BRIAN MAY

Official Biography

UPDATE 15 DECEMBER 2015

Brian May, CBE, PhD, FRAS is a founding member of Queen, a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and performer, also a Doctor of Astrophysics, 3D stereoscopic photographic authority, campaigner for animal rights and a passionate advocate for political and social change.

Queen’s accolades accrued over five decades include a staggering list of sales with a catalogue that consistently tops popularity polls, along with a deserved list of awards and honours. Brian has penned 22 Queen top 20 hits, among them the powerful ballads ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, ‘No-One But You’ and ‘Save Me’, along with anthems ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘I Want It All’, and ‘We Will Rock You’, namesake to the Queen/Ben Elton hit musical which enjoyed an unprecedented 12 year run at London’s Dominion Theatre alongside numerous worldwide productions. Iconic sports anthem, ‘We Will Rock You’ was performed live by Brian and Roger during the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, viewed by an estimated one billion TV audience. Other memorable global live appearances include the band’s 1985 Live Aid show stealing set and during the 2002 Golden Jubilee celebrations, Brian playing his own arrangement of ‘God Save the Queen’ from the rooftop of Buckingham Palace.

Queen became the first rock group to score a major film, Flash Gordon, followed by definitive music for Highlander. Brian’s personal credits include further film, TV and theatre collaborations and two successful solo albums earning him two Ivor Novello awards. He continues to inspire a diverse genre of international artists and has a wealth of guest artist appearances featuring his distinctive guitar style, produced from his revered homemade ‘Red Special’ guitar using a sixpence as a plectrum.

A Queen and Paul Rodgers joint performance at the 2004 induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame led to a return to touring after a 20 year break, featuring the former Free/Bad Company singer as guest vocalist. 2012 saw a return of Queen onstage, this time with current guest vocalist Adam Lambert, to award winning universal critical acclaim. Over 70 worldwide sold out concerts have been played, including a spectacular New Years Eve concert heralding 2015, broadcast live by the BBC.

Most recently Brian has enjoyed writing, producing, recording and touring with Kerry Ellis. Brian and Kerry are currently working on their third album and have a series of European concert dates confirmed for early 2016 after which he returns to tour with Queen + Adam Lambert headlining the Isle of Wight Festival along with a dozen further European festival appearances.

Brian retains his keen passion for Astronomy and after a 30 year break returned to Astrophysics to update his doctoral thesis on the Motions of Interplanetary Dust and achieved his full PhD degree from Imperial College, London, in 2007. He continues his work in Astronomy and in July 2015 Brian spent time with fellow Astrophysicists at NASA Headquarters interpreting new data as it was transmitted from the Pluto New Horizons probe whilst compiling the first high-quality stereo image of Pluto.

Brian has co-authored numerous publications, including two in the Astronomy field with the late Sir Patrick Moore. He now heads his own publishing house, The London Stereoscopic Company which specializes in Victorian 3-D Photography. All books come complete with Brian’s own design OWL stereoscopic viewer. More information on the upcoming published work Crinoline: Fashion’s Most Magnificent Disaster (Spring 2016) and the celebrated short animated film ‘One Night in Hell’ along with all matters stereoscopic are available at Brian’s dedicated website, www.londonstereo.com.

Brian is proud to be an ambassador for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, set up in memory of Freddie Mercury to support AIDS projects. Over 700 projects and millions of people have benefitted from the Trust as the global battle against HIV/AIDS continues.

A lifelong advocate of animal welfare, Brian is a leading inspiration in the fight against fox hunting, trophy hunting and badger culling. He campaigns tirelessly from grass roots through to parliamentary level with his Save Me Trust campaign, established in 2009 to champion British wildlife, working alongside Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue and rehabilitation centre. Projects include rejuvenation of ancient woodlands to create protected wildlife habitats and as a key player working alongside the major conservation and wildlife NGOs, the Save Me Trust created Team Fox and Team Badger - the largest ever wildlife coalition. Further details can be found at www.savemetrust.org. The Save Me Trust is currently fronting a petition calling for the introduction of Cecil’s Law inspired by the death of Cecil, South Africa’s most famous lion, and to end the senseless slaughter of our magnificent wildlife creatures.

