Brian May almost became an astrophysicist. But then the reputation of rock overtook him. Today the guitarist of the legendary band Queen turns 75.
The corona pandemic has left emotional marks on Brian May. On Instagram, where the Queen guitarist is very active, he recently gave insights into his inner life. “The feelings I have are confusing,” wrote the man with the famous huge, now gray, curly mane. In addition, May posted a video showing him arriving at a hotel in Italy. “Scenes like this really touch me – they touch us all.”
With a mask, shielded by security personnel, the musician makes his way through cheering fans in the short clip and tries to keep his distance on tour in accordance with the self-imposed Corona rules. “Situations like this are unbearable at the moment, I end up isolated, shielded from the human contact we all long for,” May said. “It’s ironic… to be loved like this and still be so alone .”
Queen guitarist Brian May turns 75
After all, May, who turns 75 on July 19, is now playing regular concerts again with his longtime bandmate, drummer and friend Roger Taylor and singer Adam Lambert. “Seeing the faces and making eye contact, seeing the waving hands, hearing the cheers, that’s something unique,” May enthused.Queen Adam played on her gigantic “Rhapsody Tour”, which will take her through Europe until the end of July Lambert also completed an impressive ten sold out shows at London’s o2 arena.
Looking at the concerts, May not only expressed his enthusiasm for the euphoria of the passionate Queen fans, but also made it clear what he didn’t like. “What’s not so inspiring is looking at the cell phone cameras, but I get it,” he said, also criticizing cardboard signs with fans asking for drumsticks or guitar picks. “Especially when these signs block the view of someone behind them,” he complained. “I’ll never encourage people to do that. I always give the pick to someone who doesn’t ask.”
After the death of their legendary lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1991, it was more than a decade before May and Taylor even performed under the Queen name again. The duo was inspired by the success of the Queen musical We Will Rock You. And after five years fronting former Bad Company and Free singer Paul Rodgers, an appearance on American Idol led to his collaboration with Adam Lambert. The loud-voiced, flamboyant singer came second on the TV show but wowed May and Taylor. Queen Adam Lambert have been touring regularly for ten years.
Queen emerged in 1970 from May’s band Smile, in which he had played during his studies. The guitarist, who was born Brian Harold May on July 19, 1947 in what is now Twickenham, London, studied mathematics and physics. After graduating, he is said to have turned down an offer to start at Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory in Cheshire as a PhD student. May, who never really looked like a rock star despite his curly mane, preferred to concentrate on the music. In hindsight a good decision.
With exceptional singer and performer Mercury and bassist John Deacon, Queen developed into one of the most successful rock bands in music history in the 1970s. Hymns for eternity like “We Will Rock You”, “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “We Are The Champions” made the quartet world famous. Again and again they changed their sound and experimented. In the 80s they delivered radio-ready pop and rock hits on the assembly line, including “I Want To Break Free”, “Radio Ga Ga” and “Under Pressure”. The last concert with Mercury, who died in 1991 as a result of AIDS, took place in 1986 in Knebworth, England.
Freddie Mercury’s death bothered May for a long time
After Mercury’s death, which hit May hard for a long time, he initially concentrated on his solo career. In 1992 he released the album Back To The Light, on which he provided vocals, with the somewhat successful single Too Much Love Will Kill You. Queen originally recorded the song but did not release it. A version featuring Mercury’s vocals appeared on the posthumously released 1995 Queen album Made In Heaven.
The song deals with the end of May’s marriage to Chrissy Mullen, which lasted from 1977 to 1988. With Mullen, the guitarist has three children – James, Louisa and Emily. Reason for the marriage: In the mid-1980s he worked with the singer and actress Anita Dobson on an album and fell in love with Dobson. The two got married in 2000. The Queen song “I Want It All” is said to have been inspired by May’s turbulent love life during this time.
In addition to his musical career, Brian May never gave up his enthusiasm for the natural sciences – and even completed his doctoral thesis after more than three decades. In 2007, Imperial College London awarded him a PhD in astrophysics. His work has also been published as a book. Reading for Queen fans is “A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud” by Dr. However, Brian May can only be recommended to a limited extent.