Guitarist of the band Queen. Brian May - Amazing Facts of Life

It turns out that Brian Harold May is not only an outstanding musician. He is an astrophysicist. After graduating from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Imperial College London, he published several scientific articles in astronomy. Moreover, he received a Doctor of Science degree, defending a dissertation on a topic related to astronomical research in the infrared range. True, Brian succeeded in this only 30 years after writing it - his musical career had not previously allowed it.

“When music called me in the early 70s, I could not help but respond,” the musician recalled in an interview. – It’s as if a sixth sense gave a hint, and intuition did not disappoint. After all, if I had not used this opportunity then, this door would have closed forever. Therefore, I am sure: by abandoning astronomy in favor of music, I did right choice" But May’s decision to return to science and complete her dissertation was just as correct. “Having accomplished this, I experienced great relief,” he shared his feelings. “I’m very pleased that I was able to bring a job started many years ago to completion.”

Rector of the University of Liverpool. John Moores Brian Harold May. Photo: Josh Parry/LJMU

In 2008, for May's outstanding achievements in astrophysics, asteroid No. 52665, Brianmay, was named in his honor. In the same year, Mr. May took up the position of Rector of the University of Liverpool. John Moores and remained there for more than 5 years. To this day, he is a research astronomer and continues to conduct scientific activities in the field of mathematics and theoretical physics. He co-authored the book: “Big Bang! Full story Universe." Brian also has a lifelong passion for historical stereo photography and has amassed a substantial collection.

Guitar made of mother-of-pearl buttons

Brian May received his first children's guitar as a birthday present when he was 7 years old. By this time, he already knew how to play the ukulele quite well, following his father’s example. And at the age of 16 the guy got a real acoustic guitar. The family did not have money to buy a decent instrument, so the future musician, together with his father (Harold was an electronics engineer by profession, and a jack of all trades at home), designed it himself, by hand. As May recalled: “From all the junk lying around in Dad’s workshop.” That is: from an oak beam from an 18th-century fireplace, parts from an old wardrobe, motorcycle valves, a knife blade, and mother-of-pearl buttons. And pickups were made from magnets and wire stuck into my father’s homemade radio. The work lasted more than two years and cost the future musician only 8 pounds. This guitar, Red Special, remains Brian May's main instrument to this day and is heard more often than any other in Queen's hits.

Photo: twitter.com

Get paid by Brian May

Another "trick" of May - instead of a pick, he uses a sixpence coin all his life, which he holds between his thumb and his bent index fingers. A particularly interesting detail: in the early 1970s, such coins with jagged edges were withdrawn from circulation, but in 1993 the Royal Mint minted a special batch of them: personally Brian May with his image - in anticipation of the famous musician's solo tour.

Brian May Personalized Coin

About the high and eternal

In the Queen group, Brian May is taller than all the participants: his height is 188 centimeters. His innovative, unique guitar skills, combined with Freddie Mercury's exceptional vocals, created the unique style of the famous rock band. At the same time, May is not only a composer and guitar virtuoso. He often performed as a keyboard player, played organ and synthesizers, and also performed as lead vocalist. In addition, Brian is a poet who has become the author of such brilliant hit songs and ballads as: “We Will Rock You”, “ The Show Must Go On", "Too Much Love Will Kill You", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "39", "Save Me", "Hammer To Fall..." and many others.

May also writes musical accompaniment for films, TV series and television projects. His filmography includes several dozen. By the way, “Queen” turned out to be the first rock band to author a soundtrack for a full-length film: it was the 1980s fantasy action adventure film “Flash Gordon” - about total solar eclipse. In a surprising way, this picture was intertwined with another fantasy film - the cult “Highlander,” which was released six years later and laid the foundation for many sequels of the same name. The instrumental compositions for it were written by Michael Kamen, and the songs were again written by the group Queen.

Queen group. Photo: East News

Director Russell Mulcahy asked musicians to write the soundtrack for his Highlander. The band members watched a 40-minute version of the film, and Brian May was most impressed by the scene in which the main character, the immortal Connor MacLeod, holds mortal woman- his dying wife. Already on the way home, the composer began sketching the future hit “Who Wants to Live Forever,” which was heard not only in the film - in that very episode, but later in different parts television series "Highlander".

Recalling this trip, May told British journalists: “I heard this composition in my head, and then, in the car, it was almost finished. My manager, to whom I sang it when he brought me home, was very surprised. He asked: “Where did this come from?”, and I answered: “I don’t even know...” A remarkable detail: the title of this symphonic ballad was taken by Brian from the movie “Flash Gordon”. And one more interesting point: In Highlander the song is sung by Freddie Mercury, but on the record May sings the first verse and a few lines from the third verse.

The Great Depression

In the late 1980s, after the death of his father, with whom Brian was very close, and the beginning of divorce proceedings from his first wife, the musician fell into a deep depression. One day he openly admitted that he was contemplating suicide. A particularly acute mental crisis occurred in 1991, after the death of Freddie Mercury, which followed his incurable illness (AIDS). Realizing that he is unable to cope with his state of mind on his own, May went to a psychiatric clinic. Explaining his actions later, he said: “I felt completely sick - exhausted and torn to pieces... I grieved for a long time. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of irreparable loss... I had a complete breakdown..."

Brian did not try to get out of the psychological impasse with the help of drugs. Unlike many of his emotionally unbridled rock musician colleagues, May did not use drugs. “I never even smoked weed, although I inhaled a lot of smoke from others,” said the guitarist. And he commented on his position as follows: “I felt that under no circumstances should I become addicted to drugs. This is dangerous, especially during periods of depression when I lost emotional control over myself and my life.”

With Freddie Mercury. Photo: twitter.com

Peace, work, May!

