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About Me

Brian Harold May, CBE (born July 19, 1947) is a virtuoso guitarist best known as the lead guitarist and backing, sometimes lead, vocalist for the English rock band Queen. As a guitarist, he is known for his memorable riffs and solos, distinctive tone, as well as for the fact that he built (with his father) his own guitar, called the "Red Special". He is also cited as a pioneer of the delay effect. He wrote many of Queen's most famous songs and biggest hits, including "We Will Rock You", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Tie Your Mother Down", "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "I Want It All".May was born in Hampton, in Middlesex, and attended Hampton Grammar School (now Hampton School). He went on to study at the prestigious Imperial College London departments of Physics and Mathematics, 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, when Queen became successful. He abandoned his astronomy doctorate - temporarily, as it later turned out - but did co-author two scientific research papers: MgI Emission in the Night-Sky Spectrum and An Investigation of the Motion of Zodiacal Dust Particles (Part I), which were based on Brian's observations in Tenerife. As of 2007, he is working on the updating and completion of his Ph.D. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in November 2002 by the University of Hertfordshire, although it is not typically customary in the United Kingdom for honorary doctors to be called "Doctor". Most recently, he was the co-author of Bang! â€“ The Complete History of the Universe with Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott, which was published on October 23, 2006.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 lives in West End, Surrey.................

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In 1969, the lead guitarist of legendary band Queen gave up astrophysics to live the rock 'n' roll dream - but now he's back among the stars In 1969, Brian May, lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Queen, gave up a career in astrophysics to pursue his dream of becoming an international rock star. Now, almost four decades later, the two strands of his life, music and astronomy, are coming back together. He is currently finishing the PhD he started at Imperial College London back when Queen was just beginning to take off. He has also co-authored a popular book on cosmology, Bang! The complete history of the universe.On the eve of the book's publication, Marcus Chown caught up with May at his home in Surrey, UK, which is complete with a shiny observatory dome.How did you become interested in astronomy?I must have been 7 or 8. I saw Patrick Moore's Sky at Night TV programme and it blew me away. It wasn't just the stars, it was also the programme's incredible theme ...................................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.................................................... ............................................................ ..................Studio albums1983: Star Fleet Project â€“ Brian May & Friends (Mini Album) ... 1992: Back to the Light ... 1998: Another World ... 2000: La musique de Furia â€“ Un film de Alexandre Aja (Soundtrack) ...Live album1993: Live at the Brixton Academy â€“ The Brian May Band (live at the Brixton Academy, London, 15 June 1993) Compilations...1993: Resurrection ... 1998: Red Special - Japanese Tour Mini Album (Japan only)...Singles 1983: Star Fleet â€“ Brian May & Friends ... 1991: Driven by You - #6 UK ... 1992: Too Much Love Will Kill You - #5 UK ... 1992: Back to the Light ... 1993: Resurrection ... 1993: Last Horizon ... 1995: The Amazing Spider-Man â€“ MC Spy-D + "Friends" ... 1998: "The Business" [Rock On Cozy Mix] (UK) ... 1998: On My Way Up (Netherlands) ... 1998: Another World (Netherlands) ... 1998: Why Don't We Try Again (UK) ...................................................... 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.

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