Brian May

There are two people with the name Brian May:

1. The guitarist from legendary rock band; Queen.

2. An Australian film composer - best known for his scores for Mad Max and Mad Max 2.

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Born on 19th July 1947 in Feltham, to parents Harold and Ruth May, the first Brian May is probably best known as the guitarist for British rock band Queen. Within the band he introduced unique triple layered guitar harmonies, created on his home made guitar "Red Special", which has become his trademark over the years. He also made his mark during the Queen's jubilee by playing God Save The Queen on top of Buckingham Palace to begin the concert.

Despite having huge success as a member of Queen, Brian May also has a string of solo albums including "Back To The Light" and "Another World". He has also written soundtrack material such as "Furia". Brian also collaborates with artists like Paul Rodgers, Ian Hunter, Eddie Van Halen, and many more.

As well as being a talented musician (he can play guitar, bass, ukulele, piano, keyboards, and many other instruments, as well as having the ability to sing), Brian is also a recognised astronomer. He has been made a Doctor in the field of Physics, and has recently been awarded a Doctorate in Astronomy, after finishing his thesis; started in the early 1970s before Queen gained recognition. In 2006 he collaborated with Sir Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott to release "Bang! The Complete History Of The Universe". It has since been released in a number of languages.

In recent years Brian has toured within Queen & Paul Rodgers with fellow Queen member Roger Taylor. The collaboration has seen the release of one live album, "Return of the Champions" and one studio album "Cosmos Rocks". The band is currently touring Europe.

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The second Brian May was born in Adelaide on July 28 1934. He died in Melbourne on April 25 1997 at the age of 62.

He trained at the Adelaide Elder Conservatorium as a pianist, violinist and conductor. He joined the ABC Adelaide in 1957 and was asked to form and conduct the ABC Adelaide Big Band, a full-blown ensemble that was rated as the best of the ABC state-based bands.
He moved to Melbourne when he was 35 to arrange and conduct the ABC’s Melbourne Show band. The Show Band made its radio debut on the First Network on 13 March 1969.

Background music for Australian television had previously been taken from records. Brian May changed this by writing and arranging the themes for television programmes, including Bellbird, Return to Eden, The Last Frontier, A Dangerous Life and Darling of the Gods. A personal breakthrough was the drama series Rush, set on the 19th-century Victorian goldfields. The theme was composed by Australian George Dreyfus, but May’s arrangement of the theme was recorded by the Show Band and quickly reached the top of the Australian charts, selling more than 100,000 copies. This type of success was usually reserved for pop groups such as Sherbert and Skyhooks.

He left the ABC in 1984 and his interests turned to film music. He composed more than 30 feature film scores, including Gallipoli, the Mad Max series, Tales from the Crypt, Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy’s Dead, The Final Nightmare and Dr Giggles. Brian May preferred to orchestrate his scores himself.

Mad Max won the Australian Film Award for Best Original Score. As well as this, May won many other awards, including the Golden Award from the Australian Performing Rights Association. He loved writing music and spent many years in America working on film scores. He was regarded as the finest of Australia’s screen composers.