Brian May
Brian May (with Red Special guitar) from a 2005 performance in Frankfurt, Germany. The Red Special is a Guitar owned and custom-built by Queen guitarist Brian May. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.
Background information
Birth name	Brian Harold May
Born	19 July 1947 (1947-07-19) (age 60) Hampton, Middlesex, England
Genre(s)	Hard rock, Heavy metal, Glam rock, Pop rock, Progressive rock
Occupation(s)	Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter, Producer, Astrophysicist
Instrument(s)	Guitar, Banjolele, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Harp
Years active	1968–present
Associated acts	Queen, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Smile, 1984 Freddie Mercury
Website	brianmay.com
Notable instrument(s)
Red Special Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster

Brian Harold May CBE (born July 19, 1947) is an English musician and astrophysicist, most widely known as the lead guitarist in the rock band Queen. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hampton is a town on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock Glam rock (also known as glitter rock) is a sub-genre of Rock music that developed in the UK in the post- Hippie early 1970s which was "performed by Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved A guitarist is a Musician who plays the Guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Astrophysics is the branch of Astronomy that deals with the Physics of the Universe, including the physical properties ( Luminosity, A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The banjolele (brand name sometimes banjo ukulele or banjo uke) is a four-stringed Musical instrument with a small Banjo -type body and The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a Musical keyboard. The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist The Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration began in late 2004 when Queen were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame Smile were a London-based Rock band best known as the predecessor to renowned rock band Queen. Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991 was a Zanzibar -born British Musician, best known as the lead The Red Special is a Guitar owned and custom-built by Queen guitarist Brian May. The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of Electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a Astrophysics is the branch of Astronomy that deals with the Physics of the Universe, including the physical properties ( Luminosity, A guitarist is a Musician who plays the Guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist He was ranked as the 39th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine. Rolling Stone is a United States -based Magazine devoted to Music, Politics, and Popular culture that is published ^[1] He was recently appointed Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University. A Chancellor is the head of a University. Other titles are sometimes used such as President or Rector. Liverpool John Moores University is a modern university in Liverpool, England. ^[2][3]

Biography

May was born in Hampton, in Richmond, and attended Hampton Grammar School (now Hampton School) where he excelled at Mathematics and Science and achieved 10 GCE O levels and four A Levels in Physics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Additional Mathematics. Hampton is a town on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England Richmond is a town and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Hampton School is an independent, formerly Direct grant, day school for boys located in Hampton London, England. The General Certificate of Education or GCE is a secondary-level academic qualification that Examination boards in the United Kingdom confer to students The A-level, short for Advanced Level, is a General Certificate of Education qualification in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, He was also a member of the school dramatics society.

May's father Harold worked as a draughtsman at the Ministry of Aviation. He had been a long-time cigarette-smoker, and this likely contributed to his early death. A cigarette ( French "small Cigar " from cigar + -ette) is a product consumed through Smoking and manufactured As a result, May dislikes smoking, even to the point where he has prohibited smoking indoors at his more recent concerts.

His avoidance of alcohol can be traced to an early concert where Queen played with the band Aerosmith, and May had a conversation with fellow guitarist Joe Perry backstage. Aerosmith is an American Hard rock band sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston " and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band" Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry (Born September 10, 1950 in Lawrence Massachusetts) is the lead Guitarist, backing and occasional Perry brought out a bottle of whisky and shared it with May. Whisky (uisge-beatha or whiskey (uisce beatha or fuisce) refers to a broad category of Alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented

He has stated in interviews that he suffered from depression in the late 1980s, even to the point of contemplating suicide,^[4] and that drug use would have worsened any problems he faced. Major depressive disorder, also known as major depression, unipolar depression, unipolar disorder, clinical depression, or simply depression

