them as I play. I hold it loosely between my thumb and forefinger, with the index bent. " The coin was withdrawn from circulation in the early 1970s, but in 1993 the Royal Mint minted a batch of these coins specially for Brian May, featuring the guitarist himself.
• May about the main thing for a musician: "I believe that a musician's job is to travel everywhere, entertain people and tell the truth as you see it."
• Brian is the tallest member of Queen at 188 cm.
• May about her activities: “I am not one of those who sit on the beaches. I love creating, doing things and solving problems. If I was not busy, it would be a disaster. "
• Brian May on his food preferences: “Yes, I'm a vegetarian, but not strict. I do not eat meat at all and I hardly eat fish. Well, except for those cases when there is no choice ... But I believe that we are all in one way or another trying to take some kind of conscious position on this issue. "
• He loves Guinness beer and Baileys liqueur, but otherwise does not abuse alcohol, smoking and drugs. Leads a rather restrained lifestyle.
• The musician is an ardent defender of wildlife, donates funds to various projects and helps foundations. The asteroid 52665 Brianmay was named in his honor in 2008.

Biography of Brian May / Brian May

Brian Harold May was born on July 19, 1947 in Hampton, a suburb of London. He began playing guitar at the age of seven and rehearsed with amateur bands at 15. His famous guitar Red special Brian May designed it himself with the help of his father. They used oak boards from a 200-year-old fireplace, parts from an old motorcycle and mother-of-pearl buttons. Red special took part in the recording of most of the Queen's songs and faithfully serves its creator to this day.

Brian May's musical career

Brian May Graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, London Imperial College... In 1964, he organized a student group called " 1984 "In honor of the novel George Orwell... In 1968 the group disbanded, and together with the vocalist and bassist Tim Staffel Brian May decided to assemble a new lineup. I responded to the ad Roger Taylor, student of the Faculty of Dentistry at Imperial College. The new group was named Smile. They performed in London pubs and educational institutions and acquired their own fans.

In 1970 Slime left Tim Staffel, and took its place Freddie Mercury... The renewed group was renamed queen. It existed in its unchanged composition until 1991.

In 1973, the first queen album was released, including four songs written by Brian May... The world fame for the musicians was brought by the second disc called queenII, and the album released in 1975 ANightAtTheOpera made a splash and to this day is considered one of the best albums of all times and peoples.

Brian May has become the author of many Queen hits. He wrote the song “ WeWillRockYou ", which has become the anthem of many football clubs and has been used many times in film and television. Brian May also owns the composition “ Fat Bottomed Girls», « 39 », « Tie Your Mother Down», « Who Wants to Live Forever" and " I want it all". He is also the author of the hit “ ShowMustGoOn", Which has become one of the most famous songs in rock music.

Brian May uses a sixpence coin as a pick. They went out of circulation in the late 70s, but in 1993 the Royal Mint released a small batch especially for the musician.

After the queen split in 1991, Brian May took up a solo career. His album “ BackToTheLidht”Was released in 1992 and was a great success. Later the disc “ Resurrection", And as part of the tour of the album" AnotherWorld»Brian May first visited Russia, giving concerts in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

In the mid-2000s Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor decided to revive queen... They invited as vocalist Paul Rogers, the former lead singer of the groups Free and Bad company, and in 2005 went on a world tour. In 2008, a new album was recorded titled " The cosmos rocks". Simultaneously with the release of the album, a world tour began, during which the musicians visited Kiev and Moscow. In 2012 Brian May and Roger Taylor went on tour again, this time accompanied by an American singer as vocalist Adam Lambert, reality TV finalist American idol.

Brian May is the founder of the Save Me Foundation and has been dedicated to protecting animals from abuse for many years. In particular, the musician opposes the repeal of the law prohibiting "bloody sport" - hunting foxes and other animals with dogs.

Personal life of Brian May / Brian May

The musician's first wife was Chrissy Mullens, their marriage lasted from 1976 to 1988. They have three children: Jimmy (1978), Louise (1981) and Emily Ruth (1987). In the early 90s, Brian May began dating an actress Anita Dobson, at the end of 2000, they legalized their relationship.

Brian May solo discography

Star Fleet Project (1983).
Back To The Light (1992).
Resurrection (1994, only released in Japan).
Live At The Brixton Academy (1994).
Another World (1998).
Red Special (1998, released only in Japan).
Furia (2000).