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Born: July 19 1947
Birthplace: London England
Instruments: Guitar Piano Vocals
Occupations: Musician Songwriter Producer Astronomer
May was an only child. He attended Hampton Grammar School and the prestigious Imperial College London Physics & Mathematics departments and was part way through a Ph.D. programme at Imperial College (studying reflected light from interstellar dust, and the velocity of dust in the plane of the Solar System planets) when Queen became successful.He never completed his astronomy doctorate, although his studies culminated in being a co-author of two scientific research papers.
May is known for being rather quiet and reserved at parties. He has stated in interviews that he suffered from depression in the late 1980s, even to the point of contemplating suicide, and that drug use would have worsened any problems he faced. At the time, during the recording sessions of the Queen album The Miracle, he was splitting up with his wife Chrissy, his father died, and as a result of Freddie Mercury's illness, Queen retired from touring.
May's father Harold had been a longtime cigarette-smoker, and this likely contributed to his early death. As a result, May dislikes smoking, even to the point where he specifically prohibits smoking indoors at his more recent concerts. He often writes about his opinion on smoking on his website: http://brianmay.com.
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. Perry brought out a bottle of whisky, which the two drank between themselves. May felt so unpleasant during the concert that he promised himself never to have more than one drink before playing.
He has been quoted throughout the years as saying: "I live in my head too much."
May married actress Anita Dobson, who played Angie Watts in EastEnders, on November 18, 2000.
He has three children: James (Jimmy) (1978), Louisa (1981), and Emily Ruth (1987) from his first marriage.
May lives in West End, Surrey (as of 12 October 2006 - Woking News and Mail).
May has played 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. His comments on this instrument, from Queen In Their Own Words (ed. Mick St. Michael, Omnibus Press, 1992, p. 62) are:
“ I like a big neck – thick, flat and wide. I lacquered the fingerboard with Rustin's Plastic Coating. The tremolo is interesting in that the arm's made from an old bicycle saddle bag carrier, the knob at the end's off a knitting needle and the springs are valve springs from an old motorbike. ”
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. 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.
In addition to using his homemade guitar, he prefers to use coins (especially six-pence pieces) instead of a more traditional plastic plectrum on the basis that their rigidity gives him more control in playing. He is known to constantly carry coins in his pockets specifically for this purpose.
May's early heroes were Cliff Richard and The Shadows, whom he says were the most metallic thing out at the time. Many years later he gained his opportunity to play on separate occasions with both Cliff Richard and Shadows lead guitarist Hank Marvin. 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.
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, such as "Some Day One Day," "All Dead, All Dead," "Long Away," "Leaving Home Ain't Easy," "Good Company," "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" and "'39."
Throughout the last several years, he has overseen the re mastering 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. Billed as "Queen + Paul Rodgers", the band has played throughout 2005 and 2006 in South Africa, Western Europe, Japan, and North America.
In the Queen's birthday honors list of 2005, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire "for services to the music industry".
During the time in which Brian May and his father were building the Red Special, May also produced plans to build a second guitar. However, so successful was the Red Special, that May simply had no need to build another guitar. These plans were eventually given to guitar luthier Andrew Guyton in around 2004/05, some slight moderations 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