As a physicist

May studied physics at Imperial College London, graduating with a B.Sc. (Hons) degree and ARCS with Upper Second-Class Honours. Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Imperial College London (officially The Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine as given in its Royal Charter It is one of only three universities to have reached A Bachelor of Science ( BS, BSc or BSc in the UK; less commonly S He then proceeded to study for a Ph.D, also at the Imperial College London departments of Physics and Mathematics, and was part way through this Ph. "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation. Imperial College London (officially The Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine as given in its Royal Charter It is one of only three universities to have reached D programme, studying reflected light from interstellar dust and the velocity of dust in the plane of the Solar System, when Queen became successful. He abandoned his physics doctorate but did co-author two scientific research papers: MgI Emission in the Night-Sky Spectrum (1972) and An Investigation of the Motion of Zodiacal Dust Particles (Part I) (1973), which were based on May's observations in Tenerife. Tenerife (previously known and spelled as "Teneriffe" in English before mass tourism adopted the Spanish spelling a Spanish Island, is the largest He is the co-author of “Bang! – The Complete History of the Universe” with Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott, which was published in October, 2006. Sir Alfred Patrick Caldwell-Moore, CBE, HonFRS, FRAS (born 4 March 1923 in Pinner) known as Patrick Moore, is Chris Lintott is an astrophysicist He is a Post-doctoral researcher who is involved in a number of Popular science projects aimed at bringing astronomical ^[5] More than 30 years after he started his research, in October 2007 he completed his Ph. D. thesis, entitled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud, passed his viva voce, and performed the required corrections. ^[6][7][8][9] He officially graduated at the postgraduate awards ceremony held in the Royal Albert Hall on the afternoon of Wednesday May 14, 2008. Events 1264 - Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured in France making Simon de Montfort the 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common On November 17, 2007, Brian May was appointed Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University,^[10] taking over from Cherie Blair, and installed in 2008. Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Liverpool John Moores University is a modern university in Liverpool, England. Cherie Blair (born 23 September 1954 known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is an English Barrister. ^[11]

As a musician

Brian May tapping. Tapping is a playing technique generally associated with the Electric guitar, although the technique may be performed on almost any String instrument.

Brian May has been referred to as a virtuoso guitarist. A virtuoso (from Italian virtuoso, late Latin virtuosus, Latin virtus meaning skill manliness excellence is an individual ^{[12][13][14][15]} He has used a range of guitars, most often the "Red Special," which he designed with his father, Harold May, and built with wood from a 19th century fireplace. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The Red Special is a Guitar owned and custom-built by Queen guitarist Brian May. His comments on this instrument, from Queen In Their Own Words (ed. Mick St. Michael, Omnibus Press, 1992, p.  62) are:

In addition to using his home-made guitar he prefers to use coins (especially a sixpence), instead of a more traditional plastic plectrum, on the basis that their rigidity gives him more control in playing. See also Sixpence (disambiguation The sixpence, known colloquially as the tanner or half-shilling also sprarzi was a British Often called a pick or plec, a plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. He is known to carry coins in his pockets specifically for this purpose.

May's early heroes were Cliff Richard and The Shadows, who he says were "the most metallic thing out at the time. Sir Cliff Richard, OBE, (born Harry Roger Webb on 14 October 1940 is an English Singer, Actor and Businessman. The Shadows are an English instrumental and vocal Rock and roll group active from the 1950s to the 2000s " Many years later he gained his opportunity to play on separate occasions with both Cliff Richard and Shadows lead guitarist Hank Marvin. Brian Robson Rankin (born 28 October 1941) Newcastle upon Tyne, known by the Stage name Hank B He has collaborated with Cliff Richard on a re-recording of the Cliff Richard and The Shadows (then known as The Drifters) 1958 hit "Move It" on the Cliff Richard duets album Two's Company which was released on 6 November 2006. Sir Cliff Richard, OBE, (born Harry Roger Webb on 14 October 1940 is an English Singer, Actor and Businessman. Sir Cliff Richard, OBE, (born Harry Roger Webb on 14 October 1940 is an English Singer, Actor and Businessman. The Shadows are an English instrumental and vocal Rock and roll group active from the 1950s to the 2000s Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. " Move It " is a song recorded by Cliff Richard and the Drifters (the UK band that would evolve into The Shadows) Sir Cliff Richard, OBE, (born Harry Roger Webb on 14 October 1940 is an English Singer, Actor and Businessman. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

May was proud upon hearing that Cliff Richard had mentioned in an interview that he would have Brian May in his personal fantasy band. As well as recording with Hank Marvin, May also contributed to the 1996 album Twang!: A Tribute to Hank Marvin & the Shadows, playing FBI. The album featured many other renowned guitarists.

