DAILY MAIL
24 May 2017 by Jo Tweedy
EXTRACT
EXCLUSIVE: Freddie Mercury drinking wine in a New York limo, Brian May mastering the guitar and Roger Taylor wearing fur at the races: Queen guitarist releases incredible unseen 3-D photographs of the band in a new book
– Rock legend has released ‘labour of love’ 300-strong collection of unseen photos in new book, Queen in 3
– May, 69, has spent three years trawling through old images that were mostly shot on a stereoscopic camera
– Spanning 46 years are childhood snaps of May, Freddie drinking wine in a limo and the band post-gig in Japan
– Guitarist designed ‘OWL’ viewer to let fans to ‘immerse themselves’ in the three-dimensional photographs
Many of the book’s 300 images were captured on various stereoscopic cameras that were carried by the rock legend during the height of the band’s fame. Viewed through a OWL VR Smartphone Kit, a virtual reality viewer designed by May, the book’s images promise ‘three-dimensional realism’.
May said of the collection, which he describes as a ‘labour of love’: ‘As I looked at the 3-D photos, memories were triggered and the stories poured out. It’s the 3-D element that makes it so evocative. I believe each image will draw readers in deeper, like me, inviting them to immerse themselves in a scene, to share a previously unseen Queen moment.’
The book is the first of its kind to be published by a member of the band on the band and was put together with the help of Denis Pellerin, stereoscopic historian, and official Queen archivist, Greg Brooks.
May explains the trickiest part was knowing what to omit: ‘In the end, the biggest problem has been what to leave out. Of course, what it’s reminded me of is the incredible depth and breadth of experience we, Roger, John, Freddie and myself, have been privileged to share over the last 50 years.’ He continues: ‘Some people will tell you that ‘the touring life’ gives you hotels and gigs, and little else. And we sure have seen a lot of those! But for us interested and fairly well-educated human beings, touring was always an opportunity to see how the rest of the world lives, up close; and there have been other unique bonuses along the way. If we had simply travelled as tourists, we might have seen plenty of art galleries and cathedrals, and beaches too, if we fancied it. But as working, touring beings, we have had the fantastic luck to interact closely with thousands of people in many foreign countries, some of which we’d never heard of when we started.’
Queen will tour later this year featuring US singer Adam Lambert on vocals.
READ MORE and many wonderful photos from the book.
