Guitarist of the legendary Queen. Brian May - guitars and equipment

It turns out that Brian Harold May is not only an outstanding musician. He is an astrophysicist. After graduating from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Imperial College London, he published several scientific articles on astronomy. Moreover, I received academic degree Doctor of Science, defending his dissertation on a topic related to astronomical research in the infrared range. True, Brian succeeded in this only 30 years after writing it - his musical career had not previously allowed it.

“When music called me in the early 70s, I could not help but respond,” the musician recalled in an interview. – It’s as if a sixth sense gave a hint, and intuition did not disappoint. After all, if I had not used this opportunity then, this door would have closed forever. Therefore, I am sure: by abandoning astronomy in favor of music, I did right choice" But May’s decision to return to science and complete her dissertation was just as correct. “Having accomplished this, I experienced great relief,” he shared his feelings. “I’m very pleased that I was able to bring a job started many years ago to completion.”

Rector of the University of Liverpool. John Moores Brian Harold May. Photo: Josh Parry/LJMU

In 2008, for May's outstanding achievements in astrophysics, asteroid No. 52665, Brianmay, was named in his honor. In the same year, Mr. May took up the position of Rector of the University of Liverpool. John Moores and remained there for more than 5 years. To this day he is a research astronomer and continues to lead scientific activity in mathematics and theoretical physics. He co-authored the book: “Big Bang! Full story Universe." Brian also has a lifelong passion for historical stereo photography and has amassed a substantial collection.

Guitar made of mother-of-pearl buttons

Brian May received his first children's guitar as a birthday gift when he was 7 years old. By this time, he already knew how to play the ukulele quite well, following his father’s example. And at the age of 16 the guy got a real acoustic guitar. There was no money in the family to buy a decent instrument, so future musician Together with his father (Harold was an electronics engineer by profession, and a jack of all trades at home), he designed it himself, by hand. As May recalled: “From all the junk lying around in Dad’s workshop.” That is: from an oak beam from an 18th-century fireplace, parts from an old wardrobe, motorcycle valves, a knife blade, and mother-of-pearl buttons. And pickups were made from magnets and wire stuck into my father’s homemade radio. The work lasted more than two years and cost the future musician only 8 pounds. This guitar, Red Special, remains Brian May's main instrument to this day and is heard more often than any other in Queen's hits.

Photo: twitter.com

Get paid by Brian May

Another “trick” of May is that instead of a pick, he uses a sixpence coin all his life, which he holds between his thumb and bent index finger. A particularly curious detail: in the early 1970s, such coins with jagged edges were withdrawn from circulation, but in 1993 the Royal Mint minted a special batch of them: personally Brian May with his image - in anticipation of the famous musician's solo tour.

Brian May Personalized Coin

About the high and eternal

In the Queen group, Brian May is taller than all the participants: his height is 188 centimeters. His innovative, unique guitar skills, combined with the exceptional vocals of Freddie Mercury, created a unique style famous rock band. At the same time, May is not only a composer and guitar virtuoso. He often performed as a keyboard player, played organ and synthesizers, and also performed as lead vocalist. In addition, Brian is a poet who has become the author of such brilliant hit songs and ballads as: “We Will Rock You”, “ The Show Must Go On", "Too Much Love Will Kill You", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "39", "Save Me", "Hammer To Fall..." and many others.

May also writes musical accompaniment for films, series and television projects. His filmography includes several dozen. By the way, “Queen” turned out to be the first rock band to author a soundtrack for a full-length film: it was the 1980s fantasy action adventure film “Flash Gordon” - about total solar eclipse. In a surprising way, this picture was intertwined with another fantasy film - the cult “Highlander,” which was released six years later and laid the foundation for many sequels of the same name. The instrumental compositions for it were written by Michael Kamen, and the songs were again written by the group Queen.

Queen group. Photo: East News

Director Russell Mulcahy asked musicians to write the soundtrack for his Highlander. The band members watched the 40-minute version of the film, and Brian May was most impressed by the scene in which main character, the immortal Connor MacLeod, holds a mortal woman in his arms - his dying wife. Already on the way home, the composer began sketching the future hit “Who Wants to Live Forever,” which was heard not only in the film - in that very episode, but later in different parts television series "Highlander".