In Queen's three-part vocal harmonies, his was generally the lower-range backing vocal. On some of his songs he sings the lead vocal, most notably the first verse of Who Wants to Live Forever, and also "Some Day One Day," "All Dead, All Dead," "Long Away," "Leaving Home Ain't Easy," "Good Company," "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" and "'39. " Who Wants to Live Forever " is a Power ballad by the English Rock band Queen. Queen II is the second album by English rock band Queen, originally released in 1974 News of the World is the sixth studio album by English rock band Queen, released in 1977 A Day at the Races is a rock album by English band Queen released in December 1976 Jazz is a 1978 album by English rock band Queen. It was the band's seventh Studio album, and comprises a number of different News of the World is the sixth studio album by English rock band Queen, released in 1977 ' 39 is a song by English guitarist Brian May and first recorded by his band Queen for their album A Night at the Opera in "

On October 22, 2000, Brian May made a guest appearance at the Motörhead 25th Anniversary show at Brixton Academy along with Eddie Clarke (former Motörhead guitarist) for the encore song Overkill. The Brixton Academy or Brixton is one of London 's leading music venues Edward Clarke (born 5 October 1950, Twickenham, London) better known as "Fast" Eddie Clarke, is a Guitarist Overkill is the use of Excessive force or action that goes further than is necessary to achieve its goal

In recent years, he has overseen the remastering of Queen albums and various DVD and Greatest Hits releases. In 2004, he announced that he and drummer Roger Taylor were going on tour for the first time in 18 years as "Queen", along with Free/Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers. Free were an English Rock band, formed in London in 1968 and best known for their popular song " All Right Now " Bad Company are an English Blues rock supergroup founded in 1973 consisting of band members from Free ( Paul Rodgers, Simon Paul Rodgers, (born 17 December 1949 is an English rock singer-songwriter best known for being a member of Free and Bad Company. Billed as "Queen + Paul Rodgers", the band has played throughout 2005 and 2006 in South Africa, Europe, Aruba, Japan, and North America. The Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration began in late 2004 when Queen were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame

In the Queen's birthday honours list of 2005, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire "for services to the music industry". For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V.

During the time in which Brian May and his father were building the Red Special, May also produced plans to build a second guitar. The Red Special is a Guitar owned and custom-built by Queen guitarist Brian May. However, so successful was the Red Special, that May simply had no need to build another guitar. The Red Special is a Guitar owned and custom-built by Queen guitarist Brian May. These plans were eventually given to guitar luthier Andrew Guyton in around 2004/05, some slight modifications were made and the guitar was built. It was named "The Spade", as the shape of the body resembled the form shown on playing cards. However the guitar also came to be known as "The Guitar That Time Forgot". As yet, this guitar has not been used in any recordings and remains in May's possession.

Highlights

Brian May performing live with Queen in Hannover, Germany, 1979. Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

Brian May began composing in 1968/1969, and has covered a wide variety of styles during his career. Through the years he has collaborated with other songwriters, including Frank Musker, with whom he wrote "Too Much Love Will Kill You", and with Elizabeth Lamers, whose music won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically & Lyrically in 1996. Frank Musker is a songwriter and composer Especially in the 80s and 90s he worked with artists like Robert Miles, Jennifer Rush, Air Supply, Zucchero " Too Much Love Will Kill You " is a Song written by Queen Guitarist Brian May, Frank Musker, and Elizabeth Lamers The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are Awards for Songwriting and Composing. A meticulous arranger, he focuses on multi-part harmonies, often more contrapuntal than parallel — a rarity for rock guitar. In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony Examples are found in Queen's albums A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races, where he arranged a jazz band for guitar mini-orchestra ("Good Company"), a vocal canon ("The Prophet's Song") and guitar and vocal counterpoints ("Teo Torriatte"). is a song from the 1976 Queen album A Day at the Races and is written by guitarist Brian May.