Brian was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for ‘services to the Music Industry and for his charity work’ and is patron to a number of charities, also a vice-president of the RSPCA. Brian enjoys interacting with his fans, who can enjoy updates on his work and thoughts on twitter at @DrBrianMay and via his website at www.brianmay.com.

© brianmay.com

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Previous Biography:

UPDATE 19 FEBRUARY 2013

Dr Brian May, CBE, PhD FRAS, is a founding member of Queen, a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and performer, also a Doctor of Astrophysics, 3D stereoscopic photographic authority and a passionate advocate and campaigner for animal rights,

As an accomplished Astronomy student working towards a PhD, Brian put his academic studies on hold when Queen's popularity first exploded. Over the following four decades the band enjoyed worldwide success with a musical catalogue that consistently tops popularity polls and sees Queen remain the most successful albums act in UK chart history.

Brian has penned 22 of Queen’s top 20 hit singles including “We Will Rock You”, namesake to the worldwide hit ‘Rock Theatrical’ written with Ben Elton which has now been seen by over 15 million people in 17 countries. Also an established sports anthem, the track was declared the most-played song at American sporting events (BMI) and reportedly played over 550,000 times during the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Games Closing Ceremony saw Brian making a solo appearance wearing a jacket embroidered with emblems of British Wildlife; he then launched into “We Will Rock You” with Roger Taylor and guest Jessie J, viewed by a TV audience estimated at one billion. A comparable iconic global live appearance was Brian playing his own arrangement of “God Save the Queen” from the roof of Buckingham Palace to open HM The Queen’s 2002 Golden Jubilee celebrations.

With a great love for live performance, having played over 700 concerts with Queen, in 2004 Brian and Roger celebrated Queen’s induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame by performing with former Free/Bad Company vocalist, Paul Rodgers. A triumphant 55-date world tour with Paul as guest vocalist followed, the first Queen tour in 20 years, along with the studio album The Cosmos Rocks, supported by a second world tour and the release of two live DVDs and a live album. 2012 saw a return of Queen onstage, this time with guest vocalist, Adam Lambert, a partnership, which delighted fans and critics unanimously.

As an accomplished solo artist, Brian toured his highly successful albums - 1992’s Back To The Light, featuring “Too Much Love Will Kill You” and “Driven By You”, both Ivor Novello Award winners, and 1998’s Another World.

No stranger to the theatrical world, Brian wrote and performed the music for the 1987 and 1990 productions of Macbeth at The London Riverside Studios and he has regularly contributed to the live performance work of his wife, Anita Dobson. Brian delved into the world of film scoring when Queen became the first rock group to score a major film, Flash Gordon. Definitive music for Highlander followed, an opera for Steve Baron's Pinocchio, and a complete film soundtrack created by Brian for the 1999 French art film, Furia. He has contributed to a number of soundtracks including The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Mission Impossible II and Spiderman II. Further credits, to numerous to list, include writing themes for several TV shows, remixing Queen recordings in 5.1 Surround Sound and designing a Planetarium show in Belgium and Germany.

Brian is proud to be an ambassador for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the charity set up in memory of Freddie Mercury, which has channelled over $15 million to support global AIDS projects. Their commitment to AIDS awareness led to Queen’s driving involvement in the 46664 campaign, alongside The Nelson Mandela Foundation founded in October 2003, with concert performances in South Africa and London. Brian also performed with Armenian Duduk player, Jivan Gasparyan, in the 2005 extraordinary 46664 ARCTIC concert in Tromsø, Norway, 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle.

Brian’s songs and distinctive guitar style, produced from his revered homemade ‘Red Special’ guitar using a sixpence as a plectrum, continue to inspire a diverse genre of international artists. His wealth of guest contributions range from playing on Michael Kamen’s 2002 Winter Olympics theme, to producing the No 1 Comic Relief hit, “The Stonk”, and, most recently, recording and performing both with Lady Gaga, and with Dappy on his recent hit, “Rockstar”.

