The 1984 Queen song Brian May thought the band would hate: “I got back in”
Being a guitar hero, innovator and holding a PhD in astrophysics are singular achievements unattainable to most mortals.
Yet, Brian May has accomplished all of those things, alongside writing numerous hit records and receiving a knighthood. A contemporary Renaissance man who uses his brain for gregarious means, there can be no doubt that he is one of a kind, despite the polarising nature of Queen’s efforts.
Given that he is such a brainiac and has achieved practically all there is to in music, as well as being loved by the entire badger population for his efforts in saving them from annihilation, you’d think that May would be oozing with self-confidence and have every right to be a touch braggadocious. After all, he’s Dr Manhattan, and we’re very much jaded little earthlings who have no real clue about the intricacies of life and the universe.
However, as most intellectuals often are, May is not one for showing off. He’s a quiet, unassuming character who acted as an ideal intellectual and sonic foil to the theatrical effervescence of Queen’s late frontman, Freddie Mercury. This character also meant that despite his dynamism on the fretboard and clear brilliance as a songwriter, May was often quite downbeat about his skillset and not the most confident when it came to bringing new ideas to the band. He frequently thought the group would hate his work.
That uncertainty was partly rooted in the unique chemistry within Queen itself. Unlike many bands dominated by a single songwriter, Queen functioned as four fiercely talented individuals all competing to have their ideas heard.
Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon were all capable of writing major hits, which meant that every new composition entered an environment filled with strong opinions and high standards. Even for someone as gifted as May, there was never any guarantee that an idea would immediately connect with the rest of the group.
It is also part of what made Queen’s catalogue so consistently adventurous throughout their career. Songs were rarely accepted in their earliest form, instead evolving through intense collaboration and experimentation inside the studio. May’s reflections on ‘Hammer to Fall’ reveal how much persistence sat behind the band’s biggest moments, with confidence often arriving only after the hard work of refining an idea into something undeniable.
He revealed this reality when speaking to Guitar World in 2024. After discussing his affinity for tube amps and his unique tone, attention turned to Queen’s 1984 album The Works, a noticeably more guitar-oriented body of work than the group’s albums at the decade’s onset. It was then that May revealed the gamut of emotions that comprise the songwriting process and bringing his ideas to the band.
He said: “With me, it always starts off with a burst of activity, belief and inspiration. And thinking, ‘Ah, this is gonna change the world.’ And it’s usually followed by a period of complete insecurity, thinking, ‘Oh, no, this is rubbish. This is never gonna work. Everyone’s gonna, you know, my band’s gonna hate it.’ And then working through it.”
May then revealed that ‘Hammer to Fall’, one of the record’s highlights, emerged in such a way that he thought his bandmates would hate it. He came up with the riff and thought it was great and that the audience would love it, but things soon changed. The reality in the rehearsal room was much different from what he envisioned: “And then I got into the studio and played it to the guys, and they went, ‘Yeah, okay.’ It wasn’t like, ‘We love it!’ And then I got back in and worked on the song.”
May went back to the drawing board. Luckily, in this instance, the lyrics emerged early on, with him building the song up to the point he could play it to his friends as an almost finished number so they could fully hear the scope of his idea. When he did, they finally understood what he was going for, and his confidence returned, with them all united in the belief it was to turn out great.
May concluded: “It takes a bit of belief, I think, to get from the first riff to the point where you’re happy with the result.”