May explored a wide variety of styles in guitar, including sweep picking ("Was It All Worth It"), tapping ("Bijou","It's Late","Resurrection", "Cyborg"), Hendrix sounding licks ("Liar", "Brighton Rock") and melodic parts ("Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "These Are the Days of Our Lives"). Sweep picking is a technique used on the Guitar in which a 'sweeping' motion of the pick is combined with a matching fret hand technique in order to produce a specific For other albums of the same name see Miracle (disambiguation. Tapping is a playing technique generally associated with the Electric guitar, although the technique may be performed on almost any String instrument. Innuendo is a 1991 Album by English rock band Queen. It is the band's fourteenth studio album and the last to be composed entirely of new " It's Late " is a Hard rock song written by Queen guitarist Brian May and performed by the band for their 1977 album News of the This article concerns itself with Jesus Christ Christian, Islamic and other religious interpretations of resurrection in general James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter " Liar " is the fifth track (first on side two and in the USA and Canada second single of English rock band Queen 's first album Queen For the Queen song of the same name see News of the World (album. is a Song written by Freddie Mercury and originally recorded by the band Queen for their 1975 album ''A Night at the Opera''. " Killer Queen " is a 1974 song by the British rock band Queen. " These Are the Days of Our Lives " is a song by the British rock band Queen. Some of his solos and orchestral parts were composed by Freddie Mercury, who then asked May to bring them to life ("Bicycle Race", "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon"). Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991 was a Zanzibar -born British Musician, best known as the lead Bicycle Race is a hit single for the English rock band Queen. A Night at the Opera is a 1975 album by English rock band Queen. May also performed notable acoustic works, including "Love of My Life" from 1975's A Night at the Opera, the fingerpicked solo of "White Queen", and the skiffle-influenced "'39". Love of My Life is a Ballad from the album A Night at the Opera by English Rock band Queen.

Aided by the uniqueness of his guitar — the Red Special — May was often able to create strange and unusual sound effects. For example, he was able to imitate an orchestra in the song "Procession", in "Get Down, Make Love", he was able to create sound effects with his guitar that were so unusual that many thought a synthesizer was being used. Queen II is the second album by English rock band Queen, originally released in 1974 News of the World is the sixth studio album by English rock band Queen, released in 1977 In "Good Company" he used his guitar to mimic a trombone, a piccolo and several other instruments for the song's Dixieland jazz band feel. A Night at the Opera is a 1975 album by English rock band Queen.

May's abilities are not restricted to one instrument. During his Queen days he performed ukulele ("Good Company" and "Bring Back That Leroy Brown") and sometimes piano, detaching on a soft and gentle style ("All Dead, All Dead", "Save Me", "Dear Friends"). The ukulele (ˌjʉːkəˈlɛɪli from ʻukulele /ˌʔukuˈlele/ variantly spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK) or alternatively abbreviated uke The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers News of the World is the sixth studio album by English rock band Queen, released in 1977 Save Me is a song by English rock band Queen. This rock ballad was written by Guitarist Brian May, who played piano He also played part of the synthesizer intro (the melody) to "One Vision". " One Vision " is a song written and recorded by the band Queen, first released as a single in 1985 and then included on their 1986 album He recorded some other instruments (maracas, banjo, etc), including the harp on "Love of My Life", which was recorded in overdubs and mixed to sound as one performance.

May is also an accomplished singer. His wide vocal range went from notes around low A (110 Hz) to very high tenor Ds and Es (mostly in his solo career). Occasionally he contributed falsetto parts as well ("Ogre Battle", "Why Don't We Try Again"). Queen II is the second album by English rock band Queen, originally released in 1974 From Queen's Queen I to Hot Space, May contributed lead vocals to at least one song per album.

May composed a mini-opera, Il Colosso, for Steve Barron's 1996 film, The Adventures of Pinocchio. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Steve Barron (born May 4, 1956) is a director and producer, best known for directing the films Coneheads (1993 The Adventures of Pinocchio is a 1996 Film directed by Steve Barron and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Martin May performed the opera with Jerry Hadley, Sissel Kyrkjebo, and Just William. Jerry Hadley ( June 16 1952 – July 18 2007) was an American Operatic Tenor, who was a protegé of Sissel Kyrkjebø (born June 24, 1969 in Bergen, Norway) also known as just Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano This article is about the book of this title For the eponymous character see William Brown (fictional boy and for the series of books about him see Just William On-screen, it was performed entirely by puppets.

