Brian May, guitarist for Queen, one of the greatest rock bands of all time, has been formally installed as a Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.
May is a guitarist, sure, but he’s also a real-live astrophysicist, getting his degree recently after a slight delay due to a career move involving music. But he is now an actual Chancellor, and was awarded "an honorary fellowship for his contribution to astronomy and services to the public understanding of science…"
Very cool. His degree was in studying the radial motion of dust in the zodiacal light, and I can’t say more because I couldn’t find his paper on any online server. Anyone have a link? I did find a couple of book reviews of Bang! — The Complete History of the Universe which he cowrote with my friend and blogger Chris Lintott. Maybe I’ll pick up a copy whilst (!) I’m in the UK later this week.
Anyway, congratulations to Dr. May! But it’s interesting to wonder how many Brits have left behind a life of music for astrophysics…
Tip o’ the mortarboard to BABLoggee Chris Nicoll.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Here is the abstract: http://tinyurl.com/l6ttl
Here is the paper: http://tinyurl.com/2qdsan
April 14th, 2008 at 10:42 am
[url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1974MNRAS.166..439H]Here[/url] ya go Phil.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:51 am
The thesis will be available later this year in book form
http://www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-0-387-77705-4
April 14th, 2008 at 11:33 am
You really ought to try and score an interview with him some time.
April 14th, 2008 at 11:37 am
If I remember correctly, Queen is quite unique and a bit of anomaly. All the members of Queen were highly-educated before joining that band. As the stereotype says, most rockers and musicians for that matter are as dumb-as-a-bag-of-bricks. Of course there are a few exceptions to that stereotype such as Dee Snider, Tom Morello, the guy from Anthrax named Ian, Lemmy from Motorhead, and Henry Rollins. However, outside of those mentioned, almost every musician i’ve met in real life or seen documentaries/interviews about is either a bit whacko, at the very least, or has the educational level of a 7th grade middle schooler.
So congrats to Doctor and Queen was really great back in the 70s when they pumped out a lot classic rock great hits.
April 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Some interesting things to note about Brian May as scientist. The first is that he is adamantly opposed to the use of animals for medical research.
(see the Feb. 28, 2008 entry at http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssb.html for example). The second is he was opposed to the Deep Impact mission out of the concern that the impact might have destroyed the comet completely.
Not that there’s anything wrong with these ideas. Just noting them.
J. D.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Greg E, don’t forget Kraftwerk, who were/are engineers and built their own synthesizers.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
In the 70s Queen made great rock music, while the music of the others were just a bunch of Jodrell Bank (Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, I’m looking at you….)
April 14th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Oh yeah, BA if you want a foretaste of London go to the Boulder Theatre tomorrow where Nick Lowe performs. British rock doesn’t come any better than this. http://www.bouldertheater.com/event_detail.php?id=820
April 14th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
“Anyway, congratulations to Dr. May! But it’s interesting to wonder how many Brits have left behind a life of music for astrophysics…”
I only started learning the guitar while in uni studying astrophysics, but I could have given up a promising career in music to study. Unfortunately, I also gave up astrophysics after uni too. And I then found out I was no good at playing the guitar either. Kinda sad, really… ;o)
“In the 70s Queen made great rock music, while the music of the others were just a bunch of Jodrell Bank (Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, I’m looking at you….)”
You mean THE Pink Floyd who were at their peak during the 70s, and released an album which spent 741 consecutive weeks (14 years) in the Billboard 200 album chart, and is one of the biggest selling albums of all time? 
P
April 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Thomas Siefert:
As a musician and composer, amateur astronomer, science geek and long-time Mensa member (proving that May isn’t the only musical intellectual in the U.K.) I think I am qualified to retort:
DON’T KNOCK THE FLOYD!
Queen were certainly a great band, but even they had their low points. Musical appreciation is not science; when it comes to “Who’s the greatest” then it’s purely a matter of opinion. I happen to like all the bands you mention, plus dozens more that are as good or even better (Gentle Giant anybody?)
As for Dr. May – he’s the kind of role model our kids should be emulating instead of idol-worshipping the likes of Doherty, Spears and Winehouse. May his star continue to rise – he’s an example for all of us on how to succeed!
April 14th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Hey Greg…did you just list Henry Rollins as an example of a musician who is not a little bit wacko? Now that’s damning the whole lot!
