Maybe it’s age, but I really can’t remember the first time I met Brian. I remember that the first opportunity to collaborate was given to us by Rock Aid Armenia, the project set up together with Ian Gillan to give support to the Armenian people hit by a terrible earthquake in 1988. We played Smoke on the water and Brian and Roger spent themselves along with so many others for that cause.
Brian was never one of many. When someone has a gift, you feel it just by looking at them. When we recorded Headless Cross, he went around the studios like any kid looking for a treasure. But the treasure was found by Black Sabbath with his solo by When Death Calls. When I think of this industry, it’s not easy to count friends. Beyond all those who have passed in Black Sabbath, the first names that come to mind immediately are dear Eddie Van Halen and Brian, two gentlemen, two great souls. Go rediscover that gem called the Star Fleet Project.
I have always loved Queen’s music, especially for their ability to change so many genres and styles, while always remaining strongly connected to their sound. Something really difficult for me to imagine, and that only four musicians with such different musical backgrounds could have. And then there was her guitar, with that sound never heard before and that ability to create sublime and essential solos. Never a note too many or a gratuitous display of style. And to think that, at the beginning of the seventies, few had his expertise with the instrument. For that Eddie revered him.
I also fondly remember my participation in the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, one of the most exciting evenings of my life. Basically, the band and I hadn’t been able to rehearse anything before the show. Brian asked me to play Heaven and Hellhe absolutely wanted me to play it, but then due to time constraints I limited myself to the initial riff.
It’s hard to explain what Brian means to me. A gentleman, one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, but above all my best friend.
Adapted from Brian May – Just One Life by Luca Garrò, Tsunami Editions
