Brian May

Biography

Brian May was born on July 19, 1947 in Hampton, London. From an early age he showed a precocious fascination with guitar-driven rock, absorbing the styles of Buddy Holly, the Shadows, and the burgeoning scene of late 1960s Britain. He began playing guitar as a teenager, and with his father Harold May built the Red Special, a hand crafted instrument that would become the cornerstone of his tone and approach to guitar engineering. May formed a string of early bands in the London scene, most notably Smile, which featured drummer Roger Taylor before Queen began to coalesce. His studies in physics at Imperial College London ran in parallel with his musical experiments, foreshadowing a dual career that would merge science with art. With the formation of Queen in 1970 alongside Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, May’s guitar work became central to one of rock’s most enduring sounds. The band's debut album Queen arrived in 1973, followed by Sheer Heart Attack in 1974, and the landmark A Night at the Opera in 1975, which yielded the innovative single Bohemian Rhapsody. The late 1970s produced further classics on News of the World (1977) and The Game (1980), while a 1981 collaboration with David Bowie on Under Pressure produced a song that remains a defining moment of 80s rock. Queen’s triumphant Live Aid performance in 1985 at Wembley solidified their status as global icons and showcased May’s dynamic, stadium-ready guitar work. May’s playing is defined by a bright, singing tone, melodic fluency, and a relentless focus on tone control. Central to his signature sound is the Red Special, a guitar built with his father that offered unusual sustain and tonal flexibility. He has long used a Vox AC30 amplifier paired with a treble booster pedal, a combo that pushed his guitar into the upper registers and helped carve the distinctive lead tones heard on records such as The Works (1984) and A Kind of Magic (1986). In concert, he blends precise picking with inventive phrasing and a touch of harmonic color that has inspired countless players to pursue a more expansive, soaring guitar vocabulary. May’s gear philosophy—engineering tweaks, careful rig work, and a willingness to experiment—has become a touchstone for rock guitarists who value both technical ingenuity and expressive immediacy. Beyond the guitar, May has pursued astrophysics, publishing books, presenting science programs, and contributing to public outreach while continuing to perform and record. Queen’s legacy has endured through the ongoing Queen + Adam Lambert collaborations that began in 2014 and have extended his reach to new generations. His influence on rock and metal can be heard in the way players combine technical polish with showmanship, while his insistence on strong songcraft and sonic versatility remains a model for artists across genres. Today May remains active as a recording artist, producer, and public figure, sustaining the rich intersection of science, creativity, and music that defines his enduring impact on the genre.