Recalling this trip, May told British journalists: “I heard this composition in my head, and then, in the car, it was almost finished. My manager, to whom I sang it when he brought me home, was very surprised. He asked, “Where did that come from?”, and I answered, “I don’t even know...” A remarkable detail: the title of this symphonic ballad was taken by Brian from the movie “Flash Gordon.” And one more interesting point: in “Highlander” the song is performed by Freddie Mercury, and on the record the first verse and a few lines from the third verse are sung by May.

Great Depression

In the late 1980s, after the death of his father, with whom Brian was very close, and the beginning of divorce proceedings from his first wife, the musician fell into a deep depression. One day he openly admitted that he was contemplating suicide. A particularly acute mental crisis occurred in 1991, after the death of Freddie Mercury, which followed his incurable illness (AIDS). Realizing that he was unable to cope with his mental state on his own, May turned to psychiatric clinic. Explaining his actions later, he said: “I felt completely sick - exhausted and torn to pieces... I grieved for a long time. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of irreparable loss... I had complete decline strength..."

Brian did not try to get out of the psychological impasse with the help of drugs. Unlike many of his emotionally unbridled rock musician colleagues, May did not use drugs. “I never even smoked weed, although I inhaled a lot of smoke from others,” said the guitarist. And he commented on his position as follows: “I felt that under no circumstances should I become addicted to drugs. This is dangerous, especially during periods of depression when I lost emotional control over myself and my life.”

With Freddie Mercury. Photo: twitter.com

Peace, work, May!

The legendary guitarist leads a very restrained lifestyle: he does not eat meat at all, and occasionally eats fish. From alcoholic drinks prefers Guinness beer and Baileys liqueur. Smoking is taboo (as opposed to my father, who was a heavy smoker). Not seen in promiscuous sexual relationships. Does not accept beach holiday. He is actively involved in charity work: he provides assistance to various foundations and makes considerable donations to various projects related to global problems. He especially ardently protects nature and animals, selflessly fights for their rights.

In an interview, Brian explained his position as follows: “In my youth, I didn’t really believe the “starlets” who said that they adore animals and fight for their rights. And now I’m doing it myself.” The musician actually goes to the authorities, collects signatures, and obtains audiences with high-ranking officials. “It takes a lot of nerves and strength,” May once admitted in an interview. - But when I return home in the evening and lie down on the sofa with a can of beer, I realize that the day was not lived in vain. Essentially, by advocating for animal rights, I do the same thing when I create something in music. And I also rejoice at success if it happens - no matter how pompous it may sound...”

In addition, May constantly participates in charity concerts. Recently, in the company of other legendary musicians: Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, and others, he recorded a video in support of people affected by the huge fire that broke out on June 14 in London in a 27-story residential building. All proceeds from sales and broadcasts will go to the victims and families of the victims.

Brian tied himself to family ties twice. In 1976, he married Chrissie Mullens. The marriage, which lasted 8 years, gave the musician three children: his son Jimmy (James) was born in ’78, three years later his daughter Louise was born, and five years later his second daughter, Emily Ruth.

With wife Anita Dobson and son Jimmy. Photo: twitter.com

With daughters Emily and Louise. Photo: twitter.com

For many years, May officially remained a bachelor, although since the early 90s he had been living in a civil marriage with actress Anita Dobson. And according to the tabloid media, he began dating her much earlier, while still married. In 2000, Anita became Brian's legal wife and remains so to this day.

With wife Anita Dobson. Photo: Global Look Press

From Brian May:

I have neither the desire nor the need to do anything for money. And I don’t need fame anymore - I’ve seen enough of it, I’m fed up with it and I’ve seen enough of what it can do to people. The question is, why am I doing so many different things? Only because I love it so much and I just can’t stop..."

Knowing that Queen's music has impacted the lives of people all over the world makes me happy. It's an honor for me.

