Welcome to the Deep Dive. Our mission here is
to take a stack of source material, often overwhelming
in its detail, and distill the core knowledge
and surprising insights, the nuggets you need
to be truly well -informed. And today, we are
deep diving into a figure whose life story is
just so wildly successful across so many different
fields that, honestly, it almost borders on the
unbelievable. We are focusing on Sir Brian Harold
May. Now, the world knows him, of course, as
the architect of sound and co -founder of Queen.
Right. But the material we've gathered reveals
this singular, extraordinary polymath whose intellectual
curiosity just drove him to the highest peaks
in three distinct, and I mean immensely demanding,
careers. Global rock stardom, rigorous astrophysics,
and intense political and animal welfare activism.
It's the ultimate tripartite career. Exactly.
So the mission for you, the listener, is not
just to catalog his achievements. I mean, anyone
can read it. Wikipedia page, but to really understand
the mechanism of his success. We're searching
for that single unifying methodology, you know,
that methodical rigor and intellectual approach
that allowed him to not only participate in these
worlds, but to absolutely excel in all of them,
sometimes decades apart. It's that aha moment,
isn't it? The realization that the same painstaking
dedication he used to build his iconic guitar
is the same dedication required to solve complex
astrophysical problems. And it's the same intellectual
honesty he applies when he's challenging government
data on wildlife conservation. It is. It's the
common engine driving everything. And before
we unpack these three pillars, we have to establish
his extraordinary standing. Born in 1947, Sir
Brian May's contributions have been recognized
at the very highest levels of the British establishment.
That's right. He was named a Commander of the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, a
CBE, way back in 2005 for services to music and
charity. And then... really cementing his status
as, I don't know, maybe the most versatile national
treasure the UK has produced. He was appointed
a Knight Bachelor by King Charles III in the
2023 New Year Honors, again, specifically for
services to music and charity. So we are truly
discussing a figure whose achievements span the
charts, the laboratory and the legislature. OK,
so let's untack this phenomenal life. Let's start
where his fame truly solidified. the rock and
roll legacy of Queen. While May's musical foundation
started early, certainly well before the big
arenas, he was in a band called 1984 while he
was still at Hampton Grammar School. But the
crucial stepping stone was Smile, wasn't it?
A progressive rock trio formed in 1968. That's
the one. Smile included May on guitar, Tim Staffel
on vocals and bass, and a certain Roger Taylor
on drums. Ah, so the pieces were already coming
together. They were. It was a tight three -piece
that lasted only two years until 1970, but it
was absolutely essential. And what I find most
fascinating about this early period is this immense,
almost defining choice he had to make. Right.
The sources really highlight this. This is a
huge fork in the road for him. It is. May had
already completed his B .S .C. in physics at
Imperial College London with... And he gets this
invitation from Sir Bernard Lovell, the renowned
radio astronomer. The Sir Bernard Lovell. The
very one. To continue his work at the prestigious
Jodrell Bank Observatory. I mean, this was a
clear pathway to a highly respected, established
scientific career. But he declined. He chose
to stay in London to keep SMILE going. It's just
it illustrates this early, almost irreversible
commitment to music over science. Can you imagine
the deliberation behind that? Turning down an
opportunity like Jodrell Bank, a monumental institution
for the uncertainty of a small rock band? It's
crazy. Yeah. But it just shows the depth of his
musical passion at that time, a commitment that
had to be absolute to justify setting aside such
a secure future. And when Staffel left Smile
in 1970, that passion was validated. A close
follower of the band, a guy named Freddie Mercury,
joined. And once bassist John Deacon was brought
in, Queen was formally born in 1971. And the
rise was swift and monumental. We're talking
about the period from the mid -70s through the
mid -80s where Queen just redefined arena rock.
