Brighton Rock

Queen, 1974. Solo by Brian May.

May's delay-driven canon solo, playing harmony with himself live.

The solo runs for more than three minutes on the album, and its secret is delay. Brian May modified an Echoplex to produce echoes of about a second and a half, then timed new phrases against the repeats so he could harmonise with himself and build counterpoint from a single guitar line. On the record this creates two-part harmony; live, he split the signal to two delays for three parts and stretched the solo much further. It is an inventive idea that shaped his whole approach on stage. Listen for the moment a phrase comes back from the delay while May is already playing over it; suddenly one guitar sounds like a small ensemble.

Brighton Rock by Queen is ranked #39 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Brian May and the song was released in 1974. It appears on 14 lists, placing as high as #9 (Meilleurs-albums.com).

The story of Brighton Rock

Brian May wrote 'Brighton Rock' in 1973, near the end of work on Queen II, but the band ran out of time to record it for that album. The lyric tells of a young couple's brief holiday fling in the seaside town. May has said it grew out of a real romance, when he and Roger Taylor went down to Brighton in the band's earliest days and met two girls, and he has dismissed suggestions that it borrowed from The Who's Quadrophenia.

Before the studio version existed, May had already been trying out ideas for its long guitar passage on stage. Versions of the solo were grafted onto the Queen song 'Son and Daughter' in concert, and an early performance captured by the BBC shows the arrangement still taking shape. By 1974 the piece had become a full song with a clear place for his echo experiments.

Queen recorded Sheer Heart Attack in the summer of 1974, spread across AIR, Rockfield, Trident and Wessex, with Roy Thomas Baker co-producing. 'Brighton Rock' was placed first on the album. It opens with a fairground sound effect from a stock library, with Baker whistling 'I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside', before the band crashes in. The vocal gives Freddie Mercury room to stretch across his full range as he voices the couple.

Sheer Heart Attack came out on 8 November 1974. 'Brighton Rock' was never a single, but it became a fixture of the band's concerts, where its middle section swelled into a lengthy solo spot. Its profile rose again in 2017 when Edgar Wright used it prominently in the film Baby Driver. In the film, the young getaway driver calls it his killer track.

The solo

The solo, written and played by Brian May, runs for more than three minutes on the album, one of Queen's longest. Its secret is delay: May modified an Echoplex tape machine by extending its rail so that it could produce echoes of roughly a second and a half. By timing new phrases against the repeats, he could harmonise with himself and build counterpoint from a single guitar line. On the studio track this is done mainly with one main guitar and one echoed signal, giving two-part harmony. On stage he split the signal to two delays set at equal intervals, each feeding its own bank of Vox AC30 amps, creating a three-part effect that let the solo stretch to 9-13 minutes and change nightly. As one analysis notes, every mistake is heard three times.

Legacy

'Brighton Rock' is often named by Queen fans as one of May's finest moments, and Guitar World placed its solo at No. 41 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar solos. The delay-harmony technique it showcases became central to May's sound; he has said there is an element of the piece in everything he does. He played part of the solo at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, and Baby Driver introduced it to a new audience in 2017.

Top 10 facts about Brighton Rock

May wrote the song before Queen II was finished in 1973, but there was not enough time to record it for that album.
Wikipedia
Earlier forms of the solo were performed live inside the song 'Son and Daughter'.
Wikipedia
The opening fairground sounds come from a stock effects record, with producer Roy Thomas Baker whistling 'I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside'.
Wikipedia
May says the lyrics came from a real Brighton romance, when he and Roger Taylor met two girls there in Queen's early days.
Guitar.com
May extended the rail of an Echoplex tape unit to get delays of around 1.5 seconds for the solo.
Guitar.com
Live, May used two delays set equally apart, such as 900ms and 1800ms, each sent to separate AC30 amps.
Brian May Central
On the studio recording, a single repeat produces two-part harmony from one guitar line.
Brian May Central
The Live Killers version runs 12:13, the longest track on that 1979 double album.
Wikipedia
Guitar World ranked the solo No. 41 among the 100 greatest guitar solos of all time.
Wikipedia
In Baby Driver (2017), the song features in two scenes, including a climactic confrontation.
Wikipedia

Live versions

Queen Live at the BBC (pre-release session) Recorded before the studio release; shows May still developing the arrangement.
Live Killers (European Jazz Tour) (1979) A 12:13 performance and the longest track on Queen's first live album.
London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony (2012) May performed part of the 'Brighton Rock' solo in front of a global TV audience.

In our lists

Deep Cuts — #10
The Greatest Solo of Every Year — #31
The 25 Greatest Hard Rock Guitar Solos — #9
The 1970s — #14

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on Brighton Rock?

Brian May played the solo on Queen's Brighton Rock (1974).

What guitar was used on the Brighton Rock solo?

A red special through a Vox AC30 amp, with delay, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Brighton Rock rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#39 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 14 of them.

Who wrote Brighton Rock by Queen?

Brian May wrote the song, including its famous extended guitar solo.

What album is Brighton Rock on?

It opens Queen's third album, Sheer Heart Attack, released in November 1974.

How does Brian May get the echo effect in Brighton Rock?

He used a modified Echoplex tape delay so that his repeats harmonised with the new notes he played, creating layered harmony from one guitar.

What is Brighton Rock about?

It tells of two young lovers on a short seaside holiday in Brighton; May says it was based on a real romance.

What movie features Brighton Rock?

Edgar Wright's 2017 film Baby Driver uses it prominently.