In life you always need to take steps, but not small ones, but big ones. Because if you move in tiny steps or, which is really bad, don’t do anything at all, nothing in life will change. You will mark time, not developing, and years later you will regret that you wasted your time. This is my life philosophy.

Music and art bring people together better than anything else.
- In rock music, in order not to die out, you cannot repeat yourself. You need to look forward and be open to everything new. This is the only way to feel the fullness of life.

Education

May graduated from Hampton School. Hampton School) and the prestigious Department of Physics and Mathematics at Imperial College London. Brian had already written the bulk of his PhD thesis on infrared astronomical research and had two scientific publications in astronomy: in the journal Nature and the Monthly Bulletin of the Royal Astronomical Society when the success of Queen forced him to interrupt his scientific career.

Music career

Started playing guitar at the age of seven. Due to the lack of money for young May's dream - a Fender Stratocaster - he and his father constructed the famous Red Special guitar from a solid oak board cut from an 18th-century fireplace, parts from an old motorcycle and mother-of-pearl buttons.

In 1964, May organized the student group 1984, with which he accompanied Jimi Hendrix in 1967. The group broke up in 1968, but soon decided to form together with 1984 vocalist and bassist Tim Staffel. new line-up. Roger Taylor, a dental student at Imperial College, responded to an advertisement looking for a drummer “in the style of Mitch Mitchell/Ginger Baker.” In the same year, May composed his first own melody.

It is the Red Special that is most often heard in Queen hits, but other instruments were sometimes used: Burns Double Six (“Long Away”), Fender Telecaster (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”), Ibanez (“Nothing But Blue”) and Parker Fly ("Mother Love")

Brian began preparing his debut full-length album in 1991, shortly before Mercury's death. The album's release was preceded by the single "Driven by You". The song was written for a Ford advertising campaign and was very successful in Britain. In support of "Back to the light" Brian May organized a global world tour. Following these tours, the live album “Live at the Brixton Academy” was released, which featured both solo material and Queen classics.

After Queen broke up, May became involved solo career. He managed to record seven rather successful solo albums. May was also noted for writing the music for the video game “Rise of the Robots.”

Our time

IN at the moment Brian continues musical career in the Queen group and conducts scientific activities in the direction of theoretical physics and mathematics. In 2007, he completed his PhD thesis in astrophysics and passed the oral exam. On June 18, 2008, at the suggestion of Sir Patrick Moore, asteroid 52665 Brianmay was named in May's honor.

In October 2010, Brian May was awarded an award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare ( IFAW) for his contribution to animal welfare. The awards ceremony took place in the House of Lords.

In 2009 he was awarded the Armenian Order of Honor.

The guitar is played with a sixpence coin, which went out of circulation in the early 70s, but a small batch of these coins were released by the Royal Mint in 1993 so that he could continue to use them as a pick.

Queen songs written by Brian May

• "Doing All Right" (with Staffel)
• "The Night Comes Down"
• "Son and Daughter"
• "Procession"
• "Father to Son"
• "White Queen (As It Began)"
• "Some Day One Day"
• "Brighton Rock"
• "Now I'm Here"
• "Dear Friends"
• "Stone Cold Crazy" (with Mercury, Taylor and Deacon)
• "Sweet Lady"
• "Good Company"
• "God Save the Queen"
• "Tie Your Mother Down"
• "Long Away"
• "White Man"
• "All Dead, All Dead"
• "Sleeping on the Sidewalk"
• "Dead on Time"
• Dreamer's Ball
• "Leaving Home Ain't Easy"
• "Dragon Attack"
• "Sail Away Sweet Sister"
• "Save Me"
• "Flash's Theme"
• "Flash to the Rescue"
• "Battle Theme"
• "The Wedding March"
• "Marriage of Dale and Ming" (with Taylor)
• "Crash Dive on Mingo City"
• "Flash's Theme Reprise (Victory Celebrations)"
• "The Hero"
• "Dancer"
• "Put Out the Fire"
• "Las Palabras De Amor (The Words of Love)"
• "Tear It Up"
• "Machines or Back to Humans" (with Taylor)
• "Hammer to Fall"
• "Is This the World We Created?" (with Mercury)
• "I Go Crazy"
• "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)"
• "I Can't Live With You"
• "Bijou" (with Mercury)
• "Lost Opportunity"
• "Too Much Love Will Kill You" (with Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers)
• "Mother Love" (with Mercury)
• "No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)"