Albums like A Night at the Opera showed this
level of musical sophistication that was, you
know, pretty much unprecedented in hard rock
at the time. And it all culminated, of course,
in that universally celebrated, career -defining
Live Aid performance in 1985. Absolutely. But
when we analyze May's place in Queen... We need
to look beyond just the lead guitar, right? Oh,
absolutely. His vocal work was fundamental to
the band's signature sound. In Queen's very distinctive
three -part harmonies, May consistently provided
the lower range backing vocals. He added that
depth, that ballast underneath Freddie Mercury
and Roger Taylor's higher registers. Exactly.
But he was also a very accomplished lead vocalist
when the material called for it. He sang the
first verse of Who Wants to Live Forever. And
he took full lead on some of his own key compositions.
like the Acoustic 39. A skiffle -influenced track
that, and this is so Brian May, blends physics
concepts right into its lyrics. Of course he
did. And the softer good company as well. He
was also the primary creative force behind several
emotionally significant tracks. For instance,
he took the main writing role and the composition
coordination on one of Queen's most poignant
and powerful songs. The show must go on. The
show must go on. It closed their final album
with Freddie, Innuendo. It was really his job
to coordinate the band's input, to bring that
just devastatingly powerful track to completion.
And speaking of composition, this is where his
versatility is just crystal clear. He didn't
just write guitar parts. He wrote world -beating
anthems across every single genre the band touched.
The catalog is just astonishing in its breadth.
I mean, contrast the sheer simplicity and rhythmic
genius of We Will Rock You, a track designed
specifically to get the audience involved. To
get them stomping their feet. The layered harmonies
and bombast of a track like I Want It All, which
is this power rock masterpiece. That was inspired
by his future wife, the actress Anita Dobson,
right? Just her saying she wanted everything
right now. That's the story. And the list just
keeps going. The groove of fat -bottomed girls,
the raw energy of Now I'm Here, the complexity
of the power ballad Save Me. And the science
fiction epic Flash, written for the Flash Gordon
soundtrack, which again connects right back to
his lifelong interest in space and visual media.
It's also important to note how their collaborative
process evolved over time. After the triumph
of Live Aid in 85, the band entered this highly
collaborative writing phase. One Vision is a
good example of that. A perfect example. It was
initially spurred by a riff and an opening section
from May, but the lyrics and the final arrangement
were co -written by all four members. And by
the time they reached their 1989 album The Miracle,
The collaboration was so integral that they just
decided to credit all the tracks to the entire
band. Exactly. Regardless of who provided the
initial spark. But, you know, interviews confirm
May was still the main creative force behind
tracks like I Want It All and Scandal. And Scandal
came from his personal frustrations with the
intrusion of the British press into his life
at the time. The period immediately following
the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991 was, well,
understandably devastating. The sources described
just this enormous emotional blow. And the way
May coped offers a crucial insight into his character.
He committed himself fully to work. He called
it a form of self -prescribed therapy. He threw
himself into his solo career, believing that
staying intensely busy was the only way he could
navigate that grief. Joe Elliott from Def Leppard
confirmed this. He noted that losing Mercury
just ripped the heart out of Brian, but that
he seemed to find solace in completing his first
solo project. And that project was the album
Back to the Light. And that effort included the
really powerful single Too Much Love Will Kill
You, which he co -wrote with Frank Musker and
Elizabeth Lamers. And that track was a massive
success. It won the Ivor Novello Award for Best
Song in 1996. It did. After, of course, an earlier
version with Freddie's vocals was released post
- on the Made in Heaven Queen album. His solo
tours under the Brian May Band banner allowed
him to really step fully into that role of lead
vocalist and band leader. He was supporting huge
acts like Guns N' Roses. He even incorporated
elements of Queen's history into his solo sets.
