BRIAN HAROLD MAY


Def Leppard and Brian in early 80's.

This tall and curly-haired guy has entered the artistic world as an incredibly meticulous and versatile professional: he had formal studies in astronomy, and untutored developed skills as photographer, writer, luthier and producer. And of course, he's a musician: composer, arranger, guitarist, singer, occasional keyboardist and having sometimes played banjo, ukulele and bass throughout the years.

Brian's musical career began as a child, taking piano lessons up to grade IV and learning basic chords on his father's ukulele-banjo. At his seventh birthday, he received an Egmond acoustic guitar, and started learning on it. Years later he'd trade it for a Hairfred, which he'd often use in Queen records. As a teenager, Brian worked in some guitar prototypes, eventually finishing one with his dad: the Red Special.


Cliff Richard and Brian May.

As a Beatles fan, he entered the London scene as member of the local band 1984, where he met fellow guitarist Tim Staffell. After that band broke up, both of them decided to form Smile (Tim being the singer and bass player), and met Roger through an ad. Smile already showcased Brian's distinctive sound, and the fact that, more than a guitarist, he was an arranger and composer.

Smile broke up and Freddie Bulsara (who was a good friend of the band) decided to form a new group with Roger and Brian, which they called Queen. By that time, Brian's musicianship had earned him some spots as session arranger and guitarist, plus his experience with Smile greatly helped Queen to emerge. In many albums, there was at least one track written by Brian that reminded the public about the classic Queen, compensating Freddie's eccentric efforts: compare Mercury's Killer Queen with May's Now I'm Here, or Somebody to Love with Tie Your Mother Down, We Are the Champions / We Will Rock You, Bicycle Race / Fat Bottomed Girls, Body Language / Las Palabras de Amor, It's a Hard Life / Hammer to Fall, The Miracle / I Want It All, I'm Going Slightly Mad / The Show Must Go On. Note that all the aforementioned tracks were singles, so it's undeniable that Brian's creativity was quite a strong point for the band, financially and in terms of variety.


Avril Lavigne and Brian, 2004.

Even though May usually offered at least one ballad and one heavy piece to each album, he explored many other genres also: progressive rock (Father to Son, Prophet's Song), skiffle ('39, Long Away), vaudeville (Good Company), blues (Sleeping on the Sidewalk, Dreamer's Ball) and funk (Dancer). In the early days he played piano in one song from every album (except 'Sheer Heart Attack', where he played on two numbers, and 'Jazz', where he didn't play piano) and sang lead in one track (in both 'Opera' and 'News' he sang two). Other instruments he recorded within the band included koto (Prophet's Song), harp (Love of My Life), banjo (Leroy Brown), ukulele (Good Company), maracas (Who Needs You?), bells (The March of the Black Queen), organ (The Wedding March), and of course synthesizers (on some of his own songs from 'Flash Gordon' onwards).

From time to time he got involved in off-Queen projects, including session work, collaborations, producing and a solo career that started bearing fruit after the end of the band: curiously, his hit single Driven By You was issued one day after Freddie died. Lately, Brian teamed up with Roger and the marvelous singer Paul Rodgers and made an extraordinary tour, soon to be followed by an extraordinary album. The bad thing, instead of choosing a new name (they're a new band after all), they decided to take advantage on the "Queen" label. Legally, they've got all the right to do so; morally, that's such a coward movement.