Brian May solos on the following songs:

• "Some Day One Day"
• "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)"
• "'39"
• "Good Company"
• "Long Away"
• "All Dead, All Dead"
• "Sleeping on the Sidewalk"
• "Leaving Home Ain't Easy"
• "Flash" (middle verse)
• "Sail Away Sweet Sister" (Freddie sings verse before guitar solo)
• "Who Wants to Live Forever" (first verse)
• "I Want It All" (verse before guitar solo)
• "Lost Opportunity" (B-side of the single "I'm Going Slightly Mad")
• "Let Me Live" (last verse)
• "Mother Love" (last verse)
• "No-One But You" (first and last verses)

Brian May's Complete Discography

• 1. Star Fleet Project(October 31, 1983).
• 2. Back to the Light(September 28, 1992).
• 3. Resurrection(January 31, 1994 in Japan only).
• 4. Live at the Brixton Academy(February 7, 1994).
• 5. Another World(June 1, 1998).
• 6. Red Special(October 7, 1998 in Japan only).
• 7. Furia(November 20, 2000).

Albums featuring Brian May

• 1. Pavarotti & Friends 1(participated in a concert recorded in 1993);
• 2. Mission: Impossible II (2000);
• 3. Zu & Co. - Live at the Royal Albert Hall(the album was released in December 2004 only in Italy);
• 4. Anthems(Kerry Ellis album 2010, May acted as producer);
• 5. Tangerine Dream and Brian May. Starmus - Sonic Universe (2013);
• 6. The solo on “The Devil” from Motörhead’s latest album “Bad Magic.”

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Notes

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• TV channel "Moscow-24" (video)

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Excerpt characterizing May, Brian