Brian’s creative forces continue, partnering co-star, Kerry Ellis with whom he wrote, arranged, performed and produced Kerry‘s stunning 2011 debut album, Anthems. Brian and Kerry’s second UK tour, which celebrated the release of their version of the single “Born Free”, took a departure from their larger scale Anthems tour, to favour an intimate acoustic evening with Kerry singing and Brian accompanying on both guitar and vocals. This year Brian will continue to play tour dates in aid of Virginia McKenna’s Born Free Foundation with Kerry – the original creator of the role of Meat in Queen’s Rock theatrical “We Will Rock You”. May and Ellis are currently working on the follow-up to the successful ‘Anthems’ album released in 2011.

As a lifelong advocate of animal welfare, Brian set up the Save Me campaign, named after his song, to champion all, but predominantly British, wildlife. Save Me works at grass roots level in conjunction with a local animal rescue and re-homing centre as well as being a player alongside the major animal welfare groups. Brian has been a leading inspiration in the fight against fox hunting and the ongoing fight against the proposed UK badger cull and his work led to him recently being awarded the honour of “Campaigner of the Year” by IFAW, the International fund for Animal Welfare. This work continues through the Save-Me website which can be found at www.save-me.org.uk, also at www.teambadger.org.

Brian has always retained his keen passion for Astronomy and in 2006, after a 30-year break, he returned to Astrophysics and his doctoral thesis. Already the recipient of honorary degrees from the Universities of Hertfordshire, Exeter and Liverpool John Moores, upon submission of his updated thesis on the Motions of Interplanetary Dust, Brian achieved his full PhD degree from Imperial College, London, in 2007. He subsequently accepted a post of Visiting Researcher to continue his work in Astronomy and following a 5 year post as Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores, Brian now holds the honorary position of Chancellor Emeritus. 2006 saw Brian co-author his first book, Bang! The Complete History of the Universe, with Sir Patrick Moore and Dr Chris Lintott. This illustrated astrophysics book, now been published in 20 languages, was followed in 2012 with the release of a greatly anticipated sequel, The Cosmic Tourist.

Another long-term interest in 3D Photography led to the publication of Brian’s second book. Co-authored with Elena Vidal, A Village Lost and Found is an authoritative study of the work of master 1850s stereo photographer, T R Williams, complete with an OWL stereoscopic viewer designed by Brian himself. He is currently co-authoring a book on French Diableries, due for publication for Halloween 2013. More information on this and all matters stereoscopic are available at Brian’s dedicated website, www.londonstereo.com.

Brian was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for ‘services to the Music Industry and for his charity work’ and is patron to a number of charities, also a vice-president of the RSPCA. Brian enjoys interacting with his fans, who can enjoy updates on his work and thoughts via his website at www.brianmay.com.

© brianmay.com

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Previous Biography:

Update 22 October 20012

Brian May, CBE, PhD, FRAS is a founding member of Queen, a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and performer, also a Doctor of Astrophysics, 3D stereoscopic photographic authority and a passionate advocate and campaigner for animal rights.

As an accomplished Astronomy student working towards a PhD, Brian put his academic studies on hold when Queen's popularity first exploded.  Over the following four decades the band enjoyed worldwide success with a musical catalogue that continues to top popularity polls and sees Queen remain the most successful albums act in UK chart history.

Brian penned 22 of Queen's top 20 hit singles including “We Will Rock You”, namesake to the worldwide hit musical of which he is Musical Director and Producer, now seen by over 14 million people. Declared the most-played song at American sporting events and reportedly played over 550,000 times during the London 2012 Olympic games, “We Will Rock You” was performed live by Brian and Roger Taylor, accompanied by Jessie J, during the closing ceremony, viewed by a TV audience estimated at one billion. Another memorable global live appearance was Brian playing his own arrangement of “God Save the Queen” from the roof of Buckingham Palace during the 2002 Golden Jubilee celebrations.

With a great love for live performance, having played over 700 concerts with Queen, in 2004 Brian and Roger celebrated their induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame by performing with former Free/Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers. A triumphant 55-date world tour with Paul as guest vocalist followed, the first Queen tour in 20 years, along with the studio album The Cosmos Rocks, a second world tour and the release of two live DVDs and a live album. 2012 saw a return of Queen onstage, this time with guest vocalist Adam Lambert, a partnership which delighted fans and critics unanimously.

As an accomplished solo artist, Brian toured his highly successful albums – 1992's Back To The Light, featuring “Too Much Love Will Kill You” and “Driven By You”, both Ivor Novello Award winners, and 1998's Another World.

