PRESS

Brian May - BSc, CBE, PhD?

08 Nov 2006

FELIX NEWSPAPER, Imperial College Student Newspaper ... Issue no 1,362
Fri 3 November 2006
(Reprinted with kind permission)

Colin Barras chats to the Queen legend about his new book, Jimi Hendrix jamming in the Great Hall and his return to Imperial to finish the most overdue thesis ever Brian May returns to the studio to work on new album? That's not especially newsworthy. But Brian May returns to Imperial to work on PhD? Now, there’s a scoop! Tape recorder in hand, I phoned Brian for a chat.

Long before Queen, Brian had developed a great passion for astronomy. He chats to me about zodiacal light, “a beautiful light you can see just after sunset if you’re lucky and you live in the tropics.” This, then, was the subject of his PhD. “Most people think it’s due to dust in the solar system that’s scattering the light. People were wondering where the dust came from and there was the inkling of the idea that it might be something to do with the way that the solar system was formed. It was an object of great interest at the time.” The time in question, the late 1960s; Brian, a recent graduate from the physics department, was deeply involved in postgraduate academic life at Imperial.

What was life like for an Imperial student in those halcyon days? “Well, a lot of hard work,” Brian admits. Some things never change. But this was the world of Swinging London, and Imperial saw its fair share of action. “It was a fantastic time to be around musically,” he recalls, “I was on the entertainments committee and we booked a lot of great groups: Spooky Tooth, for instance.” I maintain a polite silence. But a Wikipedia search later reveals this group to be noteworthy for its Cumbrian origins, greatly increasing the rock credentials of my home county. Back to the 1960s Imperial music scene, Brian is soon on more familiar ground. “Well, Jimi Hendrix… that was a great coup. He was playing in the Great Hall. We sold 1000 tickets!”

Brian’s own music career took off at around this time. One of his early groups, 1984, supported Jimi’s Imperial gig, “if you could call it supporting!” says Brian, bashfully. Later, an early ancestor of Queen was to have its first rehearsal in a room somewhere behind the Great Hall. “In those days it was called the Jazz Club Room. I rented it for a couple of days and that’s where Roger and I first played.” This being Queen drummer Roger Taylor, then a student at London Hospital Medical College. “So, Roger turned up and set up his drum kit and started tuning them and I was quite amazed. I’d never seen anyone tuning drums before,” recalls Brian, used to the hit-it-and-hope approach of most rock drummers. “He tuned them in the most amazing way so they all started to blend together. I was absolutely stunned.”

Brian and Roger, with their friend Tim Staffell, played under the name Smile. But within a short space of time the band line-up had changed to include Freddie Mercury on piano and vocals, and John Deacon on bass. Queen was born and Brian began to drift away from his astronomy research. I wonder if he ever considered quitting the band for academia? “I think I was slightly discouraged with academic life because my supervisor was raising so many issues about the thesis, saying ‘write a bit more, write a bit more’. I got to the point where I thought: I can’t do this any more!” This is probably a familiar story for many going through the PhD process. Brian decided to give up the research entirely, and soon Queen had released their first album. The rest, as Brian jokingly agrees with me, is rock and roll history.

But, while you can take the student out of academia, you can’t take academia out of the student. Brian continued to be fascinated with things astronomical and ultimately developed a close friendship with Patrick Moore, astronomer and populariser of science. Patrick is one of Brian’s co-authors on Bang! The Complete History of the Universe, published earlier this month. The book claims to be a readable account of astronomy. Is this a direct reference to the work of Stephen Hawking, famously an author whose books are bought but seldom read? “We have boundless respect for Stephen Hawking,” Brian says, “but I personally found A Brief History of Time a difficult book. A lot of people who are deep into their disciplines don’t realise how simple things have to be before a normal person can understand them.”

The science communicator’s job is a tough one, as Brian concedes, “there’s this fine line you walk. You don’t want to sacrifice major concepts but you don’t want to get deep into problems that people can’t follow.” He has in mind one area of understanding that remains baffling to the non-scientist. “I think very often it’s the maths that puts people off. I personally love maths, but a lot of people get an instant block when they see an integral sign.”

But Brian’s interest in science communication goes beyond this. “In many disciplines you’re wrestling with a problem in one small area and the problem could already have been solved in another area and you wouldn’t know about it.” To help the spread of scientific knowledge even within the science community, the authors of Bang! have set up a website, www.banguniverse.com. “I encourage everyone to visit. We’re hoping it will develop over the next few months as an organ of interaction.”

This newly re-kindled passion for astronomy has encouraged Brian to finish that PhD he began almost 40 years ago. Surely this is one of the longest-running PhDs ever? “I know! It’s going to be a record!” he jokes. “I’ve been in touch with Professor Rowan-Robinson, who’s the head of astrophysics, and he’s very kindly offered me a desk and computer.” Brian has already been down to “re-recce” Imperial. I ask him if much has changed. “The big surprise was trees in Beit Quad! There was nothing there when I was a student. You guys have done a good job making it into an area that can be used and enjoyed. And with tables where you can sit and have a beer!” He may be older and wiser, but Brian is beginning to think like a student again.

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