He'd perform a few lines of Love of My Life and
encourage the audience to sing along, continuing
that tradition Mercury had established. But despite
the success of his solo work, may always remain
dedicated to Queen's core legacy. supervising
the careful remastering and release of the band's
vast catalog. The desire to play those iconic
songs on a big stage, though, it just never went
away. And so the first major return came in 2004
with Queen plus Paul Rogers. And this is a point
May always emphasizes. Rogers was featured with
Queen. He wasn't trying to replace the irreplaceable
Freddie Mercury. Right. And notably, the retired
bassist John Deacon opted not to participate,
which kind of preserved the original four pieces'
unique space in a way. It did. And this partnership
was incredibly robust. It lasted five years.
They released one studio album in 2008, The Cosmos
Rocks, and they played to these massive audiences
globally. I remember reading about a spectacular
show in Ukraine that drew an estimated 350 ,000
fans. That's the one. It just demonstrated Queen's
enduring appeal. That collaboration ended in
2009. But the stage found them again after they
performed with Adam Lambert, who was then an
American Idol finalist. the real spark though
that ignited after the 2011 mtv europe music
awards ah yes Queen was receiving the Global
Icon Award. They were. And Lambert closed the
ceremony, performing several Queen hits with
May and Taylor. And the crowd response. I mean,
the sheer energy and the vocal compatibility.
It was so overwhelmingly positive and dynamic.
That it led directly to the formation of Queen
plus Adam Lambert in 2012. And this incarnation
has proven to be one of the most successful continuing
legacies in rock history. Their performances
are often landmark events. Oh, absolutely. Think
back to closing the 2012 Summer Olympics in London,
where May performed that massive solo, or, more
recently, the centerpiece of the 2022 Platinum
Party at the Palace. That moment was pure May
genius. We're talking about the opening comedy
sketch where Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington
Bear are tapping their teacups together. The
beat of We Will Rock You. In rhythmic precision.
Before May and the band launch into their set
right in front of Buckingham Palace, it just
seamlessly blended this massive rock anthem with
national tradition. It was perfect. And the band's
future is still active. The sources note their
planned 2025 BBC Proms performance, where they
are set to join the BBC Symphony Orchestra for
a new grand orchestral arrangement of Bohemian
Rhapsody for its 50th anniversary. It just shows
how May is constantly seeking new ways to present
and interpret their foundational works. So that
is the rock legacy, the co -founder, the songwriter,
the driving force. But the depth of his contribution
is really rooted in his highly personalized musician
show. Let's take a deep dive into the very particular
flavor of his genius, starting with his place
as an undeniable virtuoso. Well, May is consistently
revered by his peers. He was voted the seventh
greatest rock guitarist in a 2005 Planet Rock
poll. And in a 2012 Guitar World poll, he was
ranked the second greatest guitarist of all time.
Even Rolling Stone, a publication often criticized
for underrating classic rock players, still placed
him at number 33 in their 2023 list. I mean,
his status is really beyond dispute. And his
sound is just so unique, it's immediately recognizable
regardless of the song. And that's incredibly
rare in music. Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash praised
his incredible finesse, amazing fluidity, noting
the tone and technical control are just unparalleled.
The difficulty of achieving that sound is what
really makes the point, though. Steve Vai, who
is an absolute guitar virtuoso himself, he admitted
he can mimic almost any other player. But Brian
May. Vai stated, and I quote, I can listen to
any player and pantomime their sound, but I can't
do Brian May. He's just walking on higher ground.
That analysis from Vai gives us such a critical
insight into May's contribution. Vai calls his
work rich. and so specific that it feels essential
to the composition itself. He adds that nobody
to this date could do what he does. And I think
the most profound takeaway is that his solos
aren't just exhibitions of speed. They are melodies
and they're perfectly in place. They serve the
song's architecture. Like it carefully plays
structural beam in an engineering project. That
architectural mindset is so evident in his most
famous technique, layered harmonies. He's not
simply doubling or tripling a melody. He's known
for this meticulous arranging using multi -part
guitar lines that are often contrapuntal. Okay,
let's stop there for a moment. For the listener,
what exactly does it mean for a rock harmony
to be contrapuntal versus, say, parallel, which
is more common? Well, parallel harmony means
all the voices are moving in the same direction,
maintaining the same interval. Think of a simple
chord being moved up or down the fretboard. Contrapuntal,
or counterpoint, is derived from classical music.
