Displaying his natural thoughtfulness, May explained that, initially, he didn’t like the song as he thought that Freddie Mercury’s lyrics underplayed the dangers of HIV/AIDS, with May saying that he found it “flippant”
However, May was eventually won over after he realised that it “gave people great joy”.
“I didn’t really take to it in the beginning. I didn’t feel totally comfortable with what Freddie was singing at the time,” May told the publication. “I found it a little bit too flippant in view of the dangers of AIDS and stuff. But as time went on, I began to realise that it gave people great joy.”
In a new interview, Brian May discussed the band’s initial frustration at fans singing along at their live shows, and explained how it ultimately paved the way for one of their most popular tracks.
“We had a good following, we had this thing where people insisted on singing along to our songs. And I think we were quite irritated by it,” he said in the latest issue of Total Guitar.
“We thought: ‘People, just listen. We’re working really hard, so bloody well listen!’ But they were unstoppable… They sang every word to every song,” he added. “When Led Zeppelin played, they listened. They banged their heads, and they listened. And I thought about our concerts: why don’t you buggers listen instead of singing?” (Guitar.com)
In one of the most surprising admissions of his career, when speaking to Guitar Player in 2021, the guitarist revealed that at first, he hated Queen’s 1979 mega-hit ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’.
We won't rock you at the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm anytime soon
The legendary musician has previously had disagreements with festival founder Michael Eavis, and Mr May has recently reiterated that their differences mean he would never perform at the Somerset event. (Somersetlive)
The two men strongly disagree on badger culling, and have played out a war of words over a number of years in the media. Brian May is an avid campaigner against badger culling, but dairy farmer Mr Eavis is acutely aware of the devastation bovine TB can cause when cattle become infected.
The festival boss has previously labelled Mr May a "danger to farming", adding that "he doesn't care about the badgers - he doesn't know anything about it at all". The Queen guitarist has also publicly criticised Mr Eavis, and revealed in 2019 that the Glastonbury founder "has frequently insulted" him and added that he "doesn't particularly enjoy it".