Equipment

Brian May performing with the Red Special in Warsaw, Poland, 1998. Warsaw (Warszawa; also known by other names) is the Capital and Largest city of Poland. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland

Most of May's guitar work was done on the Red Special. The Red Special is a Guitar owned and custom-built by Queen guitarist Brian May. However, he has used a number of other electric guitars, including a Burns Double Six (Long Away), a Gibson Les Paul (as a backup during the early tours. Burns London is a guitar-making company originally formed in 1960 as Ormston Burns Ltd The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s ), a Gibson Flying V (spare during Hot Space tour), a Fender Telecaster (Crazy Little Thing Called Love), an Ibanez JS (Nothing But Blue),a Greco BM90 (featured in the promo video of "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy", but was not actually used in the studio), a Tōkai Hummingbird Acoustic on some recordings, and a Parker Fly (Mother Love). The Gibson Flying V is an Electric guitar model first released by Gibson in 1958. The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. Ibanez (ˈaɪbænɛz or /aɪˈbænɛz/ is a Guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki and based in Nagoya Aichi, Japan. Greco ( Japanese: グレコ Gurekou) are a brand of Electric guitars produced by Kanda Shokai 神田商会 often referred as Tokai Guitars Company Ltd, is a Japanese guitar manufacturer founded in 1947 and situated in Hamamatsu city Shizuoka prefecture

In early Queen tours he had a Stratocaster as spare guitar, replacing it with a Les Paul Deluxe in 1974, then a John Birch replica of his Red Special the next year. John Birch was an English Luthier mainly known for his Electric guitars. In a concert in the States on the 1982 Hot Space North American tour, he got frustrated with that instrument and smashed it, thereafter using a Gibson Flying V until he got more suitable replicas of his beloved Red Special. Hot Space is an Album by English Rock band Queen, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music) In 1984 Guild released the first official Red Special replica for mass production, and made some prototypes specifically for May. A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers However the solid body construction (the original RS has hollow cavities in the body) and the pickups (DiMarzio) that were not an exact replica of the Burns TriSonic did not make May happy, so the production stopped after just 300 guitars. In 1993 Guild made a second replica of the RS, made in just 1000 copies, of which May has some and used as a backup. At the moment, he uses the 2 guitars made by Greg Fryer — the luthier who restored the Old Lady in 1998—as backup. They are really identical to the original, except for the Fryer logo on the headstock (May's original one has a sixpence).

For acoustic guitars, he mostly used Ovation 12-Strings, Martins, and a Gibson Chet Atkins for nylon-string parts. He created the unique "buzzing" tone heard on "White Queen (As It Began)" and "Jealousy" by placing pieces of piano wire under the frets. His ukulele was Aloha. Pianos he recorded include Bösendorfers, although in concerts he relied on Freddie Mercury's Steinway. Bösendorfer (L Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian Piano manufacturer now a Wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha. May used Yamaha DX7 synths for the opening sequence of "One Vision" and the backgrounds of "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Scandal" and "The Show Must Go On". The Yamaha DX7 was a Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986, based on FM synthesis developed by " One Vision " is a song written and recorded by the band Queen, first released as a single in 1985 and then included on their 1986 album " Who Wants to Live Forever " is a Power ballad by the English Rock band Queen. Scandal is the fourth single from Queen 's 1989 Album The Miracle.

May was keen on using some toys as instruments as well. He also used a Yamaha plastic piano in Teo Torriatte, a "genuine George Formby Ukulele-Banjo" in Bring Back That Leroy Brown and a toy mini koto in The Prophet's Song. is a song from the 1976 Queen album A Day at the Races and is written by guitarist Brian May. For the Queen song of the same name see News of the World (album. The koto ( 琴 or 箏) is a traditional Japanese stringed Musical instrument derived from the Chinese Zither ( Guzheng A Night at the Opera is a 1975 album by English rock band Queen.

