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Brian Interviews
Brian May on GMTV
Now he's
come a long way since he got his first guitar at the age of 7. Brian May has
gone on to become one of the most successful song writers of his generation and
as part of rock group, Queen, has had more hits than you can shake a stick at.
He has a new solo album out on Monday and our own show business queen, Helen
Morton, popped round to his home:
Cuts to film.. Birds singing. Helen gets out of a car on the
driveway. Car door slams.
Helen: (walking up path towards front door) Well I'm
just a few miles away from London but it feels like I'm in the middle of the
countryside. This
is home to Brian May, the Queen guitarist, and Anita Dobson, and Brian's
invited us here today to take a look at where he's based - to look at his home
- and also to chat about his new, third solo album. So lets go inside.
(Pushes front door)
Cuts back to
the garden (birdsong) - Helen and Brian are out on a lawn. Brian wears a short
black leather jacket, over a black vest.
Helen: Well here
we are in your garden
Brian:
Yes
Helen: It's
beautiful out here isn't it.
Brian: Yeah,
this is my escape from the world.
Helen: When
you're not working on the album, what do you do to switch off? Or do you switch
off?
Brian:
Um
Helen: Do you
switch off, that's the question, isn't it?
Brian: I find
it - to be truthful - I find it very hard to switch off. I'm the kind of person
who has things going round here (points to head) the whole day and the whole
night, you know. So I'll go to bed with a tune in the head and it'll still be
there in the morning - and sometimes it's, it’s a kind of, um, its almost like
a kind of illness, you know. It becomes so intense that it’s very
uncomfortable, you know, it might be just a couple of bars that are going round
in your head and it drives you nuts.
Switches to
living room. Brian seated playing a few bars of a tune on a 'brown' guitar (not
Special or copy).
Switches to
Hallway, Brian seated at grand piano. Helen seated opposite (as she is dressed
in a black leather coat and black leather trousers you hear this creaking when
she moves.
Helen: Now
we've just had a wander round your garden and, where are we now - what's this
little . . .house?
Brian: This is
kind of the middle, this is the hallway, yeah, its very, um, very romantic.
(laughs).
Helen: Hmm. Do
you spend a lot of time here? Do you play the piano a lot here?
Brian: Err,
yes. This is our touring piano, actually, this is Freddie's piano. Err . .
Helen: Is it
really?
Brian: Which
is a goodun'.
Helen: It's
beautiful, isn't it?
Brian: And its
been all round the world a few times.
Helen: What
sort of influence has, sort of, Freddie left now had on you?.
Brian: Um -
Freddie's very much in mind the whole time. Um - I don't know how to put it
into words - he's just kind of there. Um, big part of our lives for such a long
time and I think that there are always points when I kind of want to show it to
Fred like, you know, you know like you do to your parents or something, you
know like say "Look, look what I done, you know and . . "
Cuts to Show
Must Go On Video
Helen: Now
you've just got your third solo album coming out. Tell us a bit about it and
the inspiration behind this one. (Leathers creak)
Brian: What
was the question? (Both laugh)
Helen: The inspiration
behind it?
Brian: The
inspiration is, I suppose, life really, um - I'm always struggling to sort of
make sense of life, I mean my life and people around me, and the way I see it,
and that's basically what I write about.
Helen: Well I
think what we'll do is, we'll move up to your studio and have
Brian:
Umm
Helen: A peek
at where, where all this album happened
Brian: Yeah,
okay.
Helen: Which
is just upstairs, isn't it?
Brian: It's up
there.
Helen: Okay,
(Brian laughs) lets uh, lets head off there.
Both set off
up beautiful staircase. Audio plays:
In another
world
Under another
sky
Helen: This is
your studio? Ah, so show us what you do then? This is amazing.
Brian: Well,
(pointing to a STUDIO 900 keyboard) this is a great writing tool, which a lot
of people use these days. You can use this to do piano if I want, you know, you
can make a piano sound or strings or something, but it can also do like the
drum track if you want it to. (Hits keys and makes drum noises) - all this
stuff in here. And you can programme it on here. (Points to laptop computer) I
can, um, (starts loud click noise going) this is a click I can work to.
Helen: Oh
wow.
Brian: So if
there's just an idea you can just go (Hits Studio 900 keys to make drum noises
in time with click) and then this thing (pointing to very large mixing desk -
possibly two have been joined together) is all about bringing it back up and
mixing it together (music of Another World starts) this is the final mixing.
Film switches
to Brian walking up garden path towards camera (says something but not on
audio)
You can
believe I'll meet you here
In Another
World
Yea
yea-h.
Penny : Wonder
if he wants to flog that house?
John
Stapleton: Nice garden, lovely garden, if that was his.
Penny: It'd
have to go cheap, though. (Both laugh)
John: Yes,
absolutely. Right
VH-1 Brian May Special
Brian: to band: "So is everybody kinda ready?
Well today we have this kind of semi acoustic set, I think, you know. No one's
gonna unplug me completely 'cos I don't wanna be unplugged, you know. Part of
what I do is, is the electric thing, you know, and the electric guitar is so
different from an acoustic guitar. I can do so much more, um, but it's, I think
we we'll call it the NCP set, it's not Cozy Powell, you know and we didn't want
to replace him at this point. It just didn't feel right, you know, so we have a
young man who's playing percussion for us and we've, we've sort of explored
different, different ways of doing all these songs. There's a couple of oldies
and a couple newies and um, we shall see."
Guitar intro then:
ON MY WAY UP (country beat) (Brian semi-acoustic guitar)
Brian: "Neil's come back to playing and Jamie and Spike, of course,
who goes way way back to Queen days and I have 2 wonderful young ladies who
have joined us for the first time - Suzie and Zoe - and so we've been working
things out with them, cos I love the harmony side of it, you know, that's a big
part to me of performing. I love to hear all those blends and things going on.
It's been very good. It's been much more fun than I thought. I was a bit in
trepidation actually, you know, and I thought, oh God, to do anything without
Cozy, just felt, I just felt very insecure about it. But we've had a lot of fun
doing this stuff and I think it's very significantly different. In some ways it
gives you a chance to revisit the original meaning of the songs, you know, you
start to think about it again, but if you do it in a different way then you
begin to listen to the lyrics again maybe, and that can be nice - um, and it's
very nice for me to work with Jamie particularly because he gives me things
that I'm not expecting. Now, he'll play little, you know he's a player, he
plays all his life, that's all he does, whereas I tend be like a stonemason a
lot of my life, you know, I'm in the studio chipping away, whereas Jamie is
always out there doing it. So he'll throw things at me that I'm not expecting,
little riffs and asides and things, and that's great. It loosens the whole
thing up and makes me feel like I can give it something different."
DRIVEN BY YOU (Piano/guitar intro) (Brian plays semi-acoustic)
Brian: "I think the hardest thing to do really, is to write a
classic rock song. Uh, I'm into the whole breadth of things, as you know, you
know, I love things that are very sensitive and dangerously fragile.
You know, I think that's part of rock music. You know I think rock music
is about exposing yourself and being very direct, you know, between audience and
performer, um, but the hardest thing is the big rock number - yeah - and I
think you, you find one of those you know, once every few months if you're very
lucky. Um, its easy to thrash away, you know, and be loud or whatever but
that's not writing a good rock song. You know I threw so much stuff away
because I didn't think it was relevant and I didn't think it was anything new.
I focused myself on the stuff which was, which I thought was taking me to new
place, you know, and it's not called Another World for nothing.
