Brian May

“Everybody thought I was a bit of an eccentric for wanting to be out there looking at the stars, but I still do.”

“At the moment the Queen stuff does sell really well, but there's no guarantee it'll go on forever.”

“Astronomy's much more fun when you're not an astronomer.”

“I despise the Lottery. There's less chance of you becoming a millionaire than there is of getting hit on the head by a passing asteroid.”

“Queen songs are not about the life of a rock star - they tend to be about the lives of normal people, which is why I think the songs connect so much. We're very lucky that they seemingly connect with every generation.”

“I really thought I was pretty good before I saw Hendrix, and then I thought: Yeah, not so good.”

“I'm pretty basic as far as technique is concerned. I don't use many gadgets, and I like the sound my guitar makes, anyway.”

“For a time I didn't want to answer any questions about Queen. I'd like to be viewed as something alive and relevant, not some fossil.”

“Each gig should be unique. You're always treading that line between keeping yourself fresh and giving people something they want to hear.”

“There are times when I flick through magazines and think I'm in danger of becoming a prisoner of my own hair.”

“I spent 20 years of my life building up Queen, and now I'm spending years of my life trying to get away from it.”

“There's nothing I'm embarrassed about.”

“There are a lot of things in Queen albums that you don't expect; that's why we threw them in.”

“In print, people can do anything to you. Everything you do is picked apart. People love it; they're waiting for you to make a mistake.”

“I'm not a person for sitting on beaches. What would I do?”

“There is no way that you can ever really repeat something. I have this great belief that the magic of the moment can never be recaptured.”

“The guitar was my weapon, my shield to hide behind.”

“I had this big thing about guitar harmonies. I wanted to be the first to put proper three-part harmonies onto a record. That was an achievement.”

“I was actually perfectly happy when I had no money, which lasted right up until we had a hit with Killer Queen, in 1974. I never wanted for anything.”