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Popularity Not Enough Data Brian May
Biography [show full bio] Brian May, guitarist / singer, is a member of the legendary classic rock band Queen, formed in 1971. Before Queen was formed, Brian played in a few high school bands like 1984 and Smile. In Smile, alongside 1984 singer Tim Staffell, he met drummer Roger Taylor. Staffell left Smile and introduced Brian and Roger to the extravagant singer/pianist Freddie Mercury (born Farokh Bulsara). Mercury changed the name of the band into Queen and in 1971 the new outfit wa...>>
Brian May, guitarist / singer, is a member of the legendary classic rock band Queen, formed in 1971. Before Queen was formed, Brian played in a few high school bands like 1984 and Smile. In Smile, alongside 1984 singer Tim Staffell, he met drummer Roger Taylor. Staffell left Smile and introduced Brian and Roger to the extravagant singer/pianist Freddie Mercury (born Farokh Bulsara). Mercury changed the name of the band into Queen and in 1971 the new outfit was completed by the arrival of bassist John Deacon. Queen became a successful rock force and sold over 200 million records.
Brian May's first step to a solo career took place in 1983, after he had done a lot of session and production work in the 70's and early 80's. In 1983, Brian released his album Starfleet Project, on which he was assisted by guitar virtuoso Edward Van Halen, bassist Phil Chen, keyboards player Fred Mandel and REO Speedwagon-drummer Alan Gratzer. The album had some success in the UK, reaching the album top 40 there. It was also slightly successful in the USA. In 1987 May joined his wife Anita Dobson on her album Talking of Love, and in 1988 he produced an album for comedy heavy-metal band Bad News. In 1990, May wrote an entire score for the theatre adaption of William Shakespeare's "MacBeth". In 1991, Brian released a solo single called "Driven By You", which had Top 10 success in the UK and Holland. In the same year, Queen's singer Freddie Mercury passed away (death cause: AIDS). In 1992, the three remaining members of Queen teamed up with many pop and rock stars like Axl Rose, Robert Plant and David Bowie, to pay tribute to Freddie at the The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. Brian released a solo album in 1992, called Back to the Light, which was very successful. It reached gold status in the UK, and it even became a Top 5 album in Holland. Brian's single "Too Much Love Will Kill You", dedicated to Freddie Mercury, reached number 1 in Holland. Two other singles ("Back To The Light" and "Resurrection") also became Top 40 hits in Europe. Brian's "Back To The Light" tour was a huge success, and in 1994 the live album Live at the Brixton Academy was released, another Top 20 hit album. Cozy Powell, former drummer of bands like Whitesnake, Black Sabbath and Rainbow, became Brian's drummer, Neil Murray (from Whitesnake) became Brian's bassist and Spike Edney played the keyboards. However, the international success of his solo work did not take away Brian's interest in Queen. In 1995, he worked with Roger Taylor and John Deacon on the final Queen album Made In Heaven. In 1996, May did a few songs for the soundtrack album of the animated film The Adventures Of Pinocchio. In 1998, his long awaited new studio album, Another World, was released. He was joined by some guest artists, such as Jeff Beck, Taylor Hawkins and Ian Hunter. Unfortunately, drummer Cozy Powell was killed in a tragic car accident in the same year. Another World was quite successful in the UK (reaching Top 25), and a tour (with Eric Singer from KISS on drums) followed. One of the tour highlights was the set at VH1, performing a country version of the Queen classic "Tie Your Mother Down". In 2000, Brian seemed very interested in films. He created an entire soundtrack for the French film Furia, and he did the track "Have A Cigar" with the Foo Fighters for the blockbuster Tom Cruise movie "Mission: Impossible 2". In 2002, Brian May and Roger Taylor (John Deacon already retired) played a concert in Amsterdam (the first Queen concert since The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert from 1992), promoting the Queen musical ... - which is doing very well all over the world. Brian and Roger played at several occasions, such as Party At The Palace (2002), Pavarotti & Friends (2003) and the 46664 concert (2003), for which they wrote new Queen songs. In 2005, Queen reformed to embark on a highly successful world tour with Paul Rodgers (Free / Bad Company) on vocals, resulting in the live album Return of the Champions. discography
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