It's actually meant to be, you know, I feel like there is something new
in there, and there is a new angle, you know, part of my journey is reflected
in the album's journey. And what happens with me is, is that I'm a very inner
person and I'm probably too introspective, and the first solo album was a very
introspective thing. And so, I kind of consciously used all these triggers to
get things out of me. I think generally in the process of writing a song,
there's a point when you think "Ah" I'm writing this because of me,
really. I'm writing it because I feel something inside and this has been
triggered out of me by something else. Um - so all these songs on this album
they're part of my journey and they're, they're about inner things in me, and
about how I hope to relate to other people's inner feelings and problems, but
they were triggered by like a robot or a film, or a, you know, Spiderman or
something, you know, (laughs) something weird."
WHY DON'T WE TRY AGAIN - (slow 50'ish dance beat.) (Brian plays RS copy)
Brian: Cozy was very special. Um, I guess it's the spirit of the guy
really, um, he was very much a rock'n'roll creature, really, and maybe that
sounds corny, but he was very, he was a loner and um, uh didn't have any family
or anything, didn't know where he came from, you know, a bit of a kind of um a
sort of castaway in a sense, and he just lived er for the music, you know, he
was very much that kind of guy, and he was great to work with 'cause he was
always up. He was never like, oh God, I can't do that. You know I would
generally try out ideas on him and watch his face, you know, and if he was into
it I would sort of get the feeling it was alright. Um, 'cause I say he didn't,
he's one of these people that didn't sort of act it, he was it, you know, and
if he felt it and went "Yea, yea, that feels right" and everything, I
would normally think "Yea" I'm on the right lines. And um, of course,
what he gave to the track was this incredible, huge sound and energy and, um,
just a life force, so all through this, this album of mine he's there and it's
a unique thing really. And I've come to sort of, I mean, ever since Queen,
which actually is quite a long time ago for me now, mostly, you know. The last
time I was actually in Queen was probably 7 or 8 years ago, you know, ever
since then I've regarded Cozy as my kind of my linchpin and buddy, in every
sense of the word. Yea its gonna be very hard to adjust."
IT'S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE
"Ladies and Gentlemen this is one of my favourite songs of all time,
and my very good friend from Tennessee has sent me his favourite shades just to
help me out here. He couldn't turn up in person, he's, he had an urgent
hairdressing appointment. But this will have to do and I'm afraid you have me
as a vocalist, we can but try."
The only expectation I had, I had when I was a kid, uh, was to make a
record, you know I thought it would be great if I could actually hold the
record in my hand that we'd made and that there would be clones of it other
places so it would live on in somebody's record collection. That was really my
dream, I think. And the other dream we had, I think, was something very humble
like to play the Rainbow Theatre or something, 'cause that was like the
pinnacle of success as far as we were concerned, you know, and I think um, I
remember David Bowie got there about a year before we were even heard of and we
thought "Argh", we've missed the boat, you know, we're never gonna
make it. But everything after the Rainbow, when we did play it, was a bonus, you
know. I think I'd dimly heard of Maddison Square Gardens as a place where
people hit each other and it was enormous in America, you know, but when we
played there it was like "I didn't know this existed". You know this
is the most incredible that ever happened, you know. And then we played the
Forum in LA, we played the Budokan in Tokyo, and then we did football stadiums
or whatever. It was just more than anyone could ever dream of. It was
incredible. It was an amazing non-stop kind of rollercoaster thing. I say
'rollercoaster' advisedly, because it wasn't all like huge job, instant
wonders. The live stuff was great. I mean we always had a great stuff, a great
time live. But some of the studio stuff was hard, because we were trying to
hammer out our direction, and we, we were four different people with totally
different personalities. Totally different influences and we were all trying to
pull in our particular direction and studio, making albums was really tough -
great moments, but, uh, so much compromise had to be made.
That's what different in my life now, you know. I miss the guys, I mean I
wouldn't say I don't, you know, and of course you miss Freddie, Freddie was so
full of ideas and lateral stuff and you never knew where he was coming from. I
miss it, I miss the input but what I get is I can go in the studio and I can do
exactly what's in my mind, and if it's not right I can fiddle around with it
until it is, or I can throw it away and do it again. I don't have to ask
anybody. I can be direct, so every note on this album - and its still a thrill
for me to hold it, you know. When I first hold this piece of plastic, which is
the album, that's like the pay-off for me, you know. Smell it and touch it and
open it up and, and um, everything on this album is what I wanted it to be. You
know, I take all the blame utterly, you know. Every piece of every note on this
album I did, and it's there for a reason.
Brian May on Howard Stern show.
HOWARD STERN: Alright... let's bring in
Brian May of Queen.... formerly of Queen. Freddie Mercury is gone now, so
there's no more Queen. But maybe they'll get a different guy to front the band.
(Brian enters) Alright !!! There you are, dude !! (clapping) Let me see if you
really look like me. Well... you've got the same sort of.... well.... let me
see. Let me look at you.
BRIAN MAY: Same kind of....
ROBIN QUIVERS: Yeah.. he wears the same
kind of clothes.
HS: Yeah.. you dress like me. Just like
me on my E! show. I even have that guitar pin that you're wearing.
BM: You have one of these jackets?
HS: I have one of those jackets. (Robin
laughs)
BM: It follows me around.
HS: I saw Brian May backstage at the
MTV Awards, but he was giving me some kind of rock-star attitude.
RQ: No..... I don't think so...
HS: Yeah... in a way. He just said
'hello', and it was just like....
BM: I was just being friendly.
HS: He had a whole entourage with him.
BM: (laughing) Yeah... really...
HS: You outta blow your hair straight
like I'm doing now. See what I'm doing?
BM: (laughing) I'm not so cool as you,
see.
HS: Yeah, I'm a pretty cool guy...
(laughing) I'm real cool.
RQ: It's hard to be that cool.
BM: They told me about you Howard.
HS: Brian's got a better body than
me... right, Robin??
RQ: Well... he's thin and lanky... just
like you are.
BM: I just don't show as much of it as
you do.
HS: Yeah... but he's got bigger
shoulders.
RQ: You think so? I don't think so. I
think you've got the same build. (guitar wails)
HS: Who do you think is better
looking... me or Brian? (guitar wails louder) He's got a nicer.... he's got a
nicer nose.
RQ: His nose is still very prominent.
(laughs)
HS: You know... you know... you could
almost be, like, my brother or something.
BM: Hello, Miss Robin. How are you
doing?
RQ: Hello. How are you?
BM: I'm very well, thank you.
HS: Does it disturb you that you look
like me? It's got to.
BM: It's been... it's... I never...
umm... realised... (flustered, nervously laughing, Stern crew hysterical)
RQ: Does it disturb you? (laughing)
MAY: Let's get straight in there.
Yeah.. it probably does.
HS: I don't blame you.
BM: It's interesting, because like, you
have your own kind of territory, you know. And I remember the first time
someone said 'Hey! Howard Stern?'
HS: (laughing) 'Hey... you're Howard
Stern' and you went 'no'. Well... There's something wrong with me. At least
Brian's a rock star. I go around looking like a rock star, and I'm not a rock
star.
RQ: Yeah... at least he can play the
guitar.
HS: Yeah... at least he can do something.
I don't know what my problem is.
BM: On a good day I can play.
HS: I'm like the MTV-VJ's. The all
dress like rock stars and try to look like rock stars... and none of them do
anything. Like... what's our problem? What's going on there? But.. uh....
RQ: Well, I'll tell you one thing...
you sure don't want to look like a DJ. That's one thing for sure.
HS: Yeah. So Brian... like you would
walk around sometimes and people would say 'hey Howard Stern'??
