BRIAN MAY

Einstein got most of the things right about black holes. I'm not an expert, I must admit.

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

The guitar has a kind of grit and excitement possessed by nothing else.

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

The Wedding March has a bit of a death march in it.

Queen songs tend to be about very personal things: personal dreams and personal ambitions.

Sanctions always hurt the poor, the weak, the children.

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 go through major crises every few months, but then I have great peaks of belief and creativity. I'm a weird kind of animal.

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.

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 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.

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

I like to go for a walk or swimming or in the garden when I can. It's a busy kind of life, but I guess I'm lucky.

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.

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.

There's nothing I'm embarrassed about.

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

Every time I listen to Jeff Beck my whole view of guitar changes radically. He's way, way out, doing things you never expect.

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

I don't surf the net in general. I have someone do it for me instead, because I find it sluggish.

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.

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.

I think music is about our internal life. It's part of the way people touch each other. That's very precious to me. And astronomy is, in a sense, the very opposite thing. Instead of looking inwards, you are looking out, to things beyond our grasp.

The biggest emotion in creation is the bridge to optimism.