Prince Andrei saw that the officer was in that drunken fit of causeless rage in which people do not remember what they say. He saw that his intercession for the doctor’s wife in the wagon was filled with what he feared most in the world, what is called ridicule [ridiculous], but his instinct said something else. Before the officer had time to finish his last words, Prince Andrei, his face disfigured from rage, rode up to him and raised his whip:
- Please let me in!
The officer waved his hand and hurriedly drove away.
“It’s all from them, from the staff, it’s all a mess,” he grumbled. - Do as you please.
Prince Andrei hastily, without raising his eyes, rode away from the doctor's wife, who called him a savior, and, recalling with disgust the smallest details of this humiliating scene, galloped further to the village where, as he was told, the commander-in-chief was located.
Having entered the village, he got off his horse and went to the first house with the intention of resting at least for a minute, eating something and bringing into clarity all these offensive thoughts that tormented him. “This is a crowd of scoundrels, not an army,” he thought, approaching the window of the first house, when a familiar voice called him by name.
He looked back. Leaning out of a small window beautiful face Nesvitsky. Nesvitsky, chewing something with his juicy mouth and waving his arms, called him to him.
- Bolkonsky, Bolkonsky! Don't you hear, or what? “Go quickly,” he shouted.
Entering the house, Prince Andrei saw Nesvitsky and another adjutant eating something. They hastily turned to Bolkonsky asking if he knew anything new. On their faces, so familiar to him, Prince Andrei read an expression of anxiety and concern. This expression was especially noticeable on Nesvitsky’s always laughing face.
-Where is the commander-in-chief? – asked Bolkonsky.
“Here, in that house,” answered the adjutant.
- Well, is it true that there is peace and surrender? – asked Nesvitsky.
- I'm asking you. I don’t know anything except that I got to you by force.
- What about us, brother? Horror! “I’m sorry, brother, they laughed at Mack, but it’s even worse for us,” Nesvitsky said. - Well, sit down and eat something.
“Now, prince, you won’t find any carts or anything, and your Peter God knows where,” said another adjutant.
-Where is the main apartment?
– We’ll spend the night in Tsnaim.
“And I loaded everything I needed onto two horses,” said Nesvitsky, “and they made me excellent packs.” At least escape through the Bohemian mountains. It's bad, brother. Are you really unwell, why are you shuddering like that? - Nesvitsky asked, noticing how Prince Andrei twitched, as if from touching a Leyden jar.
“Nothing,” answered Prince Andrei.
At that moment he remembered his recent clash with the doctor’s wife and the Furshtat officer.
-What is the commander-in-chief doing here? – he asked.
“I don’t understand anything,” said Nesvitsky.
“All I understand is that everything is disgusting, disgusting and disgusting,” said Prince Andrei and went to the house where the commander-in-chief stood.
Passing by Kutuzov's carriage, the tortured horses of the retinue and the Cossacks speaking loudly among themselves, Prince Andrei entered the entryway. Kutuzov himself, as Prince Andrei was told, was in the hut with Prince Bagration and Weyrother. Weyrother was an Austrian general who replaced the murdered Schmitt. In the entryway little Kozlovsky was squatting in front of the clerk. The clerk on an inverted tub, turning up the cuffs of his uniform, hastily wrote. Kozlovsky’s face was exhausted - he, apparently, had not slept at night either. He looked at Prince Andrei and did not even nod his head to him.
– Second line... Wrote it? - he continued, dictating to the clerk, - Kiev Grenadier, Podolsk...
“You won’t have time, your honor,” the clerk answered disrespectfully and angrily, looking back at Kozlovsky.
At that time, Kutuzov’s animatedly dissatisfied voice was heard from behind the door, interrupted by another, unfamiliar voice. By the sound of these voices, by the inattention with which Kozlovsky looked at him, by the irreverence of the exhausted clerk, by the fact that the clerk and Kozlovsky were sitting so close to the commander-in-chief on the floor near the tub, and by the fact that the Cossacks holding the horses laughed loudly under window of the house - from all this, Prince Andrei felt that something important and unfortunate was about to happen.
Prince Andrei urgently turned to Kozlovsky with questions.
“Now, prince,” said Kozlovsky. – Disposition to Bagration.
-What about capitulation?
- There is none; orders for battle have been made.
Prince Andrei headed towards the door from behind which voices were heard. But just as he wanted to open the door, the voices in the room fell silent, the door opened of its own accord, and Kutuzov, with his aquiline nose on his plump face, appeared on the threshold.
Prince Andrei stood directly opposite Kutuzov; but from the expression of the commander-in-chief’s only seeing eye it was clear that thought and concern occupied him so much that it seemed to obscure his vision. He looked directly at the face of his adjutant and did not recognize him.
- Well, have you finished? – he turned to Kozlovsky.
- Right this second, Your Excellency.
Bagration, short, with oriental type hard and motionless face, dry, not yet old man, went out to get the commander-in-chief.
“I have the honor to appear,” Prince Andrei repeated quite loudly, handing over the envelope.
- Oh, from Vienna? Fine. After, after!
Kutuzov went out with Bagration onto the porch.
“Well, prince, goodbye,” he said to Bagration. - Christ is with you. I bless you for this great feat.
Kutuzov's face suddenly softened, and tears appeared in his eyes. He pulled Bagration to him with his left hand, and with his right hand, on which there was a ring, apparently crossed him with a familiar gesture and offered him plump cheek, instead of which Bagration kissed him on the neck.
- Christ is with you! – Kutuzov repeated and walked up to the carriage. “Sit down with me,” he said to Bolkonsky.
– Your Excellency, I would like to be useful here. Let me stay in the detachment of Prince Bagration.
“Sit down,” said Kutuzov and, noticing that Bolkonsky was hesitating, “I need good officers myself, I need them myself.”
They got into the carriage and drove in silence for several minutes.
“There is still a lot ahead, there will be a lot of things,” he said with an senile expression of insight, as if he understood everything that was happening in Bolkonsky’s soul. “If one tenth of his detachment comes tomorrow, I will thank God,” added Kutuzov, as if speaking to himself.
Prince Andrei looked at Kutuzov, and he involuntarily caught his eye, half an arshin away from him, the cleanly washed assemblies of the scar on Kutuzov’s temple, where the Izmail bullet pierced his head, and his leaking eye. “Yes, he has the right to talk so calmly about the death of these people!” thought Bolkonsky.
“That’s why I ask you to send me to this detachment,” he said.
Kutuzov did not answer. He seemed to have already forgotten what had been said to him and sat lost in thought. Five minutes later, smoothly rocking on the soft springs of the stroller, Kutuzov turned to Prince Andrei. There was no trace of excitement on his face. With subtle mockery, he asked Prince Andrei about the details of his meeting with the emperor, about the reviews he had heard at court about the Kremlin affair, and about some common women he knew.