BM: It only happened.. it happened, I
guess, a couple of years ago. Most of.. I mean.... for the rest of my life I
walked around and people just thought it was me... so...
HS: Right. So it had to be pretty
upsetting. (laughs)
RQ: Yeah. That's a shock.
BM: So, actually.. I.... yes, that's
right. So gradually I became aware of you, you know, and some people said 'he's
a terrible guy, you know....'
HS: I'm a good guy.
BM: And some people said 'No... he's
big. He' great. He's famous.' So then then I found out who you were and stuff.
HS: It makes you more controversial.
BM: It... well, yeah... in a way. And
then eventually, you know, they came up and said 'you should do his show'. So I
sort of said it seems our paths were meant to cross. I mean, they did cross
idly at MTV when your arse was hanging out of your pants.
HS: I guess maybe that's why he didn't
want to be seen with me.
RQ: You don't stop and talk to a person
at that time. (laughs)
BM: That distracted me immediately.
HS: I said 'Hey Brian, how are you
doing?' Meanwhile, I'm dressed as Fart Man, with a big cut-out in my ass....
and my cheeks hanging out. But I mean.. come on.... you know....
BM: You were flying around the building
like a fairy. It was wonderful.
HS: I know. It was unbelievable. Well,
it really wasn't, cause I really almost died that night. I was really scared.
RQ: He didn't take to flight that well.
HS: Oh man! Flight and me... this body
is not meant to be in the air. I'm messed up from it.
RQ: This is definitely a grounded kind
of person.
BM: I was impressed, Howard.
HS: That was a strange night.
BM: It was good, actually.
HS: And you were there actually getting
a special award, right? For Queen and the whole thing.
BM: That's right.
HS: Isn't it weird now how everybody...
like... all of a sudden....
RQ: ... now recognises....
HS: Yeah... recognises Queen. It took
Freddie Mercury's death for everybody to sort of...
RQ: .... acknowledge these guys are
great.
BM: Yes, it is very strange, cause
there was a time when we couldn't do anything wrong in this country. You
know... sort of "Another One Bites The Dust" and "Crazy Little
Thing"-time. And then various things happened, you know. It's a long
story, really.
HS: What did happen though?
BM: Well basically.... well, I
think.... um.... well basically we headed towards a time when we couldn't get
arrested in this country. And I think there were a number of reasons, really. I
think there was image things... and I think there was a sort of....
HS: You think cause Freddy-was-gay-kind
of thing.
BM: I think there was a moment when
people suddenly went 'Oh my God!! Could he actually be gay??'
HS: And guys couldn't relate to Freddie
Mercury.
RQ: Yeah. All of a sudden...
BM: I think there's a fear. I think
there was. I don't know if it's still true in this country; but I think there
was a kind of fear of that kind of thing.
HS: I know what you're saying. If a guy
goes to a Queen concert... it's like.. hey... you know.. all of my friends are
going to think I'm... like.... a queen. You know what I mean? Maybe that was
it.
BM: I think there was a moment.... and
there was a moment when we all dressed up in girl's clothes... which, you
see.... in England that was viewed as....
HS: See.... I always thought you were
gay.
RQ: (very surprised) Really!?!
BM: Well....
HS: You're not gay though... right?
BM: No, no, no...
HS: You get lots of girls. That's probably why you don't mind looking like me.
Cause you probably think that's a good look. Cause you can get lots of girls
with it. Right? That's exactly it.
BM: I'm past it. I'm too old for all that, Howard.
HS: But Freddie never said he was gay. He always kept it...
BM: Freddie actually didn't give a toss which way people thought he was; and he
had no problem with it... you know. He was what he was. And he was actually a
number of things... you know.
HS: Right. More than just being gay. But.. uh... what do you call it... when I
was on in
BM: Oh yeah?
HS: And he said that Freddie was the best he'd ever had. (crew clapping)
RQ: Really !?!
HS: Yeah. He gave me every dirty detail. It's pretty wild.... I'll tell you.
BM: It's very strange... cause Freddie's life... and his death... has made a
huge difference in the way people view all that stuff. I mean... certainly in
HS: Let me tell you something. It never bothered me that Freddie was gay. (crew
clapping) I loved Queen. And I was never afraid to say it. Right Robin? Tell
him. Tell Brian.
RQ: (laughing) I don't remember this....
HS: You don't? (under his breath, to Robin) Just act like it. Why do you always
have to... What's with you?
RQ: I'm a news person....
HS: I was always a Queen fan.
RQ: You were a Queen fan. That's true.
BM And he's very straight. But going back to your question... it is strange
because... you know... there was always a time when we couldn't actually do
anything in this country. Every place else in the world we were playing
football stadiums... when in this country... it was really hard.
HS: And that hurts, because everyone wants to be popular in
BM: It hurts.. yeah.... because also, we sort of grew up in this country... you
know. This is where we became a band. And this is really, I suppose, in our
minds, still the centre of rock and roll... you know. It's where it started.
HS: Where did you meet? Like.. how did you guys hook up? It must have been...
like... you and Freddie were really the band. The rest of the guys you could
have done without. Right?
CREW: Ohhh jeez....!!
HS: They weren't really that talented compared to you and Freddie. And you and
Freddie wrote all the songs.
BM: You think so?? (laughs) No, no... it was very much...
HS: Come on. Be honest. Why don't you admit that you and Freddie really were
the band?
BM: No, I wont. Because.. um....
HS: Because you're a gentleman.
BM: No.. because the biggest hit we ever had was "Another One Bites The
Dust", which John wrote.
HS: Oh. He did??
BM: And "
HS: But who wrote "Bohemian Rhapsody"?
BM: Fred wrote "Bohemian Rhapsody".
HS: With you.
BM: Mmmmm... not so much with me.
HS: The other guys were like Ringo.
CREW: Ohhh!! Noooo!! Jeez!!
HS: Let me tell you something. I'm telling you... Brian is much too.... uh....
RQ: ...self-effacing.
HS: Right. He is a very nice... let me talk here for a second. He's a
gentleman.
BM: Who's show is this?
HS: It's my show!! (all laughing) He's a gentleman and he doesn't want to say
anything.... (guitar wails) .... to hurt the other guys' feelings, cause he
still has to...
RQ: Aren't they in England? They can't hear.
HS: They can't hear this.
BM: No, no, no. It's not true.
HS: Why don't you brag a little?
BM: I mean.. you shouldn't knock Ringo either.... because anyone who
understands the mechanics of a group understands that everybody is totally
important. If it's a.....
HS: Ringo!! Ringo?? Ringo's the drummer!!
RQ: Ringo's that little... (laughing) ... shrunken conductor on a TV show.
HS: (laughing) Yeah. Oh come on.... Ringo....
BM: No.. I'm not with you because....
HS: Pete Best could have been in the Beatles.
BM: If you get a rare.... a rare situation where it's a real group, everybody
in the group matters totally. And... without Ringo, they wouldn't have been a
lot of what they were. I'm totally convinced of that.
HS: So.... you married now?
BM: But even more so..... I'm boring you.
HS: No. I can change topics rapidly. I'm not buying your Ringo rap.
RQ: (clapping) If we stay on Ringo too long, we lose audience.
HS: I saw Ringo the other day. He was taking a bus. No-one even bothered him.
(crew hysterical) It was... like.. 'there's Ringo'.....
BM: Did you bother him? (laughs)
HS: No-one bothered him. You married now?
BM: No... I... uh.... well, technically... I am still; but I've been separated
for a long time.
RQ: Ohhh. You're dis-engaging.
