“I don’t want my kids looking at it through reflections off puddles”
Japanese Radio – February 00
Telephone Interview with Brian May
Hikaru: Hello?
Brian: May: Hello
Hikaru:: Hi! This is Hikaru.
Brian: Hey! Hi, Hikaru… How you doing? (laugh)
Hikaru:: Umm…Sorry for calling you up so early in the morning.
Brian: No, it’s great.
Hikaru:: Did you just wake up?
Brian: Umm…Yes, I woke up specially for you. (laugh)
Hikaru:: (laugh) Thank you…umm…What time is it over there right now?
Brian: It’s a…oh…it’s a good time to be up really. It’s ten thirty in the morning.
Hikaru:: Woo…(laugh)
Brian: Yeah…It’s OK, exaggerate: Thank you for making the time. It’s OK…Hikaru, How are you?
Hikaru:: Um…Yeah, I’m doing good.
Brian: Great.
Hikaru:: …Yeah. It’s about eight o’clock at night right now. Ok
Brian: A ha. Yeah. Are you working?
Hikaru:: Yeah…I was…umm…taking my… taping some radio shows that I do.
Brian: Alright.
Hikaru:: And, umm…I got the…I got the, umm… Greatest Hits Part V.
Brian: Oh…
Hikaru:: Yeah…umm… For, for you, what’s the juiciest part of this, um, album? I mean, how was it different from the most of the other two, before…?
Brian: (laugh) The juiciest part?
Hikaru:: Yeah?
Brian: (laugh)
Hikaru:: (laugh)
Brian: Yeah. (It’s) Interesting question. Umm… I guess the juiciest part is, umm…For me, that’s the new things, you know, those [yeah] the remix, the remix of Under Pressure.
Hikaru:: Hmm.
Brian: Umm… which we really took a part completely and reconstructed [yeah] around the different idea, different beat. And, hum… and the one with Elton John, [hmm hmm] which is a live,…umm, performance which nobody really had heard before.[ hmm… ] Probably so much go on.
Hikaru:: That’s juicy !
Brian: (laugh) It’s kind a juicy.
Hikaru:: (laugh) Well, OK. (laugh) Cause, like, a lot of artist in Japan release their, umm, best albums after, like, two or three yeas after they debuted.
Brian: Yeah?
Hikaru:: And it’s like…how can we do that, you know?
Brian: Yeah, you have to wait till you have enough hits, right?
Hikaru:: Yeah. Oh, there are certainly a lot of hits in that album though, …well.
Brian: Yeah, I was surprised really. Cause I was thinking, you know, maybe it wasn’t very good idea to put No.3 out.
Hikaru:: Hmm.
Brian: And then everybody said, No we have this, this and this and… And we know this idea that the Queen now we don’t have Freddie. Yeah. It’s a kind of refuses to die. And, umm… different things happened, you know, they start to be interactions with other people. And [hmm] and other people doing the songs, and asking us to participate. [yeah] Umm…So…And we suddenly realised these things are still hits. Umm… It’s nice.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: It’s a good feeling that people still wanna hear this, umm…something from Queen.
Hikaru:: Hmm…
UNDER PRESURE REMIX FUTURING DAVID BOWIE
It’s Beauthiful Day
Hikaru:: A lot of my friends know Queen’s songs a lot very well. Yeah? And, they’re like, high school students, you know, middle school kids, really? It’s just, it goes on, I guess… Yeah.
Brian: Yeah. I’m very proud of it, very happy, you know. [hmm] And for me, I don’t want to live in the past that’s all, you know. I like to live in [year] what I’m doing now. But, umm…you know, I went through a period where I thought “No I don’t wanna do about Queen ever. I wanna [hmm] one just be me.”[hmm] And I was very keen on my sound and stuff, and I still am. But I now have this kind of balanced view that…that really always Queen will be there. And it’s something that we worked so hard to create for so many years that so we were so proud. So I guess it’s good that it’s always there.
Hikaru:: Yeah, like, I’m solo artist, I mean, I start out with. Yeah, I’ve never really worked in, like, band or group before.
Brian: Really? Yeah.
Hikaru:: And so I don’t really know how is it to, like, I make my own songs just alone in my room.
Brian: Yeah, Yeah.
Hikaru:: So I never had an experience of being, like, in a band and sharing ideas and making songs together.
Brian: Umm. Interesting, yeah.
