Brian Maymember of the legendary British band What incelebrated his 3,900th Instagram post by playing the song ’39’ with the Teide as a framework for his music. A melody that was included in the album ‘Una noche en la Ópera’ that the group published in 1975. The British artist took advantage of his stay at the Izaña Observatory in Tenerife to sing the song with his ‘Red Special’ guitar .
The presence of the scientist, as well as a singer, at the Tenerife observatory occurred a few days ago. Let us remember that the composer is immersed these weeks in the recording of his new musical work, and he is doing it in Tenerife because, as he has stated on more than one occasion the figure of the Teide mountain inspires him. In addition to having stated that he wants his ashes, when he dies, to rest on the slopes of the Tenerife mountain.
Book that arrives in Spain
May’s visit is due to the British’s presence in Spain to present the book about the artist and his guitar. Knowing the history and the “guts” of Brian May’s ‘Red Special’ guitar is the proposal of Brian May’s Red Speciala book originally edited in English by the journalist Simon Bradley in 2014 and now going on sale in Spanish through Letrame Editorial.
The book was at an event held at the Gran Teatro Caixa Príncipe Pío, in Madrid, and was attended by Luis Álvarez, producer of the musical We will Rock You; Álvaro Martín, screenwriter, radio producer and Queen expert; and Danny Gómez, guitarist of the musical and in charge of the translation.
Brian May’s Red Special explores in detail everything related to this mythical guitar that Brian May used -and continues to use- throughout his entire career, and which has been present on all the albums he released with Queen.
A long life that has as its starting point the year 1962, when a young May decides to learn to play the electric guitar, but his lack of resources prevented him from being able to afford one. That is why together with his father, Harold May, they decide to make one by hand, a process that would take them two years.
To create the guitar, father and son used materials they had in their workshop, such as an oak table to make the body or springs from a motorcycle to create the bridge.
“The book tells the genesis of how a neighborhood boy without resources creates an iconic guitar that will go down in music history”, Álvaro Martín declared at the event.
Thanks to the fact that it is the musician himself who acts as the narrator of this work, in addition to offering curiosities such as the manufacture of this instrument, the reader will be able to learn more about May’s career, his origins, his first bands or how he experienced his performance on the roof of Buckingham Palace in 2002.
There is also a chapter dedicated to his participation in the biographical film of the band Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), incorporated in the second edition of the original book, the one chosen by Gómez to carry out the translation.
complete the content of the book detailed photographs of each of the parts of the guitarsnapshots of May’s life and even original documents such as the notes and diagrams that he and his father used to create the famous instrument.
