![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Brian-May-2022-Queen-Guitarist-Professor-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Raph Pour-Hashemi<\/p>\n
Sat 23 May 2026 10:27, UK <\/p>\n
After Brian May<\/a> received a Spanish guitar as a gift for his seventh birthday, it didn\u2019t take long for him to realise that this was his purpose in life, and the dream that he wanted to spend his life chasing.<\/p>\n Upon Queen forming in the 1970s and taking the world by storm<\/a>, May succeeded in his mission. However, before then, there had been bumps in the road, such as his first band, Smile, failing to take off in the late \u201960s, which could have easily led to him throwing in the towel rather than persisting.<\/p>\n May also questioned whether he was up for the task after seeing Jimi Hendrix live in 1966, which made him doubt whether he had the capabilities to make his dream become a possibility. Admittedly, this was a thought that raced through the mind of any guitarist who saw Hendrix in that fabled era.<\/a><\/p>\n The stories of Hendrix\u2019s arrival in London in 1966 have taken on mythical status. In a remarkably short period, Hendrix\u2019s name became legend in the English capital, fuelled further by the release of his debut single \u2018Hey Joe\u2019, which elevated his star power even more, and made everyone aware of the new kid on the block.<\/p>\n At this stage in his life, May was just another teenager obsessed with rock music, fostering ambitions to one day be at the top. Before Hendrix found his way into his consciousness, May believed guitar playing couldn\u2019t possibly get better than Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. How wrong he proved to be.<\/p>\n In his mind, the English duo, who made their name in The Yardbirds, had set a benchmark that could never be eclipsed technically. Then, Hendrix changed his perspective entirely.<\/p>\n The discovery of Clapton was a landmark moment in May\u2019s life, as he offered a gateway into a whole new world. It opened May\u2019s mind to a string of heroes from the blues scene, such as BB King and Bo Diddley, who informed Clapton\u2019s style<\/a>.<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/strong><\/p>\n However, when Hendrix came along, it was like he was playing a completely different instrument. Due to his individualistic sound, it was impossible to trace his influences as he did with Clapton, and seeing him live confirmed that Hendrix was superhuman.<\/p>\n During an interview with Guitar Player<\/a> in 1983, May said of Clapton and Beck before comparing their talents with Hendrix: \u201cI thought after seeing those two, I\u2019d seen it all. I had been playing all that time, and I could play that style. I was beginning to make the guitar sort of talk. I always wanted the guitar to play for people, to talk the same way a vocal did and have feeling in it. I didn\u2019t want it to be an accompanying instrument.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen, when I saw Hendrix, I thought, \u2018Oh, my god. This guy is doing everything that I was trying to do.\u2019 He just made me feel like I couldn\u2019t play.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian May<\/p><\/blockquote>\n May then explained how Hendrix could do \u201call sorts of things which you hadn\u2019t even thought of, never mind find yourself able to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on his first time hearing Hendrix, May said: \u201cI heard him play on a single of \u2018Hey Joe<\/a>\u2018, and on the flip side, there\u2019s an amazing solo on \u2018Stone Free\u2019, where he\u2019s talking to the guitar and it\u2019s talking back to him. I thought, \u2018Well, he can\u2019t really be that good. He must have done that with studio technique\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly afterwards, in January 1967, Hendrix supported The Who<\/a> at London\u2019s Savoy Theatre, and May was in attendance. At this point, the American only had one single to his name, yet within the next 12 months, he\u2019d be an internationally renowned figure.<\/p>\n For May, once he\u2019d seen Hendrix in the flesh, he knew he\u2019d witnessed greatness, noting: \u201cHe just completely blew me away. I thought, \u2018He\u2019s it.\u2019 The Who couldn\u2019t follow him in those days, and they were really hot, big news in England. Anybody in the world would find it hard to follow Hendrix.\u201d<\/p>\n Half of London was speaking in equally favourable terms about Hendrix, but it was for good reason. Everybody who saw him during this golden chapter felt like they\u2019d stumbled upon the messiah, and accepted that they couldn\u2019t compete with his greatness.<\/p>\n No guitarist was able to compete with him in 1966, and 60 years later, there is still nobody who exists on his level when it comes to ingenuity. As May knew upon seeing him live, Hendrix was an unprecedented genius<\/a>, the likes of which we will never witness again.<\/p>\n\n
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