Bohemian Rhapsody. Under Pressure. We Are the Champions. We Will Rock You. Another One Bites the Dust.
You know the songs that made guitarist and songwriter Dr. Brian May and his band, Queen, an international sensation.
But did you know that May’s achievements and ambitions have made him a rockstar in more than just the world of music?
BUILDING A FUTURE
Brian May was born in 1947 in the west of London. He was an only child to Harold, an electrical engineer, and Ruth.
May’s future profession was inspired at a young age. His father was a music enthusiast, and taught May to play chords on a ukelele at age six before gifting him a Spanish guitar the following year.
It was a spectacular present, especially considering the family’s economic struggles. Still, what they didn’t have in cash they made up for in ingenuity. Most of the appliances in the house, including the television, were built by Harold in a makeshift workshop.
Still, as May’s musical talent evolved, so did his interest in science. In his school library, he picked up a copy of The Earth by astronomer Patrick Moore, and was immediately intrigued. He begged his parents to allow him to stay up late so he could watch Moore’s BBC program, The Sky at Night.
Meanwhile, May started his first band, 1984, named after George Orwell’s novel. The band supported Jimi Hendrix before disbanding four years later.
His intelligence and eagerness to learn saw May become a model student, and what little time wasn’t spent studying saw him building with his father. Their most famous collaboration is The Red Special, an electric guitar the two built when May was 15. It was no easy task, but Harold’s engineering know-how paired with his son’s brilliant mind resulted in one of the most famous guitars in rock ‘n’ roll history. “It took two years and was all done with hand tools,” he told The Guardian in 2014, “using any materials we could lay our hands on. The neck was part of an old fireplace. We hand-carved the inlay on the fret out of old mother-of-pearl buttons and the tremolo arm was made from a bicycle saddlebag holder, topped off with the tip of one of my mum’s knitting needles!”
May played the guitar on all of Queen’s recordings, and it has a personal bodyguard for when he takes it on tour.
A BRAVE DECISION
Upon graduating from high school, May attended the Imperial College London, where he received a Bachelor of Science in physics with honours. He precariously balanced his education with his new band, Smile, which featured future Queen drummer Roger Taylor. Two days after graduation, the band supported Pink Floyd.
May’s two loves started to conflict in the days and months following. He wanted to pursue his scientific interests, but refused to leave his friends, turning down several exciting job positions as a result. He eventually decided to pursue his PhD, continuing to play music with Smile until they disbanded in 1970.
Meanwhile, a recent member to the local community was searching for bands to sing with. Farrokh Bulsara – nicknamed Freddie – introduced himself to Taylor at a community market where they both had stalls. When May returned from a research trip in the Canary Islands, Freddie asked if he could start making music with them. It took some coaxing, but eventually May agreed. Soon after, they met bassist John Deacon, and Freddie suggested the band’s new name: Queen.
They decided to record a demo, and as the band grew, May’s focus on astronomy started to waiver. Eventually, he made the brave decision to suspend his education to tour with Queen.
The decision did not sit well with his family. He did not talk to his father for nearly two years, and his mother had a nervous breakdown while trying to amend their relationship. It wasn’t until 1977, when May brought his family out to see the band perform at Madison Square Garden, that they properly reconciled. In that moment, Harold told his son something that allowed May to realise why his father had rejected his decision after years of supporting his musical endeavours.
“Dad confided in me that when he came out of the RAF, he’d like to have taken off and joined a band. But he had me on the way and needed job security. I realised then that he’d found it hard to accept my choice because it was a dream he’d been forced to reject.”
KILLER QUEEN
For over two decades, Queen were one of the biggest bands on the planet.
May and Freddie – who had adopted the stage name Freddie Mercury – shared responsibility for the bulk of songs on the 13 studio albums they would release before the latter’s death. May himself wrote 22 of their top 20 hits, including We Will Rock You and Who Wants to Live Forever.
Queen were the first band to score a major feature film, Flash Gordon, and went on to provide music for Highlander. They also produced a hit musical, which spent 12 years at London’s Dominion Theatre.
Freddie died in 1991, marking an unofficial end to the band. May spent the next 25 years working predominantly on solo performances and occasional Queen tours featuring guest vocalists while suffering severe depression. Freddie’s death, and the end of his marriage over an alleged affair, left him feeling hopeless, and suicidal.
“I went to this clinic in Tucson, Arizona, when I was very down, and they said, ‘We have to find your spirituality — what you most enjoy.’ At the time, I couldn’t think of anything I enjoyed. I was just in a very black place. And then eventually I figured out, because of the beautiful skies there, that one of my greatest joys was just looking at the stars. So I feel anchored to the universe in some way. It’s quite a powerful force in my life.”
RETURN TO ASTRONOMY
At the suggestion of his friend Sir Patrick Moore, whose work had inspired him so many years ago, May started to consider completing his PhD.
Unsure whether what he’d learnt would even be relevant in the 2000s (30 years after he initially studied), May debated the idea. In a random interview, he happened to mention a desire to return to astronomy. It was by chance that the head of astrophysics at the Imperial College was listening to the radio at that particular moment. He called May up, and asked him to return to the program.
He completed his PhD in 2007, and has since co-authored two novels, and even appeared on The Sky at Night.
OTHER ENDEAVOURS
Outside of music and astronomy, May is a keen conservationist.
His animal welfare group, Save Me, has campaigned against the culling of badgers and fox hunting. A strong supporter of groups including the RSPCA, May has told the BBC he would prefer being remembered for his work for the animals than his time as a musician or astrophysicist.
May also has his own publishing house, The London Stereoscopic Company, and is an ambassador for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which supports projects combatting AIDS in honour of Freddie Mercury.
Considering all his accomplishments, there’s little doubt that Dr. Brian May will be remembered as many things – a craftsman, an artist, a stargazer, a protector. And a visionary.