Having been Queen’s guitarist for over half a century, Sir Brian May has had monumental success.
Yet the incredibly down-to-earth rock star doesn’t see himself as a celebrity but as a musician who’s also an astrophysicist, stereoscopy enthusiast and animal rights campaigner.
With so many interests and causes, the 77-year-old is involved in many projects simultaneously, including mentoring younger artists like X Factor finalist Talia Dean.
The pair have regularly collaborated over the years and most recently co-starred together in the music video for their new single, You Made Your Bed, which is out now, and you can view it below.
Speaking exclusively with Express.co.uk, Talia shared what it’s like to record in the whimsical world of Sir Brian’s recording sessions.
According to Talia, Sir Brian often drives himself to work, not in some swanky sports car but an old Volvo estate, before embarking on some epic multitasking.
She shared: “We’re just like kids, really: we do more messing about and less work. It’s normally just a day of pizza, cakes and tea. I’ll get there, and we won’t actually start work for nearly two hours because he’s showing me something he’s made or something that’s coming out in Queen World. When you go to Brian’s studio, it’s like a wonderland with all these people working [on different things].
“You’ve got to remember, Brian’s in Queen world, he’s in astrophysics world, and then he’s got the rescue centre as well. So you have to get around all the animals, and then you’ve got to go and see all the new albums that Queen is bringing out, the auctions, or anything like that. And then when the sun starts to set, he likes to go and show you what stars are where.
“So getting to the actual recording of it is probably only 30 per cent of the day. Things that you could get done in a whole day, you have to go back and do about three or four times because it’s just like Willy Wonka… it’s just a different world, his world. And when you leave, you think, ‘Did that just happen?’”
On the actual recording sessions (when they finally get down to them) Talia revealed: “I’ve learnt so much working with him as a professional musician. He’s taken my musicianship from amateur to professional. I think he’s the main person that taught me how to be a proper musician, who taught me how to add chords here, how less is more, and how sometimes I shouldn’t overlap vocals and space. He loves space… and he’s got dog hearing so can hear even the slightest bum note, [which he signals with] a slight head turn and we’re all just wait for it.”
“One thing Brian’s been very, very particular about is vocal pitching. And he used to say to me, ‘Sometimes you remind me of early Freddie’ when Freddie was all over the place, and he had to kind of rein him in. Brian really helped Freddie a lot with his vocals, and now he’s helping me with mine. That’s the main mentorship that he has with me and because I have such a massive voice, it needed a sensei and I can never be more grateful to him for that.”
Talia Dean’s You Made Your Bed featuring Sir Brian May is out now and can be downloaded here.