The legendary guitarist leads a very restrained lifestyle: he does not eat meat at all, and occasionally eats fish. From alcoholic drinks prefers Guinness beer and Baileys liqueur. Smoking is taboo (as opposed to my father, who was a heavy smoker). Not seen in promiscuous sexual relationships. Does not accept beach holidays. He is actively involved in charity work: he provides assistance to various foundations and makes considerable donations to various projects concerning global problems. He especially ardently protects nature and animals, selflessly fights for their rights.

In an interview, Brian explained his position as follows: “In my youth, I didn’t really believe the “starlets” who said that they adore animals and fight for their rights. And now I’m doing it myself.” The musician actually goes to the authorities, collects signatures, and obtains audiences with high-ranking officials. “It takes a lot of nerves and strength,” May once admitted in an interview. - But when I return home in the evening and lie down on the sofa with a can of beer, I realize that the day was not lived in vain. Essentially, by advocating for animal rights, I do the same thing when I create something in music. And I also rejoice at success if it happens - no matter how pompous it may sound...”

In addition, May constantly participates in charity concerts. Recently, in the company of others legendary musicians: Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, and others, - recorded a clip in support of people affected by the huge fire that broke out on June 14 in London, in a 27-story residential building. All proceeds from sales and broadcasts will go to the victims and families of the victims.

Brian tied himself to family ties twice. In 1976, he married Chrissie Mullens. The marriage, which lasted 8 years, gave the musician three children: his son Jimmy (James) was born in ’78, three years later his daughter Louise was born, and five years later his second daughter, Emily Ruth.

With wife Anita Dobson and son Jimmy. Photo: twitter.com

With daughters Emily and Louise. Photo: twitter.com

For many years, May officially remained a bachelor, although since the early 90s he had been living in a civil marriage with actress Anita Dobson. And according to the tabloid media, he began dating her much earlier, while still married. In 2000, Anita became Brian's legal wife and remains so to this day.

With wife Anita Dobson. Photo: Global Look Press

From Brian May:

I have neither the desire nor the need to do anything for money. And I don’t need fame anymore - I’ve seen enough of it, I’m fed up with it and I’ve seen enough of what it can do to people. The question is, why am I doing so many different things? Only because I love it so much and I just can’t stop..."

Knowing that Queen's music has impacted the lives of people all over the world makes me happy. It's an honor for me.

In life you always need to take steps, but not small ones, but big ones. Because if you move in tiny steps or, which is really bad, don’t do anything at all, nothing in life will change. You will mark time, not developing, and years later you will regret that you wasted your time. This is my life philosophy.

Music and art bring people together better than anything else.
- In rock music, in order not to die out, you cannot repeat yourself. You need to look forward and be open to everything new. This is the only way to feel the fullness of life.

Tell me, Brian, how did it happen that a serious guy, an astrophysics student, one day acquired an electric guitar, and then turned his self-indulgence into a profession?
I began to be interested in music and astronomy at the same time, around the age of eight. They got along well in me, so I can’t say that I left one hobby for another. West London, where I grew up, was a musical hotbed in the early sixties. Two members of the Yardbirds went to my school, and The Rolling Stones played once a week at a club in Richmond, a five-minute walk from my house.

And so one fine day you came up with the fateful idea of ​​making yourself a guitar.
No, buddy, I'm older than you think. I built my own guitar much earlier. I really liked the sound of the band Cliff Richard started with The Shadows, and I wanted to reproduce it on my instrument.

How did you meet Freddie Mercury?
Fred was friends with Tim Staffel, the guy who sang and played bass in my university band, Smile. We had a group of three: Tim, Roger Taylor and myself. They played prog rock, and they could easily stretch out five songs over three hours. Tim left us when he was invited to another team. After this, Freddie declared: “I will be your singer!” And we responded: “Oh, well?”

You just admitted that you didn’t immediately recognize Mercury as one of the sweetest breaths of rock music.
And so it was. He then worked in a clothing store in Kensington Market. When we met, Mercury started sticking his pom-poms in my face. Freddie was then studying to be a designer and most time painted portraits of Jimi Hendrix. I still have a few of them lying around somewhere. Freddie was a pretty rough guy at the time. It was later that he turned into a refined connoisseur of beauty, and then he rushed around the room like a madman and shouted something all the time. Many people thought he was crazy, and we often asked ourselves the question: “Is he really the right guy for us?”

So when did your doubts disappear?
Freddie had several qualities that convinced me: his overflowing enthusiasm and amazing faith in himself and all of us. In addition, he enjoyed working on his mistakes: it was as if a strict teacher was sitting in his head, hitting him on the hands with a ruler every time. So Freddie was very easy to work with.

Is that why you merged so successfully into a single whole?
We were lucky. We got along well with each other and never quarreled on tour. In the studio it was the other way around: everyone stood their ground to the death. While working on the albums, everyone was constantly slamming the door and threatening to leave the group. We are all, contrary to popular belief, very modest and shy people, and Freddie was the shyest of all. Naturally, he fought this by portraying the Lord God on stage!

Do you think Freddie's penchant for theatrical effects was a function of his sexual orientation?
Freddie was an extremely colorful character, but for quite some time I had no idea that he was gay. He started taking men backstage already in the eighties. IN early years When we were traveling, he and I always shared a hotel room, and at that time, mostly girls stayed with us at night. Freddie had plenty of them, and many were hopelessly in love with him. Then we thought that Freddie, in modern terms, was a metrosexual. Clothes and hairstyles worried him first of all. Us, too, by the way, but Freddie would give anyone a head start in this matter.