HS: Because... I know what happened. You probably met a woman when you were at
the height of your success. When did you get married? How many years ago?
BM: It's a longer story than that, really. I was married for about 15 years or
so....you know... but it was like... uh...
HS: You must have met her when she was.. like.. a model... up-and-coming model.
Something like that.
BM: No. She was a student and I was a student.
HS: Oh really?! You mean you met her before you got famous.
BM: Yeah.
HS: Oh.. no kidding. Oh... no wonder you got to get a divorce. (Brian laughs)
Are you kidding? Oh... absolutely!!
BM: I think we grew apart.
HS: You grew apart. That's it. That's it. Grew apart. That's what you've got to
say.
BM: I don't know if it was ever....
HS: Chuck Norris was saying... I was at dinner the other day.... Chuck Norris
says him and his wife grew apart, too.
RQ: The had a successful marriage for....?
HS: ... twenty years. Successful marriage.
BM: You married?
HS: Yeah. I'm married. Oh... I'm with my college sweetheart.
BM: How long for? Oh.... a long time then.
HS: Oh.. I'm married 20 years. How many years am I married, Robin?
RQ: Yeah.... 17... 18 years. Something like that.
HS: Some ridiculous number. I haven't slept... I'm going to be honestwith you,
Brian. And you can find this hard to believe.
BM: Is this Howard Stern revelations time?
HS: Yes. I have not slept with another woman.... not had any type of sexual
satisfaction from another woman besides my wife....
BM: Is this going to be in the papers tomorrow?
HS: .... for the last 20 years.
BM: That's great.
HS: That's great ?!?
BM: You're a darling.
HS: I'm ready to smack my head against the wall. (Brian laughs) Because you
know, once you achieve a certain degree of fame, women come on to you that
normally wouldn't. True?
BM: Uh.... when I get famous, I'll tell you, Howard.
HS: Yeah? No. You're very famous. And the point is what happened with you and
your wife is you tried to be faithful and all these things; but what happened
was... the temptation of life on the Road. You probably have 18... 19 year old
aerobics instructors coming on to you. (all laughing) Come on. Let's be honest.
BM: Well.....
HS: You're a good person, but you couldn't resist temptation. True?
BM: Yeah... but also there was something underneath it. There was also the fact
that, actually, I hadn't married the right woman.
HS: Oh... well...
RQ: Of course !! She couldn't be right !!
BM: And you.... and you just gradually find that out over the years... you
know. She's a nice person; but it actually wasn't right.
HS: She would have been the right person if you were an accountant... I'm
telling you.
BM: Well....it's possible. But I'm not an accountant.
HS: You just had too many women coming on to you.
BM: No, no. It was a feeling like the world....
RQ: Who would be the right person?
HS: (laughing) Bo Derrick.
BM: No.... I have...
HS: Do you have a girlfriend now?
BM: I have the right woman now.
HS: Oh... you do?
BM: Umm....
HS: How old is she?
BM: She's.... uh.... just a little younger than I am.
HS: About 16? (crew laughing and clapping)
BM: No, no, no..... ummm... yeah!
HS: Robin was hoping you'd say she was the right woman.
BM: No, no. She's... she's almost my age.... but it doesn't look it.
HS: What does she do for a living? Is she an aerobics instructor?
BM: She's a very famous actress in England.
HS: Oh really?!? Vanessa Redgrave?
RQ: Ooh... who is it?
BM: Nnnn..not that one.
HS: Lord-Lady-Window-Smear? (all laughing) Hmmm? Hmmm?
RQ: Joan Plowright.
HS: Joan Plowright?
BM: She's also known.... she's known to the people who watch East Enders in
this country.... because East Enders was.. like... the biggest thing that ever
happened in England. Ummm... and she...
HS: What is her name. Reveal her name.
BM: She's Anita Dobson.
HS: Ohhh... Anita Dobson.
BM: (mimics Howard) Anita Daaaahb-son.
HS: Oh... she's probably a fox.
RQ: Well, sure. She was a TV actress.
HS: Oh yeah. Are you kidding?
BM: She's a TV idol. She's...
HS: And believe me.... you will not marry again. True or false.
BM: Uh, yeah. I will marry again.
HS: You will? You think you'll marry Anita Dobson?
BM: Well, I'm hoping so.... if she'll have me.
HS: Hold out for an aerobics instructor. (Brian laughs) I'm telling you...
she's probably one of Murdock's page-2 girls. I'm telling you... must be
hubba-hubba.
RQ: How do you know she's the right woman? What were her qualifications?
HS: Yeah. Now why is she the right woman and your ex-wife is the wrong woman?
BM: (long silence, then laughs) Big, long silence. You just know after a while,
I suppose.
HS: You do? It's just a thing that you know?
BM: Well.... don't you feel that? Didn't you gradually find that out... that
you're married to the right woman?
HS: (laughing) I'm still.... I don't know...
RQ: He's still questioning that.
HS: Although, if one with bigger cans came along, I might have to leave her.
(crew groans and laughs) You know what it is? I have tremendous temptations in
life, as you do Brian.... and you, though, on a much larger scale, because you
are internationally known.... and you're a very wealthy
man. Are you worth $30 million? Excuse me... what are you? You are worth $50
million dollars. Are you not?
BM: Uh... uh... I can't remember....but...
HS: You don't even know what you're worth?
BM: Uh... not that much. It's easier to get rich in this country.
HS: Oh please. I know guys who have had one hit song.....
BM: Yeah... but this is the States. In England, it's a lot harder.
RQ: But you had hits here.
BM: Yeah.... we had hits here. But we pay taxes in England, love.
RQ: Ohhh...
HS: Oh, you did? Is it true it was 85%?
BM: Well... at the worst it was 98. We paid 98%.
RQ: My God!!
HS: Wait a second.... let me get this straight.
BM: Which is pretty funny, isn't it?
RQ: Wait a minute, Howard. Break that down to me in real numbers.
HS: Alright... that means if you made a million dollars, you got (laughing) two
dollars?? (all laughing) No... you would get... like... $200,000 dollars or
something.... or $100,000. You wouldn't even get 10%?!
BM: It was on a certain section of income.
RQ: It's like $20,000....
HS: No, no, no.... this can't be right. What do you mean... 98%?
BM: It was right. 98% was the top whack you could play.... you could pay... on
un-earned income... you know. You would pay various levels on various parts of
your...
HS: Oh.... un-earned....
BM: But on the stuff that came back... like from your investments.... you
would pay 98.
HS: Oh my God!! So in other words, if you made a million dollars... and you
invested it... you would pay 98% of the return on that...?
BM: That's right... yeah.
HS: And you remained in England? Even with that?
RQ: So why would you even invest? Stuff it in a mattress.
BM: Well, that's right.... yeah. We remained for a while... but we had a cut in
the... in the end when we were..... um.... when we were getting really
canned.... we took two years out of England. I made a home in LA, and... uh...
Freddie made a home here, strangely enough.
HS: Of course!! Yeah... I can't stand that England anyway, to tell you the
truth. No offense to you.
BM: It rains too much and it gets too depressing.
HS: You're not kidding.... I mean... you need nice weather. Poor Brian!! You
get pasty-looking you hang out there. You grew up there in that England?
BM: I did, yeah.
HS: It must have been awful. I feel bad for you. (clapping) 98 percent tax....
to be in the fog, no less. You'd think.... I could see if I was in Aruba or
something... I'd pay 98%.
RQ: If you had good weather maybe....
HS: That England is a terrible, terrible country.
BM: There's a guy holding up a little thing that says 'spots' here.... and I
didn't think I had any this morning.