No stranger to the theatrical world, Brian wrote and performed the music for the 1987 and 1990 productions of Macbeth at The London Riverside Studios, and he has regularly contributed to the live performance work of his wife Anita Dobson.  Brian delved into the world of film scoring when Queen became the first rock group to score a major film, Flash Gordon.  Definitive music for Highlander followed, an opera for Steve Baron's Pinocchio, and a complete film soundtrack created by Brian for the 1999 French art film Furia.  He has contributed to a number of soundtracks including The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Mission Impossible II and Spiderman II, as well as writing themes for several TV shows.

Brian is proud to be an ambassador for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the charity set up in memory of Freddie Mercury, which has channelled over $15 million to support global AIDS projects.  Their commitment to AIDS awareness led to Queen's driving involvement in the 46664 campaign, alongside The Nelson Mandela Foundation founded in October 2003, with concert performances in South Africa and London.  Brian also performed with Armenian Duduk player Jivan Gasparyan, in the 2005 extraordinary 46664 ARCTIC concert in Tromsø, Norway, 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle.

Brian's songs and distinctive guitar style, produced from his revered homemade 'Red Special' guitar using a sixpence as a plectrum, continue to inspire a diverse genre of international artists. His wealth of guest contributions range from playing on Michael Kamen’s 2002 Winter Olympics theme to producing the No 1 Comic Relief hit “The Stonk”, and most recently, recording and performing both with Lady Gaga, and with Dappy on his recent hit “Rockstar”.

Currently Brian’s creative forces continue, partnering co-star Kerry Ellis, with whom he wrote, arranged, performed and produced Kerry‘s stunning debut album, Anthems.  Brian and Kerry’s second UK tour in November 2012 takes a departure from their 2011 larger scale Anthems tour, to favour an intimate acoustic evening with Kerry singing and Brian accompanying on both guitar and vocals.  This tour celebrates the release of their version of the single “Born Free”, recorded to promote awareness of Virginia McKenna's Born Free Foundation. 

As a lifelong advocate of animal welfare, Brian set up the Save Me campaign, named after his song, to champion all, but predominantly British wildlife.  Save Me works at grass roots level in conjunction with a local animal rescue and re-homing centre as well as being a player alongside the major animal welfare groups.  Brian has been a leading inspiration in the fight against fox hunting and the ongoing fight against the proposed UK badger cull.  Details of the work of Save Me can be found at www.save-me.org.uk/"www.save-me.org.uk, also at www.teambadger.org/"www.teambadger.org.

Brian has always retained his keen passion for Astronomy and in 2006, after a 30-year break, he returned to Astrophysics and his doctoral thesis.  Already the recipient of honorary degrees from the Universities of Hertfordshire, Exeter and Liverpool John Moores, upon submission of his updated thesis on the Motions of Interplanetary Dust, Brian achieved his full PhD degree from Imperial College London in 2007.  He subsequently accepted a post of Visiting Researcher to continue his work in Astronomy and is currently Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores.  2006 saw Brian co-author his first book, Bang! The Complete History of the Universe, with Sir Patrick Moore and Dr Chris Lintott, followed in 2012 with the release of a greatly anticipated sequel, The Cosmic Tourist.

Another long-term interest in 3D Photography led to the publication of Brian's second book. Co-authored with Elena Vidal, A Village Lost and Found is an authoritative study of the work of master 1850s stereo photographer T R Williams, complete with stereoscope designed by Brian himself.  He is currently co-authoring a book on French Diableries, due for publication in September 2013. More information on this and all matters stereoscopic are available at Brian’s dedicated website, www.londonstereo.com.

Brian was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for ‘services to the Music Industry and for his charity work’ and is patron to a number of charities, also a vice-president of the RSPCA.  Brian enjoys interacting with his fans, who can enjoy updates on his work and thoughts via his website at www.brianmay.com.

© brianmay.com

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Update November 2007

With a musical career spanning four decades, Queen founding member Brian May is a world-renowned guitarist and songwriter, with production and performance credits on recordings, which have sold in excess of 100 million copies worldwide.