May has used Vox AC-30 amplifiers almost exclusively since a meeting with his long time hero Rory Gallagher at a gig in London during the late 60s/early 70s. The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox and known for its "jangly" high-end sound Rory Gallagher (2 March 1948&ndash14 June 1995 was an Irish Blues / rock Guitarist Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal His choice is the model AC30TBX, the top-boost version with Blue Alnico speakers, and he runs the amp at full volume on the Normal channel. He also customizes his amps by removing the circuitry for the Brilliant and Vib-trem channels (leaving only the circuitry for the Normal), and this alters the tone slightly, with a gain addition of 6-7dB. He always used a 'treble booster pedal' of some kind which, along with the AC-30, went a long way in helping to create many of his signature guitar tones. A treble booster pedal is an Effects unit used by guitarists to alter the sound of their Guitars Popularized by legendary guitarists such as Rory Gallagher He used the Dallas Rangemaster for the first Queen albums, up to A Day at the Races. A Day at the Races is a rock album by English band Queen released in December 1976 Then, effects guru Pete Cornish built for him the TB-83 (32dB of gain) that used for all the remaining Queen albums. He switched in 2000 to the Fryer's booster, which actually gives less boost than the TB-83.

Live, he uses banks of AC-30 amplifiers keeping some amps with only guitar and others with all effects such as delay, flanger and chorus. He has a rack of 14 AC30s, which are grouped as Normal, Chorus, Delay 1, Delay 2. On his pedal board, May has a custom switch unit made by Cornish and subsequently modified by Fryer that allows him to choose which amps are active. He uses a BOSS pedal from the 70s, the Chorus Ensemble CE-1, which you can hear in In The Lap of The Gods (Live at Wembley '86) or Hammer to Fall (slow version played live with P. Boss is a manufacturer of Effects pedals for Electric guitar and Bass guitar. For the Queen song of the same name see News of the World (album. Live at Wembley '86 is a double Compact disc live Album by English rock band Queen. "Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 Hard rock Song written by Brian May and performed by the British rock group Queen. Rodgers). Next in the chain, he uses a Foxx Foot Phaser (We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Keep Yourself Alive, etc), and two delay machines to play his trademark Brighton Rock solo. " We Will Rock You " is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen. See also Af banen (Danish film also known as We Are the Champions See also We Are the Champions (TV series " We Are the Champions " Keep Yourself Alive " is the first track on the English rock group Queen 's debut album, written by Brian May.

Another particular choice of May is the plectrum: he uses an English Sixpence coin from the '60s. This gives a mysterious, clean and crystalline tone. Bandmate and electrical engineer John Deacon also built May a small DC-powered amplifier which he often used when recording. John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951 is a retired English musician best known as the Bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. Known as the 'Deacy amp', it was reproduced as the "Brian May Special" by Vox in 2003. The Deacy Amp is an Amplifier created by and named after Queen Bassist John Deacon and used by Guitarist Brian May. Vox have also released a Brian May custom AC-30 model with a single volume control and a rear mounted guitar input jack so multiple amps can be stacked on top of each other. The Digitech corporation recently released a pedal called the "Brian May Red Special" from its artist series of pedals made to emulate the tones of famous guitarist. DigiTech is a manufacturer of Guitar, Bass guitar, and Vocals Electronics. This particular pedal is made to simulate the tones from seven Queen hits, as well as the tone of the Red Special, the Deacy amp, the Treble Booster and the Vox AC-30s. Also V-stack made a "simulator" of Brian May's sound.

Last, but not least, a quite influential factor on his sound in studio is the particular positioning of the microphones. This allowed May to cut down the noise produced by the extremely loud AC30 at full volume and also nailed particular, unique mid-loaded tones. For example, to record the solos of Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock you, most of It's Late and almost every guitar part in We Are The Champions, microphones were placed in the corners of the room, at the center of which there was the amplifier. This makes his tone even more difficult to copy, because the amplifier sounds significantly different if microphoned up in one way or another.

Contributions to Queen

After the famous Live Aid concert in summer 1985, Mercury rang his band mates and proposed writing a song together. Live Aid was a multi-venue rock music concert held on. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia The result was "One Vision," which was basically May on music (the Magic Years documentary shows how he came up with the opening section and the basic guitar riff) and Roger Taylor on lyrics, with Freddie Mercury being more a producer and arranger than a proper co-writer, and John Deacon mostly absent. " One Vision " is a song written and recorded by the band Queen, first released as a single in 1985 and then included on their 1986 album John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951 is a retired English musician best known as the Bass guitarist for the rock band Queen.