Apart from your full head of hair, all other components of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle seem to have passed you by.
No, I bit off my piece of the threshold. But back in college, I decided to never take drugs, because I wanted to be sure that everything that happened to me was really happening. I value my spiritual subtlety. I'm very emotional person. Music blew my mind once and I don't need anything else. To this day, I have not tried a single drug. I'm also afraid of aspirin.

How about a drink?
Well, I won’t lie, I’ve drunk a couple of beers in my life, whatever. But I haven’t drunk before performances since 1974. We were playing a gig in an open field on a farm in Pennsylvania. Mott the Hoople opened for us, and the organizers couldn't decide who to release first - us or Aerosmith. While the trial is pending, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and I decided to have a glass - and ended up drinking a bottle. When I went on stage, for a long time I could not figure out why the first chord I played lasted ten minutes. In addition, the field stank of manure. I remember thinking at the time: “Brian, this is all wrong, let’s not do this again.”

And then “Bohemian Rhapsody” arrived very opportunely...
The success of “Rhapsody” made us very happy, but the main thing was the feeling of ecstasy in which we lived while working on it. I remember Freddie running into the studio with a bunch of pieces of paper (he stole them from his father from work), which he covered with notes, and then began to pound the keys madly. Freddie played the piano much like everyone else plays the drums. The song was full of holes, but Freddie said that here there would be a gorgeous operatic piece, and here there would be a powerful solo... He had already thought of everything in his head.

Punks hated Bohemian Rhapsody. How did you yourself perceive the advent of punk rock?
I didn't have any problems with him. When we were working on News of the World, The Sex Pistols were recording in the studio next door, and I was constantly talking about something in the hallway with Johnny Rotten. He turned out to be a very sane guy, completely devoted to his music. One day Sid Vicious came into our studio and said to Freddie: “Aren’t you the same guy who brings opera to the masses?” To which Freddie replied: “Yes, but you seem to be Simon Feroches or something like that!” In short, they got along. I honestly think Never Mind the Bullocks is one of the best rock albums of all time. The only thing I disagree with is the statement that there was no good rock music before punk. This is stupid: Never Mind the Bullocks is a classic mainstream rock album. Listen to the early Who and The Rolling Stones. Punk rock was not a revolution, but an evolution.

By the end of the seventies, Queen had established a reputation as the kings of parties. People still remember the party in New Orleans in 1978 on the occasion of the release of your album “Jazz”. Well, there are transsexual strippers, midgets with trays of coke on their heads and all that.
When we came to New Orleans, there were always a lot of freaks hanging around us, so we decided to launch the disc there. Many memories of that party are, of course, exaggerated, but I will not debunk any myths. In fact, consider me, I was not at that party. You see, I'm an incurable romantic and that night I drove around New Orleans looking for the girl I fell in love with on one of my visits there. I didn’t find the girl then. Like this: no sex, no drugs, no rock and roll.

In June 2002, you performed “God Save the Queen” on guitar at the Queen’s jubilee on the roof of Buckingham Palace. What were you thinking at that moment?
It was very scary. Not because I was afraid of falling, but because it was impossible to make mistakes. During rehearsals, we never managed to play everything perfectly. Then, when we were about to go up to the roof, the doors of the old creaky elevator did not want to open. I had to go down and go up again - up the stairs. I remember walking through the corridors hung with paintings by old masters and praying. Looks like my prayers have been answered. Everything went well on the roof. Now every time I drive past I get goosebumps.

When you think about Freddie Mercury now, what is the first thing you remember?
Where to start... I miss his sense of humor, the wild fire in his eyes, his incorrigible depravity. But above all, I miss the very fact of his presence in this world. I often have the same dream, which leaves me completely convinced that Freddie is still alive. Then I remember that this is not true, and then I feel really lonely.

Brian May went through his entire life with this guitar. creative life(it was recorded on all albums, all concerts were played with it) and it became the same trademark symbol of Queen as Freddie Mercury's vocals. Brian called it "Red Special". There is no need to describe its sound - just listen to Queen's guitar parts.

Many believed that on the first albums the musicians used synthesizers - Brian's guitar sounded so diverse. How did he achieve such a unique sound? Sometimes his guitar sounds like a whole orchestra of different instruments, sometimes with the effect of a three-voice unison. Brian himself says that when he started working, he didn’t know what exactly he wanted, but it had to be something melodious and warm.

Where did this extraordinary guitar come from?

Brian Harold May was born on July 19, 1947 in Hampton, Middlesex, England. At the age of five he began learning to play the piano and banjo. However, Brian soon switched to the guitar, which seemed to him a more expressive and “yielding” instrument. For his seventh birthday, he received an acoustic guitar as a gift, but the new instrument was too big for his childish fingers. Then Brian started reworking it to suit himself and give it an electric sound. He put pickups on it and played through a homemade amplifier.

First he mastered the bass, and then switched to soloing and, as he himself says, “began to think more about the notes than about the sound.” The Fender Stratocaster instrument was beyond his means, and so in 1964, at the age of eighteen, with the help of his father, he built the famous guitar of his own design, which would accompany him in all his performances.

Both had experience working in wood and metal, and Brian also had a penchant for physics. Brian decided that if he was going to make his own guitar, it should completely satisfy him in every way. “I started with a classical Spanish guitar and started experimenting to see how the sound changed.

His guitar, called the Red Special, took two years to complete. Two years of experimenting with sound and form.

Until he was twenty, Brian May lived in his hometown Hampton (Middlesex, United Kingdom). As a teenager he started playing local groups- completely amateur, rehearsing in garages and not claiming a great future. Ten to fifteen years later, having become a rock 'n' roll star, he remembers this time fondly: "You pick up a guitar, go to rehearsal and try to play with your band. Most often, a few cute girls from next door are sitting there, and you play playing the guitar, you close your eyes and dream of becoming a star."

