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The four-oscar-winning "Bohemian Rhapsody" is on fire in China, along with this world-class band that many people have heard of but don't know about, Queen.
There's already a lot of introduction to the legend of lead singer Freddie Mercury. So today I want to highlight another member of the band, guitarist Brian May.
Group photo of the members of Queen
Queen's unprecedented success is due to the fact that each member is a very creative and talented musician, and even if it is divorced from musical achievements, the band members are definitely recognized as "successful people".
The most prominent of these is guitarist Brian, who is not only recognized as a world-class guitarist, but also an excellent "guitarist". Even more incredibly, the rock god is also a PhD in astrophysics at Imperial College London.
Brian May on stage
Even if you're not a veteran fan of Queen, attentive viewers who have seen the bohemian Rhapsody movie can see Brian May's deep bond with his guitar. Meticulous debugging before the scenes, holding it at the end of the curtain to greet the audience, careful maintenance behind the scenes... He treated it like a real band member.
In fact, the electric guitar that accompanied Brian throughout his musical career had a big deal —it was made by Brian in collaboration with his father. At the age of 16, he was obsessed with music and wanted a guitar with excellent sound quality, but he couldn't afford the expensive cost of top guitars.
Fortunately, his father was an engineering cartographer at the British Ministry of Aviation. Instead of simply dismissing his son's idea of "not doing business", in order to cultivate his hands-on problem-solving ability, his father accompanied Brian to start a journey to find a unique electric guitar for himself.
Brian May with his father
They used a piece of unused wood from a fireplace in a friend's house to make the guitar body, and the wood on the fireplace slab was made into a neck. These more than 100 years of wood have just rightly become the raw materials for this legendary guitar and have been revived.
The appliqué-inlaid dots on the guitar's fingerboards are made of mother-of-pearl buttons taken from some of their old costumes. There was also a rocking stick on an electric guitar, from a pointer his mother used to make sewing and weaving.
Brian, 16, and his freshly baked electric guitar
Later, in order to pursue a unique sound effect, he made a high-pitched sound pressure soundboard. Combined with his AC30 amplifier, a unique high-frequency distortion effect is created.
Therefore, the electric guitar that he has used all his life is definitely not an ordinary commodity with only commemorative significance, this is a "handmade miracle" that makes countless guitar lovers envious and completely unrepeatable. Brian May and his family's hardcore seriousness about anything is evident from an early age.
A piano that was still in service from the ages of 16 to 72
Speaking of Brian's strength, it is necessary to mention, of course, his doctoral status. In fact, as early as the time Queen was first established, he was already a PhD student at Imperial College London.
Imperial College may not be known to many people, but it is definitely one of the top colleges in the UK. In the early years, it was a college of the University of London, and later because the University of London opened more and more majors, the level of enrollment and teaching declined slightly, and Imperial College felt that it would lower its status with the University of London, and it became independent.
Imperial College London
And it was Brian, who was doing academic research in such a top college, playing music in his spare time. Unfortunately, before his Doctoral Studies were complete, queens suddenly became famous.
Faced with the task of composing, releasing albums, and even touring abroad, he can no longer just go to a nearby bar on weekends as usual. Brian, in his 20s, was faced with the choice between a band and a PhD.
Young and vigorous, he resolutely chose to interrupt his doctoral studies and began a musical life journey with his teammates. After all, the degree can be studied on its own, and the opportunity to become a world-renowned band with your teammates is difficult to obtain if you miss it.
Brian May with band lead singer Freddie Mercury
However, in fact, many people think so, but after success, it is rare to go back and dive into academic research. In fact, this mentality is also very easy to understand, just like if the work is smooth, how many people who have previously claimed to be going to graduate school can go back to concentrate on preparing for the exam?
Celebrities who "mix" a degree with their social influence after becoming famous have a lot of people, but Brian is not such a person. The spirit of rock and roll, the most hated is actually "fake". As a result, his Ph.D. studies were discontinued for 33 years as soon as he gave up.
It wasn't until 1991 that lead singer Freddie died of illness; in 1997, the band's bassist John Deacon announced his retirement, and the band began a period of hollow break. With time, he returned to Imperial College to pursue his degree.
Brian May, who studied astrophysics
At the age of 59, Brian returned to his alma mater to check the progress of the scientific community on his subject over the past 33 years, the research methods of discussing the topic with many professors, and the important astronomical observations on the island... He was doing his own astronomy research.
In the end, he successfully won a doctorate from Imperial College with a paper entitled "Mirror Speed of Ecliptic Dust Clouds". After that, he also used his popularity to carry out a large number of popular science activities.
As a legend who is "the most educated of the guitar players and the best guitar player among the highly educated people", Brian May's life can be said to be extremely successful.
Brian May with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
It is worth mentioning that in fact, several other members of the Queen band also have very strong academic backgrounds. Freddie graduated from Ealing College of Art with a degree in graphic design, and queen's name, logo and philosophy are all written by him.
Bassist John Kendy is an electronics engineer graduated from Chelsea College in London with a Master's degree in Acoustic Vibration. The band's amplifiers, recordings, and live performances are all handled by him, and he is more professional than many sound engineers and does not know where to go.
Drummer Roger Taylor graduated from London Medical School with a degree in dentistry, thought dentists were too boring, and turned around and won a bachelor's degree in biology from the North London Institute of Technology.
Four school-based singers with more than a billion followers around the world
Therefore, the science and engineering man can also be very personal, can be very rock, can be very romantic.
A powerful person, focusing on one thing becomes one thing; focusing on another thing can often become another thing. A lot of times don't say "this is not for me", we just don't focus enough and don't work hard enough.
Source:
Queen guitarist Brian May talks about building The Red Special guitar
Brian May & Queen
Liang Wendao: Queen has proved to us that polytechnic men, like Rock all over the world
He worked two jobs, one as a Guitarist for Queen and the other as a NASA Astronomer