For their 1989 release album, The Miracle, the band had decided that all of the tracks would be credited to all the band, no matter who had been the main writer. For other albums of the same name see Miracle (disambiguation. Still, interviews and musical analyses tend to identify the input of each member on each track.

May composed "I Want It All" for that album, as well as "Scandal" (based on his personal problems with the British press). " I Want It All " ( is a song by the British rock band Queen. Scandal is the fourth single from Queen 's 1989 Album The Miracle. This article is a list of Newspapers in the United Kingdom. UK daily newspapers Traditionally newspapers could be split into serious-minded newspapers usually referred For the rest of the album he did not contribute so much creatively, although he helped in building the basis of Party and Was It All Worth It (both being predominantly Mercury's pieces) and created the guitar riff of Chinese Torture.

Queen's subsequent album was Innuendo, on which May's contributions increased, although more in arrangements than actual writing in most cases; for the title track he did some of the arrangement for the heavy solo, then he added vocal harmonies to "I'm Going Slightly Mad" and composed the solo of "These Are the Days of Our Lives", a song for which the four of them decided the keyboard parts together. Innuendo is a 1991 Album by English rock band Queen. It is the band's fourteenth studio album and the last to be composed entirely of new " Innuendo " is a song by English Rock band Queen. It is the opening track on the album of the same name. " I'm Going Slightly Mad " is a Queen song written by Freddie Mercury. " These Are the Days of Our Lives " is a song by the British rock band Queen. He changed the tempo and key of Mercury's song The Hitman and took it under his wing, even singing guide vocal in the demo. May also co-wrote some of the guitar lines in Bijou. Innuendo is a 1991 Album by English rock band Queen. It is the band's fourteenth studio album and the last to be composed entirely of new

Two songs that May had composed for his first solo album, "Headlong" and "I Can't Live With You," eventually ended up in the Queen project. Headlong is the third track of Queen 's 1991 Album Innuendo. Written by Guitarist Brian May, but credited His other composition was "The Show Must Go On," a group effort in which he was the coordinator and primary composer, but in which they all had input — Deacon and Taylor with the famous chord sequence, Mercury with the first verse. " The Show Must Go On " is a song by English Rock band Queen, featured as the twelfth and final track on their 1991 album Innuendo

The Brian May Band

The Brian May Band was officially formed in late October 1992, following the release of his album Back to the Light. Back to the Light is the first solo effort of Queen 's guitarist Brian May.

An early version of the band was loosely formed for 19 October 1991, when May took part in the Guitar Legends guitar festival in Seville, Spain. Seville ( Spanish: Sevilla, see also different names) is the artistic cultural and financial capital of southern Spain. The line-up for his performance was May (Lead Vocals & Lead Guitar), Cozy Powell (Drums & Percussion), Mike Moran (Keyboards), Rick Wakeman (Keyboards), Maggie Ryder (Backing Vocals), Miriam Stockley (Backing Vocals) and Chris Thompson (Backing Vocals). Colin Flooks ( December 29, 1947 - April 5, 1998) better known as Cozy Powell, was an English rock drummer Mike Moran is the name of Mike Moran (firefighter, Irish American FDNY firefighter Mike Moran (music producer (born 1948 English keyboard Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949 in Perivale, London) is an English Keyboard player best known as the Chris Thompson (also known as Chris Hamlet Thompson, born) is an English Singer and Guitarist known both for his work with Manfred

Following the death of Freddie Mercury in November 1991, May chose to deal with his grief by committing himself as fully as possible to work, first by finishing his solo album and then touring worldwide to promote it. Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991 was a Zanzibar -born British Musician, best known as the lead He frequently remarked in press interviews that this was the only form of self-prescribed therapy he could think of. ^[16]

The original line-up was Brian May (Lead Vocals and Lead Guitar), Cozy Powell (Drums and Percussion), Mike Caswell (Guitar), Neil Murray (Bass), Maggie Ryder (Backing Vocals), Miriam Stockley (Backing Vocals) and Chris Thompson (Backing Vocals). Philip Neil Murray (born 27 August 1950 in Edinburgh Scotland is a British bass player best known for his work in Whitesnake and Black Sabbath This version of the band lasted only during the South American support tour (supporting The B-52's and Joe Cocker) on only five dates. The B-52's originated as a New Wave Rock band formed in Athens Georgia, United States, in 1976 Joe Cocker OBE (born 20 May 1944 is an English rock / Blues Singer who came to popularity in the 1960s and is most known for his gritty Afterwards, May made significant changes, feeling the group never quite gelled.

