Press Coverage

MOJO
2 June 2017 by Cal Cashin & MOJO Staff

READ MORE in MOJO Magazine – out now

The legendary guitarist reveals a band constantly on the brink in a brand new interview in the latest issue of MOJO magazine.

NEARLY HALF A CENTURY since their formation, Brian May reflects on the irresistible rise, tragic collapse and recent reshaping of Queen in the latest issue of MOJO magazine.

MOJO 284: Brian May on Queen

Recounting the problems his father had with his son’s abandonment of a promising science career, and how it compromised his enjoyment of the group’s early success, May also offers a poignant take on his relationship with the late Freddie Mercury, “the man who could paint a picture and step right into it”.

While Queen’s route to success seemed smooth to outsiders, on the inside the experience was more arduous, with four big personalities each trying to tow the band in their own direction. “It’s like four different artists trying to paint on the same canvas,” May tells MOJO’s Paul Elliott, “not a comfortable situation”.

“Every time we made an album it seemed like we were about to break up.”
Brian May

Asked if the band ever looked likely to split while Mercury was alive, May replies “Oh, it was breaking up the whole time! Every time we made an album it seemed like we were about to break up, because of this business of ‘what are we and where are we going?’ All of us left the band at some point, and not just one time – all the way through.”

May goes on to reveal the battle of egos that lay behind Queen’s 1981 hit with David Bowie, Under Pressure. “Freddie and David locked horns, without a doubt”, the guitarist explains, “but that’s when the sparks fly, and that’s why it turned out great.”

Queen In 3D: a stereoscopic spectacular.

May, whose perspective from the inside of Queen is expanded on in his new memoir (augmented by stereoscopic photography) “Queen In 3D-,” brings out unsung sides of Mercury, especially as a composer and arranger of hard rock. Of Bohemian Rhapsody, says May: “Everybody thinks that I put in the heavy riffs – dang-dang-dang-dang, the Wayne’s World bit – but that was Freddie’s. He came up with a lot of our heavy stuff, like Ogre Battle.”

In 2017 a remodelled Queen, fronted by Adam (or “Madam” as May has nicknamed him) Lambert, sell out arenas, and May has yet to definitively rule out recording new material under the Queen name.

“We’ve talked about it a lot,” he says. “You can never say ‘never’.”

DAILY STAR
2 June 2017 by Samantha Bartlett

REVEALTIONS: Brian has divulged unheard insights to the band

QUEEN’s Brian May has divulged some of the band’s hidden secrets.

The 69-year-old guitarist spoke openly about his experience in the UK rock group at the

Queen in 3D book launch. This included never-heard anecdotes from the band’s successful career.

Talking about Queen’s late lead singer, Freddy Mercury, Brian admitted he wasn’t “the most patient man”. He said: “I remember there was one time when we were out at a restaurant or something and he was asked for an autograph by this lady.

“He just told her ‘I don’t have time darling.'”

 

However, Brian did say Freddie”always had ideas”, and was 100% real as a person.

The silver-haired star also admitted that he and fellow bandmates were “vain as s***”. He said back in their heyday, things were “very glam”. The band were known for their long hair and flamboyant dress sense. They also famously rocked heeled boots, which Brian was sporting at the event.

Despite their long-running career, Brian said they’re not done yet. The band are just about to embark on a tour around the US and Europe. American Idol star Adam Lambert now takes over as frontman.

However, Brian says Freddie will never be forgotten. He told the audience: “Freddie is still in the show. He sings the last verse on the big screen. “He needs to be there as he created it with us.”

ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS
31 May by Samuel Payne

Dr Brian May is best known as a virtuoso guitarist and founding member of rock band phenomenon Queen. In recent years he’s also been at the forefront of animal rights activism in addition to becoming a Doctor of Astrophysics, successfully popularising the subject in a number of publications and documentaries.

An additional dimension to May’s expertise resides in his lifelong talent as a photographer. Some of his pictures have appeared in print over the years, particularly from Queen’s worldwide tours. However, an aspect which has remained unseen is May’s unique collection of stereoscopic images of the band rehearsing, recording and performing.