HS: No.. you don't have any spots. (crew laughs) You look very good. Alright.
Brian is here. Brian May. He has a solo album out. We're going to listen to
some of this. Do you sing on this?
BM: I do sing, yes. That's what I enjoy doing these days, yeah.
HS: Oh.. you do? Alright... good. Because we will evaluate this album. Also,
Brian has his guitar with him. And one thing Brian loves to do is play along
with his own records.
RQ: You're kidding!! I didn't know that.
BM: It has been known. I'm not doing it so much anymore. I sort of did a trip
around the United States a year and a half ago doing it. But now, I find it to
be.... I'll do it for you..... cause you're wonderful... see. And we love you
so much... but..... but normally... I like to do what I do now, which is
actually sing.
RQ: Well, we'll let you do that, too.
BM: Nooo... I ain't going to sing for you here. (crew moans 'awwww')
HS: If I tell you you're going to sing... you're going to sing.... or I'll
throw you right outta here.
RQ: Twist his arm.
HS What is that? And believe me... I could kick your ass. You look like a guy I
could... I could beat. (all laughing) You don't know karate or anything.... do
you?
BM: (laughs) You don't know what I know.
HS: No.. of course not. Alright, now. Let me ask you something. These coins you
play with. These are.... this is English money?
BM: This is an English sixpence, which is no longer legal currency.
RQ: (laughing) This is what he made a couple of years ago.
HS: Is that how you get that unbelievable, unique sound out of your guitar? By
playing with a piece of metal?
BM: It's.... well.... it's part of it.. yeah. The guitar is actually unique
anyway, because it's a totally home-made job. This is what I made with my dad
about 20 years ago.
HS You made that guitar?
BM: Yeah.. we made it together.
HS: And that's the guitar you used when you played... uh.... give me the most
famous riff... which of course is.... uh.....
BM: (laughing) Why should I rescue you, Howard? (crew hysterical)
HS: No, no, no... (all laughing)... do that... do that most famous riff...
the... the one....
BM: Do I have this on? (guitar wails loudly)
HS: Do the part (singing) 'it's a killer queen, dee-dee-dee....' ...that one
BM: I don't know if I can do that one. I can do.... (plays end of "We Will
Rock You").
HS: Yes.. yes... that's what I wanted to hear.
BM: Well... we did that.... I can go now? (crew laughs)
HS: No, no... sit right there. (guitar continues) I'm not done hearing about
your new girlfriend.
BM: I'll tell you what.... I'll tune up, as well.
HS: Alright... you tune up and I'll have you back here right after these
words.....
Announcer: And we're back with the Howard Stern Show....
HS: yeah! And of course, Brian May, our special guest. And we're about 20
minutes away from speaking with Richard Pryor. What a show today. It's like the
whole Merv Griffin Show. (clapping) You're hip to Richard Pryor, right?
BM: Yeah, of course.
HS: Yeah... you know him, right? They gave me sample questions to ask when I'm
on the phone with him.
RQ: What are the sample questions?
HS: See.. with Brian, they didn't give me any sample questions.
BM: (Heh, heh, heh.)
HS: Are you ready for some sample questions? Hey... maybe I'll ask Brian these
questions. 'People have seen you on TV. You look pretty frail. Can you still
get up on stage and do it with MS?' (laughs) What a question!! What's he going
to say? No? He's promoting a concert. (guitar wails)
You know what I want to ask him? I read that now for sex he has to pay
prostitutes to come to his house every day.
BM: (guitar playing as a backdrop)
RQ: Yeah... I hear he lays in bed all day.... pays women to come in and have
sex.
HS: That's what I want to know about.
RQ: But I thought he couldn't get it up. That's what he says in... uh.. his
show.
HS: Let's ask Brian if he can get it up. (laughing) Brian... can you get it up?
BM: (laughing) It depends on what you're talking about.
HS: No problem there, huh? (guitar wails)
RQ: Also, in one of the tabloids...
BM: (guitar louder, comment unintelligible... in reference to "the
tabloids")
HS: In one of the tabloids what?
RQ: In one of the tabloids this week they said that Ringo... speaking of
Ringo... came to Richard Pryor's house and took him out to an AA meeting.
HS: Oh really!? Wouldn't you think it's a little late for that? Why don't they
let Richard Pryor enjoy a couple of drinks? You really think Richard's going to
stop drinking? We've got a lot to ask Richard Pryor about. But of course, we
have Brian May right now. Of course.... umm... Brian...uh... formerly of Queen,
cause Queen is no longer together. That's it. Queen's over with. But yet... I
just got in the mail... like.. a new Queen video, and.... do you know about
this?
BM: The... um... the George Michael?
HS: Yeah... with the George Michael thing. What... he's fronting Queen??
BM: No, no, no, no, no.... no. This is what... I suppose this is what I was
hoping wasn't going to happen. I always had slight misgivings, but... I mean,
I'm happy that George is doing it because it's for charity.. and it's good for
him anyway. I mean, he did a great performance at this. It's a performance at
the Freddie Mercury Tribute gig, which is, like... a year and a half ago.
HS: Oh... so they're releasing that on video.
BM: So they released that on video, and he released... now... as a single...
which is doing phenomenally well as a single...
HS: What song did he release?
BM: It's "Somebody To Love".
HS: Oh... he did do "Somebody To Love".
BM: Yes. See.. George was a huge fan of Freddie, and.....
HS: You'd think Freddie would have liked it in those last couple of years if
somebody would have... uh... let him do that again, or something... you know?
You know what I'm saying? It's kind of weird....
BM: Well... in a way... except Fred.. like me... wanted to move on....you know...
and you get this stuff... you know.... and you get locked into a box.. you
know. So I've been just going around this country saying.. like... I'm doing
something different now. I'm proud of Queen and what happened; but actually,
I'm now Brian May... and I'm now... it's the Brian May Band'... you know. But
then suddenly this thing comes out and it.... You just said to me it looks like
George is fronting Queen or whatever.. which is not the case. So... in a way...
I'm happy that it's happened; but I'm also feeling.. 'Hey, wait a minute...
this is holding me into the past'. I don't want to be in the past. I want to
live in the future.
HS: Right.. yeah.... but you can still get royalties off the past, right?
BM: Well... we don't get royalties off of this... cause this is... uh... this
is all for AIDS... which is as it should be.
HS: No? Oh, shucks!! Can't you get a couple bucks out of that? Jesus... (all
laughing)
RQ: You don't want to take money from AIDS, Howard.
HS: But you're set for life.. right Brian? I mean... you don't have to work
anymore.
BM: No, money I don't have to worry about.
HS: You don't have to worry about that?
BM: No.
HS: So what do you do.... like invest it and everything? What do you got...
like... it all locked up in investments and stuff?
BM: Umm... I have somebody that takes care of it. We have an accountant who's
been with us for years... right from the early days.
HS: Keep your eye on him. You see what just happened to... what was it... Jane
Seymour or Jayne Alexander... what was it?
BM: Yeah.. a lot of things. Yeah well... you have to trust somebody.
RQ: Oh yeah... the accountant thing.
BM: Yeah well... I trust him and he takes care of it. And a lot of it.... lot
has come in over the years... also a lot has gone out over the years. I mean...
apart from.......
RQ: What's going to happen with this divorce though?
HS: Yeah... I hope your wife doesn't get all your money. (Brian laughs) Hey....
what's going to go on with that?
BM: That's more or less taken care of.
HS: Oh yeah? You guys worked out a deal?
BM: Yeah.... it's more or less worked out... yeah.