Most significantly, May brought guitarist Jamie Moses on board to replace Mike Caswell. Jamie Moses is an American rock Guitarist, born in the UK (30 August 1955 and brought up in the US May considered Moses a perfect fit to the band. The other change made was in the backing vocal department. Ryder, Stockley and Thompson are replaced with Catherine Porter and Shelley Preston. Catherine Porter is an American singer songwriter and musician Shelley Preston (born May 14, 1964 in Hillingdon, London, England) is a singer who is most famous for being the new girl when she

On 23 February 1993, this new line-up of The Brian May Band began its world tour in the US, both supporting Guns N' Roses and headlining a few dates. Guns N' Roses is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 The tour would take them through North America, Europe and Japan.

After the tour ended on 18 December 1993, May returned to the studio with fellow surviving Queen band members Roger Taylor and John Deacon to work on tracks that became Made in Heaven, the final Queen album. Roger Taylor (born Roger Meddows-Taylor on July 26, 1949 in Dersingham, Norfolk later moved to Kings Lynn is an English Musician John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951 is a retired English musician best known as the Bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. Made in Heaven is Queen 's fifteenth and last studio album released in November 1995

In 1995, May began working towards a new solo album of covers tentatively named Heroes, in addition to working on various film and television projects and other collaborations. May subsequently changed the approach of his second album from covers to focus on those collaborations and on new material. The songs recorded for that album, Another World would feature mainly Edney, Powell, Murray and Moses, who had become his core support/collaborative team. Another World is the second full studio album delivered by Queen guitarist Brian May.

On 5 April 1998, Cozy Powell was killed in a car accident on the M4 motorway near Bristol, England. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The M4 motorway is a Motorway in Great Britain linking London with Wales. This caused a huge, unexpected dent in the upcoming tour for The Brian May Band, with the need for a new drummer on short notice. Steve Ferrone was brought on to help May finish recording drums for the title track "Another World" and to join the band for the early stage promotional tour of five dates in Europe before the world tour. Steve Ferrone (born 25 April 1950 in Brighton England) is a British drummer, currently a member of the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

The line up was then Brian May (Lead Vocals & Lead Guitar), Spike Edney (Keyboards), Neil Murray (Bass), Jamie Moses (Guitar), Steve Ferrone (Drums & Percussion), Susie Webb (Backing Vocals) and Zoe Nicholas (Backing Vocals). Following the early promo tour, Eric Singer replaced Steve Ferrone for the full 1998 world tour. Eric Doyle Mensinger (born May 12, 1958 in Cleveland Ohio) better known as Eric Singer, is a Hard rock and Heavy Metal The band then consisted of Brian May (Lead Vocals & Lead Guitar), Spike Edney (Keyboards), Neil Murray (Bass), Jamie Moses (Guitar), Eric Singer (Drums & Percussion), Susie Webb (Backing Vocals) and Zoe Nicholas (Backing Vocals).

In 2005, Edney and Moses were recruited along with Danny Miranda (Bass) to join the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour, to fill the roles of keyboard player and second guitarist respectively. The Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration began in late 2004 when Queen were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame

In late 2008 he will be reuniting with Paul Rodgers for a European tour playing major cities, including two dates at the 02 Arena in London.

Discography

Main article: Brian May discography

See also: Queen discography

Bibliography

• Bang! The Complete History of the Universe (2006), co-authored with Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott

References

External links

• Brian May's official homepage
• [http://www.rs-onevision.site.vu - How to build your own Red Special
• Queen Archives – Brian May interviews
• Queenpedia - Brian May Complete Song List
• Scientific paper with Brian May as co-author
• Brian May's astronomy book
• Brian May at the Internet Movie Database
• Five interview clips with Brian May