12 July 2024, 13:39
Queen, the legendary rock band known for their bombastic performances and theatrical flair, owes much of their success to the inimitable frontman, Freddie Mercury. His stage presence and studio mastery cemented Queen’s place in music history. However, behind the scenes, guitarist Brian May grappled with insecurities about his songwriting, even when crafting some of the band’s most iconic tracks.
In a recent interview with Guitar World, May opened up about these vulnerabilities, citing “Hammer to Fall” from their 1984 album The Works as a prime example. He revealed his initial hesitation in sharing the song with his bandmates, their lukewarm reception amplifying his anxieties.
Brian May reveals the Queen song that made him "insecure" above all others
May described his creative process as a rollercoaster of emotions, starting with a surge of inspiration followed by crippling self-doubt. “With me, it always starts off with a burst of activity, belief and inspiration, and thinking, ‘Ah, this is gonna change the world.'” he confessed. “And it’s usually followed by a period of complete insecurity, thinking, ‘Oh no, this is rubbish. This is never gonna work.… my band’s gonna hate it.’ And then working through it.”
This internal struggle was particularly potent with “Hammer to Fall.” May vividly recalled the moment the riff came to him, feeling confident and excited about its potential. “I thought, ‘This is great. I can do anything with this; this is just what I want to hear when I put my guitar on.'” However, his confidence wavered when he presented the unfinished work to Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon.
“And then I got into the studio and played it to the guys; and they went, ‘Yeah, okay.’ It wasn’t like, ‘We love it!'” May admitted. Their lackluster response fueled his insecurities, pushing him to refine the song further before presenting a more polished version. “The riff came to Brian easily, though it took him a lot of fine-tuning to ‘build it up to the point where I could play it to them as an almost-finished song,” he explained. Only then did the band warm up to it, acknowledging its potential.
Despite his initial anxieties, “Hammer to Fall” became a staple in Queen’s legendary Live Aid performance in 1985. The 20-minute set, widely considered one of the greatest rock performances of all time, included a string of hits like “Radio Ga Ga,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Are the Champions,” and snippets of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You.”
Freddie Mercury and Brian May perform with Queen at Live Aid, considered one of the greatest live performances of all time.
May’s experience with “Hammer to Fall” highlights a universal feeling among artists: the vulnerability of sharing one’s work and the fear of judgment. He acknowledged that this insecurity persists even today, stating, “It takes a bit of belief, I think, to get from the first riff to the point where you’re happy with the result. I think it’s common to a lot of people – that moment when you spring it on your people around you, and you’re looking at their faces, and you feel very insecure in the moment.”
He added, “When I sing a song to someone, it’s always nerve-racking for me, no matter who it is. If they’ve never heard it before, I get all kinds of insecure. You just have to get over that.”
Brian May’s candidness provides a glimpse into the creative process of one of music’s most celebrated guitarists, proving that even rock legends experience self-doubt. It’s a testament to his talent and perseverance that he pushed through those insecurities to create some of the most enduring anthems in rock history.