April 14th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Tom Scholz of Boston.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholz_Research_%26_Development%2C_Inc.
April 14th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Well, John Tichy, one of my college chem professors had previously been a guitarist for Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen; and Eddie Knowles, our dean of students had played for Gil Scott Heron, so I’m guessing this is more common than you might think.
April 14th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Yes! THEE Pink Floyd. I’ve tried to like them because everyone keeps telling me how good they are, but they just can’t get hook in me. Of course it doesn’t mean they are bad just because one person dislike them.
To me the greats of the 70s are Queen, Slade, AC/DC, Nazareth, Judas Priest and… eh… oh dear I’m a Yobbo.
April 14th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Dr May is an incredible person. Modest, sincere, friendly, inspiring.
April 14th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Steady on there, Phil. I’d advise against any attempts at a Dick van Dyke-style Cockney accent while you’re in London, especially in any East End pubs, if you don’t want to be accused of taking the mickey.
Any whilst (!!!) we’re on that subject, what did people think of ancient Pompeian street merchants talking the Cockney lingo in this week’s Doctor Who episode? I thought it was a very clever mickey-take of the whole sci-fi “we all speak the same language” conceit, especially the running joke about real Latin phrases being mistaken for “Celtic” (Welsh). But I thought the “lovely jubbly” remark was a little too “Del Boy” for me. It took me out of the moment when it wasn’t really necessary.
All in all, though, another excellent Doctor Who episode.
April 14th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
“If I remember correctly, Queen is quite unique and a bit of anomaly. All the members of Queen were highly-educated before joining that band.”
Apart from Brian May;
Freddie Mercury had a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design
Roger Taylor studied Dentistry, but changed and got a BSc in Biology
John Deacon has a First Class Honours Degree in electronics
“So congrats to Doctor and Queen was really great back in the 70s when they pumped out a lot classic rock great hits.”
Ditto
April 14th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I’m sorry, but for moral reasons I cannot agree that Queen is “one of the greatest rock bands of all time.”
You see, in their song “Bicycle,” Queen declares, unabashedly, “[i]Jaws[/i] was never my scene, and I don’t like [i]Star Wars[/i]!”.
April 14th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I’m sorry, but for moral reasons I cannot agree that Queen is “one of the greatest rock bands of all time.”
You see, in their song “Bicycle,” Queen declares, unabashedly, “_Jaws_ was never my scene, and I don’t like _Star Wars_”!
April 14th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Ok, how about a link between Dr. May and Mr. Gilmour:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wFHL5b7dIpE
;o)
April 14th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
He may be “an actuall chancellor”, but that job is nothing but a figurehead – someone to look good in the prospectuses. It’s the vice chancellor who does the actual work.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Anyone who can build his own guitars and then calculate Doppler shifts on solar system dust grains is ok in my books!
He Will Rock You! Thud, thud, boom….
April 14th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
“Anyone who can build his own guitars and then calculate Doppler shifts on solar system dust grains is ok in my books!”
Or Doppler shifts of guitar sounds as he runs back and forth across the stage…
April 14th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Is that why they did the soundtrack for “Flash Gordon”???
April 14th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Greg Graffin, lead singer for the punk band Bad Religion, may be teaching your kids, if they enroll at UCLA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Graffin
April 14th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Any group that can come up with a song like Bohemian Rhapsody must be composed of a select, erudite group of musicians whose world extends far beyond the boundaries of rock and roll.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Frederick William Herschel comes to mind.
Before he picked up a career in astronomy he composed som quite nice music.
He discovered Uranus among other celestial things.
But maybe he doesn’t count. He was born in Hannover, Germany.
April 14th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Though I can’t say much for Queen as a band (some classic hits but mostly generic mainstream filler to my taste), as a guitarist I can testify that May’s approach has changed the way many interact with the instrument. That influence and technique too, is worthy of study. (his scale usage, fill-timing, compositional arrangement and texturing)
April 14th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Brian May wrote ’39, one of the finest songs in the Queen catalog, and the only song I’m know of that interweaves a love song with the ramifications of interstellar travel.
April 14th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
that should read “… a love story … “
April 14th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
And of course, Yoshihisa Shimizu, the leader of the Japanese Prog Rock band Kenso, has a day-job as a dentist.
What? Kenso is not a household name?