It means that while the notes are harmonizing,
the individual lines are actually moving independently.
Think of it like separate conversations happening
at the same time that somehow resolve into a
single beautiful agreement. That requires immense
control. both technically and intellectually.
Exactly. It's the intellectual rigor of a scientist
applied to sound. You hear this sophistication
on albums like A Night at the Opera and A Day
at the Races. He's essentially composing a quartet
of guitars. You can hear it when he imitates
instruments like a Dixieland jazz band in Good
Company or even in the sophisticated vocal canon
in The Prophet Song. And this meticulousness
brings us directly to the source of his sound.
The homemade marvel, the Red Special. This is
such a critical moment for understanding the
unifying thread of May's life, that perfect blend
of engineering, physics, and artistry. The Red
Special wasn't born of wealth or convenience.
It was born of necessity and... Physics. Brian
and his father, Harold, built it together when
Brian was only 16. They didn't have the money
to buy a high -end guitar, so they approached
the problem like engineers. Exactly. What materials
do we have and how can we use them to maximize
vibration, tone, and sustain? And the materials
they used are just legendary for their bizarre
salvaged origins. The sources tell us the neck
was lacquered with Rustin's plastic coating.
just a common sealant. And the wood itself was
salvaged from a genuinely old piece of furniture
part of an 18th century fireplace mantelpiece,
chosen presumably for its density and age. It's
a literal collection of repurposed household
objects turned into a precision instrument. Think
about the tremolo system. The springs are motorbike
valve springs. They provide a very specific stiff
tension. And the tremolo arm itself was ingeniously
fashioned from an old bicycle saddlebag carrier.
And even the small details speak to this ingenuity.
The position markers, those dots on the neck.
Mother of pearl buttons. And the tremolo lock
knob was fashioned from the end of a knitting
needle. It's just an engineer maximizing utility
from limited, non -standard resources. And the
success of this design was absolute. The guitar
was so perfectly tuned to May's needs that he
never seriously played another instrument for
decades, aside from necessary backups. The sources
mention he'd originally planned to build a second
guitar, but those plans were just shelved. But
not lost. Those sheer technical details were
later used by a luthier, Andrew Guyton, around
2004 -2005 to build a second instrument called
the spade, due to its distinctive body shape.
It just demonstrates the enduring quality of
his original amateur engineering blueprints.
And his unique approach extends to the playing
technique itself. He famously rejects the flexible
plastic plectrum used by virtually every other
rock guitarist. Instead, he prefers the rigidity
and specific sharp edge of a... coin, specifically
a 1970 sixpence. He carries these particular
coins with him, noting that the metal edge allows
for superior control and a very particular, almost
scratchy or chimey attack on the strings that
contributes heavily to his signature tone. And
this emphasis on a pure physical tone connects
to another famous element of Queen's early work.
The bold statement on their album sleeves, no
synthesizers were used on this album. Right.
That was a deliberate statement against the prevailing
trend in rock at the time. They were asserting
that every sound from the orchestral swell and
procession to the chime effect in Bohemian Rhapsody.
It was achieved purely through acoustic manipulation,
maze -layered guitars, or the band's vocals.
Okay, let's delve into the amplification chain
that gives him that massive legendary sound.
I read that Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery,
after sharing a stage with May, said the sound
was so incredibly loud. He did. He compared the
volume coming from his back line to a jumbo jet
taking off. So how does he achieve that signature
sound with what is really minimal gear? It's
a remarkably simple, pure approach. It's defined
by the Vox AC30 amplifier. May uses them almost
exclusively, often running six of them simultaneously
on stage. And crucially, they are run at full
volume on the normal channel. not the slightly
cleaner or brighter top boost channel, that pushes
the tubes to their absolute limit. Right. And
running a vacuum tube amplifier at full volume
generates natural compression and this incredible
harmonic richness. But what gives him that specific
aggressive bite, that endless sustain? That would
be the treble booster. That is the treble booster.
