“Freddie was a good riffmeister! He was a devotee of Jimi Hendrix. People think he was just concerned with the lighter stuff but it’s not true. He did enjoy the heavy stuff”

In a lengthy conversation with Total Guitar, Brian discusses the creation – and his role specifically – in many of the biggest hit songs and landmark tracks in Queen’s career. Ten of these songs featured in the setlist from that recent show in LA: Killer Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Love Of My Life, We Are The Champions, Don’t Stop Me Now, We Will Rock You, Another One Bites The Dust, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Under Pressure and A Kind Of Magic. 

One is a hit that Brian wrote with his tongue-in-cheek – the OTT movie theme Flash. Another has great poignancy as one of the last Queen songs released in Freddie Mercury’s lifetime – These Are The Days Of Our Lives. 

And finally, there is a fan-favourite deep cut from 1980, Dragon Attack, picked out for Total Guitar by one of Brian’s greatest admirers, Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett.

As Kirk tells us: “I love Queen. I love all of it. I love all the stuff that everyone else loves. I especially love that song Dragon Attack.”

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(Photo: Aldara Zarraoa / Redferns)