RQ: What.... did you strangle her? (laughs)
HS: Did you kill your ex-wife? (all laugh)
BM: Over long periods.....
HS: Oh man!!
RQ: How do you work that out? (all hysterical)
HS: See that guitar you and your dad made? She's going to get half that guitar.
BM: No... no....
HS: Yeah... the neck is going to her.
BM: No.. that gets buried with me, folks.
HS: No kidding. So... you and your ex-wife are still friends?
BM: I wouldn't say "still" (hysterical laughter)
HS: But, in other words, you came to a reasonable conclusion on all this?
BM: Well... I think we have... just about.. yeah. And it was long and bitter,
as I guess everyone's is.
HS: Did you lose 50% of your money?
BM: Uh... no. In England it's not necessarily the case that you lose 50%.
HS: Maybe 30% ?
BM: But it's a lot.. yeah.
HS: Oh man!!
BM: But.. I mean.... it's okay...
HS: But it's okay?!?
RQ: You've got to give her a good piece of the pie.
HS: Oh man!!
BM: I don't even care cause... you know... she can take care of the children
and everything.
RQ: How many children?
HS: What do you got? You got a lot of kids?
BM: I have three children.
HS: Oh, yeah... then you've got to give her something. (laughs) How much does
it cost to raise three kids?
RQ: Let her live in their house.
BM: Well... but I'm lucky. The stuff that goes on with most people is that they
pay the lawyers so much that they don't have anything left for themselves.
HS: So you and your wife worked it out on your own.
BM: No. Like I say... it was long and bitter, and there was many lawyers
involved and stuff, and it's been.... It's hell. It's bad.
HS: It is. It's bad.
BM: I mean, we at least got to the point after all that, we..... we agreed to
disagree.
RQ: And there's still some left for the new wife.
HS: Yeah. (laughing) Yeah.
BM: I can live... put it that way.
HS: So you had to give up your house, huh?
BM: Uhhh....
HS: What'd you have.... like... a castle or something?
BM: No, no, no... I just moved out and moved on.
HS: (belches loudly)
RQ: Oh Howard!!
HS: Excuse me. I'm trying to do an interview.. and here I am belching.
Blaaaaah!! Did you ever go to a castle... blaaaah!!.. (laughing) So
what...like... you got a condo now or something?
BM: (laughing) I have a little shoebox in the country.
HS: (laughing) He's living in a shoebox. (all hysterical) Let me tell you
something....
BM: I'm happy.
HS: It's so ironic. You get this divorce, and you're finally getting a really
nice piece... you have to give up a real good piece.
RQ: You know... it costs you. It always costs you.
HS: A piece of the change.
BM: I think everything costs you in life.
HS: Everything costs, man. It's unbelievable.
BM: Everything that's worthwhile costs.
HS: There's got to be a way for... like....
RQ: No... no freebies.
HS: I guess the perfect situation would have been that if your wife went into a
coma or got in a car accident or something... right?
BM: (laughing) That's right.
RQ: And couldn't ask for anything.
HS: Yeah... it's like... why couldn't Freddie Mercury still be alive? And then
Brian just lose....
RQ: Yeah... him you didn't want to divorce.
HS: Him you liked. (laughing) It's unbelievable. But still, it's the mother of
your children. You've got to treat her with respect. You know what I'm saying.
BM: Well, you come around to that in the end.
RQ: So how old are the kids?
HS: Hey listen.. I don't even want to say this.... but Brian lives in a trailer
in Suffolk County. (all hysterical)
RQ: He drove his home here today.
HS: (to Robin) Right next to that soap opera guy you used to date. He has the
same trailer... same identical thing.
RQ: (laughing) They're room-mates.
HS: It's very, very sad.
RQ: No.... now how old are your children?
BM: Ummm... my children are fourteen, eleven and six.
HS: Oh yeah? They're old enough to fend for themselves.
RQ: Let them get jobs. (laughs)
HS: They really don't need a dad at this point.
BM: Yeah, they're fine.
HS But... I mean... you get to see them and all that kind of stuff?
BM: Yeah, yeah... but that's... none of it's easy. If there's anybody out there
going through it now... it is NOT pleasant.
HS: Believe me, there's plenty of people going through it.
BM: You know.. I just can't imagine.....
RQ: What possessed you to get married so young?
BM: Well... I was young. What can I tell you.
HS: He was young. He was like most guys. He wanted to get laid on a regular
basis... right? It's very true. If you want to get laid on a regular basis, you
figure 'hey.. I'm never going to do any better than this...'
BM: No. I'll tell you a secret.
HS: And you can't believe a woman's willing to marry you... and you're a
musician. And you're... like.. 'you want to marry me? I'm going no-where'.
BM: No. I'll tell you what it is. I think we all fulfill the dreams of our
parents. And I think that's the major problem in most of ourlives. Our parents,
our peers.. everyone says you have to get married at a certain time. So you
find someone and you think 'oh, I can lock into this. I can do this. I can play
this game. I can live this pattern out." Everyone does it, and that's.....
HS: That's a very good point. My mother..
RQ: You're talking yourself into it the whole time.
HS: Yeah well.... you're just like.... 'hey... this is something you ought to
do'.
BM: It's... it's pressure from the outside world to conform... you know. And I
think that's why a lot of people have a major crisis around forty or so...
cause suddenly it comes to the point where you think 'I haven't actually done
anything in my life that I wanted to do.'
HS: Of course.... let's face it. We're all horny bastards, us guys. And we need
strange broads. (laughing, clapping, whistling from crew) We do. We just need a
variety. I've been trying to tell my wife that. My mom forced me to get
married.
RQ: If she could only get this concept down. (laughing)
BM: Howard.... I don't think you're understanding me..... (all hysterical)
HS: Believe me, I'm reading between the lines, pal. I understand you like
no-one before. After all, you look just like me.
RQ: I think you two should get married. (laughs)
HS: You know... I like you a lot. Believe me, we'd be happy together. I
wouldn't take half your money.
BM: You'd take all of it. (all hysterical)
HS: Yeah.. and I'm pretty easy in the sack. So... um.... but I bet there were a
lot of reporters and stuff and people who always thought you were gay cause you
were in Queen... and Freddie was pretty flamboyant. So there was probably that
issue.
BM: Mmmmm.... not really.. no.
HS: And like while you were backstage with groupies and girls and stuff...
Freddie would be with guys... right?
BM: Ummm... (long pause) There was a point where that happened... yeah. But, I
mean... in... in... for a lot of his life, Freddie was not a promiscuous person
anyway. There's a major misconception that goes on here that many people think
that's what happened, and that's why he got AIDS. He was actually very... I
think you would say serially monogamous. The same as I am.. or you are... you
know.
HS: Well, not the way you are. Listen...
RQ: His series is lasting a long time.
HS: Let's not use you as an example of monogamy... okay? Go ahead.... yes?
RQ: Serial monogamy.
BM: Yes... so I think there was a period of time where... umm... you know...
Freddie was pretty much private, and... umm... probably hadn't really come to
terms with... with what he did want. And finally, he did find it...
HS: He got that horrible disease.
BM: Well... yeah... which we all can do, folks. It only takes one... encounter.
It doesn't matter who you screw. It can happen.
RQ: Well, he left most of his money to a woman...right?
HS: Yeah... what was that all about?
BM: Yeah well... Mary was with Freddie from the very early days when we were
students and everything... and he always remained close to her and...
HS: Did he leave you any money?
BM: (laughing) I didn't need him to leave me any money.
HS: Oh come on. It would have been nice... a little stipend.
RQ: Didn't he know you were going through a terrible divorce?