This is a small, specialized preamp pedal that
hits the front end of the amp with a massive
signal boost, a clean boost that increases volume
and treble frequencies. He started with the Dallas
Rangemaster, then moved to a Pete Cornish TB83.
Which provided a massive 32 dB gain. And later
to Fryer's booster. That immense amplified signal
just slams the AC30's preamps, forcing them into
their characteristic overdrive. And we can't
forget the John Deacon connection here. Right,
the DC amp. This was a tiny transistorized amplifier
built by Deacon from scavenged components powered
by a 9 -volt battery. And May used this small
amp extensively in the studio, and still does,
to achieve specific overdriven harmonically complex
sounds at low volumes, especially on tracks that
required that intricate layering. This entire
chain combining his custom -built guitar with
simple, powerful amplification is what delivers
that rich singing tone. It's a beautifully simple,
almost scientifically controlled approach to
sound production. Now, moving to his influences,
who shaped this virtuoso style? Well, his earliest
foundational influences were the clean, sophisticated
guitar sounds of Cliff Richard and the Shadows,
particularly the lead guitarist Hank Marvin.
May described the Shadows music as the most metallic
thing out at the time. He later fulfilled a lifelong
ambition by performing with Marvin, and of course
he naturally cites the heavyweights, the Beatles,
Led Zeppelin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck,
Eric Clapton. He called The Who my inspiration
for their raw power. He gives specific, granular
credit to Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Mm -hmm,
saying he doesn't think anyone has epitomized
riff -writing better than Page. But here's the
most critical piece of influence data. The unexpected
hero. Who does May credit with giving him his
actual signature sound? Rory Gallagher. Ah, interesting.
May recalled seeing Gallagher's battered Stratocaster
and just being mesmerized by the sound. He stated
plainly, it was Rory that gave me my sound and
that's the sound I still have. Wow, that's powerful.
It shows that even for such a unique stylist,
the sound is often a reaction to a powerful early
inspiration. So we have the rock god. the virtuoso,
and the inventor. Now let's transition into the
life he deliberately put on hold for two decades,
the academic and scientific path. It's perhaps
the most compelling evidence of his consistent
intellectual dedication. This is where the story
truly becomes unique. He had the academic pedigree
early on, earning his B .Sc. in physics with
upper second class honors from Imperial College
London. He was, as we said, perfectly placed
for a career in pure science. And in 1970, concurrently
with the formation of Queen, he began his Ph
.D. research at Imperial, and his subject was
incredibly specific and demanding. A survey of
radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud.
To simplify that complex title for you, the listener,
he was studying reflected light from interplanetary
dust. Specifically, the light reflected by particles
orbiting the sun in the plane of the solar system.
And he was using Doppler spectroscopy to determine
their speed and direction, their radial velocity.
This requires intricate, highly specialized optical
and astronomical equipment. He worked at the
Tide Observatory in Tenerife for his initial
observations. And he was so diligent that even
before he abandoned the work in 1974 for Queen's
Ascent, he managed to co -author two peer -reviewed
research papers. on his initial findings. So
he was already publishing world -class research
as a young man. He was. But when Queen's success
went global, the choice was made. the rock star
won he abandoned his doctoral studies in 1974
and most people once they've achieved that level
of global fame and fortune they never look back
at the dusty painstaking world of academia yet
decades later the guitar hero returns to the
academic halls he re -registered for his doctorate
at imperial college in 2006 32 years after walking
away this return is a stunning testament to his
character he was able to submit his revised thesis
in august 2007. And the reason this miraculous
return was even possible is so telling. Very
little intervening research had occurred on the
specific topic of zodiacal dust in the subsequent
33 years. His foundational work was still relevant.
