Brian May is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist, and astrophysicist. He is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the rock band Queen, co-founding it with Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor. May's guitar skills and songwriting were integral to Queen's success, making them one of the most influential and popular bands of all time. Beyond music, he holds a PhD in astrophysics and is an advocate for animal rights.
In 1946, Brian May's Scottish mother, Ruth Irving (née Fletcher), married his English father, Harold May, at Moulin in Perthshire, Scotland.
On 19 July 1947, Brian Harold May was born at Gloucester House Nursing Home in Hampton Hill, near Twickenham, Middlesex.
Brian May's early musical influences included Cliff Richard and The Shadows, who he considered "the most metallic thing(s) out at the time".
In 1968, Brian May formed the band Smile with Tim Staffell and later, Roger Taylor.
In 1968, Brian May graduated with a BSc degree in physics with honours from Imperial College London.
Brian May prefers to use coins, particularly a sixpence from the farewell proof set of 1970, instead of a traditional plastic plectrum, as he feels their rigidity provides more control when playing the guitar.
In 1970, Brian May began studying for a PhD degree at Imperial College London, focusing on reflected light from interplanetary dust and the velocity of dust in the plane of the Solar System.
In 1970, Freddie Mercury joined Brian May and Roger Taylor to form the rock band Queen.
In 1970, Smile disbanded after Tim Staffell's departure, leaving behind a catalogue of nine songs.
In 1971, Brian May already had a unique and recognizable guitar style with incredible finesse and fluidity, making his work instantly identifiable.
In 1971, Brian May started work that would eventually result in him earning a PhD degree in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007.
In 1971, Brian May was influenced by Steve Hackett, guitarist of Genesis, particularly his harmony guitar solo at the end of the band's song "The Musical Box".
In 1971, John Deacon completed the line-up for Queen, cementing the band's formation.
From 1972, Brian May occasionally played Freddie Mercury's 1972 Steinway piano, such as on "Save Me" and "Flash".
In 1973, Brian May's purchase of his first card started May on a lifelong and worldwide search for Les Diableries, which are stereoscopic photographs depicting scenes of daily life in Hell.
In 1974, Brian May abandoned his doctoral studies at Imperial College due to Queen's international success, though he co-authored two research papers based on his observations at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife.
From 1975 onwards, Brian May had several replicas made of the Red Special guitar for live and recording purposes.
In 1976, Brian May married Christine Mullen.
In 1977, the Greco BM90 Red Special replica was featured in the promo video of "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy".
From 1979 onwards, Brian May also played synthesisers, organ, and programmed drum-machines for both Queen and outside projects.
In 1980, Brian May used a Stratocaster copy on the video for "Play the Game".
In 1982, Brian May smashed a Red Special replica made by John Birch during a concert in the US.
In 1983, Brian May and Eddie Van Halen recorded the mini album "Star Fleet Project" in Los Angeles.
Brian May formed his first band in 1984, named 1984 after George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, with vocalist and bassist Tim Staffell.
From 1984 to 1993, Guild guitars were used as backup guitars for Brian May.
In 1984, Guild released the first official Red Special replica for mass production. However, Brian May was not happy with its solid-body construction and the non-replica DiMarzio pick-ups, leading to the production of only 300 guitars.
After the Live Aid concert in 1985, Queen wrote the song "One Vision" together, with Brian May primarily contributing the music.
In 1985, Queen gave an acclaimed performance at Live Aid, solidifying their status as one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
In August 1986, Anita Dobson's song "Anyone Can Fall in Love", which added lyrics to the EastEnders theme tune, reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. Brian May worked with actress Anita Dobson on her first album, most noted for the song "Anyone Can Fall in Love",
From the mid-1970s until 1986, Queen played at some of the biggest venues in the world.
In 1986, Brian May met actress Anita Dobson.
In 1986, Brian May used a Washburn RR2V guitar on the video for "Princes of the Universe".
In 1988, Brian May contributed guitar solos to the song "When Death Calls" on Black Sabbath's 14th album Headless Cross, and the Living in a Box track "Blow The House Down" on the album Gatecrashing.
In 1988, Brian May separated from Christine Mullen.
In 1989, Anita Dobson inspired Brian May to write the hit song "I Want It All".
In 1989, both Black Sabbath's Headless Cross and Living in a Box's Gatecrashing, featuring May's guitar solos, were released.
In 1989, during the Queen for an Hour interview on BBC Radio 1, Brian May listed Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton as his guitar heroes.
In 1989, for their album "The Miracle", all tracks were credited to the entire band, with May composing "I Want It All" and "Scandal".
On 19 October 1991, Brian May took part in the Guitar Legends guitar festival in Seville, Spain, with a band including Cozy Powell, Mike Moran, and Rick Wakeman.