HS: Did Freddie know you were divorcing your wife? Couldn't he have made a
stipulation? (all laughing)
BM: I'll tell you... it was very strange, because we all go through many kinds
of crap, you know. And I think towards the end of Queen's life, we were closer
than any of us were to our families because Queen was... like... the
longest-standing family that any of us had. So we were pretty close.
HS: Your parents were real dicks to you and everything?
BM: My parents were very good to me... in fact, probably too good to me...
which was the problem. I think they had too many expectations.
HS: Oh.. I see.
RQ: That's always a problem. Either they're bad or they're too good.
BM: That's right. You cannot be a good parent.
HS: I know with my kids I'm trying to be a really good parent... but I know
they'll be on the psychiatrist's couch talking about what a scuzz-ball I was. I
had that stupid radio show and it really embarrassed them and everything. I
know it. I know I'll be paying psychiatric bills for years out
of guilt.
BM: You have kids?
HS: I got three girls.
RQ: Oh... Brian thinks that's horrible. (all laughing)
HS: Yeah... it is pretty awful, isn't it.
BM: No. I think that's fine.
HS: Hey... I wonder if you're built just like me. I mean... I wonder if you've
got a big weenie. I got a tiny little weenie. (crew groans loudly) You big? I
bet you're big.
BM: What.... what...? Is this a kind of..... um....
HS: I bet you're... like... twelve inches. Me? You know how big I am? I'm going
to be honest with you. I ain't showing you.. but I'll tell you how I am. (all
hysterical)
BM: At least we can be grateful he's not going to show it.
HS: I'm not even an inch.
RQ: Oh... stop it!! That's anatomically impossible. Babies are...
HS: I swear to God. Ask my doctor. I'm like a baby. I'm hung like a baby.
BM: Folks, this could be TV and we could all be REALLY embarrassed.
HS: Okay... let's do something really special here, now that we're coming
toward the end of our time, Brian. Because...
BM: You're not going to ask me to play something.
HS: Yeah... that's what I'm going to ask you to do.
BM: No... you're not.
HS: What do you mean? What do you got a guitar with you for then? Are you
crazy?
BM: I just make noises with a guitar.
HS: Let me see. What's on this? Let me see what's on your CD.
BM: What am I going to play here?
HS: Play something..... play... (guitar wails)
BM: I'll play you this... (bit of "Bohemian Rhapsody")
HS: Hey... you know the riff from "Under Pressure"..... ?
BM: Yes.
HS: Did you write that? (singing) Doo Doo Doo do-do-do Doo
BM: Ahh... I would say John wrote that. John Deacon, our bass player.
HS: Oh.. he did? Did he get... did you guys get royalties when Vanilla Ice put
out that record?
BM: The Vanilla Ice thing? Eventually... yes.
HS: Do that little riff.
BM: Well... it's a....
HS: Even though you don't have a bass.
BM: It's only like... (plays "Under Pressure" riff) That's it,
really. Which is totally different from what Vanilla Ice did. Did you see him
on his interview? He said 'no, it's totally different, cause ours goes....
(plays "Ice Ice Baby" riff, almost identical to "Under
Pressure" riff)
HS: Oh.. yeah.... totally different.
BM: He was right, really. I have no hard feelings because the guy.... uh...
settled up. And it's all fine.
HS: Oh, I see. So he had to pay you guys.
BM: Uh.. yeah. But in the end, it was very good for us because a lot of people
went 'ah, so that's where that comes from'. So a lot of people who never would
have heard of Queen heard of Queen because of that.
HS: Let me hear the riff from.... uh... I know... wait a second. Let me hear
the riff from...
BM: (laughing, to Robin) What's he up to?
HS: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
BM: That's what I just did before.
HS: Yeah, I know. Uh... I'm trying to think.
BM: You wanted the... (plays a bit of..) ...that's the "Killer Queen"
one... yes. Yes, it's play-the-hits time.
HS: Yeah.. well... you've got to play the hits. Dont be so hostile to your
hits. All you guys with your 'awww.. I gotta play the hits...'
RQ: You're locking him into the past, Howard.
BM: What's the.... what's the.. (unintelligible)
HS: 'That's in me past. That's in me past.' What's in me past? That's what's
paying the bills.
BM: (begins "Tie Your Mother Down") Remember this one?
HS: (singing) 'Keep yourself alive... keep yourself alive'
BM: It's close.. it's close... it's close. Oh Howard, you fail. I'm sorry. (all
hysterical)
HS: Isn't that "Keep Yourself Alive" ?
RQ: No!!
GARY DELL'ABATE (aka BaBa Booey): "Tie Your Mother Down"
BM: This guy knows. This is a number that's been very good to us.
HS: You know I don't know the lyrics to anything. What about (singing)
'biiii-cycle, biiii-cycle'...
BM: (begins "Keep Yourself Alive") That's very nice, except I can't
play it.
HS: (singing) 'I like to ride me bicycyle... I like to ride it...'; and what
was the one you did in Flash Gordon?
BM: Oh... it was "Flash"... the thing... yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.....
yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't play that either. (crew hysterical) You're expecting
me to play... well....
HS: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" ?
BM: Yeah well... you know how that goes.
HS: Do that. (Brian plays) What is that... a tribute to Elvis or something?
BM: Kind of... yeah.
HS: Alright. How about "I'm In Love With My Car". That's a great one.
BM: I can't play that either. It's like that... (plays "... My Car")
HS: Do "Keep Yourself Alive".
BM: That's... that's the first thing.... (plays "...Alive")
HS: That's the best song Queen ever did. Keep going. (singing) 'keep yourself
alive...' Fred.. you sing it. Fred.. sing.
FRED NORRIS: (unintelligible)
HS: What?
FN: I can't sing it.
HS: Why?
FN: Because I don't know it that well.
HS: Why don't you know it?
FN: I don't know the lyrics.
HS: Idiot!! Alright... what else you got? What's the best song on your new
album?
BM: Play some music... "Resurrection". Play me
"Resurrection".
HS: What track is that? Do you know?
BM: Umm.... four?
HS: Four... okay.
BM: Three? I don't know.
HS: What is this "Resurrection"? Is it about Jesus? Everyone with
Jesus! Is it about Jesus?
BM: (laughing... then serious) It's more about a personal thing, really. It's
more about personal things, I should say.
HS: Is this when you broke up with your wife?
BM: No.. this is like looking for something....
HS: New! It's about your new girlfriend.
BM: No. Well, it's about a lot of stuff...
RQ: (to Howard) Will you stop yelling out !? (laughing)
HS: Well, he wont tell me what it's about!!
BM: Songs are about a lot of things.
HS: Is it about Freddie?
BM: Mmmm.... Freddie's in there somewhere.
HS: Freddie sort of coming back...
BM: Freddie's in there. Freddie's in there. And.. uh... I think my dad's in
there. There's a lot of things there. And I was, at the beginning of making
this album, I was seriously... like.... hopelessly depressed. And by the time I
got to the point where I could write "Resurrection", I felt like I
could see a little glimmer of....
HS: Now.. who is being resurrected in this song? Freddie?
RQ: (referring to Brian) He is!!
BM: Uh....
HS: Oh... Brian is?
BM: No... no... it's a song for everybody to feel like their own spirit is...
HS: Re-birth? Alright, alright... dragging it out of him.... it's like pulling
teeth.
RQ: No... he said he was depressed and he had a glimmer of hope...
BM: If I could explain it, I wouldn't have written the song.
HS: Let me hear if I get out of my depression when I hear this song... cause
I'm always depressed. (all laughing) I haven't gotten out of my depression yet.
