Sir Brian Harold May (born on 19 July, 1947) is an English musician and astrophysicist best known as the guitarist for Queen. His guitar work and songwriting contributions helped Queen become one of the most successful acts in music history.
May was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005 for services to the music industry and for charity work. May earned a PhD degree in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007. May was knighted in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to music and charity.
Life[]
Brian May is the only child of Harold and Ruth May and was born in Hampton, Middlesex. He attended Hampton Grammar School. During this time he formed his first band with friend Dave Dilloway called 1984, after George Orwell's novel. He graduated from Hampton Grammar School with ten GCE Ordinary Levels and three Advanced Levels in Physics, Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.
Early music[]
In 1964, Brian May and school friend Dave Dilloway first played music together, in their homes. They linked two casette recorders together being able to play guitar, bass and other instruments together. One surviving recording is Brian doing Bo Diddley. They also recorded four track recordings of songs by Shadows (Wonderful Land, Apache, FBI, and The Rise And Fall Of Fingel Blunt, the Ventures (Ram bunk shus), Chet Atkins (Windy and Warm) and Cliff Richard (Bachelor Boy), of which it is likely May still has copies off.
Evently he and Dave formed a band, and after many schoolmates joining, they eventually ended up with John 'Jag' Garhnam, Richard Thompson and Tim Staffell. Names considered included the Mind Boggles and Bod Chappy and the Beetles, before settling with 1984, based on George Orwells novel.
They rehearsed at Chase Bridge Primary School in Twickenham and gave their first performance on the 28th October 1964 at the St. Mary's Church Hall. They recorded every performance, but often re-used the tape to save money. A recording from one gig exists, though it only contains Brian, Richard and school friend Pete Hammerton, instead of the full 1984 lineup. Pete later joined The Others, who released a single of Oh Yeah!. Brian occasionally played with them.
Brian enrolled at Imperial College to take Infra-red astronomy and Physics and the band played a few gigs there before Christmas. They continued to perform with a mix of influences, including blues, R&B and the Beatles. The band continued to perform locally, though their big performance was on the 13th May 1967, when they backed Jimi Hendrix's performance at the College.
The band entered the local battle of the band contest at The Top Rank Club in Croydon that September and won it and later made a recording using a local TV stations new equipment.
In the spring of 1968 due to the pressures of University, the band slowed down performances and Brian left. Tim took over lead guitar and later left himself. The others continued to perform into the seventies.
Career with Queen[]
May previously performed with Taylor in the blues rock band Smile, which he had joined while he was at university. After Mercury joined to form Queen in 1970, bass guitarist John Deacon completed the line-up in 1971. They became one of the biggest rock bands in the world with the success of the album A Night at the Opera and its single "Bohemian Rhapsody". From the mid-1970s until 1986, Queen played at some of the biggest venues in the world, including an acclaimed performance at Live Aid in 1985. As a member of Queen, May became regarded as a virtuoso musician, identified with a distinctive sound created through his layered guitar work, often using a home-built electric guitar called the Red Special. May wrote numerous hits for Queen, including "We Will Rock You", "I Want It All", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Flash", "Hammer to Fall", "Save Me", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Too Much Love Will Kill You", "Tie Your Mother Down" and "The Show Must Go On".
Following the death of Mercury in 1991, aside from the 1992 tribute concert, the release of Made in Heaven (1995) and the 1997 tribute single to Mercury, "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" (written by May), Queen were put on hiatus for several years but were eventually reconvened by May and Taylor for further performances featuring other vocalists.
Personal life[]
From 1976 to 1988, May was married to Christine Mullen. They had three children: James (born 15 June 1978), Louisa (born 22 May 1981), and Emily Ruth (born 18 February 1987). They separated in 1988. May had met actress Anita Dobson in 1986. She inspired him to write the 1989 hit "I Want It All". They married on 18 November 2000.