In the aftermath of Freddie Mercury's death in November 1991, Brian May dealt with his grief by committing to work, including finishing his solo album, Back to the Light.
In 1991, Freddie Mercury passed away, leading to a hiatus for Queen after the tribute concert in 1992.
In a 1991 interview for Guitar World magazine, Brian May referred to The Who as "my inspiration".
On 22 December 1992, Smile reunited for several songs. Taylor's band The Cross were headliners, and he brought May and Staffell on to play "Earth" and "If I Were a Carpenter".
In 1992, Hackett recorded "Don't Fall Away from Me", a song co-written by May and Hackett, for release on his The Unauthorised Biography compilation album.
In 1992, a tribute concert was held in memory of Freddie Mercury.
In 1992, work began on the album Made in Heaven by Deacon and May, but was left until a later date due to other commitments.
In late 1992, The Brian May Band was officially formed.
On 23 February 1993, The Brian May Band began its world tour in the US, supporting Guns N' Roses.
On 15 June 1993, The Brian May Band did a show in London that would end up as The Brian May Band's only release as a collective, namely Live at the Brixton Academy.
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 studio album.
From 1984 to 1993, Guild guitars were used as backup guitars for Brian May.
In 1993, Guild made a second replica of the Red Special, producing just 1000 copies, some of which Brian May owns and uses as back-ups.
In 1995, May began working on a new solo album of covers tentatively titled Heroes, in addition to working on various film and television projects and other collaborations.
In 1995, Queen released 'Made in Heaven'.
In 1996, Brian May co-composed a mini-opera with Lee Holdridge, titled Il Colosso, for Steve Barron's film The Adventures of Pinocchio. May performed the opera with Jerry Hadley, Sissel Kyrkjebo, and Just William.
In 1996, the song "Too Much Love Will Kill You" won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically & Lyrically, which Brian May collaborated as a songwriter.
From 1997 to 1998, Fryers guitars were used both live and in the studio by Brian May.
In 1997, Queen released "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)", a tribute single to Freddie Mercury written by Brian May.
On 5 April 1998, Cozy Powell was killed in a car accident, causing a disruption to the upcoming Brian May Band tour.
From 1997 to 1998, Fryers guitars were used both live and in the studio by Brian May.
In 1998, Greg Fryer restored the Old Lady (Brian May's original Red Special) and created two guitars almost identical to the original, which May uses as back-ups.
On 18 November 2000, Brian May married Anita Dobson.
In 2000, Brian May switched to Fryer's booster, which provides less boost than the TB-83, for his guitar tone.
In 2000, Steve Hackett's album Feedback 86, featuring Brian May's guitar work on "Cassandra" and "Slot Machine", was commercially released.
In 2001, Queen, including Brian May, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
From 2003 to present, Guyton guitars have been used as backup guitars for Brian May.
In May 2013, Brian May teamed up with Brian Blessed, and Jonti "Weebl" Picking, and animal welfare groups to form Team Badger, a coalition to fight the planned cull of badgers. With Weebl and Blessed, May recorded a single, "Save the Badger Badger Badger"—a mashup of Weebl's viral 2003 Flash cartoon meme, "Badger Badger Badger", and Queen's "Flash", featuring vocals by Blessed.
Around 2004, Brian May gave the plans for a second guitar design, originally conceived during the Red Special's construction, to guitar luthier Andrew Guyton. Guyton modified the plans slightly and built the guitar, named "The Spade", which also became known as "The Guitar That Time Forgot".
In 2004, Brian May and Roger Taylor announced they were going on tour for the first time in 18 years as "Queen", along with Paul Rodgers.
In 2004, Brian May told Guitarist that "I don't think anyone has epitomised riff writing better than Jimmy Page – he's one of the great brains of rock music".
In 2010, Brian May's animal welfare group's primary concern is to ensure that the Hunting Act 2004 and other laws protecting animals are retained in situ.
In 2005, Brian May was voted the seventh-greatest guitarist of all time in a Planet Rock poll.
Throughout 2005, "Queen + Paul Rodgers" played in South Africa, Europe, Aruba, and Japan.
In October 2006, Brian May re-registered for his doctorate at Imperial College London.
In November 2006, Brian May collaborated with Cliff Richard on a re-recording of the 1958 hit "Move It" for Richard's duets album, Two's Company, released on 6 November 2006.
Throughout 2006, "Queen + Paul Rodgers" played in North America.
In January 2007, readers of Guitar World voted Brian May's guitar solos on "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Brighton Rock" into the "top 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of all time", ranking them at No.20 and No.41 respectively.
In August 2007, Brian May submitted his thesis, "A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," at Imperial College, one year earlier than estimated.