Hikaru:: Like The Beatles just made their different parts on their own, right? And they just put it together. But, how was like in Queen?
Brian: Well, with us, it was many different ways. Umm… sometimes it was one those who coming with an idea [hmm] , and then it would kind get throw to the dogs and pull around [laugh] and [laugh] (laugh) you know, chains ??????? stuff and…and then sometimes somebody, he would have an idea in the studio, we worked to lot writings in the studio. And some of those trying was a most creative, say, you know, for instance Freddie might come and say that I have this little idea. What the people think it would be just one line, and then Id say “Well, I have this interesting that little riff. Maybe these things go together.” And then what we try to say with this song, you know, where does it go,[yeah] what can we do. And then we would play things all together in the studio just to see what happened. Those were very exciting times.
Hikaru:: Yeah, I wanna start working with a lot of other peoples soon. Yeah, cause sound like great.
Brian: Yeah, I think, I think, everybody has a certain amount of things inside them. But I think very often magical things happen when you work with someone else that you have a feeling for. [hmm] An, you know, music, I think, is, maybe this sounds pretentious, I don’t know. But I always think that music really is a…is kind of a conversation [ hmm] and if you make music, [yeah] you always give you kind of talking to someone always, you know you have a feeling in your heart [ yeah] and, and you know just saying to the winds. You really saying it to someone usually [ hmm] and, umm…if you’re interacting, if you communicating, having a conversation with someone, it can be very magical, and all different things can come out. [ Yeah] Yeah.
Hikaru:: Umm… Well, when you’re being the guitarist and a writer, do you think of the riffs as you writing a song, or does it come after every things done and you just go,(laugh) and do it whatever.
Brian: All different things, I think, but usually, for me, an idea comes like maybe, umm, some words out of a little piece of a chin. [hmm] And from that everything starts to flow. But there are different ways. Every, you know, there are always different ways, like ??? we just play that in the studio. I think,[yeah] yeah, we just a…but evolved slowly, you know. [ hmm] Umm, we were lucky with Freddy, you know. Some singer will wait until the very end to the vocal. But usually Freddy was in there with us [hmm]. I’m trying out of a riff which comes to my head, Roger doing a pattern which is in his head, you know. John is kind of looking at us and feeling out what’s happening. [hmm] Freddy’s there, and he’s playing keyboards. And he is sort of seeing what comes into his head, what works with the riffs, where the key going around it. [hmm ] And so we already have an idea where the song will go. Cause really even have a greatest riffs in the world and if you don’t have the song, you don’t have anything.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: You know, I think, you know, and there would be times when we would, when things would happen in that way. But usually we will always in our minds realize that the song with what was important. You said that wonderful arrangement, wonderful sounds, wonderful riffs and codes anything. But if you don’t have a song which can be song and then [hmm] you just don’t have the thing .(laugh)
FLASH
Hikaru:: I went to London about three months ago, Yeah? and I loved it there. Really. I even thought of applying to a college in London just after that one visit. Swell. But is it a good place to live in or…? Do you live in London or is it, somewhere else?
Brian: Well, yeah, I here half live in London. Because I spent a lot my times working, and I work in my studio which is in a country. It’s about 45e minutes outside London. [yeah] But I want to live with my lady friend and she wants to live in London. So we have a little house in the middle of London. [woo] And, umm…to me, I spent almost all my life in the central part of London when I was student and everything, and [yeah] ,and I like to be here some of the time. But actuary works how welled for me not to be here all time. I like to have some air [yeah] like the trees and quite and stuff. But I think you need a balance in your life, you know. I find this in many things. [hmm] Cause for long time I was struggling with my lady friend. I say “I wanna live in a country,” she goes , I wanna live in the town.” [laugh] And then, yeah, but, in the end I realized that it’s good to have little of each. It’s very lucky if you can [yeah] do that.
Hikaru:: Do you always carry your guitars, like, wherever you go, or…? How many guitars do you have?
Brian: …I don’t have very many. I don’t collect the guitar. I collect a lot other thing. But I have quite a few copies of my guitar. I don’t know if you know about my guitar was [yeah] home made thing. I made it with my dad.
Hikaru:: Yeah, I just heard that, like, twenty minutes ago and…
Brian: Really?
Hikaru:: It’s shock to me. Yeah.
Brian: Yeah, it’s very special to me. Had particular sound, had particular [hmm] feel. And there’s really nothing like it. But I have some wonderful copies of it now, made with great care and precision.[yeah] and that is very good you know it sometimes I use them. But really when I pick up my own guitar. There’s something special.[ hmm] So I try to take that with me when I’m from working.
