Three well-known performers Brian May witnessed live before Queen…
Brian May was a 23-year-old who helped start Queen, a band that would go on to become one of the biggest in the world during the 1970s and 1980s. He was able to produce amazing guitar solos, riffs, and melodies with Freddie Mercury, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor that were an essential component of the band’s sound. With an estimated 300 million records sold globally, they continue to rank among the best-selling bands of all time.
But even before Queen was a thing, Brian May was a budding musician who had the opportunity to attend a number of renowned performers’ live performances in the UK. Three well-known artists that Brian May saw in the past are featured in Rock and Roll Garage along with his account of their performances.
The career of the renowned American guitarist Jimi Hendrix was cruelly cut short when he passed away in 1970 at the age of 27. Though Hendrix’s career with his own band lasted only three years before his death, Brian May had the good fortune to see him perform live a few times.
Strangely, Brian May saw Hendrix perform live once—when he invited the musician to speak at his university. The Queen member served on the Imperial College in West London’s Entertainments Committee. He arranged for Hendrix to perform there in May 1967. Other bands that night included Steamhammer, Spooky Tooth, and America; May said it was like a “ball.”