In September 2007, Brian May's revised thesis was approved after a viva voce, some 37 years after it was commenced.
In October 2007, Brian May was appointed a visiting researcher in Imperial College and continued his interest in astronomy and involvement with the Imperial Astrophysics Group.
In November 2007, Brian May was appointed chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.
In 2007, Brian May earned a PhD degree in astrophysics from Imperial College London for work started in 1971.
On 14 May 2008, Brian May graduated at the awards ceremony of Imperial College, held in the Royal Albert Hall.
On 18 June 2008, Asteroid 52665 Brianmay was named after Brian May, suggested by Patrick Moore.
In 2008, Brian May became Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.
In 2008, Queen + Paul Rodgers released a new album titled The Cosmos Rocks and supported it with a major tour.
In May 2009, Paul Rodgers left the band Queen.
In 2009, Brian May, with co-author Elena Vidal, published his second book, A Village Lost and Found, on the work of English stereophotography innovator T. R. Williams.
In September 2010, Brian May said in an interview with Stephen Sackur for BBC's HARDtalk that he would rather be remembered for his animal welfare work than for his music or scientific work.
In October 2010, Brian May received an award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare in recognition of his animal welfare work.
In 2010, Brian May formed the animal welfare organization Save Me, named after the Queen song. It campaigns for the protection of wild animals, especially preventing hunting of foxes and culling of badgers.
In 2010, despite being a lifelong Conservative Party voter, Brian May stated that their policies on fox hunting and the culling of badgers meant he did not vote for them in the UK general election.
In 2011, Adam Lambert was recruited as a vocalist for Queen.
In 2011, Brian May was ranked number 26 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
In March 2012, Brian May contributed the foreword to a Bow Group paper urging the government to reconsider its plans to cull badgers, stating that culling does not work.
In 2012, Brian May bought land in Bere Regis, Dorset, that was threatened by building development.
In 2012, Brian May was awarded The Royal Photographic Society's Saxby Medal for achievement in the field of three-dimensional imaging.
In 2012, Brian May was ranked the second-greatest guitarist in a Guitar World magazine readers poll.
On 8 January 2013, Brian May was a guest on the first episode of the third series of the BBC's Stargazing Live.
In May 2013, Brian May teamed up with Brian Blessed, Jonti "Weebl" Picking, and animal welfare groups to form Team Badger, a coalition to fight the planned cull of badgers.
In June 2013, naturalist Sir David Attenborough and rock guitarist Slash joined Brian May to form a supergroup, Artful Badger and Friends, and released a song dedicated to badgers, "Badger Swagger".
On 1 September 2013, "Save the Badger Badger Badger" charted at No. 79 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 39 on the UK iTunes chart, and No. 1 on the iTunes Rock chart.
On 10 October 2013, the book Diableries: Stereoscopic Adventures in Hell by Brian May, Denis Pellerin and Paula Fleming was published.
Brian May held the post of chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University until 2013.
In 2013, Brian May joined French guitar player Jean-Pierre Danel for a charity Danel launched for the benefit of animal rights in France.
In 2013, a new species of damselfly from Brazil was named Heteragrion brianmayi, paying tribute to the 40th anniversary of Queen's founding.
In 2013, with the support of local villagers, Brian May initiated a project to create an area of woodland called May's Wood (or "the Brian May Wood") in Bere Regis, Dorset.
Brian May made a technical contribution to the book accompanying the exhibition 'Stereoscopic Photographs of Pablo Picasso by Robert Mouzillat', held at the Holburne Museum in Bath, England, from February to June 2014. His 3D Owl viewer is used to view the photographs in 3D.
In 2014, Brian May co-founded Asteroid Day with Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, B612 Foundation COO Danica Remy, and German filmmaker Grigorij Richters.
In July 2015, Brian May criticised UK Prime Minister David Cameron for giving members of parliament a free vote on amending the ban on fox hunting. He described the Countryside Alliance as "a bunch of lying bastards".
On 17 July 2015, during the New Horizons Pluto flyby NASA press conference, Brian May was introduced as a science team collaborator.
In 2015, Brian May considered standing as an independent Member of Parliament and started a "Common Decency" project. He also endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the Green Party's Caroline Lucas and Conservative Party candidate Henry Smith.
In 2016, Brian May was a guest at the Starmus Festival, where he performed on stage with composer Hans Zimmer.
In June 2017, Brian May endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 general election.
In 2017, Brian May published Queen in 3-D, chronicling the group's 50-year history. It contains over 300 of his own stereoscopic photos and is the first book about the band published by one of its members. Included with the book is May's patented OWL Stereoscopic Viewer.
