He’s regarded as one of the shining stars of British rock but Queen guitarist Brian May isn’t content with that status; he wants to see the stars for real.
After striking up an unlikely friendship with legendary astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, the fuzzy-haired rock god now has a phd in astronomy and admitted that it would be hard to turn down a place on Richard Branson’s proposed Space Flight.
Brian told The Hour: “I was trained to be an astronomer, then I kind of went out of way and done other things. Then I came back to astronomy because of Patrick Moore who has become a great friend of mine
Spread your wings: Queen star Brian May aiming for the stars
“He said to me “Brian you can go and get your phd now” and now I have one. I can’t fix your knee but I am doctor.
“I wouldn’t say no [to spaceflight], I’ve always dreamed of doing something like that. I got a great offer to fly with the red arrows in Cramwell a while back. But yeah ill go in space shuttle why not?”
When he isn’t reaching for the sky, May has been busy touring with West End stage starKerry Ellis, on their acclaimed Anthems tour.
Featuring a mix of rock songs, acoustic melodies and Queen Classics the show has just finished its visit of Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall.
Kerry, who played sweet rock princess Meat in the Queen inspired stage show We Will Rock You, impressed Brian May so much during their first meeting that he vowed to work with her again and the English-born singer is reaping the benefits.
She said: “The show almost acts as a highlight of things I’ve been involved in over the years. We’ve picked the strongest songs and developed them with orchestras and guitars. It’s a fusion of different styles.”
“What I’m enjoying most is experimenting musically with band. It’s like a little family. It’s very librating not sticking to one character.
“Music has always been in my blood. It was never really an option to do anything else.”
Now 63-years old, Brian has long since left his hard set rock n’ roll lifestyle – although he does continues to tour with Queen and Paul Rodgers.
However, he will never forget his glory days at the top of British rock and still enjoys rocking it out to his favourite Queen songs whilst on his new Anthems tour:
“Sometimes I wake up and think ‘My god what just happened?’. It doesn’t feel like 40 years since Queen and it doesn’t feel like 20 years since we lost Freddie [Mercury].
“We play Queen songs in the set and I still love it. People like that and Kerry is the perfect vehicle for them.”
Watch Brian and Kerry perform live here. link