A technique pioneered and popularised during the Victorian era, Stereoscopic Photography is a process which captures two images, designed for binocular viewing through a device which creates the perception of depth. It’s a simple yet impressive effect which has swung in and out of fashion over the past two centuries, however it has remained a vital tool in Astrophysics and medical photography.

Queen in 3-D brings together an exceptional collection of over 300 stereoscopic images from May’s private collection, digitally restored and perfectly configured by The London Stereoscopic Company. The collection is also married with a self-penned memoir by May and is the first of its kind, offering a unique insight into the rock star lifestyle whilst charting Queen’s journey from college band to champions of stadium rock.

The collection is lavishly presented in a folio slipcase with a lenticular cover of Freddie Mercury – a ribbed image providing an impressive 3D effect – coupled with the author’s own self-designed stereoscope, the OWL III. Fashioned in bright yellow plastic, the 3D viewer evokes the iconic jacket worn by Mercury at Queen’s 1986 Wembley performance. Simple and comfortable to use, the OWL is the instrument which allows the reader to peer into the past with astonishing depth and clarity.

May writes in an informal, friendly style throughout the book, expanding on the background of the images whilst offering technical notes on the photography. Part nostalgic reflection, part commentary on new technology and old, the first 30 pages cover May’s childhood obsession with photography, the stereoscopic process and the techniques used throughout the book. May’s lifelong fascination with the technical aspects of art are declared in these pages; an inquisitiveness which would lead him to build his own guitar whilst pursuing a double career in science. His love of photography is mirrored by his passion for music, which is evidenced in a series of pictures of the author with his cherished collection of cameras and guitars.

Aware that this book will appeal to all ages, May writes for a 21st Century digital native (those below the age of 25) who likely haven’t experienced the pleasures of vinyl and traditional film photography. Queen in 3-D demonstrates, in its most potent form, a period where performers were supported with relatively primitive but impressive technology. There is a real sense that this book not only captures the band in all their pomp of the 1970s and 1980s, but also reflects on an era where new technology drove forward new forms of art. It was also technology which was often difficult to master; be it the sumo world of photochemistry, the discomfort of tungsten stage lighting or the complexity of analogue recording processes. In many ways, May is documenting how technology and its relationship with art has drastically evolved.

A stereo “selfie” of Brian May with his 35mm Stereo Realist Camera. Photograph: Dr Brian May.

The London Stereoscopic Company brings May’s collection together in a restoration project which presents images perfectly configured for use with the OWL viewer. The pairs of playing-card-sized pictures appear colourful but unassuming on the page, however once observed through the easy-to-use viewer, they expand into a detailed landscape offering exceptional detail and depth. May’s photography is remarkably candid, capturing the band at work and play, offering impressive stereoscopic effects due to the photographer’s eye for 3-D.

May had been experimenting with 3-D photography since he was a child, so by the time he was shooting Queen on his stereoscopic cameras he was ensuring points of interest populated the frame in addition to the main subject. The best pictures work with busy foreground and background layers; there is an exceptional image of Freddie Mercury leaning into shot with his own Polaroid camera in addition to a generic shot of May stood behind a cactus which takes on a very aggressive magnitude in 3-D.

Of great interest in this collection is an abundance of stadium performance photography. May’s images have not only captured the scale of the events but also the atmosphere; huge lighting rigs festooned with blazing par cans – essentially aircraft landing lights – slice through clouds of haze which float and swirl within the images. It’s a wholly immersive and captivating effect which has rarely been exploited to such effect in 3-D photography. There is a tactile sense that the viewer is amongst the heaving crowd in these energetic and atmospheric performance shots.

Intimate portraits also feature heavily in the book. The big hair of the 1970s and spiky nature of 1980s styles claw out of the frame, whilst a number of Roger Taylor portraits invite you to reach in and snatch his sunglasses. Behind-the-scenes snapshots of rehearsals and rigging also allow locations to take on a new scale, with cases of stage gear appearing huge next to the tiny figures of the band. The unique patina and grain of film is persistent throughout the collection and provides an earthy texture and glamour to the images which digital can only attempt to emulate.