Kutuzov, through his spy, received news on November 1 that put the army he commanded in an almost hopeless situation. The spy reported that the French were in enormous forces, having crossed the Vienna bridge, they headed towards Kutuzov’s route of communication with the troops coming from Russia. If Kutuzov had decided to remain in Krems, then Napoleon’s army of one and a half hundred thousand would have cut him off from all communications, surrounded his exhausted army of forty thousand, and he would have been in Mack’s position near Ulm. If Kutuzov had decided to leave the road that led to communications with troops from Russia, then he would have had to enter without a road into the unknown lands of the Bohemian
mountains, defending themselves from superior enemy forces, and abandoning all hope of communication with Buxhoeveden. If Kutuzov had decided to retreat along the road from Krems to Olmutz to join forces from Russia, then he risked being warned on this road by the French who had crossed the bridge in Vienna, and thus being forced to accept battle on the march, with all the burdens and convoys, and dealing with an enemy three times his size and surrounding him on both sides.
Kutuzov chose this last exit.
The French, as the spy reported, having crossed the bridge in Vienna, were marching in an intensified march towards Znaim, which lay on Kutuzov’s retreat route, more than a hundred miles ahead of him. To reach Znaim before the French meant to have great hope of saving the army; to allow the French to warn themselves in Znaim would probably mean exposing the entire army to a disgrace similar to that of Ulm, or to general destruction. But it was impossible to warn the French with their entire army. The French road from Vienna to Znaim was shorter and better than the Russian road from Krems to Znaim.
On the night of receiving the news, Kutuzov sent Bagration’s four-thousand-strong vanguard to the right over the mountains from the Kremlin-Znaim road to the Vienna-Znaim road. Bagration had to go through this transition without rest, stop facing Vienna and back to Znaim, and if he managed to warn the French, he had to delay them as long as he could. Kutuzov himself, with all his hardships, set out for Znaim.
Having walked with hungry, shoeless soldiers, without a road, through the mountains, into stormy night Forty-five versts, having lost a third of the stragglers, Bagration went to Gollabrun on the Viennese Znaim road several hours before the French approached Gollabrun from Vienna. Kutuzov had to walk another whole day with his convoys to reach Znaim, and therefore, in order to save the army, Bagration, with four thousand hungry, exhausted soldiers, had to hold off for a day the entire enemy army that met him in Gollabrun, which was obvious , impossible. But a strange fate made the impossible possible. The success of that deception, which gave the Vienna bridge into the hands of the French without a fight, prompted Murat to try to deceive Kutuzov in the same way. Murat, having met Bagration’s weak detachment on the Tsnaim road, thought that it was the entire army of Kutuzov. In order to undoubtedly crush this army, he waited for the troops that had fallen behind on the road from Vienna and for this purpose proposed a truce for three days, with the condition that both troops would not change their positions and would not move. Murat insisted that negotiations for peace were already underway and that, therefore, avoiding useless shedding of blood, he was offering a truce. The Austrian general Count Nostitz, who was stationed at the outposts, believed the words of the envoy Murat and retreated, revealing Bagration’s detachment. Another envoy went to the Russian chain to announce the same news about peace negotiations and offer a truce to the Russian troops for three days. Bagration replied that he could not accept or not accept a truce, and with a report of the proposal made to him, he sent his adjutant to Kutuzov.

Brian, there are rumors about a new Queen album...

