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Brian May

File:Brian_May_(54760284093).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Brian May

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Also known as Brian Harold May, BH May, B. H. May, Brian H. May, Brian H May

British musician (born 1947)

OverviewAI-generated

Brian Harold May is a British guitarist, singer, composer, and astrophysicist. Born in Hampton, Middlesex, England, he is a citizen of the United Kingdom and speaks English. His musical work spans rock, glam rock, pop rock, and hard rock genres. He has performed on guitar, piano, voice, and bass guitar, and has been associated with record labels Parlophone and Hollywood Records. May is also recognized for his contributions to astrophysics and lyrics.

He received several honors, including the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the Order of the Badge of Honour, and the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. May was educated at Imperial College London and the University of London. His lifestyle includes vegetarianism and veganism. Among his notable works are *Killer Queen*, *Bang!*, *Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe*, *Starmus*, and *Indonesian Tragedy*.

Synthesized by Vinony from 41 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Wikiquote, Open Library, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Works
33

Top works

  • Killer Queen
  • Bang!
  • Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe
  • Starmus
  • Indonesian Tragedy

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Hampton, Middlesex, England, UK

Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and astrophysicist. He is the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. He was the co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, having previously performed with Taylor in the band Smile, and bass player John Deacon. As a member of Queen, he became regarded as a virtuoso…

Known for

  • Andrea Bocelli - The Celebration：30th Anniversary2025
  • Live Aid at 40: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took on the World — Self2025
  • Jean-Michel Jarre - Starmus: Bridge from the Future2024
  • Rory Gallagher: Calling Card — Self2024
  • Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration — Self2024
  • Queen: We Are the Champions – The Story of the Greatest Sports Anthem of All Time — Self2024
  • Adam Lambert: Out, Loud and Proud2024
  • Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me — Self2024
  • The Yardbirds: In Their Own Words2024
  • Katy Perry: Night of a Lifetime — Self2024

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Origin
United Kingdom
Active from
1947
britishenglishglam rockhard rockheavy metalmetal

Discography

Member of

Official siteDiscogsStream

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
249,698
Total plays
2,050,727

Tags

rockclassic rockhard rockbritishQueen

Similar artists

Roger TaylorQueenThe CrossFreddie MercuryQueen + Paul Rodgers

There are at least two artists with the name Brian May. 1) Brian Harold May was born on July 19, 1947, in Feltham, England. He is best known as the guitarist for the English rock band Queen. Within the band, he introduced multi-layered guitar harmonies, often performed on his custom-built guitar known as the "Red Special." In 2002, he played "God Save the Queen" on the roof of Buckingham Palace during the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. May has also released solo material <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Brian+May">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Brian May

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

  1. QIIME allows analysis of high-throughput community sequencing data

    · 2010 · cited 30,950x

  2. A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films

    · 1991 · cited 26,530x

  3. Full-length transcriptome assembly from RNA-Seq data without a reference genome

    · 2011 · cited 19,415x

  4. Introducing mothur: Open-Source, Platform-Independent, Community-Supported Software for Describing and Comparing Microbial Communities

    · 2009 · cited 18,985x

  5. Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony

    · 1977 · cited 18,360x

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

  • “We will, we will rock you We will, we will rock you.”
  • “Buddy, you're a young man, hard man Shouting in the street, gonna take on the world someday You got blood on your face, you big disgrace Waving your banner all over the place We will, we will rock you, sing it! We will, we will rock you, yeah.”
  • “There's no chance for us It's all decided for us This world has only one sweet moment Set aside for usWho wants to live forever? Who wants to live forever? Who dares to love forever Oh, when love must die?”
  • “When I'm gone, people will no doubt remember me for Queen, but I would much rather be remembered for attempting to change the way we treat our fellow creatures.”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) 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.

May previously performed with Taylor in the progressive rock band Smile, which he had joined while he was at university. Mercury joined to form Queen in 1970, and bass guitarist John Deacon completed the line-up in 1971. They became one of the biggest rock bands in the world with the success of the album A Night at the Opera and its single "Bohemian Rhapsody". From the mid-1970s until 1986, Queen played at some of the biggest venues in the world, including an acclaimed performance at Live Aid in 1985. May wrote numerous hits for the band, including "We Will Rock You", "I Want It All", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Now I'm Here", "Headlong", "Flash", "Hammer to Fall", "Save Me", "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "The Show Must Go On". Queen entered a general hiatus after Mercury died in 1991—exceptions include the 1992 tribute concert, the release of Made in Heaven (1995) and the 1997 May-penned tribute single to Mercury, "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)". May and Taylor eventually reconvened Queen for further performances featuring other vocalists.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Brian May” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (13)

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via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0