Things You Didn't Know About...Brian May

You could essentially Google this man and get 1,000+ search results for him. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, here are some things you may or may not know about Queen's guitarist, Brian May.

10
Some think he bears a resemblance to an alleged cousin of Conway Twitty
-T.E. Conway, an "alleged" cousin of country music star Conway Twitty, is said to look like Brian May.

9
He assisted Black Sabbath
-For those who may or may not know, Tony Iommi, guitarist for legendary British doom metallers Black Sabbath, is one of Brian May's best friends. May assisted the band on the 1989 album Headless Cross, specifically the track "When Death Calls". He played the guitar solo on this track

8
He teamed up with Soundgarden
-Brian played guitar on the Soundgarden track "New Damage". He would, once again, work with Soundgarden on the track "Someone to Die For", which made an appearance on the soundtrack for Spider-Man 2.

7
He works with other musicians frequently
-He worked on a new version of "Have a Cigar" by Pink Floyd. Only this new version of the song was a cover song by The Foo Fighters for the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack

6
His most irritating question revolves around Freddie Mercury
-He has been asked the question "What was it like to work with Freddie Mercury?" so many times it nearly gives him migraines. He has every ounce of respect for his former bandmate. He just feels that "Queen has cast a long shadow", according to a recent interview

5
He has a PhD in astrophysics
-Originally, gazing at the stars is what held young Brian May's attention before the music bug ever bit him. He attended Imperial College in London to obtain a degree in astronomy. He had dropped all interest in that to become a musician. Three decades later, in 2007, he returned to complete and receive his doctorate in astrophysics

4

His famed "Red Special" was built by hand

-Because he was not affluent and could not afford the Fender Stratocasters Gibson Les Pauls he wanted as a teen, he and his father hand built a guitar from scratch. It was made of mahogany wood, thus the reddish color and thus being dubbed the "Red Special". This guitar is very near and dear to him as it has become the trademark instrument he has played many a Queen song and more on

3
He had a side band called Star Fleet
-This side project featured Eddie Van Halen, Alan Gratzer of REO Speedwagon and Roger Taylor of Queen. The group had written a track called "Let Me Out". This was inspired by Brian's son Jimmy, who was a fan of a series called Star Fleet.

2

He is the proud owner of a CBE

-2005 saw Brian May receiving a high honor-Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This high honor is bestowed upon anyone who makes a valuable contribution to any field. In Brian May's case, he was thanked for his "services to the music industry".

1
3-D captures his attention
-When he was growing up, cereal boxes were often the place to find stereo cards. These are most likely similar to prizes found in other cereal boxes, like toys and games. Brian has been collecting them since he was a child. 40 years ago, he joined the Stereoscopic Society, dedicated to all things three dimensional and after Queen concerts would visit these shops in search of new and unusual items.