Brian has penned 22 worldwide hits for Queen, among them the anthems “We Will Rock You”, “The Show Must Go On” and “I Want It All”, and powerful ballads, including “Who Wants To Live Forever”, “No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)” and “Save Me”.  As a successful and respected solo artist, Brian’s recordings include albums Back To The Light (1992), featuring “Too Much Love Will Kill You” and “Driven By You”, both Ivor Novello Award winners, and 1998's Another World.

His songs continue to influence new generations of performers and have inspired recordings by artists as diverse as Elton John, Def Leppard, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Shirley Bassey and Eminem.  Brian has enjoyed collaborations with numerous artists, including Robbie Williams, Foo Fighters, Cliff Richard, Guns N’ Roses, Diana Ross, and Luciano Pavarotti.  He was also proud to play feature guitar on the Winter Olympics 2002 opening music, “The Fire Within” for his friend and composer, the late Michael Kamen.

Perhaps the most memorable display of Brian’s unique style and musicianship was his performance of his own arrangement of “God Save the Queen”, live from the roof of Buckingham Palace, to open HM the Queen’s 2002 Golden Jubilee celebrations in front of an audience of more than 200 million people around the world.

An interest in film scoring developed when Queen became the first rock group to score a major film, Flash Gordon, featuring the hit “Flash!” penned by Brian, followed by definitive music for Highlander.  Brian later contributed a mini-opera for Steve Baron's 1996 Pinocchio, and composed a complete film soundtrack for the 1999 French art film, Furia.

May is, of course, no stranger to the theatrical world, frequently contributing to the live performance work of his wife, Anita Dobson, but in 1990, entering this world in his own right, he wrote and performed the music for the London Riverside Studios production of Macbeth.  He returned at full strength to the Theatre in 2002, as one of the principal creative forces behind the ground-breaking ‘Rock Theatrical’, We Will Rock You, which became phenomenally successful, still one of London’s top-selling shows after six years of nightly standing ovations at the Dominion Theatre, London, and the longest running show ever to play at the theatre.  Although We Will Rock You is now a global enterprise, Brian remains personally involved in developing new productions and updating those currently playing.

On Freddie’s death, the surviving members of Queen set up a charity to support AIDS relief, the Mercury Phoenix Trust. The MPT has to date channeled more than eight million pounds to over 1,000 AIDS projects around the world.  An ongoing commitment to AIDS awareness led Queen to become a driving force in the 46664 campaign for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.  The first of a series of 46664 concerts, held in Cape Town in November 2003, was broadcast worldwide via TV, Internet and Radio, becoming the most widely distributed media event in history, with an audience of over 2 billion in 166 countries.  Brian continues in his role as an ambassador and participant in the 46664 international concert series aimed at promoting AIDS awareness worldwide.

Queen’s musical catalogue consistently tops popularity polls, and their achievements have been recognised with numerous prestigious awards, including being honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (October 2002), being inducted into both the USA Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (March 2001) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (June 2003), and being among the first inductees into the UK Music Hall of Fame (November 2004), which was an event that was to change the course of Queen - being the first event at which Paul Rodgers joined Brian and Roger (Taylor) as vocalist.  Following a successful world tour in 2005/06, Paul, Brian and Roger have recently returned to the studio to create new material for an eagerly anticipated debut Queen/Paul Rodgers studio album.

In July 2005, Guinness World Records announced that Queen had overtaken The Beatles to become the most successful albums act in UK chart history.

Brian’s further credits are too numerous to list, but they include designing a Planetarium show currently running in Germany and Belgium, appearing in and recording a track for an epic 2003 Pepsi TV advertisement with Brian producing vocal performances from Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and Pink, re-mixing classic Queen recordings in 5.1 Surround Sound, writing themes for several TV shows, producing a number 1 hit, “The Stonk”, for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day, as well as lending his inspirational skills to the three top selling volumes of The Best Air Guitar Album in the World… Ever!

Retaining his keen interest in Astronomy, Brian is a regular contributor to The Sky at Night for his long-time friend, Sir Patrick Moore, with whom he co-authored, along with Dr Chris Lintott, an illustrated astrophysics book entitled BANG!  The Complete History of the Universe.  First published in 2006, it has since been published in 20 languages, and gone to a second updated edition.  Brian is currently working on a book on T.R. Williams, seminal stereo photographer of the 1850's, whose work Brian has been researching for 25 years.

