Brian May
A homemade guitar, a sixpence and orchestras of layered melody
Brian May grew up in Hampton Hill on the western edge of London, where as a teenager he and his father built an electric guitar from scratch, using timber from an old fireplace and an assortment of household odds and ends. That instrument, the Red Special, would become one of the most recognisable guitars in rock. May studied physics and mathematics at Imperial College London, graduating in 1968, and that same year formed the band Smile with drummer Roger Taylor and singer-bassist Tim Staffell.
When Smile folded in 1970, May and Taylor joined forces with a singer then calling himself Freddie Mercury, and with bassist John Deacon completing the lineup in 1971, Queen was born. After their 1973 debut and Queen II, the band broke through internationally with Sheer Heart Attack in 1974, powered by Killer Queen. A Night at the Opera followed in 1975, and Bohemian Rhapsody spent nine weeks at number one in the UK, its multi-part structure giving May's guitar an operatic role of its own.
Through the late 1970s and 1980s, Queen became one of the biggest stadium acts on the planet. May wrote anthems such as We Will Rock You, Tie Your Mother Down and Hammer to Fall, and the band's twenty-minute set at Live Aid in 1985 is often ranked among the finest live rock performances ever. After Mercury died in November 1991, May helped organise the 1992 tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, released his solo album Back to the Light and formed The Brian May Band.
In the new century May carried Queen forward with Paul Rodgers and later Adam Lambert, while also returning to science. In 2007 he completed his astrophysics PhD at Imperial College, decades after setting it aside, and he later contributed to NASA's New Horizons mission and co-founded the Asteroid Day campaign. He played the national anthem from the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Golden Jubilee in 2002, was appointed CBE in 2005, and was knighted in 2023.
The 10 greatest Brian May solos
- 1Queen · solo by Brian May · 1975
- 2Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974
- 3Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974
- 4Queen · solo by Brian May · 1973
- 5Queen · solo by Brian May · 1977
- 6Queen · solo by Brian May · 1976
- 7Queen · solo by Brian May · 1976
- 8Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974
- 9Queen · solo by Brian May · 1984
- 10Queen · solo by Brian May · 1991
The sound
May's sound is instantly identifiable: a singing, vocal midrange tone produced by his Red Special driven into Vox AC30 amps boosted by a treble booster, picked with a sixpence coin for a slightly rasping attack. He thinks like an arranger, stacking multiple harmonised guitar lines to create 'guitar orchestras' that mimic brass and strings. His solos are memorable melodies you can sing, delivered with a wide, expressive vibrato and carefully judged bends. Live, he uses delay units to build canons in real time, playing phrases that repeat and harmonise with themselves, most famously in the extended Brighton Rock showcase.
- The Red Special (guitar) Built with his father as a teenager from fireplace wood and household parts; his main guitar throughout Queen's career.
- Vox AC30 (amp) His amplifier of choice since the late 1960s, run in large banks on stage for dry, chorus and delay signals.
- Deacy Amp (amp) A tiny amplifier built by John Deacon that May used for his orchestral, horn-like layered guitar parts.
- Dallas Rangemaster treble booster (effect) Pushed his AC30s into rich saturation on Queen's early albums.
- Pete Cornish TB-83 treble booster (effect) Replaced the Rangemaster for the rest of Queen's recordings.
- Delay units (effect) Essential to his live solo spots, letting him harmonise with his own repeating phrases.
Covers
- God Save the Queen, originally by Traditional He arranged the national anthem as a stately multi-tracked guitar orchestra.
- Big Spender, originally by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields (Sweet Charity) Queen turned the showtune into a cheeky, heavy live interlude.
- Jailhouse Rock, originally by Elvis Presley A rock-and-roll throwback that let May cut loose with vintage-style licks.
- Tutti Frutti, originally by Little Richard A rowdy stadium romp that shows his roots in 1950s rock and roll.
- Rollin' Over, originally by Small Faces He gave the mod-era rocker a big, harmonised hard-rock makeover.
- Slow Down, originally by Larry Williams A fun, raw-edged tribute to the rock-and-roll records of his youth.
- All the Way from Memphis, originally by Mott the Hoople A nod to the band Queen once supported on tour.
Timeline
- 1947 Born in Hampton Hill, Middlesex
- 1968 Graduates from Imperial College; forms Smile with Roger Taylor
- 1970 Queen forms with Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor
- 1974 Killer Queen and Sheer Heart Attack bring international success
- 1975 Bohemian Rhapsody tops the UK chart for nine weeks
- 1985 Queen triumph at Live Aid
- 1992 Tribute concert for Freddie Mercury; solo album Back to the Light
- 2002 Plays the anthem from the roof of Buckingham Palace
- 2007 Completes his PhD in astrophysics
- 2023 Knighted by King Charles III
Facts
- He built the Red Special with his father using wood from an old fireplace, plus items such as buttons and motorbike valve springs.
- He plays with an old sixpence coin instead of a conventional plastic pick.
- His PhD thesis, completed in 2007, studied radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud.
- He set aside his doctorate when Queen took off and finished it more than three decades later.
- An asteroid, 52665 Brianmay, is named in his honour.
- He worked with the science team of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto.
- He served as Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 2008 to 2013.
- Many of his orchestral-sounding guitar parts were recorded through a small amp built by bandmate John Deacon.
- He co-founded Asteroid Day, a campaign to raise awareness of asteroid impact risks.
- He is married to actress Anita Dobson, whom he wed in 2000.