PRESS

Brian May - BBC Radio 4 Interview

19 Oct 2006

Brian was recently interviewed for BBC Radio 4 and discussed BANG! The Complete History of the Universe. You can listen to the interview via the BBC website [for up to 7 days]:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/

Scroll down the page to find the slot for 08:20 and you can click the audio link from there. You will require REAL PLAYER.

Alternatively you can listen to an MP3 recording via this link:

Brian May Radio4 Interview [4Mb MP3 file]

Here is a text transcription of the interview:

Brian May, the guitarist with Queen and the man who played from the roof of Buckingham Palace to open the concert for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, is launching one of his biggest challenges yet. He's written a book with the astronomers, Sir Patrick Moore, and Chris Lintott about the history of the universe. It's published on Monday. Our Arts Correspondent, Rebecca Jones, has been finding out why.

<Flash Gordon plays>

REBECCA JONES: He may have rocked round the globe with Queen, but Brian May's first love was always astronomy.

BRIAN MAY: I got my first Degree, Honours Degree in Physics at Imperial College, London, which I'm very proud of, Upper 2nd Class Honours, and then decided to stay at Imperial for the next 4 years to do astronomy research into zodiacal dust. I did the first 3 years - ran out of money - and so I taught for a year in a Comprehensive School, but at the same time I was always playing guitar, and I was always in groups, and at that point Queen started to look like it had a future. And the point came when I was teaching, writing up PhD and I was rehearsing the band and something had to give 'cause I just wasn't getting any sleep. So the thesis I just had to say goodbye to. I had to make the jump to going for the music because I just felt that that door wouldn't be open for very long, and I think that was right.

<Don't Stop Me Now plays>

RJ: The universe may gave inspired plenty of the band's music, but the rock 'n' roll lifestyle wasn't always compatible with a passion for outer space.

BM: You can't do astronomy on tour really. You can't look out of your bedroom window 'cause you're in big cities and you can't do astronomy in big cities because there's so much light pollution. You almost never get a really dark sky.

RJ: So when a couple of years ago his friend, Patrick Moore, suggested they write a book on astronomy, Brian May jumped at the chance. But the man who's played in front of thousands, was nervous.

BM: I really thought that I wasn't worthy. I really found that I needed to get back in the river - jump back in - and it's been fantastic for me. I've really enjoyed it. It's been so stimulating, I've felt compelled to get back into my PhD, which I'm working on, to the detriment of my music at the moment, but some things just have to be done.

<Bohemian Rhapsody plays>

BM: It's for everybody. It's a populist book. It's called "Bang". No, it's called (shouts) "BANG!" !!!!! (laughs) 'cause it has an exclamation mark after it, and subtitle is "The Complete History of the Universe". So it's not a modest undertaking (chuckles) but we hope that it really will inspire people.

<The Dark plays>

RJ: The book firmly fixes the date of The Big Bang at 13.7 billion years and then traces the evolution of stars, galaxies and planets, before looking at how the universe will ultimately end. It's been a labour of love for Brian May, which he says, more than matches many of his achievement in music. It's not always easy though, leaving the day job behind?

BM: I went to the observatory in Tenerife, and I walked into this place where a lot of English astronomers were working, and I went in there sort of meek and mild thinking 'Oh my God, they're gonna think that I'm, you know, a pop star trying to be an astronomer, but they all said 'My God, it's great to see ya'', and they all got their guitars out and asked me to sign them!!

RJ: Perhaps an interest in the stars will always be eclipsed by being one yourself.

<Bohemian Rhapsody plays out>

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