In December 2005, Brian was honoured with a CBE, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, by HM the Queen, in recognition of his services to the Music Industry.

In 2007, after a 30-year break pursuing his musical career, Brian returned to Imperial College, London, to sign up to complete his Doctoral Thesis in Astrophysics, and after one year, successfully submitted the new version of his thesis on Interplanetary Dust.  Although already the proud holder of Honorary Degrees from the Universities of Hertfordshire, Exeter and John Moore’s, Liverpool, Brian in 2007 finally achieved the award of a full PhD degree and DIC - Diploma of Imperial College.  Brian subsequently accepted a post of Visiting Researcher at Imperial College and will be continuing his work in Astronomy. 

Brian enjoys interacting with his friends and fans, who can contact him and enjoy updates on his work and thoughts via his own channel, Brian’s Soapbox, on his website at www.BrianMay.com.

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SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Brian May CBE (DSc)

With a musical career spanning four decades, Queen founding member Brian May is a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and performer. His influence on a new generation of musicians is a tribute to his unique style and musicianship, most memorably displayed when he performed his own arrangement of God Save The Queen on Buckingham Palace roof to open the 2002 Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Brian May has provided Queen with many of their finest musical moments, among them the anthemic We Will Rock You, The Show Must Go On, I Want It All, Fat Bottomed Girls and some of their finest ballads including Who Wants To Live Forever, No-One But You, and Save Me. To date he has penned 22 top 20 hits worldwide and his songs continue to inspire, with versions recorded and sampled by such diverse artists as Def Leppard, Shirley Bassey, Eminem, Elton John, Metallica and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

When he wrote the hit track Flash, Queen became the first rock group to score a major film, Flash Gordon. This was followed by definitive music for Highlander, an opera for Steve Barron’s 1996 Pinocchio and a complete soundtrack for the French art film Furia. His song Driven By You, originally penned for a Ford advert, became his first solo hit record.

Venturing into the theatre, Brian May wrote and performed the music for The Red and Gold Theatre Company’s Macbeth at the Riverside Theatre in 1987 (later revived in two other productions).  This was a pre-cursor to his deep commitment to developing Queen’s musical We Will Rock You, currently breaking all records in its fifth year at the Dominion Theatre in London.

As an accomplished solo artist, Brian May has recorded two highly successful solo albums – 1991’s Back To The Light, including Too Much Love Will Kill You and Driven By You, both Ivor Novello Award winners, and 1998’s Another World.  He has enjoyed collaborating with numerous artists including Robbie Williams, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Luciano Pavarotti, Diana Ross, Cliff Richard, The Foo Fighters and Meat Loaf and continues to support Nelson Mandela’s 46664 campaign for Aids awareness.

As patron to a number of charities, these endeavours along with his accomplishments in music led to a return visit to the Palace in Spring 2006 when he was awarded the title of CBE.

With a musical career spanning three decades, Queen founding member Brian May is a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer and performer.  His work for Queen has included performance and production credits on 20 studio albums which have sold more than 100 million copies world-wide, and 30 years of playing shows around the world.  It is said that his unique guitar style can be recognised in one note!

Brian has penned 22 top 20 hits worldwide, among them the anthemic 'We Will Rock You', 'The Show Must Go On', 'I Want It All', 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and powerful ballads including 'Who Wants To Live Forever', No-One But You', and 'Save Me'.  As an accomplished solo artist, Brian has also recorded two highly successful solo albums - 1991's Back To The Light, including 'Too Much Love will Kill You' and 'Driven By You', both Ivor Novello Award winners, and 1998's Another World.  