A selection of tack-sharp, full-page 2-D shots punctuate the stereoscopic action. These include a selection of wide-angle fisheye photographs which offer an immersive quality all of their own – albeit in mono. The compositions are endlessly inventive and interesting, providing a fresh insight into the life of the band but also an analysis of May himself. As a founding member of one of the world’s most successful and energetic rock bands, we see the world through May’s own eyes and it’s not always the perspective of a commanding stage performer. More often than not, Queen in 3-D offers the viewpoint of an inventive and inquisitive boffin, who is fascinated not only by the art of photography but also by its theoretical principles. Between concerts, he playfully snaps quirky objects in 3-D – such as a collection of Magic Roundabout figures – whilst also building a series of experimental double exposures, light paintings and timed self-portraits.

The collection is an intimate and personal collection on one level, yet a bravura demonstration of spectacular performance on the other. Brian May’s artistic inventiveness explored new means of creating images and in the process, captured the essence of an incredible band in a unique and tactile visual form.

Superbly presented, warmly written and offering incredible print quality, Queen in 3-D is an irresistible coffee table book. It’s stylish, immersive and highly entertaining. For connoisseurs of rock music, the book is an essential record from one of the founding bands of modern music. For photographers, it’s an indispensable example of experimental and innovative photojournalism. There is quite simply no record of this era which is so uniquely captured than through May’s stereoscopy; offering an odyssey into the past with all the immediacy, urgency and living reality of 3-D.

Publisher: London Stereoscopic Company Ltd Release Date: 25th May 2017

ORDER HERE

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.

UK BUSINESS INSIDER

24 May 2017 by James Cook

• Queen guitarist Brian May is releasing a book of 3D photographs that include photos of his childhood as well as his time in the band Queen.
• May is passionate about 3D — or stereo — photography and has designed his own 3D photo viewer.
• He wants to help Apple design a stereo camera for the iPhone and he owns “countless” virtual reality headsets.

Former Queen guitarist Brian May is one of the men behind some of the most well-known rock songs in history: “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.” The list goes on. But May also has some surprising interests outside the world of rock music.

May has a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London, for example, regularly campaigns for animal rights, and is also a collector and publisher of stereoscopic photos — dual photographs which give a 3D effect when seen through special viewers.

Now May is releasing a new book, “Queen in 3-D,” which includes hundreds of stereo photographs of the band. It also comes with one of May’s “OWL” viewers, which let you see the photos in a 3D effect.

The venue for May’s book launch was the Century Club on Shaftesbury Avenue. May had taken over a room and filled it with a traveling museum of photography and Queen memorabilia.

There was an outfit worn on stage by May, a golden record given to him in 1975 for selling 250,000 copies of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and an entire display of May’s stereoscopic cameras.

One display case held May’s first ever 3D camera, as well as several other bizarre-looking devices and a boxy 3D photo viewer that looks like an old-fashioned wireless radio. I would have taken my phone out to take a photo of it all for this article but I felt rather stupid taking a new-fangled, non-3D photo while May was stood a couple of metres away from me.

Eventually May and I sat down to talk about his new book. He wore a black jacket and a black shirt, and I found it difficult to judge where his curly grey hair actually ends.

I started off by asking May how he chose which photos to include in his book. May said he initially didn’t realise how many photographs he had, but gradually he and his team found more images to include.

May’s new book.The London Stereoscopic Company

“As soon as I started looking at these pictures I started to discover all kinds of memories in myself which I had no idea were still in my head,” May said. “Using the stereoscope and that feeling of being there, going through the window, the stereo window, and revisiting that time and that place. I found it very powerful. So all these stories came tumbling out of my head.”

The book follows Queen through their career, showing the band on stage, off stage, and in the recording studio. Some of the most striking photographs are of the band’s singer Freddie Mercury. “[There are] some great Freddie moments,” May said.

“The one of him taking a picture of me is great, because somewhere in the world is that Polaroid that he took of me while I’m taking the stereo picture of him. Maybe I’ll find it one day.”

What made May decide to document his life on the road? Was it an awareness of the importance of what Queen was doing, or just a desire to document the world around him? ” I don’t think I was consciously documenting at all,” May said. “I was just trying to take stereo pictures because I love them.”