So he essentially just picked up where he left
off, completing a thesis some 37 years after
he started it, earning his Ph .D. in astrophysics
in 2007. He described the subject as one that
had been unfashionable, but which had become
in demand again in the 2000s due to new satellite
discoveries. Let's detail the rigor involved
here. To investigate radial velocity, he used
absorption and Doppler spectroscopy of zodiacal
light. This required the use of a Fabry -Perot
interferometer. Which is a highly technical optical
device used to measure the wavelength of light
with extreme precision. Okay, so for the non
-physicist listening, how does a Fabry -Perot
interferometer help determine the speed of dust
in space? It's all about precision filtering
and the Doppler effect. The interferometer consists
of two highly reflective parallel glass plates.
Light entering this device is partially reflected
many times, creating an interference pattern.
And the spacing of the fringes in that pattern
is incredibly sensitive to changes in the wavelength
of the light. Precisely. By measuring minute
shifts in the absorption lines, the spectral
fingerprints of the reflected sunlight from the
dust, they can determine if the dust particles
are moving toward us, which is a blue shift,
or away from us, a red shift. It's a method that
requires just meticulous calibration and observation.
That focus on optics, light manipulation, and
precision measurement, studying how light is
reflected and absorbed by specific materials,
it brings us right back to the Red Special. Doesn't
it just? He built the guitar using specific theories
of vibration and density. He finished the thesis
using specific theories of light and velocity.
It's the same intellectual machinery applied
to fundamentally different problems. Exactly.
And his scientific contributions did not stop
with the degree. He became a visiting researcher
at Imperial College and served as chancellor
of Liverpool John Moores University from 2008
to 2013. An appointment that really recognized
his deep contributions to astronomy. He also
embraced the role of science communicator, recognizing
that his platform could reach millions. He co
-authored popular science books with the legendary
Sir Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott, including
Bang, The Complete History of the Universe, and
The Cosmic Tourist. What's truly astonishing,
though, is his active role as a collaborator
with international space agencies. He was a recognized
science team collaborator on NASA's New Horizons
Pluto mission. In fact, he was present at the
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab for the fly
-by -watch party of the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth,
where he performed an updated version of his
own celebratory composition, New Horizons, which
he wrote for the mission. His contribution was
highly specialized and practical, too. He leveraged
his expertise in stereoscopic photography 3D
imaging to help create the first stereo anaglyph
of Arrokoth based on the images captured by the
spacecraft. He applied his lifelong passion to
cutting -edge planetary science. And his planetary
work continues in the 2020s. In 2023, he contributed
to NASA's OSIRIS -REx mission, helping with the
successful collection and delivery of samples
from the asteroid Bennu. He also received the
JAXA Hayabusa II Honor Award for producing stereoscopic
images of the asteroid Ryugu. And if we connect
this back to a crucial public service component,
he co -founded Asteroid Day in 2014. which is
a global awareness campaign designed to educate
the public about the risks posed by near -Earth
objects and the need for planetary defense strategies.
It is entirely fitting, then, that asteroid 52665
Brian May is named in his honor. He has literally
cemented his place in the cosmos he once studied
theoretically. So we have the rock star and the
scientist. Now we move to his third great passion.
activism, a field where he applies his platform,
his commitment, and his data -driven scientific
approach to highly controversial political debates.
May founded the animal welfare organization Save
Me in 2010. Named, fittingly, after his power
ballad. The central mission is retaining the
Hunting Act 2004, which banned fox hunting with
dogs and campaigning intensely against the culling
of badgers in the UK. The badger campaign is
where his scientific background and his platform
collide most forcefully. The government's justification
for badger culling is the perceived need to control
the spread of bovine tuberculosis, or BTB, to
cattle herds. And May has taken a very clear
and often confrontational stance on this policy.
He controversially stated that nobody has been
able to prove a mechanism for the transfer of
BTB from Badger to Cal. He's arguing that the
culling has no proven scientific benefit in reducing
BTB rates and is therefore cruel and unnecessary.