We thought there was nothing like that left. But then a few things came up and even I was surprised that they survived. These are unfinished entries. With new technologies we can complete them without Freddie, as we already did on the Made in Heaven album. We hope to release it before the end of the year.

Will you sing yourself?

What from Queen's days do you miss most?

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 was like I had lost my own brother.

How was the real Freddie Mercury different from the one we imagine him to be?

From the outside it might seem that he is frivolous and has his head in the clouds. But he was very collected and specific, always formulated his thoughts very clearly, separating what was important to him and what was not. This sometimes seemed not very polite. If at the wrong moment someone came up to him and asked “Can I have an autograph?”, Freddie could say: “No, you can’t.” And if he was very busy, he could put it even stronger: “Fuck off, darling.” And many people reacted like this: “Wow! Freddie Mercury himself told me “Fuck off”! Great!" I remember we were supposed to play South America, there were a quarter of a million viewers. And before the concert, the interviewer asked him: “What is it like 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 to the average person, Queen is Freddie. Isn't it offensive?

No. Freddie was the face of the group and it was a conscious decision between us. I myself came up with the design of the cover of the first disc, and if you remember, we are not there, only him in the spotlight.

Brian, you're not your typical rock star: an astronomer, no drugs, no alcohol, no hooliganism.

Perhaps it's true, I'm not exactly typical. Although we were all atypical in our own way. But no one has ever come to me and said, “Why didn’t you trash the hotel room? You're a rock star! Yes, we threw fun parties, but the issue of alcoholism and drug addiction was not on our agenda.

Hero's hit list

Hobby: old stereo photos

Drink: Guinness beer

Actor: Clint Eastwood

We're still blown away by your performance with George Michael at the Freddie tribute. Have you ever thought about inviting him to perform with you?

We are very good friends with George, and he's a great singer, but we're too different and 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 they sing your We Will Rock You at the stadium?

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

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

I think this is for both, and for others, and for others. Our performances with Kerry are not like Queen concerts, although we will perform many songs from the Queen repertoire. This is something intimate, free and changing from time to time. It's like it's happening at home in the living room: we're interacting with the audience, candles are burning, Kerry is singing, and I'm playing guitar and a little bit of keys. In this context, old songs take on unexpected new power. There will be not only acoustics, a little electricity too.

Brian May. 2005

Brian May- Queen guitarist

Brian Harold May was born on July 19, 1947 in Hampton, Middlesex, England (another version is Twickenham, but if this is the same thing, then there are no complaints). At the age of five, he began learning to play the piano and banjo (in another source: at the age of 6, he took up the ukulele (ukulele). However, Brian soon switched to the guitar, which seemed to him a more expressive and “yielding” instrument. On his seventh birthday he received an acoustic speaker as a gift classical guitar and soon began to modernize it in order to adapt it to himself and give it an electric sound. He put homemade pickups on it and played through a homemade amplifier. In his teenage years, he was no longer satisfied with such an instrument; he wanted a real electric guitar...

Red Special - Brian's guitar

Father and son had experience working in wood and metal, and May Sr. was an electronics engineer, while Brian had a penchant for physics. Brian decided that if he was going to make his own guitar, it should completely satisfy him in every way. "I started with the classic spanish guitar and began experimenting to see how the sound changed. I didn't want my guitar to sound like a Fender. I also knew I wanted twenty-four frets - I could never understand why people stopped at twenty-two...” The guitar, called the Red Special, took two years to make - two years of experimenting with sound and shape.

Guitar Red Special

In Brian's house there was a mahogany board running across the fireplace. This board was one hundred and twenty years old (other sources say two hundred years or older), and it was riddled with small holes from wood beetles. Brian looked at this board as a child, as if wondering what it could be good for.

While studying music, Brian May never thought of neglecting his studies. He entered the Faculty of Astrophysics at Imperial College, won a scholarship and completed his studies with flying colors. Having received a degree in physics, he did not stop. Brian began to specialize in infrared astronomy. His second passion after music was astronomy, and he kept it “in reserve.” When Brian is asked what he would have done if he had not met the members of Queen, he will say that he would be an astronomer.

