The biggest emotion in creation is the bridge to optimism.
Brian May
The guitar was my weapon, my shield to hide behind.
Brian May
Astronomy’s much more fun when you’re not an astronomer.
Brian May
I’m pretty basic as far as technique is concerned. I don’t use many gadgets, and I like the sound my guitar makes, anyway.
Brian May
I think music is about our internal life. It’s part of the way people touch each other. That’s very precious to me. And astronomy is, in a sense, the very opposite thing. Instead of looking inwards, you are looking out, to things beyond our grasp.
Brian May
There is no way that you can ever really repeat something. I have this great belief that the magic of the moment can never be recaptured.
Brian May
It’s wonderful for me to see what ‘We Will Rock You’ has done. ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are the Champions’ have kind of transcended the normal framework of where music is listened to and appreciated – they’ve become part of public life, which I feel wonderful about.
Brian May
The Wedding March has a bit of a death march in it.
Brian May
I just want to be able to play as fast as my brain goes, and my brain doesn’t go all that fast.
Brian May
I like to go for a walk or swimming or in the garden when I can. It’s a busy kind of life, but I guess I’m lucky.
Brian May
I despise the Lottery. There’s less chance of you becoming a millionaire than there is of getting hit on the head by a passing asteroid.
Brian May
Queen songs are not about the life of a rock star – they tend to be about the lives of normal people, which is why I think the songs connect so much. We’re very lucky that they seemingly connect with every generation.
Brian May
I don’t think anybody comes close to The Beatles, including Oasis.
Brian May
Sanctions always hurt the poor, the weak, the children.
Brian May
I never took sheet music seriously. I could do better myself just by listening to other people and using my own intuition.
Brian May
Queen songs tend to be about very personal things: personal dreams and personal ambitions.
Brian May
Each gig should be unique. You’re always treading that line between keeping yourself fresh and giving people something they want to hear.
Brian May
I really thought I was pretty good before I saw Hendrix, and then I thought: Yeah, not so good.
Brian May
I spent 20 years of my life building up Queen, and now I’m spending years of my life trying to get away from it.
Brian May
At the moment the Queen stuff does sell really well, but there’s no guarantee it’ll go on forever.
Brian May
Einstein got most of the things right about black holes. I’m not an expert, I must admit.
Brian May
Every time I listen to Jeff Beck my whole view of guitar changes radically. He’s way, way out, doing things you never expect.
Brian May
Everybody thought I was a bit of an eccentric for wanting to be out there looking at the stars, but I still do.
Brian May
For a time I didn’t want to answer any questions about Queen. I’d like to be viewed as something alive and relevant, not some fossil.
Brian May
From the beginning of Queen there was such momentum that I never had any time to do anything else. My energy was 95% focused on the band.
Brian May
I don’t surf the net in general. I have someone do it for me instead, because I find it sluggish.
Brian May
I go through major crises every few months, but then I have great peaks of belief and creativity. I’m a weird kind of animal.
Brian May
I had this big thing about guitar harmonies. I wanted to be the first to put proper three-part harmonies onto a record. That was an achievement.
Brian May
I was actually perfectly happy when I had no money, which lasted right up until we had a hit with Killer Queen, in 1974. I never wanted for anything.
Brian May
Mantovani was a great influence on me.
Brian May
The first nine albums there was never a Synthesiser, never any Orchestra. There was never any other player except us on the albums.
Brian May
The guitar has a kind of grit and excitement possessed by nothing else.
Brian May
There are a lot of things in Queen albums that you don’t expect; that’s why we threw them in.
Brian May
There are times when I flick through magazines and think I’m in danger of becoming a prisoner of my own hair.
Brian May
There’s nothing I’m embarrassed about.
Brian May
We do play to our audience. It’s very important. You can’t create music in a vacuum.
Brian May
In print, people can do anything to you. Everything you do is picked apart. People love it; they’re waiting for you to make a mistake.
Brian May
The music itself is very challenging, so I’ve never really felt the lack of stimulation. I love to be creating; I love to be making things and solving problems, I suppose, and when I’m not, then I’m not an incredibly good person to be around. If I’m not busy, then I think I would be disaster. That’s just the way things are.
Brian May
I’m not a person for sitting on beaches. What would I do?
Brian May