Interviews: Brian May: Melbourne Herald Sun '98
Interviewer: David Tyler.
What is the strangest rumour you've heard about yourself?
Brian: My wife came to a Queen gig and the guy next to her was saying: "They're really good, but they're all gay, you know." She said: "Oh really? I'm married to one of them!"
What is your funniest memory of Freddie Mercury?
Brian: He would come out with a lot of one-liners. Some very serious guy came up to him when we were about to go on stage in Sao Paulo and said: "How does it feel to go on stage in front of 200,000 people?" Freddie says: "I don't know, I haven't done it yet!"
Have you got a favourite Queen song?
Brian: I think the double A-side of We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions because it was the peak of our communication with the audience. It was something quite pure. Iím very proud that theyíve become anthems.
How do you view Bohemian Rhapsody?
Brian: It's something great, but it's also hard to live with because people want to talk about it the whole time. It's hard to get away from something that big.
What's the best cover of a Queen song youíve heard?
Brian: Tie Your Mother Down by Ted Nugent and Lemmy from Motorhead. It's hilarious.
George Michael performed with Queen a while back. Have you spoken to him since his recent publicity?
Brian: Not for a couple of months. He had his birthday party recently. I was away but I sent him my greetings. He's fine and doing great.
Looking back, what's your opinion on Live Aid?
Brian: It was probably Freddie's finest hour. He had a lot of finest hours, but that was definitely one of them. He certainly rose to the occasion and the whole band clicked. We did all the right things. We were used to playing stadiums, which no one else was, so we knew how to connect.
Is there a future for the Spice Girls or Geri on her own
Brian: My general philosophy is good luck to them. They get adored in our country, but they also get vilified, which is like the disease of England. Anything which is big has to be pulled up and pulled down. I actually like their second album.
What are your thoughts on the future of the monarchy?
Brian: Shaky, but that's not necessarily a good thing. In some ways it's good for England to have a monarchy, but things just have to change a little bit.
Should Australia become a republic?
Brian: I don't really know. Whatever makes Australia happy.