At Brian's house, there was a piece of mahogany running across the fireplace. This piece was 120 years old (other sources say 200 years or older) and was riddled with small wood beetle holes. Brian looked at him as a child, as if wondering what he could do.

A small digression: the fact is that in different sources The materials from which the guitar was made are specified differently. Some say that the neck was made of fireplace mahogany and the soundboard was made of solid oak, while others say the opposite. I would like to note that guitar bodies are not made of oak, since this type of wood is too dense and oak guitars have a very short note length (sustain).

And now, from this piece of mahogany from the home fireplace, a guitar neck was made with a wide but thin surface, with low-set frets. The body was made of solid oak (!), but trimmed with mahogany so that the guitar as a whole looked beautiful, and then they made small grooves and holes in it, placing them geometrically correctly, like a guitar with a half-hollow body, but without the typical f- shaped holes.

For the vibrato system, a mild steel knife blade was used; it worked without any extraneous noise and constantly returned to its original position. The vibrato was precisely balanced with springs taken from an old motorcycle. The heads of the pegs are made from old mother-of-pearl buttons. The cost of all these materials was only £8.

In general, the result was a typical guitar, which were common in the mid-sixties, although, of course, not without changes. Brian paid particular attention to pickup design. The fact is that on stage the guitarist hears a completely different sound than the audience in the hall.

Therefore, it was necessary to achieve such perfection of feedback to be sure that the audience heard exactly the sound that was needed. This required high impedance pickups.

At first, Brian tried to make a suitable pickup design himself. Fortunately, at that time there were already specialists who were working in the same direction and could save him from fruitless experiments. Brian's friend collected guitars, and one of them, a '61 or '62 Vibra Artist, was equipped with three wonderful Burns Tri Sonic single coil pickups. He managed to get them, but having already installed them in his guitar, Brian realized that this was still not quite what he needed. Therefore, we had to take them out and “bring them to mind.” And finally, as a result of some miracle (Brian himself doesn’t really understand what happened), it was possible to achieve such an ideal version that subsequently the sound of Brian May’s guitar became the identifying mark of the group along with the voice of Freddie Mercury, and a number of companies musical instruments racked their brains to unravel the secret of this guitar and set up mass production of its copies. Guild and DiMarzio make "Brian May" guitars and pickups, respectively, and although Brian himself admits that they are very close to the original, he nevertheless reminds that a certain sound and a typical playing style cannot be copied.

After much experimentation, Brian realized that instead of a standard pick, it was more convenient for him to play with an ordinary English six-pence coin. "I feel like it gives me closer contact with the strings and more control over them when playing." This coin has been out of circulation since the early 70s. But in 1993, the Royal Mint agreed to print coins with Brian's image so that he could continue to use them as a pick.

The Red Special is featured on almost all of QUEEN's studio hits, and Brian still prefers to use his fireplace guitar in the studio and live.

Sometimes Brian picked up other guitars - a Fender Telecaster for the song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", an acoustic twelve-string for "Love Of My Life" and "Is This" The World We Created?.."; sometimes played branded copies of his guitar and other electric guitars.

And yet, the matter did not end with the production of Red Special. Brian was not satisfied with the sound of any amplifier. "I had an exact idea of ​​what I wanted my guitar to sound like, but I could never quite achieve it. I was lucky that, thanks to my father, I knew roughly what was going on inside these amps. I wanted the amp to sound clean and expressive on low tones, and individual notes sounded less like distortion and more like a violin. I tried a friend's Vox AC30 one day and knew this was it. From the moment I brought it home and plugged it in, I knew what love! Soon I bought another Vox AC30, and then another, and as the size of the room we performed in grew, so did the number of amplifiers. Of course, in very large rooms we used monitors, making do with only one amplifier." The band's bass player John Deacon helped Brian perfect the Vox AC30.

Brian still uses these amps today.

Meanwhile, Brian, while studying music, did not even think about neglecting his studies. He entered the Faculty of Astrophysics at Imperial College, won a scholarship and completed his studies with flying colors. But, having received a degree in physics, he did not stop. Brian began to specialize in infrared astronomy. His second passion after music was astronomy, and he kept it “in reserve.” Later, when asked what he would be doing now if he had not met the members of QUEEN, he will say that he would be an astronomer. But a different fate awaited him. We can say that Brian is the founder of the group QUEEN, although the name was invented by Freddie Mercury. Brian was invited to other groups, but he never betrayed his “Queen”.

In addition to QUEEN, he played in the group "1984" and "Smile", which featured another member of the future QUEEN - Roger Taylor ( Roger Taylor). Brian May is the author of such hits as "Keep Yourself Alive", "Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You", "Save Me", "Who Wants To Live Forever". The idea to write the songs "I Can't Live With You", "I Want It All" and "The Show Must Go On" also came to his mind.

Despite the flow of energy emanating from him on stage, in life Brian May is most often a serious, slightly sentimental and vulnerable person. He did not always get along with the extravagant lead singer and handsome drummer of the group. On several occasions, the group's existence was called into question due to these conflicts. But respect for each other and love for music kept them together.

When after tragic death Freddie Mercury in 1991 QUEEN broke up, Brian began a solo career. True, back in 1983 he recorded an album with other famous musicians - “Star Fleet Project”. Other works include the album "Back To The Light" (1992), "Live At The Brixton Academy" (1994) and the latest album in 1998 - "Another World". This album contains very different material: from the rather heavy "Cyborg" to the lyrical ballads "Why Don't We Try Again" and "Another World". Soon after the release of the album, Brian May went on a world tour, during which he visited for the first time and in Russia. “We wanted to go to Russia in the 80s, when QUEEN still existed, but they didn’t let us. Elton John and Cliff Richard had already performed there, and we were too wild a group for them." And in November 1998, Brian May and his band performed in St. Petersburg and Moscow. On the tour he was accompanied by no less famous musicians: Eric Singer (Kiss ), James Moses (Duran Duran), Neil Murray (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake). The warm-up act was the folk group "White Day", which amazed everyone with their performance " Bohemian Rhapsody"on balalaikas and harmonicas. In addition to songs from the new album, Brian also performs famous QUEEN songs. After the concerts, in an interview, Brian said that he was amazed by the warmth of his reception by Russian QUEEN fans.

