![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Brian-May-Queen-2017-Far-Out-Magazine-F-1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ Raph_PH)<\/p>\n
Sun 23 November 2025 8:59, UK <\/p>\n
To decide who is the greatest rock band is to consider too many factors to mention in a pithy opening paragraph. Style, sound and general panache are all highly considerable factors. But, if you were to look at records sold alone, then the figures attributed to Queen<\/a> reign supreme over the majority of the British rock scene. <\/p>\n The band, comprised of Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, remain rooted at the top of the pile of rock and roll bands. They are as big a brand as anything you might see on your high street, ubiquitous presence among the cultural fabric of Britain. Despite having a bittersweet reputation among musos, there can be no denying their universal appeal and ability to transcend boundaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unfortunately, this ability to haul huge sales has often seen many commentators and music fans negate the band\u2019s critical work. It also means the band\u2019s guitar player, May, is given the same treatment, regardless of his musical prowess.<\/p>\n In reality, May is one of the most gifted guitarists rock and roll has ever seen. A technically proficient player, May put all of his cerebral proclivities to use when he worked with Queen, delivering lead lines and solos that most can only dream of penning. Who can forget his contribution to some of the band\u2019s finest such as \u2018Bohemian Rhapsody\u2019 or,\u00a0his personal favourite<\/a>, \u2018Killer Queen\u2019, to name just two?\u00a0<\/p>\n Those tracks are brimming with everything that makes May such an underrated performer. Not only does he wail like a banshee, but he, most importantly, supports the tracks and makes them into anthems. That\u2019s what makes May different to every other lead player, he rarely wants the spotlight. <\/p>\n Not only did he build his own iconic guitar, but, similarly, May cultivated a sound like no other, opting to use a coin instead of a plastic plectrum as one of his innovative affectations. In many ways, he\u2019s a guitar-playing iconoclast who is often overlooked in favour of rock\u2019s more tedious and overhyped guitarists, who think that playing scales rapidly is an indicator of artistic aptitude. May is a brainiac, and when he\u2019s not saving the badger population from existential annihilation, he\u2019s tearing it up on the fretboard. <\/p>\n Given that he is such a brilliant guitarist, those who are disciples of May\u2019s playing have long wanted to understand just how he developed artistically and who influenced him. Luckily for them, during a 2020 interview with Total Guitar<\/a>, the Queen axeman discussed his favourite guitarist of all time, and his choice may come as something of a surprise. <\/p>\n In a discussion, after being voted the \u2018best rock guitarist of all time\u2019 by the readers of the publication, May was asked to reflect on the players who came behind him. Duly, much attention was placed on the man who came in second place, Jimi Hendrix. <\/p>\n The typically modest May said: \u201cOh my god! Well, it is very humbling. Jimi is, of course, my number one. And I\u2019ve always said that. To me, he\u2019s still something superhuman. It\u2019s like he really did come from an alien planet, and I will never know quite how he did what he did.\u201d <\/p>\n May explained: \u201cAnd every time I go back to Hendrix, I\u2019m thrilled and stunned, and I get that feeling all over again, like either I\u2019m going to give up playing guitar, because I can\u2019t face up to this, or I\u2019m gonna really have to get into it in a big way and try and do what is in my own body and soul. I never stop learning from Jimi. Strangely enough, these days, I very seldom play his stuff, but it\u2019s kind of inside me anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Brian-May-Queen-1977-Far-Out-Magazine-F-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>Brian May back in 1977. (Credits: Far Out \/ Carl Lender)<\/p>\n