Now, this is a highly politically charged issue,
and we must adhere to impartial reporting. The
sources clearly detail May's argument. But for
you to understand the full debate, we need to
introduce the government's justification and
the farmers perspective. Absolutely. The arguments
for culling are often driven by economic and
emotional factors within the farming community.
The government's official position is that badgers
act as a reservoir for BTB. And farmers face
these devastating herd losses when BTB is detected,
often forcing them to cull their entire herd.
It results in significant financial ruin and
emotional stress. So the pro -culling argument
rests on the belief that removing this wildlife
reservoir is a necessary, albeit unfortunate,
tool to protect the national cattle herd and
the livelihoods tied to it. And the government
has consistently cited studies suggesting a link,
justifying the policy as an essential disease
control measure, even if May and his scientific
advisors dispute the strength of the data regarding
badger -to -cow transmission rates. So May's
response was to use his creative platform to
amplify the opposition. His efforts led to the
formation of the coalition Team Badger in 2013.
He teamed up with actor Brian Blessed and internet
personality John T. Weeble picking to record
a single. The truly bizarre but effective Save
the Badger, Badger, Badger, a mashup of Queen's
Flash and the viral Badger, Badger meme. And
it was a massive success. It charted at number
one on the iTunes rock chart and reached number
79 on the overall UK singles chart. It just demonstrates
his ability to leverage popular culture for a
serious political cause. And he maintained this
data -driven focus well into the 2020s, releasing
a documentary in 2024, Brian May. The badgers,
the farmers and me. Which chronicled a four year
investigation into the necessity and efficacy
of these badger culling policies. It is so evident
from the source material that his political loyalties
are strictly secondary to his animal welfare
conviction. Oh, completely. He was a lifelong
conservative party voter, but stated he did not
vote for them in 2010 due to their policies on
fox hunting and badgers. He was fiercely critical
of then Prime Minister David Cameron for attempting
to bring back a free vote. on amending the fox
hunting ban. He once referred to the pro -hunting
organization in a live interview using extremely
strong language. It just demonstrates the depth
of his personal fury over the issue. He also
demonstrated his nonpartisanship by endorsing
candidates from different sides of the spectrum,
a Green Party candidate, Caroline Lucas, and
a conservative candidate, Henry Smith, based
purely on their animal welfare records. This
really highlights that his commitment is not
to the party structure, but to the cause itself.
It's a scientific approach of focusing on the
outcome, not the ideology. He also hasn't shied
away from other major political shifts. In 2018,
he famously called Brexit the stupidest thing
we ever tried to do. Expressing the view that
the future lies in international cooperation
and noting that the political uncertainty caused
him daily distress. What's fascinating is his
own personal metric for success. He stated in
an interview that he would rather be remembered
for his animal welfare work than for his music
or scientific contributions. That is a profound
statement, considering the global scale of his
artistic and academic accomplishments. And that
devotion extends beyond specific legislation
to broad environmental action. He purchased 157
acres of land in Dorset. And with local support,
initiated a project to plant 100 ,000 trees to
create a thriving wildlife habitat called maize
wood, a lasting physical legacy of his environmental
commitment. Before we move on to his final key
passion, we should quickly note some recent personal
health milestones as they provide necessary context
for his continued fierce productivity. In 2020,
he suffered a small heart attack requiring stents,
which he described as bringing him very near
death. And more recently, in September 2024,
he suffered a minor stroke, which temporarily
cost him the use of his left arm. But crucially,
he confirmed after both events that he was still
able to play the guitar. The sources also note
his shift to veganism since participating in
the Veganuary Challenge in 2020. He has been
very outspoken about the environmental and public
health risks associated with intensive meat farming.
We've covered music, science, and activism. But
there's one final passion that ties his scientific
curiosity directly to his artistic and preservationist
impulse. Stereophotography. Or 3D imaging. This
is an incredibly niche and technical hobby that
began for him way back in 1973. He became a lifelong
collector and expert in Victorian -era stereophotography.