RQ: He's never had a glimmer.
BM: It may work. Let's try it.
HS: Okay, let me hear this. You're talking too much, Brian. I can't hear this.
BM: We can talk over the intro. We've got a little cosmic stuff going on.
HS: How long is this happening for?
BM: This is only about 15 seconds. Are we there? Do we have this? Yeah... this
is a little journey.
HS: If this song makes money, you'll get plenty un-depressed.. let me tell you
that. You'll be happy all of a sudden. "Resurrection". Ladies and
gentlemen... Brian May. I'll tell you if it's any good. Let me hear this. This
part I like. I love this stuff. I love when you do this kind of stuff.
(drumming begins) Oooh.. good drums!! I like the drums. I like the guitar. I
like that you haven't wimped out. I like that you're rocking. I like this. What
do you rate it, Robin?
RQ: It's good!! I give it a ten.
HS: So far... so far it's a ten.
BM: Of course it's damn good!! What do you expect?? (laughing)
HS: So far it's a ten. I've got to wait for the singing part though, to really
evaluate it. (singing begins) You sound as good as Freddie. I like that part.
That's a hook. It's called a hook.... right, Brian??
BM: It's... uh.. they say the hook is undeniable.
HS: Let me lower the music. I can't hear you. What?
BM: (laughing) Yeah... that's a hook.
HS: Oh.. I think that's great.
BM: A little hook in there.
HS: I'm proud to know you. I want to marry you. Ohhh.... I know what this is
about. I got it figured out now. Shhhhhh !! A lot of those young jack-asses
can't play as good as you... right? Say it, Brian. A lot of these young guys
coming up... they all suck... right?
BM: A lot.... a lot of these young guys coming up are astoundingly brilliant.
But I just play how I feel.
HS: Didn't you just play on a whole record with Eddie Van Halen or something?
BM: Yeah... that was a while ago... (refers to drum solo) This is Cozy's bit.
HS: Who is this?
BM: This is Cozy Powell.. who did...
HS: Oh... yeah. I know who that is. Believe me... you don't... I know Cozy
Powell. (whispers loudly) Robin!! Who's Cozy Powell?? (Robin laughs) What do
you call that... a drum solo?
BM: Something like that.
HS: What the hell is this? This sounds satanic!! I think you're praying to
Satan on this part. I'm going to call the PMRC and report him. I like this.
That's you singing?
BM: Yeah.
HS: That's you??
BM: (shouting over the music) There's about three-thousand of me singing it...
yeah.
HS: (stops music) Wait a second. How'd you get your voice that deep for that
part? (Brian laughs) Is that through some kind of equipment. (Howard mimics the
singing)
BM: (still laughing) No, no, no, no.... just like you do, Howard. Just like you
do. It's alright. So there we go.
HS: Is there secret messages on this... if you play it backwards?
BM: It's not.. no. I don't play secrets.
HS: Someone told me that they played this song... someone told me that they
played "Resurrection" backwards and they heard a secret marriage
telling your new girlfriend to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. (crew hysterical -
Howard in deep-voiced monotone...) 'you will sign a pre-nuptial... you will
sign a pre-nuptial' (laughing continues)
BM: You got it. You got it.
HS: Listen to this... listen to this song backwards. Wait a second. Alright. What
are you going.... Brian... before you leave... you got the guitar there. Sing
some.. do something.
BM: I ain't going to sing to you now.
HS: Why? Why can't...
BM: Unless it's "My Old Man's A Tosser" or something...
HS: Well.... then sing that.
BM: Oh...let me see. What can I sing. Do you know... (singing) 'Don't jump off
of the roof, dad'. Do you know that one?
RQ: No. We don't know that one.
HS: What the hell is that?
BM: (singing) '...you'll make a hole in the yard. Mother just planted petunias...
the weeding and seeding was hard.'
HS: Alright. Do that. Do it with the guitar. Here he is.... Brian May...
BM: (with guitar) 'If you must end it all, dad... wont you please give us a
break? Just take a walk to the park, dad. And then you can jump in the lake.'
HS Alright. (claps) I'll take that. I can play that. I think I can play that
one.
BM: Yeah, folks!!
HS I want to thank Brian May. Brian May's new record is out. And by the way,
you will be going out on tour... true? True or false.
BM: Umm... well... I've just been out on tour.
RQ: You've been in and out, yeah.
HS: No... but he might be doing another tour.
BM: There's a possibility I could come back.... yeah... depending if people buy
the damn record or not, you know.
HS: Are people buying the record?
BM: Some of them are... yeah. A couple are.
HS: I'll buy it. Actually... I'm not buying it. I got a free copy. Robin will
buy it.
BM: You may see me again. I don't know. It's a possibility. We could do our own
tour.
HS: Good.
RQ: Was it good opening for Guns 'n Roses?
BM: It was brilliant opening for Guns 'n Roses. They were great. Theirs were
fantastic audiences, as a matter of fact. And it gave me a great feeling of
satisfaction being able to get across to them... and the fact that they didn't
want us to leave after we'd finished playing.
HS: So you opened for Guns 'n Roses? That had to be cool. You probably saw a
lot of cool backstage stuff going on.. huh?
BM: Uhh.. they're backstage is very similar to what ours used to be.
HS: Oh yeah? Party central.
RQ: It must be wild.
BM: It's very variable... you know.. the way it always is.
HS: Those guys having a lot of sex back there.. huh.
BM: Uhh... they're having a lot of crisps and... you know....
HS: They're having a lot of sex... believe me.
BM: A lot of sodas and everything....
HS: You should see what goes on back there. You can't believe what's going on.
BM: I think you're obsessed, Howard Stern.
HS: Did you actually hang with those dudes?
BM: We had a little bit of time together. We did a lot of talking. I mean.. I
have a lot of respect for them... a lot of love...
HS: Who's the better guitar player... you or Slash? Who do you think is better?
BM: Uhh.... he probably is.
HS: Aaah... aaah... He doesn't think that at all.
BM: To tell you the truth, you can't really talk about better, cause
everybody's different... you know. But the guy... I watched him...
HS: Everybody's a nice guy in show-business.
BM: You don't have to be a nice guy. I actually like him.
HS: Well.... you're a damn good guitar player.
BM: There's people in this business I don't like... but... I'm not going to
bring that up... you know. There's a couple...
HS: You don't have to mention my name. (crew claps)
BM: No.. no... not you. No... no.
HS: I want to thank Brian May... who is my twin. As a matter of fact, I'll be
going out on the road with him... and we're just going to be having sex with
twins the entire tour.
RQ: The twin's tour..
HS: Yeah... cause we're twins... then we get in bed with the girls... and Brian
and I are thinking about blowing... blow drying our hair straight today. So..
we got to decide what we're going to do. We're going to dress the same every
day, too. (guitar wails) We're like the Double Mint twins. But... uh... I want
to thank you for coming in, Brian. You are one of the greatest guitarists that
ever lived.
BM: Awww... that's very kind of you. You don't have to say that.
HS: Sure I do. It's written down here on the paper.
BM: But it was very nice meeting you.
HS: It's very nice meeting you, too, Brian.
BM: You can come on my show anytime.
HS: Thank you, Brian. And you're welcome here anytime. Brian May. And his new
solo album is out... and I guess the single is "Resurrection".
BM: That's the new single... yeah.
HS: That's the new single. So... umm... you got a video for MTV?
BM: Yes, we do... which I'm very proud of... yeah. These H-Gunn guys did it for
me. It's superb.
HS: Excellent !! Brian May, everyone...
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