Sir Brian Harold May is an English musician, animal welfare activist, and astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen, which he co-founded with singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor.
His guitar work and songwriting contributions helped Queen become one of the most successful acts in music history.
real name: Brian Harold May
labels: Parlophone, Hollywood Records
genres: rock music, glam rock, pop rock, hard rock, progressive rock
awards: Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Order of the Badge of Honour, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Audience Award for Most Popular Show, honorary doctor of the University of Exeter, honorary doctor of the University of Hertfordshire, Knight Bachelor
plays: guitar, piano, voice, bass guitar, keyboard instrument
member of: Queen, Rock Aid Armenia, Smile, The Brian May Band, Rock Therapy
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
Brian Harold May was born on 19 July 1947 at Gloucester House Nursing Home in Hampton Hill, near Twickenham, Middlesex. He is the only child of Ruth Irving (née Fletcher) and Harold May, who worked as a draughtsman at the Ministry of Aviation. His mother, who was Scottish, married his father, who was English, at Moulin in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1946. May attended the local Hanworth Road state primary school, and at the age of 11 won a scholarship to Hampton Grammar School, then a voluntary aided school. During this time, he formed his first band, named 1984 after George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, with vocalist and bassist Tim Staffell.
May has been referred to as a virtuoso guitarist by many publications and musicians. He has featured in various music polls of the greatest rock guitarists, and in 2011 was ranked number 26 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". In January 2007, the readers of Guitar World voted May's guitar solos on "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Brighton Rock" into the "top 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of all time" (No.20 and No.41 respectively). Former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar stated, "I thought Queen were really innovative and made some great sounding records... I like the rockin' stuff. I think Brian May has one of the great guitar tones on the planet, and I really, really love his guitar work." Justin Hawkins, lead...
May's early influences included Cliff Richard and the Shadows, who he says were "the most metallic thing(s) out at the time". Many years later, he finally got the chance to play on two separate occasions with the Shadows’ lead guitarist Hank Marvin. He has collaborated with Richard on a re-recording of 1958 hit "Move It" on Richard's duets album Two's Company, which was released on 6 November 2006.
May studied physics and mathematics at Imperial College London, graduating with a BSc (Hons) degree and ARCS in physics with Upper Second-Class Honours. From 1970 to 1974, he studied for a PhD degree at Imperial College, studying reflected light from interplanetary dust and the velocity of dust in the plane of the Solar System. When Queen began to have international success in 1974, he abandoned his doctoral studies, but nonetheless co-authored two peer-reviewed research papers, which were based on his observations at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife.
"Driven by You" is a song by Queen lead guitarist Brian May from his 1992 solo album, Back to the Light. It was released as the lead single on 25 November 1991 by Parlophone, a day after the death of May's Queen bandmate Freddie Mercury.
Besides the original album/single version, there are at least three additional studio versions of the song. The first, originally written for a series of television advertisements for Ford in the UK, is a shorter take with alternative lyrics; it was released as a B-side exclusive to the 12-inch single in the UK. Following the single's release, a version was produced featuring a new drum track by Cozy Powell; this version was released as B-side to the single "Too Much Love Will Kill You" and as a bonus track on the US release of Back to the Light. Finally, May recorded a short instrumental version of the song, titled "Driven by You Two"; this was released as B-side to his single "Resurrection".