But there were some exceptions. “I was conscious when we were making the ‘Radio Ga Ga’ video that that was a moment in time which would never be repeated and I did have the camera and I thought ‘ooh, it would be really nice to get a collection of pictures which would remind us of how it was done.’ So in that case, yeah, probably I was in a sense trying to accumulate some data. I wish I’d done more of that, to be honest.”

“But you’re busy, and the prime intent at the time is to do the job properly, which is entertaining people or making a record or standing on top of Buckingham Palace. Whatever it is, you’re pretty absorbed in the moment.”
May sees himself as a ‘stereoscopic evangelist’
Stereo photos have become almost a second career for May. He runs the London Stereoscopic Company which publishes his books, and he says he sees himself as “a stereoscopic evangelist.” “This is a dream come true for me,” May said.

But what is it about stereo photos that May finds so compelling? “To me it’s everything,” May said.

“I’m constantly surprised that people are satisfied with two-dimensional images, because we’re not two-dimensional creatures. Every day of our lives we experience the world in three dimensions and 360. So why wouldn’t we want to capture it that way when we take pictures? It seems to me, it’s kind of a no brainer. If you can do it in 3D it’s got to be a million times better than in 2D.”

To illustrate his point, May placed a hand over one of his eyes and stared at me over the table. “I’m losing so much of what could be coming into my brain. I take the hand away and I see you in three dimensions.”

May then encouraged me to do the same. “Go on, humour me,” he said. I placed a hand over one of my eyes and looked at him, unsure exactly what to say as we sat staring at each other.

“The amount of information you get from stereoscopic vision, stereopsis is the proper name for it, is colossally useful to us in our survival,” May told me.

“You need to know how far away something is when it’s coming to you … you need to know how big it is and which direction it’s traveling. And that’s how we evolved … There are very few creatures that survived with just one eye.”

May has an idea for what he’d like to see in an upcoming iPhone
I mentioned to May that the upcoming iPhone 8 is expected to have an improved dual camera setup on the back of the phone. Could that be useful for stereo photography?

May already knew all about the existing dual camera setup on the iPhone 7 Plus. “It has a dual camera but they’re not far apart enough to be a stereo camera. I actually did do a design for a stereoscopic iPhone about a year ago, but I’ve never managed to get in touch with anyone at Apple to talk about it,” he said.

I decided to break the bad news to May: The iPhone 8 is expected to change the orientation of the rear cameras so that they’re aligned vertically, not horizontally. He sounded disappointed. “That wouldn’t give you stereo if it’s vertical. You have to have horizontal parallax to get stereo.”

A leaked iPhone 8 dummy unit showing the vertical camera setup.Twitter/VenyaGeskin1

But May is still optimistic about his design for a new kind of iPhone camera. “It could be very easily done,” he said. “You have your two lenses. They have their two little lenses next to each other like that … you could immediately produce a side by side image on the back which you can immediately view on your OWL. You put it in your stereoscope here and it would be instant stereo photography.”

“I have to persuade them they can make money out of it,” May said, “because the world’s about money, isn’t it?” I suggested to May that perhaps someone from Apple would read this article and get in touch. “Maybe you can introduce me,” he said.

‘I’m into the whole VR thing’
Other than stereo photography and blogging on his website, which other areas of technology interest May? “Nothing, really,” he replied, before thinking for a moment. “That’s an interesting question. I’m into the whole VR thing. I have countless viewers and stuff.”

I asked May if he owns an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. “Of course,” he replied. “They were pioneers.” He also owns one of Google’s low-cost Google Cardboard viewers.

May has developed his own low-cost virtual reality headset, a version of OWL which can hold a smartphone. “I think my OWL VR kit stands quite well among them,” he said. “It’s different … you have a longer focal length with the OWL and you have space around you so you’re conscious of the world that you’re physically in, as well as your virtual world.”

Brian May using one of his OWL viewers. YouTube/Brian May Official

May remains passionate about politics and animal rights
By this point we had been talking for longer than the time allotted to me, and I could feel other journalists and May’s PR team willing me to wrap things up.

I decided to end our interview the same way I end most interviews: I asked if there was anything else May wanted to mention. Usually this results in “no, I think that was everything,” or a reminder of whatever it was that the interviewee was promoting.

