Brian May
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
With a musical career spanning almost three decades, Queen founding member Brian May has earned himself a place in rock history as one of the most accomplished and talented contemporary guitarists. Respected and admired by fans and fellow musicians alike, his influence on a new generation of musicians is a tribute to his unique style and musicianship. And his foppish hair...
He is also one of the most successful songwriters of his generation, providing Queen with many of their finest musical moments -- among them the anthemic "We Will Rock You," the driving "Keep Yourself Alive," and their finest ballad, "Who Wants to Live Forever." Brian May has penned 22 Top 20 hits worldwide.
Brian's second solo album, "Another World," again demonstrates his versatility as a writer, covering a wide terrain of styles -- from the monster rock track "Business" to the subtlety of the album's closer and title track. The album also contains personal tributes from May to some of those musicians and writers who came before him and shaped his own distinct style including Jimi Hendrix, Larry Williams, and John Lennon.
Born in Hampton, Middlesex, in July 1947, May showed his outstanding academic qualities at an early age, winning a scholarship when he was
11 to the top school in his district. Throughout his teenage years, he
was fascinated by astronomy and for a while seemed set to follow a career path in this field.
But Brian also harbored a passion for music. He first learned to play the banjo and later studied the piano before taking up the guitar, which he found to be a more expressive and flexible instrument.
In the end he built the world's most famous homemade guitar, Brian's trademark "Red Special."
Growing up in the '50s and '60s, Brian was surrounded by the influences of an era dominated by such artists as the Shadows and Elvis Presley.
His own taste, though, covered a wider spectrum. He favored such artists as Buddy Holly, Lonnie Donegan, Hank Marvin and Rick Nelson, artists whose records featured guitar solos, a musical evolution that captivated and inspired him.
It was inevitable that he would form his own band, and this he did while in secondary school, a five-piece instrumental group called 1984, after George Orwell's futuristic novel. The music was less futuristic, lodged somewhere between the Shadows and the blues. Throughout the year that followed, 1984 played a number of small gigs in and around London, including a less than auspicious appearance at the Olympia Theatre in 1967 following Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Pink Floyd, the Herd, and TRex.
At the same time, Brian was enrolled at Imperial College, reading physics and infra-red astronomy. The pressures of his studies together
with increasing musical differences took their toll on the band, and in the spring of 1968, Brian left.
Through an ad Brian pinned on a college notice-board he met Roger
Taylor and together with another former 1984 member, Tim Staffell,they formed the group Smile.
Brian in the meantime had graduated with honors degree in physics and maths. His immediate plan was to embark on a doctorate on the movements of dust on the solar system, which would take him onestep closer to becoming a professional astronomer. But four years later, the thesis was still incomplete, overshadowed by his commitment to music.
Smile signed to Mercury Records in 1969 and cut their first single, "Earth." After recording a few more tracks, Staffell decided to leave the band. Determined to continue, May and Roger Taylor reformed Smile to take in Freddie Mercury and John Deacon. And so Queen was born.
The band signed with EMI and Elektra in 1973, and a year later were given their first major break, touring as the support for Mott the
Hoople. The impact that had on Brian is reflected in his new solo
album, paying tribute to those days with a blistering version of Ian
Hunter's "All the Way to Memphis."
From the beginning, May contributed both vocals and guitar to Queen's unique sound and played a major role in the band's writing and
production. He experimented with multitrack guitar harmonies, a skill that was to become one of his, and Queen's, trademarks.
As songwriter, Brian provided Queen with a string of classic hits, including "Keep Yourself Alive," "We Will Rock You," "Tie Your Mother
Down," "I Want It All," and "The Show Must Go On." He developed an interest in film scoring when Queen became the first rock group to
score a major film, "Flash Gordon," subsequently followed by the score for "Highlander." May continues to pursue this passion, most recently providing original music for director Steve Baron's 1996 screen version of "Pinocchio."
May's solo career as a recording artist began in 1991 when he was asked to write the music for a Ford commercial. Out of this came "Driven by You," which was released as a single in November of that year and reached No. 6 on the UK charts and won him his first solo Ivor Novello Award for "Best Theme from a TV/Radio Commercial."
The album "Back to the Light" followed, providing him with two further hit singles, the title track and "Too Much Love Will Kill You", a song he had previously performed live at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert as his gift to Freddie.
When the song was later recorded by Queen on their final album, it won May his second Ivor Novello. "Back to the Light" achieved double gold status in the UK and sold more than a million copies worldwide.
The album's success brought about Brian's first solo tour. The Brian May Band was formed, featuring Cozy Powell on drums, Neil Murray on bass, and Spike Edney on keyboards, with Jamie Moses on guitar and Shelley Preston and Cathy Porter on backing vocals.
The new album, "Another World," has been three years in the making
and sees Brian eager to return to live performance. A UK and European tour again featuring original Brian May Band members Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Spike Edney, and Jamie Moses was planned for autumn this year. Just as plans were finalized came the tragic news of Cozy Powell's death in a car crash. Brian and the group were devastated by the loss of Cozy, a brilliant and inspiring musician, crucial contributor to the Brian May album and irreplaceable friend. Plans for the tour are proceeding, but no decision has been made yet regarding who will replace Powell.
