Stomp – stomp – clap, stomp – stomp – clap, stomp – stomp – clap, stomp – stomp – clap. Freddie Mercury’s voice powers over the crowd, “Buddy you’re an old man, poor man, running in the street, gonna be a big man some day.” But that’s not the part I am waiting for. Now comes my favorite part: Brian May’s Red Special blazes into life for the guitar solo. I feel so great as a pure wall of sound crashes into me! In my mind, I am at my undisputed favorite band’s concert: Queen! And, my favorite guitarist is playing: Brian May. Brian May is my ‘Guitar Hero’ because he is more than just a great musician, he’s more than just a celebrity, he is an intelligent and caring person.
The Early Years
Brian Harold May began his life in Hampton England on July 19, 1947. He was the only child of Harold May, a long time cigarette smoker, (which led to why May dislikes smoking so much) and Emily May. Brian showed interest in music at a very young age, and so received his first guitar on his seventh birthday. Nine years later, in August 1963, he and his dad began work on his one-of-a-kind guitar: the Red Special. It wasn’t long until he began to pick up tips from the Shadow’s Hank Marvin, Elvis Presley’s sideman Scotty Moore, and Buddy Holly. Brian attended the Imperial College, studying astrophysics. It was here where May formed his first band, Smile. Tim Staffell was bass and vocals, Roger Taylor on drums, and May on guitar. With great promise, they released one single, “Earth.” But, soon after that, someone named Freddie Mercury came along. Then, his life changed and he had to discontinue his studies.
Musical Career
In 1973, Mercury, May, former ‘Smile’ drummer, Roger Taylor, and Bassist John Deacon formed the rock group Queen, which they would spend the majority of their careers in. Luckily for Queen, Britain was a hot bed of musical talent in the 70’s, so they had a wide variety of musicians to draw influence from: The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and The Beatles. But, Queen didn’t stop there, and drew influence from unsuspected sources like: gospel (in ‘Somebody to Love’), opera (in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’), disco (in “Another One Bites the Dust’), and other genres. Queen also wrote some of their songs with crowd participation in mind (‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We are the Champions’).
In 1991, Brian’s beloved father, Harold, died and Freddy Mercury followed suit a few months later. Then, his marriage fell apart and he and his wife Chrissy divorced. During this hard time, he contemplated suicide. But, instead decided to go to his house in New York and lock himself away with his guitar. Later, when Brian felt had his life back under control, he released the album ‘Back to the Light’. That album included two songs that I feel tell his life story; ‘Driven by You’ and ‘Too Much Love will Kill You’. I feel these two songs tell his life story because they show how even if you think nothing is going right, you’ll find a way through it, and that’s what happened to May.
In 1992, after the release of his first solo album, ‘Back to the Light’, Brian formed the Brian May Band. Some of the members included were former Black Sabbath drummer Cozy Powell and Whitesnake bassist Neil Murray. (after Cozy Powell’s death in 1998, the band added Kiss drummer Eric Singer). In 1995, Brian released his second solo album, ‘Another World.’ Then, in 1998 he went on tour with his band. After the Brian May Band, Brian went on to do more solo work. His most famous gig of this phase in his career was a guest appearance with Motorhead at Brixton Academy. Then, in 2002, May appeared at the Genesis reunion concert along with Phil Collins. In 2004, Queen and Paul Rodgers joined and through 2005 and 2006 they embarked on a world tour. In 2008, they released the album ‘Comoros Rocks.’ The band split in 2009.
Recent Interests and Work
Brian is now happily married to actress Anita Dobson and has three kids, Jimmy, Louise, and Emily Ruth. In 1991, two remaining members of Queen (May and Roger Taylor) launched the Mercury Phoenix Trust, in honor of Freddie Mercury. The purpose of the organization is to help people with AIDS. In 2005, Brian was named ‘Commander of the Order of the British Empire’, which is one rank away from a knight. After his career in the music industry simmered down, Brian went back to school and got his PhD in Astrophysics from the Imperial College. Brian is now very involved in astrophysics and has even co- authored a book named, “BANG: The Complete History of the Universe.” Recently, he’s been raising money to help the people affected by the Australian floods. He’s also campaigning for the unnecessary killing of animals in the United Kingdom. In a recent survey by Rolling Stone Magazine, Brian was listed as the 39th best guitarist of all time.
For all these reasons, Brian May is my Guitar Hero. He is not just a regular celebrity who only cares about himself, but a true hero because he gives so much to people (and animals) in need.
To listen to some of my favorite songs performed by Brian May and Queen, please click on my ‘Songlist’ page.
For citations, please click on my Bibliography page.