May, however, relished the chance to have his say on a topic of his choosing. He leaned towards my dictaphone, stared into it, and spoke for three minutes on what he saw as some of the biggest problems in the world right now.

“I’m very affected by what happened in Manchester last night,” May began. “To me it awakens lots of thoughts about our position in the world. Of course people say we need to tighten up security. Yes, of course we do, but you have to look at the underlying causes of this kind of behaviour and I believe that we are part of it.”

“I believe that we are part of the escalating violence in the world. And until we completely rethink our foreign policy and the way we treat other races, other human beings, then I believe this will only get worse.”

Brian May campaigning outside Parliament in 2016. Getty Images News

May mentioned Brexit alongside “intolerance” and “disengaging from our fellow man.” He had a personal litmus test, he said, which is how people feel about blood sports such as fox hunting. “Most people who are in favour of blood sports are inherently violently disposed,” he claimed, “and those are exactly the same kind of people who feel no compassion towards human beings either.”

He drew my attention to the badge he wore on his jacket. It looked like an oversized prefect’s badge, but with a diagonal rainbow background and the phrase “COMMON DECENCY” printed across it in capital letters. “I have my campaign here called Common Decency in which I’m asking people in this coming election, not to vote for a party, but to vote for a person that they believe is decent.”

May said he felt that Parliament should be a “moderating influence,” but “at the moment, it’s on the verge of failure and I think this country’s on the verge of failure because of it.”

And that was the end of May’s unexpected message. Now we had definitely gone over time. We shook hands and I left him to the rest of his interviews, happy amongst his stereo photographs.

“Queen in 3-D,” by Brian May, published by The London Stereoscopic Company, £50, is released on May 25.

See Brian’s reaction to the Sunday Times article HERE

SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE

Check out The Sunday Times Magazine on sale today… 21 May 2017

EXTRACT:
Queen and I

21 May 2017 by Krissi Murison

Queen, Debauchery and Freddie Mercury

Tragedy, debauchery … and dwarves — the guitarist Brian May gives Krissi Murison an access-all-areas account of his life with Freddie Mercury and rock’s most flamboyant band.

Brian May does a great Freddie Mercury impression. He leans forward in his chair, clasps his hands together conspiratorially and channels the high-speed, staccato delivery of the greatest showman of the late 20th century:

“ ‘I had an idea … you know Michael Jackson did this album and it’s called Bad?’ Yeah, Fred. ‘Well, the album we’re making, we could call it Good.’ ” May laughs. “He would always knock you sideways. Sometimes it was great and sometimes it wasn’t.”

May, the guitarist in Queen since their 1970 inception, remembers when Mercury finally announced to him that he was gay, “years after it was obvious”.

“In the beginning, the band lived on a shoestring… … …”

The Sunday Times also has a SPECIAL OFFER on the book. See print and online editions.

READ MORE The Sunday Times Magazine – and on Subscription HERE

24 April, 2017

SPETTAKOLO.IT

TRANSLATED FROM ITALIAN:

As the book is not cheap: it costs 50 pounds, or about 50 euro. But many fans of Queen will spend it willingly, because Queen in 3-D (the title) has been called “The closest thing to an autobiography that Brian May has ever written.” In fact it is a picture book containing 300 stereoscopic images, which you can watch with a viewer for images in three dimensions designed and patented by the same Brian May and made available for sale about-a year ago (that May shows in the opening pic).

The photos used for this unusual autobiography in pictures were taken by the same May with a camera in 3-D that used on numerous occasions over the years to document his life with Queen.

The book is made even more delicious by an autobiographical text written by the guitarist himself, who stated enthusiastically:

“The whole process of writing this new kind of book was almost subconscious. 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 will be published on 25 May by The London Strereoscopic Company.

Meanwhile, the Italian fans was given a nice gift: the booklet Golden Days (the last album Brian May and Kerry Ellis) has been translated into our language. The texts were translated by Barbara Mucci, the layout is Chiara Tomaini, supervised by Raffaella Rolla. The entire project was completed and approved directly by Brian and Kerry.

