Brian May, lead guitarist for Queen and the author of the stadium anthem "We Will Rock You," was awarded his PhD this year in astrophysics from Imperial College London. Now his first book, "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe," written with astronomer Sir Patrick Moore and astrophysicist Chris Lintott, is being released in the U.S.
The book, inspired by physicist Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time," is a tour of the cosmos from a microsecond after the Big Bang to when the Earth is a baking husk 5 billion years from now. While preparing to launch the band's latest tour, May, 60, took a short break to explain how a hard-core rocker was snared by the music of the spheres.
Which came first, science or music?
It was pretty much hand in hand. The two worked concurrently from the beginning, from the first time I saw Sir Patrick Moore [who has for 50 years hosted "The Sky at Night," one of the longest-running television shows in history]. I used to plead with my parents to be allowed to stay up and see it. You talk to any astronomer in the UK and they'll say their first inspiration was Patrick Moore. This wonderful music would come on, and you'd have these glimpses of the cosmos. I was completely enthralled by the whole thing. I wanted to be a musician and astronomer at the same time.
When did you start playing music?
About 7 years old. I was taught the ukulele by my dad. I asked for a guitar for my seventh birthday. It was way too big for me, and I had no idea how to tune it.
When you went to college, your training was in science.
Yes, it's curious, really, because I was very committed to music by that time. I was always in local groups from the age of 15. At Imperial College, nestled in among geology and physics and cosmic rays, was the Royal College of Music. I used to walk past every day, but I never went in.
When was Queen formed?
We were all at college. I put a notice up for a drummer. I was already working with a singer, but Freddie [Mercury, who became lead singer of Queen] was a friend of his.
So how did you decide to return to college for your doctorate?
It was one of those strange times when synchronicity happens. I took my old thesis notes [on the velocities of dust particles in the solar system] out on tour with me, and I mentioned on my website that I was looking at my thesis again. Who should read the website but the head of the astronomy department at Imperial College, Michael Robinson. He wrote to me and said, "If you're serious about this, I will be your supervisor." That's something you can't say no to. That's when the tough part began. It's not a piece of cake to get a PhD.
