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Brian
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Hertfordshire
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Brian
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Brian
May, was presented with an honorary doctorate from Hertfordshire
University
in November 2002.
Born
in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. Best known as the guitarist
in rock band Queen, May has also enjoyed notable solo success.
He was also one of the prime movers behind the Freddie Mercury
AIDS Benefit in 1992, following the death of Queen's flamboyant
lead singer the previous November.
May
enjoyed his biggest UK solo hit in September 1992 with the
number 5 single, "Too Much Love Will Kill You".
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Not many
academics can walk onto a stage to a thunderous round of applause,
walk off to retrieve their notes and walk back on to yet another thunderous
round of applause - unless of course you are Brian May.
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| Brian
May receiving is Honorary Doctorate from Hertfordshire University
in 2002. |
Doctorate
The legendary guitarist (I'm sure he'd blush at that) from Queen,
who was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University a couple
of years ago, took to the stage for one evening only to questioned
by students, lecturers and his fans about all aspects of his life
and career. (Proceeds of which went to the Mercury Phoenix Trust,
a charity set up to raise money and awareness about AIDS in the
memory of Freddie Mercury).
Although
Brian seemed a little nervous to start with, he quickly settled
into 'lecturer mode' and seemed very much at home standing behind
a lectern. We, the audience, were very aware that a few feet away
from him was his original homemade guitar, the 'Red Special' and
at either side of the stage two very large amplifiers. This wasn't
going to be any old question and answer session…
No
barriers
He was very open about various subjects which I thought he wouldn't
want to talk about, but not only did he answer every question asked
of him in depth, he also was quite happy to continue for nearly
two hours longer than scheduled. It was a really relaxed atmosphere
and for want of a better description 'chilled'. Brian actually said
that he believes he's still a bit of a hippie at heart and that
came across - there really were no barriers between himself and
the audience.
Philosophical
He began the evening with a short, philosophical, talk about the
problem everyone faces sometime in their lives; what to do for the
best when confronted with having to make a major decision.
He used many analogies to illustrate the 'damned if you do, damned
if you don't' scenario, and concluded that the best thing to do
was make a decision, as he felt that pondering too long over which
course of action to take was far worse than making a choice and
taking whatever consequences went with it.
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| Brian
May played on the roof of Buckingham Palace at the Queen's Jubilee
Concert |
I think
the audience were a little taken aback at the depth of this and
were a little hesitant at first to ask any questions. An hour later,
however and the questions were flowing, covering topics from how
he makes his signature guitar sound to whether there is life on
Mars (he is actually an astronomer as well as a musician).
We
Were Rocked!
There was a short musical interlude, where he played 'We Will Rock
You', ably assisted by the audience in foot stomping and hand clapping
the rhythm. He also played a solo to show the flexibility and variations
in sound that the guitar can produce, whilst explaining how he does
it (a dream come true for all the guitarists in the audience).
The
whole evening was a fascinating and rare insight into the life of
a very intelligent, talented individual, almost akin to taking apart
a clock, not only to find out how it ticks, but why it chooses to
tock. The organisers, UHArts will be hard pushed to beat
this!
| Ina
Blümers, Stiens |
Monday,
19-Jan-2004 22:54:23 GMT |
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| Wish
i was there! Artikel: Great!! Ritten from the hart. |
| Queenie,
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Monday,
19-Jan-2004 10:17:37 GMT |
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| Thanks
for the transcript, it is fab!!!! |
| Guillaume
Top, Paris |
Sunday,
18-Jan-2004 12:53:52 GMT |
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| can
i get a rewind !!!!!!! Bo selecta. |
| Linda
Baker, Seaham, Co Durham |
Saturday,
17-Jan-2004 17:39:38 GMT |
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| Many
thanks Lesley, I was unable to get to the university to see
my beloved Brian, it was great reading your article. |
| JOHN
KIRKHAM, Silsoe |
Saturday,
17-Jan-2004 08:53:38 GMT |
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| extremely
interesting articles. Sounds like a great evening-pity I didn't
know about it but I expect many are in this situation. |
| Yuko
Amemiya, Tokyo |
Saturday,
17-Jan-2004 10:33:04 GMT |
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| Very
interesting and happy as Brian May fan. |
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