Brian May was ‘nervous as hell’ when pitching songs to his Queen bandmates and still doubts his songwriting ability
The legendary Queen guitarist wrote dozens of songs for the band, but he was not entirely confident in his songwriting ability.
Sir Brian May has always doubted his songwriting ability and admits he was "nervous as hell" pitching songs to his Queen bandmates.
The 77-year-old guitar hero has written and co-written more than 50 songs for the legendary rock band, including huge hits ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘The Show Must Go On’ and 'Who Wants To Live Forever'.
However, he has admitted he has suffered with impostor syndrome about his songwriting ability.
In an interview with MOJO magazine, he said: “In the beginning, I don’t think I had the confidence to consider myself a songwriter. Actually, I don’t know if I have it now.”
Queen were famously known for featuring original songs penned by all members of the band — which also included late lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon.
May said: “Every time I brought a new song to the boys I’d be as nervous as hell, thinking, ‘They’re gonna say it’s rubbish, they’re gonna hate it’. I’d always be embarrassed and apologising. That never ever went away.”
When he was a member of his first band, May played covers of his musical idols - such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrick and Hank Marvin - but never imagined his own work would live up to theirs.
He recalled: “I’d be playing Eddie Floyd’s Knock On Wood and [Wilson Pickett’s] In The Midnight Hour, and thinking, ‘How can I possibly be in the same league as the people who wrote these songs?’”
Queen formed in 1970 and went on to score six UK No. 1 songs, 10 No. 1 albums, and dozens of Top 40s. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ — their first No. 1 single and one of the best-selling songs of all time — will celebrate its 50th birthday in October.
But, despite spending more than 55 years writing songs, May said uncertainty still creeps in.
He continued: “You always have these doubts. There’s a part of you that thinks, ‘Hey, I can do this. I can do anything’. But there’s another part that thinks, ‘Who am I?’ It’s a journey of self-belief and you have to embolden yourself.”
The guitarist views songwriting as a delicate balance between creativity and structure, or “art and science”. When it comes to writing songs, May described himself as “a horrible perfectionist”.
He said: “I’m aware of my perfectionism but some of the greatest things happen when you’re not being a perfectionist — when you let it happen instinctively. Songwriting is the balance between art and science — the planned and the unplanned, passion and logic.”