Brian: So, like, last week, I was in Los Angels [aha] and to play on the GunsnRoses record. It’s very interesting.
Hikaru:: Wow!
Brian: Yeah. Something very nice and different. But, hum… I just went on the plane. And I tool my guitar with me. And [yeah] they met me the other end. And they said “why you brought your original guitar?” And I said “yeah”(laugh) play some important, I always wanna play on the guitar.
Hikaru:: Yeah. It sounds like a vocalist type attitude toward music. Because, like, we, we come, as a singer, I can’t change my vocal codes, like, another vocal code. Just , you know, and [ right ] a lot guitarist, like, have many many guitars. And they can always change. But, that’s special…
Brian: Yeah. Yeah. I very seldom play anything else. My guitar… it’s funny you say that. Because I always wanted my guitar to be a voice. [hmm] That was kind a my dream that the guitar would have that expression that you would feel like someone was singing to you.
Hikaru:: Year. That’s what I always felt from listening to your music.
Brian: Great.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: I’m very glad. Yeah, that’s the way I want my guitar to be, you know. I was lucky to find that.
Hikaru:: Yeah. Wow…I didn’t know you could hand make guitars like that.
Brian: (laugh) Well, not many people do.
Hikaru:: Yeah. (laugh)
Brian: We put a lot of time. It took us two years to make the thing.
Hikaru:: That’s special
Brian: Yeah, it…it’s special.(laugh)
Hikaru:: When is The Guns nRoses thing coming? Is that gonna be out soon?
Brian: Yeah, well, it’s a long time project. They’d been really…, from the inception I think it’s 5 years [wow] since they started making the record. But they made many many many tracks. [yeah] And now they chosen just a few they want to be on the first new record. And I think it’s very good stuff. I was very impressed Axl singing fantastically. [yeah] I mean, actually such a unique sound and style. I don’t know if you know his work very much. But..
Hikaru:: Yeah, yeah, I’m their fan too, Yeah…
Brian: Yeah, a line is, it’s very passionate and very…[hmm] very exciting, you know. And I was happy to play some stuff on that. I think it will be out on…,they talked about a Spring, I think, you know, late Spring probably and maybe they can tour in Summer.
Hikaru:: Are you releasing anything new soon or …?
Brian: No. Not for me at the moment. Umm, I working on some long term things to, [hmm] umm…I’m doing…, well, the big priority for me is I’m working on a film.
Hikaru:: Wow!
Brian: But not for the music. Just for the… for the…umm…for the reason that I think this film should be made. (laugh)
Hikaru:: (laugh) Well, that’s a good reason though.
Brian: Yeah, it’s just…, me and my friend are working on an idea for a film about… North American Indians.
Hikaru:: Umm..
Brian: And this something which’s been in my mind for a long time. It’s a real passion.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: And we feel, yeah, we feel that the story has to be told. And it’s kind of…oh, I can’t say too much about it.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: But it’s just say it’s based on a feeling that, that, the people should really know the truth, you know [hmm] about history, these things.
Hikaru:: I’ll be looking forward to that. Yeah.
Brian: Yeah.
Hikaru:: And do you have a message for the people listening to the program?
Brian: Yeah. (laugh) I’ll be excited the that I am.
Hikaru:: Yeah. (laugh)
Brian: But, Hikaru and I can meet on telephone. I have to meet you in person
before too long.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: But the people out there, umm…. thank you for listening to us, you know, for always time. We have so many wonderful friends in Japan every time. It’s been a while since we’d been there. I got this is homesick feeling. I wanna be, just be in the street of Japan. And I play there again.
So I hope that will happen before too long.
Hikaru:: Yeah. I hope I can see you in persons soon eventually.
Brian: Yeah.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: Yeah.: Where London, Japan. Yeah.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: Definitely.
Hikaru:: Thank you for taking the time out for this.
Brian: Well, Congratulations on doing so fantastically well with it, brilliant success.
Hikaru:: Thank you.
Brian: Yeah.
Hikaru:: Yeah.
Brian: OK, let us…we’ll meet soon, ha?
Hikaru:: Yeah. OK.
Brian: OK.
Hikaru:: Thank you.
Brian: You are very welcome. Bye.
Hikaru:: Bye. Good luck.
Don’t waste your time!
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS