Guitarist mentioned solo performance that must be among the shortest of his career, but still generated enormous impact
The guitarist Brian May performed a series of historic shows with the queen. The presentations at Rock in Rio and in Live Aidin 1985, are just the tip of the iceberg of a brilliant career, which continued even after the singer’s death Freddie Mercuryin 1991.
Interestingly, however, May believes that the most memorable performance of his career was not performed with his most notorious band. It wasn’t even a conventional situation.
During a Q&A event shared by The Red Special Guitar Podcast (via Ultimate Guitar), the guitarist offered this title to a brief performance in 2002. On that occasion, he played the British national anthem “God Save the Queen” on the roof of Buckingham Palacein London, as part of the Golden Jubilee (50th anniversary) of Queen Elizabeth II.
Of course, it was a special case, but Brian points out that the adjective “memorable” it was also used due to the fear he felt. He says:
“It was a transformative experience because of fear. Facing that amount of fear and still having to do it… it was kind of a milestone.”
May states that the idea of performing the performance like that was his idea. The guitarist comments:
“It was my idea [risos]because they asked me to walk in front of the Palace playing à la Jimi Hendrix and I thought: ‘ugh, it’s going to be boring, it’s never going to work’. Then I thought, ‘Wow, what if I was up there, like the lone piper who’s been up there for 50 years, in the sun and the rain and the wind, and he’s a little ragged, but he’s still up there, playing’. That was it.”
The Queen member also gave a “compliment” to Queen Elizabeth that may not have been understood in the best way. He recalls:
“There I am celebrating 50 years of the Queen’s rule, but also 50 years of rock ‘n’ roll. I called her ‘Queen of rock ‘n’ roll’. I don’t know if she was very pleased.”
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Queen with Queen
Two decades later, in 2022, Queen in its configuration with Adam Lambert on vocals was invited to participate in Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. It was 70 years of reign — this time, without roofs, but with the chance to meet the monarch in person alongside three other legendary guitarists: Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, all British.
About the occasion, Brian May recalled:
“It’s not ideal to be the person who speaks first in a meeting like that, but it was awkward. So I said, ‘I’m so happy to meet you’ — knowing I shouldn’t say that. And I said, ‘I’m the one who made all that noise on your roof [em 2002]’. She said, ‘oh, it was you!’. It was pretty fun. I think she was a very lovely woman.”
Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022, aged 96. The cause of death was recorded on the death certificate only as “old age”. The Platinum Jubilee occurred 5 months earlier, on February 6 of that year.
Queen’s most underrated song, in Brian May’s opinion
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
