Sir Brian May: ‘I’m a worker and creator, not a celebrity’

‘I have many facets. I’ve fought not to be put in a box,’ Sir Brian May tells Metro ahead of his latest venture (Picture: Paul Harmer) ‘Last night I was up until 4am working on stereoscopes,’ Sir Brian May laughs. The Queen guitarist, 79, is the epitome of a jack of all trades; one of the greatest musicians of all time, an astrophysicist, animal welfare activist. The list really does go on and on. In true Brian fashion, he’s now added another string to his bow 63 years after the creation of his ‘baby’, the iconic Red Special electric guitar. In 1963 Brian famously built his own instrument at home with his father, Harold May, using household scrap materials. The guitar went on to become one of the most recognisable in rock history and an enduring symbol of his creativity. Now, decades later, he’s brought that same spirit of invention to his own gin using ingredients, like exotic calamondin, found at home in his greenhouse to create The Red Special Gin with Portobello Road Distillery. ‘I love creative projects, things that are homespun, humanly made, not big mass productions. Something where there’s real thought, creativity and regionality,’ he tells Metro. The legendary guitarist and co-founder of Queen has teamed up with one of the UK’s leading British distilleries (Picture: Denis Pellerin) Brian has built a multi-faceted legacy as a rock musician, astrophysicist, and animal welfare campaigner (Picture: Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock) ‘It’s been like working on an album. An album is very much about content, but the way it’s packaged is crucial. And to me, this is like my album cover.’ For Brian, this isn’t a conventional celebrity product endorsed by a rockstar, as he tells us: ‘I’m not a person who likes to just put my name on something. And that’s always been the case. I’m a worker and creator, not a celebrity. ‘I have many facets. And during my life that’s something that I’ve fought for, not to be put in a box, to have the ability to work in different areas, to combine art with science. It’s always been important to me.’ Brian is all about collaborating; fresh from working with Star Trek icon William Shatner, 95, on his new metal music project, he laughs: ‘At the moment I’m planning to put out an album with all of them. The problem is what to leave out because we have a list of about 120!’ Something else Brian is passionate about is advocating against the use of AI, previously calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to block data centres being built in the UK. ‘I think it’s very frightening and we need to control it. We’re at a very, very dangerous point. I’m in admiration of technology, but I do think there’s a danger we’re going to destroy ourselves in the process one way or another,’ he tells us. Brian recalls recently axing a demo of his music video for My Angels Are Calling after AI was used in the process. ‘I think it’s very frightening and we need to control it,’ Brian remarks about AI (Picture: Getty) Brian says plans for a Queen hologram show are up in the air (Picture: PA/PA Wire) ‘I was given a demo and suddenly there are these lovely angels bursting out of clouds and I thought, “Wow, this is great. How did you do this? It wasn’t AI, was it?” And they went, “Well, yeah, it is…” ‘I’m not comfortable with that. I don’t want to be stealing people’s work.’ He adds: ‘If AI goes off and replaces human beings, I think we’re all in very dangerous territory and we’ve seen that it can make a terrible fool of itself. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it could be used to stop war, for instance? I’m not clever enough to make that happen, but I would like to see that.’ He adds that any plans for a Queen version of an ABBA Voyage hologram show are up in the air, explaining: ‘We did make some plans, and it could still happen. ‘I had a vision in my head of what we could do as a Queen show. It’s stalled at the moment, partly because of the AI thing. I want to make sure that if we embark on such a project, we’re not taking advantage of existing artists.’ It’s also a poignant year for Queen, with November marking 35 years since the death of Brian’s bandmate and dear friend Freddie Mercury. From homemade guitar to signature gin The bottle and the iconic sixpence:A sixpence set into the lid reflects Brian’s signature guitar pick, with the coin becoming a symbol of his musical legacy. The bottles are numbered:Every bottle is sequentially numbered, making each one a unique piece of the collaboration. Brian has 000001, safely tucked away in his cabinet and Portobello Road Distillery will keep 000002. The Ginstitute:Portobello Road Distillery visitors can become creators themselves, crafting and distilling their own bespoke concoction from scratch. PORTOBELLO ROAD X RED SPECIAL GIN is available for preorder from Portobello Road Distillery online. Drink responsibly. ‘I acknowledge Freddie all the time,’ Brian says (Picture: REX/Shutterstock) ‘I don’t celebrate the anniversary of his death. It’s a day to avoid because it brings up pain. The day he died was one of the most terrible days of our lives,’ he says. ‘I acknowledge Freddie all the time and he’s in my life very strongly. I know Roger [Taylor] feels the same. There isn’t anything that we do where we don’t refer to him in some way; the times we had together, the values and adventures that we shared.’ Arrow MORE: This is how much the average Londoner spends at the weekend Arrow MORE: Strictly winner shares gruelling training regime: ‘It took me 6 months to recover’ Arrow MORE: Sienna Miller and Dominic West: ‘We go back 20 years – it helped stick the knife in’ Switched On Get plugged into the week’s must-watch shows, unmissable moments, and expert reviews with Metro TV Editor Sabrina Barr.