Stereoscopy, for the listener, is the process
of creating the illusion of depth in an image.
by presenting two slightly offset photographs
simultaneously to the left and right eyes, forcing
the brain to merge them into a single 3D image.
And the Victorians were obsessed with it. May's
work here is properly scholarly. He hasn't just
collected, he's cataloged and annotated. In 2009,
with Elena Vidal, he published A Village Lost
and Found. Focusing on the work of the Victorian
photographer T .R. Williams. Restoring and presenting
these rare 3D images. And then came the macabre
and fascinating subject of Diableries, Stereoscopic
Adventures in Hell in 2013, which he co -authored.
That book collected rare French stereoscopic
images from the 1860s and 70s, depicting these
satirical scenes of daily life in hell. Devils,
skeletons, and demons just going about their
business. And the technical contribution here
is key. He didn't just preserve the art, he engineered
a tool. to view it. He patented the OWL stereoscopic
viewer, which is now sold commercially. The OWL
viewer is designed to be easily accessible and
portable, and it's included with his published
works. The design itself is an elegant piece
of optical engineering, making the often cumbersome
process of viewing stereoscopic cards simple
and effective for a modern audience. It's the
ultimate convergence of his interests, isn't
it? The scientific mind engineers a functional
optical tool, the OWL viewer, to preserve and
present his creative life. Specifically, his
book, Queen in 3D, published in 2017. That book
chronicled the band's 50 -year history, using
over 300 of May's own personal stereoscopic photos,
capturing candid moments and stage scenes across
decades. It was the first book about the band
published by one of its members, and it required
his patented technology to be fully appreciated.
His dedication to this preservation and optical
technology earned him significant recognition,
including the Royal Photographic Society's Saxby
Medal in 2012 for achievement in three -dimensional
imaging. In an honorary fellowship from Royal
Holloway College, College in 2021 for preserving
Victorian stereoscopy. It's just clear that Meg
used life itself as a series of interlocking,
solvable problems, whether that problem is finding
the perfect sustained guitar tone, calculating
the velocity of space dust, designing a viewer,
or challenging a government policy on the basis
of data. So what really stands out now that we've
deeply surveyed the three pillars of Sir Brian
May's extraordinary life? For me, it's the unity
of effort across wildly disparate domains. He
brings the same painstaking technical rigor and
commitment to depth to every single pursuit.
The time and precision required to build the
red special from household scrap mirrors the
decades -long process of submitting and defending
a complex astrophysics thesis. Right down to
the specific optical instruments used. This illustrates
a key takeaway for you, the learner. Here is
a man who delayed a high -level scientific career
for music, achieved unparalleled success, and
then successfully returned to his deferred passion,
proving that intellectual potential doesn't just
expire. And then he uses the massive public platform
built by his musical success to drive serious
data -backed activism. His life fundamentally
illustrates that intellectual curiosity and deep
technical engagement are highly transferable
skills. That ability to focus technically, to
synthesize complex information, and to appreciate
structure, that translates whether you are designing
layered contrapuntal guitar harmonies, solving
problems in zodiacal dust radial velocity, or
engineering a consumer... friendly 3D viewer.
It's all rooted in systematic, rigorous problem
solving. So here's our final provocative thought
for you to chew on. So Brian May's journey demonstrates
that when you apply intellectual rigor and technical
dedication to one intensive area like building
a world -famous guitar from fireplace wood, it
creates a skill set that radically fuels high
-level creativity and achievement in completely
different fields decades later. If you have a
passion, a deep technical interest you put on
hold, his life is the ultimate proof that it
might just be waiting for the right time to become
your next major world -class achievement. A truly
astonishing individual who never compromised
the depth of his engagement in anything he pursued.
Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into
the extraordinary world of Sir Brian May. We'll
see you next time.