Brian May regrets not working with John Lennon
The Queen guitarist Brian May has recently admitted that he harbours big regrets about not being able to work with The Beatles’ John Lennon before he died of gunshot wounds in New York City in 1980.
May has worked with several high-profile musicians throughout his career, including the likes of Black Sabbath, David Bowie and Status Quo, to name but a few, but Lennon looks to have been one artist that seems to have got away.
During a new interview with The Guardian, May’s fans were given the opportunity to ask him questions, and one asked the guitarist the musician he wished he’d been able to collaborate with.
May said, “I very seldom turn down a collaboration. A regret is that I didn’t get the chance to work with John Lennon. The Beatles didn’t always agree; they were always pulling and pushing.”
He continued, “A bit like Queen and us. I think John would be such a stronger pusher and puller. You’d have to work really hard to keep up, to believe in your instincts. I could imagine us hitting it off.”
When it comes to the artists that May has been fortunate enough to work with, though, it looks like few impressed him as much as Eddie Van Halen, noting, “He’s incredible. Like Jimi Hendrix, he took the guitar to a new place, he gave it an extra dimension, and millions of people followed him. He was a wonderful guy to be around, too: very innocent, very full of fun and light.”
May added: “He never seemed to try; nothing was ever difficult for him – he just had those magic fingers. We’d never worked together before Star Fleet, only hung out – it was really glorious to be around him and have those moments.”
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