(Credits: Paul Williams)
On the face of it, Queen and Guns N’ Roses are two completely different rock bands – separate eras, contrasting sound, and respective backgrounds that are worlds apart. But as any rock star worth their salt would tell you, all of that means relatively little in forging sonic kinships, because at their heart, bands understand precisely what bonds them together, just as much as what tears them apart. It’s a fact not lost on Brian May.
The veteran guitarist is now very much part of the furniture as far as rock and roll legend goes, having soared to the top of the tree for 20 years with Queen and then continuing on that mantle, even after the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991, as a testament to the band’s legacy more than anything else. Yet this experience as a stalwart of the game also gives May a distinct skill when inspecting the rest of the competition – that he can recognise a kindred rock spirit, even among those who haven’t shared many of the same paths as his own.
That’s precisely the feeling that emerged for him in the years after Mercury’s passing, when he set out on his own sonic journey and fell into the orbit of Guns N’ Roses. Axl Rose and co were no doubt similarly formidable forces, but sweeping in from the heights of Hollywood could have risked clashing against May’s London grit. But instead, when the guitarist toured with the band in 1993, it opened his eyes to whole new invigorating musical experiences, as well as reminding him of the very genesis of Queen.
It was almost reassuring to see, however, that despite all the fame and grandeur afforded to him, when faced with a new challenge, May wasn’t entirely unflappable. He reflected in an interview at the time: “It was like being fed to the lions the first time I went out, or else jumping off a very high cliff, ’cos I didn’t know what to expect. But we’ve gone over surprisingly well, really. The Guns N’ Roses fans are a fairly…what’s the word? I suppose in tune rock and roll audience—they’re not too extreme.”
Yet, to the untrained ear, glam rock doesn’t tend to have a lot of bearing on heavy metal, so what was it that made May so comfortable in Guns N’ Roses’ company? He said, “You know, I don’t think a Metallica audience would be that easy, but Guns N’ Roses fans seem pretty much into what I’m trying to do. I think there’s a kind of spiritual connection between Guns N’ Roses and Queen, anyway—I feel like there’s a lot of parallels and similarities in the way we approach things. So I feel very at home with those guys.”
In this sense, he really isn’t wrong when you think about it. Despite being cut from entirely different cloths and accumulating their distinct spheres of fanbases in the rock and roll world, Queen and Guns N’ Roses share one seminal quality at their hearts – brotherhood. Through all the years of bruisings and bust-ups that fame inevitably brings, both bands share an unshakable bond and vision among all their members. With his own frontman now looking down from above by that point, it was an aspect of performing that evidently held a lot of value to May.
As such, although rock and roll still is the home for a hell of a lot of rivalries and inter-band sparring, it’s worth remembering that every single one of them started out from chasing the same dream. Riches and lavishes may threaten to jade and blind them along the way, but if there’s anything a figure like May proves, it’s that if you stay in the game long enough, you’ll realise there’s more to bring you together than there ever was to tear you apart.
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