Brian's songs continue to influence a diverse array of artists, with versions recorded and sampled in numerous styles including Rock (Def Leppard, Ted Nugent, Metallica), Country (Hayseed Dixie), Rap (Enimen), Mainstream (Elaine Paige, Shirley Bassey, Claire Sweeney), Pop (Macy Gray, Five, George Michael) and Classical (The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Tolga Kashif). Brian has collaborated with numerous artists including Robbie Williams, the Foo Fighters, Guns’n’Roses, Zucchero, Diana Ross, Cliff Richard, and The Yardbirds, as well as making guest appearances at a number of charitable concerts where he has performed solo, singing and playing alongside, among others, Bryan Adams and Luciano Pavarotti.  Brian was proud to play feature guitar on the Winter Olympics 2002 opening music for his good friend, composer the late Michael Kamen.  2002 was also the year in which Brian provided one of the defining images of the celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee - when he opened the Party at the Palace Jubilee concert, performing his own arrangement of  "God Save the Queen"  live from the roof of Buckingham Palace.  Seen by 1.2 million people outside the palace and on millions of televisions across the world, it will long remain one of those historical moments indelibly printed in time.

Brian developed an interest in film scoring when Queen became the first rock group to score a major film, 'Flash Gordon'. Definitive music for 'Highlander' followed, a Mini-Opera for Steve Baron's 1996 'Pinnochio', and in 1999 Brian created a complete film soundtrack for the French art film ‘Furia’.  

Brian is, of course, no stranger to the theatrical world. As well as his contributions to his wife Anita Dobson’s live performance work, he wrote and performed the music for the Red and Gold Theatre Company's 'Macbeth', at London's Riverside Theatre in 1987.  Brian’s creative work in giving birth to the Queen rock musical “We Will Rock You” continues in its constant updating and its spread around the world.  To date three million tickets have been sold for the London production alone, which has received packed standing ovations ever since opening in May 2002.  Remaining the UK’s best selling show, productions are currently running in Japan, Spain, Cologne and Zurich, all with personal attention from Brian, with Toronto in preparation for 2007.  

2002 was a busy year in which Queen were not only honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joining the Beatles as one of the few non-US bands to earn this accolade, but were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, enrolled for 'Queen's million selling achievements over three decades and in particular for having achieved the distinction of being the only group in which each of its members have achieved No.1 songs'. Brian's ‘We Will Rock You’ was particularly singled out for being one of the USA's most played songs and world recognised sports anthem.

Brian’s ongoing commitment to Aids awareness led to Queen becoming a driving force in the 46664 campaign in collaboration with The Nelson Mandela Foundation, which culminated in a concert in November 2003.  The concert, performed by leading African artists and a host of top international artists in front of an audience of 40,000 at Green Point Stadium, Cape Town, was simultaneously broadcast to a worldwide audience via TV, webcast and radio becoming the most widely distributed media event in history with an audience of over 2 billion in 166 countries.

More recently, Brian has joined an impressive list of world-famous talent with whom PepsiCo International have worked. During filming in Rome in September 2003, Brian recorded a unique version of his timeless track ‘We Will Rock You’ with Beyonce, Pink and Britney Spears to accompany the epic Pepsi ad, which also features Enrique Inglesias.  

Other credits include designing a Planetarium show currently showing in Germany, re-mixing Queen recordings in 5.1 Surround Sound, and writing themes for several TV shows.  He has also enjoyed lending his inspirational skills to the three top selling volumes of ‘The Greatest Air Guitar in the World Ever!’.

Brian retains his keen interest in astronomy - as well as regular contributions to his good friend Patrick Moore's ' Sky at Night", Brian and Patrick have co-authored an illustrated astrophysics book entitled BANG! The Complete History of the Universe, published in 2006 and currently top of the best-selling science books list.  Brian has this year returned to Imperial College Astrophysics to resume his PhD work after an absence of 30 years, and is currently researching Interplanetary Dust.  To further add to his publishing credits, Brian is also currently working on a book  on T.R. Williams, a prominent stereo photographer of the 1850's.  He is patron to a number of charities including the Mercury Phoenix Trust and The British Bone Marrow Donor Association.  In December 2005 Brian was awarded a CBE , Commander of the British Empire, by the HM the Queen at Buckingham Palace.  Brian can also be addressed as Dr. May, having been being awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Hertfordshire in 2005.

Queen in recent months have reached new heights of public acclaim.  Bohemian Rhapsody has for many years topped most polls for favourite single, but recently Queen have in many respects overtaken the Beatles, being voted by a nation-wide Radio 2 poll Best Group of All Time, and GREATEST HITS 1 now recognised as the biggest selling album ever in the UK ever.

January 2006