Brian recently recorded the soundtrack for the film Pinnochio. He is no stranger to the classics; he wrote the music for the play Macbeth based on Shakespeare. Although the guitar is his favorite instrument, Brian, like the rest of QUEEN, can play the piano and keyboards. Brian once said, "I love playing the guitar. I sometimes start doing something else, go away from it a little, but then I think, 'God, I can't live without the guitar,' and I go back to the guitar. It's my favorite instrument." .

BIOGRAPHY OF RED SPECIAL:

Full name:

Nickname:“Fireplace” (the huge solid mahogany board from which the fingerboard was made was taken from that very place... Eh... In the good sense of the word :)).

Date of Birth: 1963.

Gestation period: 18 months.

Parents: Brian and his father :).

Location: Great Britain.

Surgical operations: conducted by Dr. Greg Fryer in 1997-1998. The patient feels as great as before and looks better than ever.

Enthusiasm: Vox AC30.

Feels a deep sense of respect: to Brian.

Hobby: travel, see the world.

The most beautiful moments of life: when people appreciate my good looks during concerts and try to touch me, it turns me on.

Comment: I was once an only child, but now I have several sisters, but still... "There has to be one of us left." We are not related to Pinocchio (read Pinocchio:)), but we are good friends. Me and Brian recorded two songs for him.

Sound: generally its own, but, one might say, between Strat and Les Paul.

First copy: Made by John Birch in the mid-70s and used for the "We Will Rock you" video.

First reproduction: made by GUILD in 1984, model BM-1 l, only 316 "doubles" were made.

Closer official reproduction: made by GUILD in 1993, BHM Ltd Signature model (later called BHM Pro), cost £1,750.

Flawless reproduction: three guitars were made especially for Brian by Greg Fryer in 1996, named John, Paul, and George Burns. George Burns is different from John and Paul.

GUILD

The American guitar manufacturer Guild Guitars made copies of Brian's guitar for sale with his help. These guitars come in more than just red (oddly enough... :). Originally there were transparent red, transparent green, glossy white, and glossy black. Later guitars were made in other colors. The image on the right is a stunning translucent green prototype that was made for Brian.

1984 GUILD BHM1

In 1984, Guild produced 316 copies of this guitar. The BHM1 was very similar in appearance to the original Red Special, but Brian was not very happy with some of the details and this version of the guitar was not produced for a long time. The pickups were made by Larry DiMarzio, with a black finish, and the tremolo system was made by Kahler. Unlike the Red Special, the BHM1's soundboard was solid (half-hollow on the Red Special).

Brian has at least two (possibly more) Guild copies from this period, but it is possible that these were custom models made especially for him. What I am saying is that these two (or more) copies are better than the commercial 1984 versions GUILD BHM1.

1993 GUILD BRIAN MAY SIGNATURE SERIES

In 1993-94, Guild again released the Brian May guitar, three new models. In 1995, Guild released an updated Guild Brian May (BM) guitar, which was a more accurate copy of Brian May's own guitar - computer technology had an impact. About 1000 of these guitars were made. This time, significantly improved pickups (made by Seymour Duncan) and a knife-edge tremolo system, which completely copies the Red Special tremolo.

There were 1,000 "Signature" models produced, initially produced in 1993: 500 for North America and 500 for Europe and other parts of the world. Production of the Professional model did not begin until 1994 with the same features, but without Brian's signature on the headstock. Were available in various colors.

Long before Guild was acquired by Fender (September 1996), the Guild BHM was discontinued.

BM01 BRIAN MAY SIGNATURE/PRO

The best model in this series, the BM01 is a very close copy of the Red Special. This model includes Seymour Duncan pickups that are very nice copies of the Burns Tri-Sonics on the Red Special. The tremolo system and bridge (bridge) are a custom module from Schaller. These parts are also a very good replica of the originals on Brian's guitar. The BM01 has a mahogany body and neck, and a mahogany fingerboard. ebony. Available in clear red, clear green, black, white.

Frame

Constructed from solid mahogany wood High Quality, “cut specifically to show off the beauty of the veins.” Almost a design of a semi-empty guitar, due to the small size of the soundboard and the size of the hardware (pickups, machine, etc.), and the cavity for the electronics. The soundboard is completely consistent on both sides... No dimples for ease of playability (like a Gibson Les Paul). In general, as you have probably already noticed, the deck is relatively small in size and, as it were, bloated... Standard design of connecting components (bundle on both sides) and an engraved plastic overlay on the deck. Case thickness is 1.53 inches.

Vulture

When you pick up this guitar for the first time, what you immediately notice is the size of the neck. It's definitely wider and thicker than most (if not all) electric guitar necks - almost as thick as a classic Spanish guitar. The neck width at the nut is 1 13/16 inches. The closest electric guitar in neck thickness is the Gibson SG (1 11/16). The BHM neck has several features that separate it from “ordinary” guitars. First of all, there is a so-called “zero” fret (the space in front of the nut), which allows you to bend the first frets, and also helps maintain string tension and keeps them at the correct height from the neck. The fingerboard is a nice solid ebony. The neck is glued into the body (similar to a Gibson Les Paul.) The fret markings are a little different from normal (hmm... depending on what you consider normal): two dots on the 7th and 19th frets, and three on the 12th fret, making it easier to find the right fret when playing.