J. D.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
How about Dave Aguilar of The Chocolate Watchband? Went on to become a prof of astronomy (Colorado). Later in the aerospace industry.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Dr. Brian May and Mr. Roger Taylor (as Queen) are releasing a new album later this year with Paul Rodgers (of Free and Bad Company), followed by a world-wide tour.
The new album is called ‘The Cosmos Rocks’, and check out the image on the official website:
http://www.queenonline.com/
April 15th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Bang! is a lovely book. I got it for my 30th birthday a week ago, and I have not yet had time to read through it. However, the parts I’ve read are very nice, and the presentation is eye-catching. Lots of beautiful images.
The book is written in such a way as to make the science within accessible to a large group of people, and also to create a sense of wonder within the reader.
When I was six years old, I had already started to like books. When my parents noticed the way I was looking at (and in) one of their science books, they gave it to me. The book was the Swedish translation of “Travellers in space and time,” and I still have it in my bookshelf. Thanks to all the times I’ve read it, it is in a sorry condition, but it is the book that got me interested in science, so it has a lot of sentimental value to me.
Some of the wonder I felt all those years ago returned when I leafed through Bang! and started reading. It comes as no surprise that I recommend Bang! both to anyone really into astronomy and as a gift for people (especially younger people) who do not yet have this interest, but could develop it in the future.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Re-reading my comment after posting, I realized that I missed one important part. “Travellers in space and time” was written by Patrick Moore, and his writing style can be recognized in Bang! as well.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:03 am
Brian May always had his head in the stars. Am I the only one to have bought Starfleet?
It’s, er, interesting.
Video here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjijteu0gcQ
April 15th, 2008 at 5:33 am
No, rutty, you’re not the only one here to have bought Starfleet.
I also have Gettin’ Smile, by Smile, Brian’s earlier group. And Brian’s gold disc for The Miracle.
Point of information, Phil. Brian had already graduated with a B.Sc.(Hons.) and had begun working on his doctorate in the early ’70s before he gave it up for Queen.
–
April 15th, 2008 at 5:46 am
[...] was reading a post over at Bad Astronomy about Brian May and the comments there discussed a number of his collaborations. I’ve always [...]
April 15th, 2008 at 8:19 am
I believe the people of the United Kingdom have always been happy to claim William Herschel as one of their own.
Being German-born wasn’t a handicap; after all, his patron was half German himself.
Here’s an album of Herschel’s music.
April 15th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I’m British, and an astrophysicist, I also turned my back on the arts…. so now I’m unemployed, go figure
Good on Brian May, great fight back to score his PhD!
April 15th, 2008 at 10:39 am
My ex wife sold him some stuff once when she worked in John Lews in Oxford Street
April 15th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Also I saw Queen and Paul Rogers when they did their live gigs t’other year.
I saw Queen live at Newcastle City Hall on the Live Killers Tour, and the one the year after .
April 15th, 2008 at 10:51 am
John Lewis that is
April 15th, 2008 at 11:22 am
tacitus writes:
See if you can find the lyrics to “Benson, Arizona,” which might have been earlier. It deals with the effects of time dilation due to relativistic space missions on romantic relationships.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:57 am
David Lee Roth was an EMT for awhile. Medical people have my respect because that is a job I know I can’t do (weak stomach).
April 15th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Benzene, Arizona: http://www.benzedrine.cx/darkstar.html
April 16th, 2008 at 12:56 am
[...] de la banda Queen había sido nombrado rector de una universidad de Liverpool. Ahora acabo de leer aquí que es verdad, pero que no es algo honorífico como yo pensaba, sino que el guitarrista después de [...]
April 16th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Hey, no-one’s mentioned Sir Patrick Moore, that demon of the xylophone!
April 16th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Jeffersonian said:
“Though I can’t say much for Queen as a band (some classic hits but mostly generic mainstream filler to my taste), as a guitarist I can testify that May’s approach has changed the way many interact with the instrument. That influence and technique too, is worthy of study. (his scale usage, fill-timing, compositional arrangement and texturing)”
Hmmm … were you aware of Brian’s live guitar solos in Brighton Rock? He used two single echoes to harmonize with himself (as ’twere), and the effect (as captured on the album Live Killers) is quite stunning.
I daresay he was not quite as influential as Hendrix, but perhaps not far off.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Another Brian & musician gone physicist…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_%28physicist%29
http://www.apolloschildren.com/brian/
particle physicist working at ATLAS/CERN…was with DARE/toured with Jimmy Page