But a different fate awaited him. We can say that Brian is the founder of the group Queen, although this name was invented by Freddie Mercury. Brian was invited to other groups, but he never cheated on his “queen”. Before Queen, May played in the bands 1984 and Smile, which featured another member of the future Queen, Roger Taylor.

Brian May, 1974

Despite the flow of energy emanating from him on stage, in life Brian May is most often serious, a little sentimental and vulnerable person. He didn't always get along with the band's extravagant vocalist and handsome drummer. Several times the group's existence was threatened. But respect for each other and love for music kept them together.

When Queen broke up after Freddie Mercury's death in 1991, Brian began solo career. True, back in 1983 he recorded an album with other famous musicians - "Star Fleet Project". New works - the album "Back To The Light" (1992), "Live At The Brixton Academy" (1994) and the latest album in 1998 " Another World". This album contains very different material: from the rather heavy "Cyborg" to the lyrical ballads "Why Don't We Try Again" and "Another World". Soon after the release of the album, Brian May went on a world tour, during which he finally visited Russia: in November 1998, Brian May and his band performed in St. Petersburg and Moscow. “We wanted to go to Russia in the 80s, when Queen still existed, but they didn’t let us in. Elton John and Cliff Richard had already performed there, but we were too much for them wild group", says Brian. On tour he was accompanied by no less than famous musicians: Eric Singer (Kiss), James Moses (Duran Duran), Neil Murray (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake). The opening act was the folk group "White Day", which amazed everyone with their performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" on balalaikas and harmonicas. In addition to songs from the new album, Brian also performed famous Queen songs. After the concerts, in an interview, Brian said that he was amazed by the warmth of the reception by Russian Queen fans - however, this is not so important, because everyone says so...

One of the most outstanding guitarists on the planet, Brian May, was born on July 19, 1947. From a very early age, Brian became interested in music. At the age of five he tried to strum the piano, at six he switched to the ukulele, and at seven he received his first acoustic guitar. By the age of sixteen, the guy dreamed of a real Stratocaster, but the family did not have money for such a purchase, and Brian and his father made a guitar from scrap materials. They used mahogany left over from an old fireplace, an oak board, a knife blade, motorcycle valves and mother-of-pearl buttons.

Despite the artisanal production, the instrument turned out to be very solid and, having received the name “Red special”, served May for many years. Like his future “royal” colleagues, Brian was an educated person. In the 60s, he received degrees in physics and mathematics, and also worked closely in astronomy. However, studies in science did not at all interfere with his musical passions, and at the age of 17, May formed his first team, “1984”.

The band was playing mostly instrumental things, and the peak of its heyday came in 1967, when “1984” had the opportunity to perform at the Olympia Theater along with Jimi Hendrix, “Pink Floyd”, “Traffic” and “T. Rex”. In 1968, the team broke up, but later short time Brian put together another project, "Smile", with former colleague Tim Staffell. This collective did not last long, and on its ruins a new group- "Queen". During his time in the "royal" ranks, Brian wrote a considerable amount of international famous hits, including the legendary "We will rock you".

His guitar, along with Freddie Mercury's unforgettable vocals, made Queen's style unique and easily recognizable. The musician's first work outside of his group was the mini-album "Star fleet project". The album was recorded in January 1983 with the participation of Eddie Van Halen, Alan Gratzer, Phil Chen and Fred Mandel.

Soon after, Guild Guitars released the first copy of the "Red Special" and May recorded a video guitar lesson for the "Star licks" series. Brian began preparing his debut full-length album in 1991, shortly before Mercury's death. The album's release was preceded by the single "Driven by you". The song was written for a Ford advertising campaign and was very successful in Britain. In support of "Back to the light" Brian May organized a global world tour. Following these tours, the live album “Live at the Brixton Academy” was released, which featured both solo material and Queen classics.

The second studio work of the legendary guitarist appeared in 1998, and in 2000 his soundtrack to the film "Furia" was released. In the new millennium, May worked hard to create a theatrical rock production of "We will rock you", and in 2004, together with drummer Roger Taylor and vocalist Paul Rodgers, he announced the start of a tour new version"Queen".

Last update 10.09.05