The scale length of the instrument is also very non-standard - only 24 inches (Gibson - 24.75; Fender -25.5;). The neck has 24 wide JUMBO frets and an ebony fingerboard. By the way, a similar sensation from a short scale and 24 frets can be felt on Rickenbacker guitars (undoubtedly the closest to this model of all production models).

Vulture head

The headstock is connected to the neck at an angle, but less than a Les Paul, rather more like a PRS. There are no intricacies or perversities with the strings and, in general, everything is very simple. The head tapers upward so that the strings lie neatly on the saddle. The graphite nut keeps the guitar from going out of tune when using the tremolo arm.

Pegs

The tuners on this guitar are from Schaller - the most expensive company that makes tuners. If I'm not mistaken, these are lock pegs. Smooth operation of the mechanism, standard gears, hermetically protected. This means that there is no need to lubricate the pegs, the lifespan of such pegs is practically unlimited, but nothing lasts forever...

Bridge

Like the rest of the metal parts on the BHM, the bridge is made by Schaller (Germany).

It is quite unusual in that the spring is located at the top of the body under a plastic cover. Few modern guitars are equipped with such bridges. This bridge is a type of roller bridge. When using a tremolo lever, such a bridge allows you to return the strings to their normal height. The possibility of string breaking is minimized...

Tailpiece on BHM serial production Exactly copied from the tremolo system on Brian's homemade Red Special. This tailpiece system is unlike any other vibrato system (eg Fender, Floyd Rose, or Kahler) in the world. It consists of a knife-sharpened part, a hard plate, two bolts, and two springs. You may have heard that Brian uses motorcycle springs on the original Red Special. Whatever is good enough for Brian is similarly used on the Guild copy. The tailpiece contains an unusually smooth mechanism and maintains low string tension, which helps prevent string breakage. The only inconvenience with this tailpiece: to change the strings, you must remove the plate covering the tailpiece cavity.

Pickups

Made to order by Seymour Duncan for Guild. Installed on 1000 BHMs manufactured in 1993-1994. These pickups are a vast improvement over the DiMarzio pickups used on the 1984 BHMs. They are an exact replica of the original Burns Trisonic pickups. They have good output levels. Each individual pickup sounds somewhere between a single coil and a humbucker. (the sound is clean, but hot) When you use two pickups, the sound becomes so meaty and rich.Also, unlike the DiMarzio option, you cannot buy Seymour Duncan pickups for this guitar separately. Although Seymour Duncan promise that if If the pickups on a BHM break, they will be more than happy to fix them.

Brian modified the original pickups on the Red Special by rewinding the winding and insulating it with epoxy to prevent micro-noise.

Switches

The pickup switch system on this guitar makes it unlike any other guitar out there. Each pickup has its own On/Off switch, so you can use each pickup individually, or any pair, or all three. Unlike the Stratocaster, the pickups are wired in series, and each pickup also has a phase/antiphase switch. Thus, the total number of sound combinations (don’t forget about the volume and tone knobs) is very large and varied, which cannot but please guitarists. Check out a small diagram on the right...

Volume and tone controls

The controls are 250k ohms and have nice shiny knobs on them. The combination of these specific controls and pickups allows you to very cleverly bypass volume levels, getting an almost clean sound from an overdriven amp. By turning up the knob, feedback is suppressed by approximately 95% when playing close to the speakers. The volume is closer to the strings than the tone, so sometimes you have to touch the control with your hand when playing (the same problem on the Stratocaster), but if you get used to it, then...

Dimensions

BM02 BRIAN MAY SPECIAL

BM02 is a cheaper version of BM01. The main differences are that the BM02 has a rosewood fretboard and binding pieces only on the top side of the body. This model has a fixed bridge (like on a Gibson), and the middle and bridge pickups are installed next to each other - a kind of humbucker. It was available in clear red, clear green, black, white and Natural Satin. For the rest, see the description of BM01.

BM03 BRIAN MAY STANDARD

The BM03 follows the same layout as Brian's original Red Special, but the guitar is quite different from previous iterations both visually and electrically. Rosewood fretboard, no binding components on the body. Three pickup positions: BM033 3 single-coil (like a Fender Stratocaster), BM032 2 double with coil taps (like a Gibson Les Paul) and BM031 1 single-coil + humbucker (double) with coil tap ("hybrid"). The tone control does not have any phase option switches, so the sound is more normal than on the Pro and Special models. The deck structure is one-piece. Was available in clear red, clear green, black, white and other periodically custom colors. The rest is the same as BM01 and BM02.

That's all that can be said about GUILD's reissues of Brian May's personal guitars.

However, the main question remains: how similar is this Guild guitar to Brian May's personal guitar? Have modern technologies managed to replace the unique wood of a five-hundred-year-old fireplace?

It is difficult to answer this question absolutely unambiguously. Of course the Guild is very similar, it's more like a Brian May guitar than any other guitar in the world. Although we should not forget that the sound from May is, in addition to the guitar itself, also a lot of very distorting gadgets and, most importantly, unique hands and unique thinking, which no company can reproduce. This is definitely 100%.

GREG FRYER

In 1996, Australian guitar luthier and fan of Brian May and the Red Special, Greg Fryer, sent Brian May a letter saying that the pinnacle of his (Greg's) career would be to make the Red Special properly, as he felt that Guild were copying, albeit excellent, guitars in relation to themselves, but they failed to reproduce the Red Special well enough in all respects: and appearance, and feeling, and tone. Brian thought about it and came to the conclusion that, indeed, he was never completely satisfied with the copies of Guild made for him personally. Brian and his guitar technician had heard of Greg's excellent talents in building and restoring guitars for many famous musicians, which actually helped Greg connect with May.