Brian also retains his keen interest in astronomy -- venturing off to
distant parts of the world whenever an eclipse is imminent -- and is currently working on a book of T.R. Williams.
He is also one of the most successful songwriters of his generation, providing Queen with many of their finest musical moments -- among them the anthemic "We Will Rock You," the driving "Keep Yourself Alive," and their finest ballad, "Who Wants to Live Forever." Brian May has penned 22 Top 20 hits worldwide.
Brian's second solo album, "Another World," again demonstrates his versatility as a writer, covering a wide terrain of styles -- from the monster rock track "Business" to the subtlety of the album's closer and title track. The album also contains personal tributes from May to some of those musicians and writers who came before him and shaped his own distinct style including Jimi Hendrix, Larry Williams, and John Lennon.
Born in Hampton, Middlesex, in July 1947, May showed his outstanding academic qualities at an early age, winning a scholarship when he was
11 to the top school in his district. Throughout his teenage years, he
was fascinated by astronomy and for a while seemed set to follow a career path in this field.
But Brian also harbored a passion for music. He first learned to play the banjo and later studied the piano before taking up the guitar, which he found to be a more expressive and flexible instrument.
In the end he built the world's most famous homemade guitar, Brian's trademark "Red Special."
Growing up in the '50s and '60s, Brian was surrounded by the influences of an era dominated by such artists as the Shadows and Elvis Presley.
His own taste, though, covered a wider spectrum. He favored such artists as Buddy Holly, Lonnie Donegan, Hank Marvin and Rick Nelson, artists whose records featured guitar solos, a musical evolution that captivated and inspired him.
It was inevitable that he would form his own band, and this he did while in secondary school, a five-piece instrumental group called 1984, after George Orwell's futuristic novel. The music was less futuristic, lodged somewhere between the Shadows and the blues. Throughout the year that followed, 1984 played a number of small gigs in and around London, including a less than auspicious appearance at the Olympia Theatre in 1967 following Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Pink Floyd, the Herd, and TRex.
At the same time, Brian was enrolled at Imperial College, reading physics and infra-red astronomy. The pressures of his studies together
with increasing musical differences took their toll on the band, and in the spring of 1968, Brian left.
Through an ad Brian pinned on a college notice-board he met Roger
Taylor and together with another former 1984 member, Tim Staffell,they formed the group Smile.
Brian in the meantime had graduated with honors degree in physics and maths. His immediate plan was to embark on a doctorate on the movements of dust on the solar system, which would take him onestep closer to becoming a professional astronomer. But four years later, the thesis was still incomplete, overshadowed by his commitment to music.
Smile signed to Mercury Records in 1969 and cut their first single, "Earth." After recording a few more tracks, Staffell decided to leave the band. Determined to continue, May and Roger Taylor reformed Smile to take in Freddie Mercury and John Deacon. And so Queen was born.
The band signed with EMI and Elektra in 1973, and a year later were given their first major break, touring as the support for Mott the
Hoople. The impact that had on Brian is reflected in his new solo
album, paying tribute to those days with a blistering version of Ian
Hunter's "All the Way to Memphis."
From the beginning, May contributed both vocals and guitar to Queen's unique sound and played a major role in the band's writing and
production. He experimented with multitrack guitar harmonies, a skill that was to become one of his, and Queen's, trademarks.
As songwriter, Brian provided Queen with a string of classic hits, including "Keep Yourself Alive," "We Will Rock You," "Tie Your Mother
Down," "I Want It All," and "The Show Must Go On." He developed an interest in film scoring when Queen became the first rock group to
score a major film, "Flash Gordon," subsequently followed by the score for "Highlander." May continues to pursue this passion, most recently providing original music for director Steve Baron's 1996 screen version of "Pinocchio."
May's solo career as a recording artist began in 1991 when he was asked to write the music for a Ford commercial. Out of this came "Driven by You," which was released as a single in November of that year and reached No. 6 on the UK charts and won him his first solo Ivor Novello Award for "Best Theme from a TV/Radio Commercial."
The album "Back to the Light" followed, providing him with two further hit singles, the title track and "Too Much Love Will Kill You", a song he had previously performed live at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert as his gift to Freddie.
When the song was later recorded by Queen on their final album, it won May his second Ivor Novello. "Back to the Light" achieved double gold status in the UK and sold more than a million copies worldwide.
The album's success brought about Brian's first solo tour. The Brian May Band was formed, featuring Cozy Powell on drums, Neil Murray on bass, and Spike Edney on keyboards, with Jamie Moses on guitar and Shelley Preston and Cathy Porter on backing vocals.
The new album, "Another World," has been three years in the making
and sees Brian eager to return to live performance. A UK and European tour again featuring original Brian May Band members Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Spike Edney, and Jamie Moses was planned for autumn this year. Just as plans were finalized came the tragic news of Cozy Powell's death in a car crash. Brian and the group were devastated by the loss of Cozy, a brilliant and inspiring musician, crucial contributor to the Brian May album and irreplaceable friend. Plans for the tour are proceeding, but no decision has been made yet regarding who will replace Powell.
Brian also retains his keen interest in astronomy -- venturing off to
distant parts of the world whenever an eclipse is imminent -- and is currently working on a book of T.R. Williams.
