Quotes by Brian May

• There are a lot of things in Queen albums that you don't expect; that's why we threw them in.
• I really thought I was pretty good before I saw Hendrix, and then I thought: Yeah, not so good.
• I spent 20 years of my life building up Queen, and now I'm spending years of my life trying to get away from it.
• I was actually perfectly happy when I had no money, which lasted right up until we had a hit with Killer Queen, in 1974. I never wanted for anything.
• I'm pretty basic as far as technique is concerned. I don't use many gadgets, and I like the sound my guitar makes, anyway.
• Sanctions always hurt the poor, the weak, the children.
• The first nine albums there was never a Synthesiser, never any Orchestra. There was never any other player except us on the albums.
• The guitar has a kind of grit and excitement possessed by nothing else.
• The Wedding March has a bit of a death march in it.
• There are times when I flick through magazines and think I'm in danger of becoming a prisoner of my own hair.
• There is no way that you can ever really repeat something. I have this great belief that the magic of the moment can never be recaptured.
• There's nothing I'm embarrassed about.
• We do play to our audience. It's very important. You can't create music in a vacuum.
• I never took sheet music seriously. I could do better myself just by listening to other people and using my own intuition.
• Mantovani was a great influence on me.
• The guitar was my weapon, my shield to hide behind.
• Each gig should be unique. You're always treading that line between keeping yourself fresh and giving people something they want to hear.
• The biggest emotion in creation is the bridge to optimism.
• I like to go for a walk or swimming or in the garden when I can. It's a busy kind of life, but I guess I'm lucky.
• At the moment the Queen stuff does sell really well, but there's no guarantee it'll go on forever.
• Einstein got most of the things right about black holes. I'm not an expert, I must admit.
• Every time I listen to Jeff Beck my whole view of guitar changes radically. He's way, way out, doing things you never expect.
• Everybody thought I was a bit of an eccentric for wanting to be out there looking at the stars, but I still do.
• For a time I didn't want to answer any questions about Queen. I'd like to be viewed as something alive and relevant, not some fossil.
• From the beginning of Queen there was such momentum that I never had any time to do anything else. My energy was 95% focused on the band.
• I just want to be able to play as fast as my brain goes, and my brain doesn't go all that fast.
• I don't surf the net in general. I have someone do it for me instead, because I find it sluggish.
• A good video can make all the difference.
• I don't think anybody comes close to The Beatles, including Oasis.
• I had this big thing about guitar harmonies. I wanted to be the first to put proper three-part harmonies onto a record. That was an achievement.
• I go through major crises every few months, but then I have great peaks of belief and creativity. I'm a weird kind of animal.
• Astronomy's much more fun when you're not an astronomer.
• I despise the Lottery. There's less chance of you becoming a millionaire than there is of getting hit on the head by a passing asteroid.