Greg eventually flew to England to meet Brian and research Red Special extensively. Greg took with him a large suitcase filled with measuring instruments and various tools, including a device to measure magnetic fields and pickup leads. The relationship between Greg and Brian began when Brian became interested in the fact that Greg was extremely careful with every aspect of the guitar's safety.

Greg flew to Australia immediately after taking all the measurements and writing everything down on paper. Brian hadn't heard from Greg in almost 18 months and thought he had seen him. last time in life, although the story continued... 18 months later, Greg showed up at May's house (to Brian's great surprise) with three excellent and extremely accurate copies of the Red Special. After a series of tests, literally blindfolded, Brian decided that the three guitars Greg had created were the best and most accurate replicas of his original that he had ever owned. Brian May said that when he was blindfolded, he couldn't tell Greg's copies from his original. I'm sure this is Greg's greatest reward for his efforts.

Admiring Greg's excellent work, Brian eventually asked Greg to restore his Old Lady, which had become somewhat worn over the years (yes, the Red Special is original! - who knows), and while Greg traveled to Australia with Brian's guitar to make the necessary repairs, Brian completed recording his album Another World with Greg's copies. Greg must be delighted.

The original Red Special has been beautifully restored and, with Brian's permission, some modifications have even been made. Greg replaced the Gotoh tuners with Schaller ones as Brian liked them better. He also put in a missing pearl dot on the 5th fret (there had been a piece of wood there for years before). He restored the neck, which had been badly scratched over the years. Greg also replaced the old plastic on the deck's binding, which was already held in place by some adhesive tape. He's cleaned up Brian and his sixpence's torn metal parts (pickups, regulators) over the years. He replaced the electrical wiring and shielded the regulators. And Greg also polished the deck and other necessary places.

In late 2000, Greg started his own line of Brian May equipment, with Brian's approval, of course. Guitars and other commercial products are detailed below.

Greg Fryer Guitars

Greg recently made three copies of the Red Special, which are known as John, Paul and George Burns. These superb copies became Brian's backup guitars, replacing the Guild copies. Brian has two models of these guitars: the first (John) is a near-perfect replica of the original Red Special, and the second (George Burns) is an all-rosewood version that has a slightly heavier and more modern sound. Greg Fryer keeps a third model (Paul), which is also a replica of the Red Special. Greg has done a lot of research to ensure that his guitars are the closest possible replicas of Brian's original guitar.

Greg Fryer Pedals

Greg has now begun producing pedals whose capabilities are aimed at guitarists looking to get to the ultimate (actual! real! Armor!..) Brian May sound. Three models are currently available: Ringmaster, Treble Booster and Mayhem.

Ringmaster

The Ringmaster is a replica of Brian's original "Triple Booster", the legendary Rangemaster. This pedal was used on early Queen albums (pre-A Day At The Races). It has a distinctive "raw" sound compared to Brian's later work. Greg's is a modification of the Rangemaster circuit that strives to reproduce the inherent tonal qualities with reduced noise levels and increased reliability.

Treble Booster

The Triple Booster is Greg's modified version of Brian's modern booster, i.e. what Brian calls the Treble Booster now. Just like the Ringmaster, the booster has the properties of reliability and low levels interference This model dominates other available models (like Guild's short-lived ones). Used in conjunction with the VOX AC30, this pedal is designed to produce an authentic Brian May sound.

BRIAN MAY AMPLIFIERS

Vox AC30

The Vox AC30 is Brian's main amp. The AC30 is a classic British tube amp that was first used by The Beatles and The Shadows. This top-of-the-line amplifier is known for its smooth, rich tone. Brian uses a clean sound on his AC30s and all the knobs are always at maximum. He controls the sound using the guitar's volume control. With all controls turned up to maximum, the AC30 produces the sound of natural tube distortion.

On stage, May uses a wall of 12 of these combos. They're all connected together, but Brian uses a special switch that allows him to operate each amp separately to avoid breaking any of them, running it at full power for an extended period of time. In May's configuration, there are mainly 3 combos: 1) clean signal; 2) delay 1; 3) delay 2 and chorus. You can see the wiring diagram for Brian's equipment on stage right.

Brian on stage likes to turn up the volume on his monitors, this allows for more interaction between the guitar and the amps to produce good sustain, which is a major feature of Brian's sound and style. His AC30 is essentially a regular Vox AC30, albeit slightly modified.

Deaky Amp

In the studio, Brian uses a small amplifier that was made by Queen bassist John Deacon. This amplifier is affectionately called Deaky Amp. Brian used this amplifier to produce many of his "guitar orchestrations" that became part of his sonic signature. This amp is often overlooked, but it was undoubtedly used in many of Queen's classic songs.

The Deaky Amp is a solid-state combo amplifier with a small speaker that John removed from a high-quality (hi-fi) amplifier. John protected the speaker from surges. Greg Fryer has recently been working on a replica of this amplifier, which he hopes to commercialize.

MEDIATOR BRIAN MAY

Brian chose an unusual pick - an English round soft metal coin, jagged on the edge, worth six pence. His choice is due to the fact that he finds plectrum picks too flexible. "I feel like it gives me closer contact with the strings and more control over them when playing." - another argument from Brian. “I hold it loosely between my thumb and forefinger, with my index finger bent.” - says Brian May, in an interview with Guitar Player magazine 1/83. From time to time he uses the jagged edge of a coin to scrape the strings. In quiet sections, Brian plays with his fingers, and only when more attack is needed does he use a coin in such cases.

This coin has been out of circulation since the early 70s. On Brian's first solo tour he used a coin similar in size to the sixpence minted especially for him in 1993 by the Royal Mint with Brian's image on it so that he could continue to use them as a pick. This coin could be purchased during the tour.