In October 2018, Brian May criticised Brexit as "the stupidest thing we ever tried to do" and said that Prime Minister Theresa May was "driven by vanity and thirst for power".
From 31 December 2018 until 1 January 2019, Brian May attended the watch party for the New Horizons flyby of the Kuiper belt object, 486958 Arrokoth.
In 2018, Brian May was portrayed by Gwilym Lee in the biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody. May himself served as a creative and musical consultant for the film.
In 2018, the band Queen received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
From 31 December 2018 until 1 January 2019, Brian May attended the watch party for the New Horizons flyby of the Kuiper belt object, 486958 Arrokoth, and performed an updated version of his "New Horizons" celebratory song.
According to The Sunday Times Rich List of 2019, Brian May is worth £160 million.
In 2019, Brian May advocated voting in opposition to the landfill work at Henoko Bay for the expansion of the base in Okinawa, Japan.
In 2019, Brian May criticised the media's conduct and found it "impossible" to vote for either Jeremy Corbyn or Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom general election. Following the Conservative victory, May urged followers to congratulate Johnson.
In 2019, Brian May was awarded the Lawrence J. Burpee Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society for outstanding contributions to the advancement of geography.
In May 2020, Brian May experienced a small heart attack that required the insertion of three stents into three blocked arteries.
In 2020, Brian May participated in the team that contributed stereography images of numerical simulations of asteroid disruptions and re-accumulations, published in Nature Communications. The publication presented a scenario of formation of the asteroids (101955) Bennu and (162173) Ryugu. For his contribution by making stereoscopic images of Ryugu, May was awarded the JAXA Hayabusa2 Honor Award in 2020.
In 2020, Brian May, became vegan after taking part in the Veganuary challenge and stated that meat eating is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Brian May contributed the stereography images of the structural stability of double asteroid (65803) Didymos, the target of the NASA DART and ESA Hera missions, in a publication in the peer-reviewed journal Icarus. He is also on the advisory board of the NEO-MAPP project (Near-Earth-Object Modelling and Payloads for Protection).
In 2021, Brian May criticized Boris Johnson for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it inadequate.
In 2021, Brian May was awarded an honorary fellowship and Denis Pellerin was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Literature from the Royal Holloway College, University of London for their work to preserve Victorian stereoscopy through the London Stereoscopic Company.
On 4 June 2022, Queen + Adam Lambert opened the Platinum Party at the Palace outside Buckingham Palace to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. During their three-song set, Brian May appeared in front of the Victoria Memorial monument as they opened with "We Will Rock You", which was introduced in a comedy segment where the Queen and Paddington Bear tapped their tea cups to the beat of the song.
In September 2022, Brian May was awarded the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication at the Starmus IV festival in Yerevan, Armenia.
In December 2022, Brian May was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2023 New Year Honours.
In March 2023, Brian May was officially knighted by the King.
In 2023, Brian May contributed to NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission and was knighted by King Charles III in the New Year Honours for services to music and charity.
In 2023, Brian May was ranked at No. 33 on Rolling Stone's list of 250 greatest guitarists of all time.
In September 2024, Brian May resigned his position as vice-president of the RSPCA after "damning evidence" emerged of animal welfare failings at RSPCA Assured farms.
In September 2024, Brian May revealed that he had suffered a minor stroke which rendered him temporarily without use of his left arm, though May noted he was still able to play guitar.
In 2024, Brian May released Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me, a documentary exploring the necessity of badger culling for bovine TB prevention. It was the culmination of a four-year investigation.
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is an American singer...
Ukraine is an Eastern European country the second largest on...
Sir David Attenborough is a highly influential British broadcaster biologist...
Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside...
Katy Perry born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson is a highly successful...
Elizabeth II reigned as Queen of the United Kingdom and...
41 minutes ago Indigo Shares Reach 52-Week High Amidst Positive Brokerage Ratings and Crude Oil Price Drop.
42 minutes ago Gene Hackman's Property Investigation: Dead Rodents, Hantavirus Concerns, and Death Puzzle
42 minutes ago D.C. Restaurants Face Closures: Brookland's Finest Shuts Down Amidst Sustainability Concerns
42 minutes ago Dark Winds uses David Lynch style to explore Joe Leaphorn's trauma.
3 days ago Eagles Prepare for 2025 NFL Draft Amid Trade Speculation and Draft Intel
2 hours ago Frank Ocean Comeback? Cryptic Billboards and Instagram Spark New Album Rumors
Doug Ford is a Canadian politician and businessman currently serving...
Justin Trudeau served as the rd Prime Minister of Canada...
The Real ID Act of is a US federal law...
Peter Navarro is an American economist and author known for...
Donald John Trump is an American politician media personality and...
Bernard Bernie Sanders is a prominent American politician currently serving...