Today we celebrate musician (and astrophysicist!) Brian May, famous for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Queen. May played with drummer Roger Taylor in a band called Smile in the late 1960s, before joining forces with Freddie Mercury in 1970. With the addition of bassist John Deacon the following year, Queen was born.
During that time, May was studying astrophysics and pursuing a PhD at Imperial College. Queen released their debut album in 1973, and in 1974, May had to choose between his academic goals and his artistic dreams; it is clear what he chose, but he would later return to his studies in 2006.
With Queen, May contributed to some of the most influential moments and creations in the history of rock music. He wrote hits like “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “The Show Must Go On”. One of his biggest hits for the band was the simple and highly effective stadium anthem “We Will Rock You”. This clip finds the band performing the song in Montreal in 1981.