Brian uses "Rotosound" round wound strings in the following sizes: .008, .009, .011, .016, 0.22, .034.

One of the most outstanding guitarists on the planet, Brian May, was born on July 19, 1947. From the early age Brian became interested in music. At the age of five he tried strumming the piano, at six he switched to the ukulele, and at seven he received his first acoustic guitar. By the age of sixteen, the guy dreamed of a real Stratocaster, but the family did not have money for such a purchase, and Brian and his father made a guitar from scrap materials. They used mahogany left over from an old fireplace, an oak board, a knife blade, motorcycle valves and mother-of-pearl buttons.

Despite the artisanal production, the instrument turned out to be very solid and, having received the name “Red special”, served May long years. Like his future “royal” colleagues, Brian was an educated person. In the 60s, he received degrees in physics and mathematics, and also worked closely in astronomy. However, studying science did not interfere at all musical preferences, and at the age of 17, May formed his first team, "1984".

The group played mostly instrumental songs, and the peak of its heyday came in 1967, when “1984” had the opportunity to perform at the Olympia Theater along with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Traffic and T. Rex. In 1968, the team broke up, but after a short time, Brian, together with former colleague Tim Staffell, put together another project, “Smile”. This group did not last long, and on its ruins a new group was formed - “Queen”. During his time in the “royal” ranks, Brian wrote a considerable number of world-famous hits, including the legendary “We will rock you”.

His guitar, along with Freddie Mercury's unforgettable vocals, made Queen's style unique and easily recognizable. The musician's first work outside of his group was the mini-album "Star fleet project". The album was recorded in January 1983 with the participation of Eddie Van Halen, Alan Gratzer, Phil Chen and Fred Mandel.

Soon after, Guild Guitars released the first copy of the "Red Special" and May recorded a video guitar lesson for the "Star licks" series. Brian began preparing his debut full-length album in 1991, shortly before Mercury's death. The album's release was preceded by the single "Driven by you". The song was written for a Ford advertising campaign and was very popular in Britain. big success. In support of "Back to the light" Brian May organized a global world tour. Following these tours, the live album “Live at the Brixton Academy” was released, which featured both solo material and Queen classics.

The second studio work of the legendary guitarist appeared in 1998, and in 2000 his soundtrack to the film "Furia" was released. In the new millennium, May worked hard to create a theatrical rock production of "We will rock you", and in 2004, together with drummer Roger Taylor and vocalist Paul Rodgers, he announced the start of a tour of a new version of "Queen".

Biography of Brian May / Brian May

Brian Harold May born July 19, 1947 in Hampton, a suburb of London. He began playing guitar at the age of seven, and at 15 he was rehearsing with amateur groups. Your famous guitar Red Special Brian May designed it himself with the help of his father. Oak boards from a 200-year-old fireplace, parts from an old motorcycle and mother-of-pearl buttons were used. Red Special took part in the recording of the majority songs queen and faithfully serves its creator to this day.

Musical career of Brian May / Brian May

Brian May Graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of London Imperial College. In 1964 he organized student group, called " 1984 "in honor of the novel George Orwell. In 1968 the group broke up, and together with the vocalist and bassist Tim Staffel Brian May decided to collect new line-up. I responded to the ad Roger Taylor, dental student at Imperial College. The new group was named Smile. They performed in London pubs and educational institutions and acquired their own fans.

Slime left in 1970 Tim Staffel, and took his place Freddie Mercury. The updated group was renamed queen. It existed with unchanged composition until 1991.

Queen's first album was released in 1973, including four songs written by Brian May. The musicians gained worldwide fame with their second disc entitled queenII, and the album released in 1975 ANightAtTheOpera created a real sensation and is still considered one of the best albums of all times and peoples.

Brian May has written many of Queen's hits. He wrote the song " WeWillRockYou", which has become the anthem of many football clubs and has been repeatedly used in films and television. Brian May also owns the composition " Fat Bottomed Girls», « 39 », « Tie Your Mother Down», « Who Wants to Live Forever" And " I Want It All" He is also the author of the hit " ShowMustGoOn", which became one of the most famous songs in rock music.

Brian May uses a sixpence piece as a pick. They went out of circulation in the late 70s, but in 1993 the Royal Mint released a small batch especially for the musician.

After Queen disbanded in 1991, Brian May pursued a solo career. His album " BackToTheLidht"was released in 1992 and was a great success. Later the disc " Resurrection", and as part of the album tour " AnotherWorld» Brian May visited Russia for the first time, giving concerts in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Mid 2000s Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor decided to revive queen. They invited Paul Rogers, former lead singer of bands Free And Bad Company, and went on a world tour in 2005. In 2008, a new album was recorded entitled “ The Cosmos Rocks" Simultaneously with the release of the album, a world tour began, during which the musicians visited Kyiv and Moscow. In 2012 Brian May And Roger Taylor went on tour again, this time they were accompanied by American singer Adam Lambert, reality show finalist American Idol.

Brian May is the founder of the Save Me Foundation and has been working to protect animals from cruelty for many years. In particular, the musician opposes the repeal of the law prohibiting the “blood sport” of hunting foxes and other animals with dogs.

Personal life of Brian May / Brian May

The musician's first wife was Chrissie Mullens, their marriage lasted from 1976 to 1988. They have three children: Jimmy (1978), Louise (1981) and Emily Ruth (1987). In the early 90s, Brian May began dating an actress Anita Dobson, at the end of 2000 they legalized their relationship.

Brian May's solo discography

Star Fleet Project (1983).
Back To The Light (1992).
Resurrection (1994, released only in Japan).
Live At The Brixton Academy (1994).
Another World (1998).
Red Special (1998, released only in Japan).
Furia (2000).