Read full article in Italian HERE

TICKETS:  General sale Friday 7 April 2017
To order print programme or book call box office 01497 822 629 or visit https://www.hayfestival.com

THE BRECON AND RADNOR EXPRESS
6 April 2017

EXTRACT:

BOOKING for this year’s Hay Festival that features appearances from US senator Bernie Sanders through to chat show hosts Graham Norton and Michael Parkinson is to open on Friday.

The festival has also clarified that former Queen guitarist Brian May isn’t performing at the festival but delivering his first ever public talk on his new book Queen in 3-D. It is the first autobiography from the record breaking band.

This year’s festival in Hay-on-Wye runs from May 25 to June 4 and also marks its 30th anniversary.

Festival boss Peter Florence said:

“For 30 years Hay Festival has brought readers and writers together to share stories and ideas, to imagine the world – to tell our truths and renew our lives.

“We’ve seen the world move from paper to the digital realm, we’ve witnessed boundaries and languages shift, and vast migrations of people and money. We trust writers and the authority of the published word. We love stories and we love to throw a party.”

Selected highlights (includes):

Tuesday, May 30
(Former) Queen guitarist Brian May introduces his book “Queen in 3-D” capturing the band in 3-D stereoscopic photographs.

MORE HAY FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS HERE.

QUEEN in 3-D – a STEREOSCOPIC MASTERPIECE
capturing THE HISTORY OF QUEEN through
BRIAN MAY’s own 3-D camera lenses.

QUEEN in 3-D, published in hardback, features over 300 personal stereo views, the book housed in a slipcase with lenticular 3-D front cover, together with an exclusive Brian May patent OWL 3-D viewer.
Published by the London Stereoscopic Company, 25th May 2017, £50

www.queenin3-D.com

“The closest thing to an autobiography May has written.”
The Bookseller

“The whole process of writing this new kind of book was almost subconscious. 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.”
Brian May

Many books have been written about Queen, but this is a first – an intimate view from the inside by a founder band member; it’s also the  first history of any rock group ever to be created in 3-D.  Not only has Brian May written the book (no ‘ghost writer’ here), but the 3-D illustrations were all captured with Brian’s stereoscopic cameras, mostly by the man himself. From an early age Brian would travel with a stereo (3-D) camera in hand, so on Queen tours and during recordings he was able to capture rare behind-the-scenes moments of one of the world’s greatest rock bands. Decades later these are now being shared for the very first time. Some of the photographs had not even been fully processed until the book was in the making. Initially thought by Brian to be a quick job, this project turned into a labour of love for May and his team which spanned three years. Each time the book seemed to be close to completion, more 3-D photos were found in forgotten hiding places, prompting further memories and filling in the gaps in the narrative. The book eventually became a compelling set of snapshots of Brian’s life and the life of Queen, over more than 50 years.

Published as a lavish, high quality bedside table book by Brian’s own ‘London Stereoscopic Company’, Queen in 3-D reveals the band through May’s eyes throughout the band’s history. The book is illustrated with around 360 photographs, mostly viewable in stereoscopic splendour (stereoscopy being the legitimate parent of ‘Virtual Reality’) using the OWL viewer supplied.  In addition to capturing scenes himself, on occasions Brian would loan his camera to friends or local photographers, so that he too could be framed on his journey. Brian narrates the stories behind each of his photographs through a lively, engaging prose. Often he is light and conversational in tone, but at other times he can be intensely reflective and philosophical, drawing the reader deeper into the image, the time and the space. Most of these recollections about himself and fellow band members Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, Brian shares here for the first time. Some of the pictures were taken on stage; others behind the scenes, including informal shots taken on the road and during leisure time, giving close-up glimpses of the band as never seen before. Freddie, an enigmatic character, fiercely protective of his privacy, usually shied away from being photographed  off stage.  But he interacted playfully and unselfconsciously with Brian’s camera, and here we catch rare glimpses of this consummate showman as viewed by his band mate and close friend.  Current fans of the band will also enjoy the modern sections, including on and off stage moments with Adam Lambert.

This is an important book, not only capturing the very essence of one of the world’s all-time greatest bands, but also exploring the culture, politics and atmosphere of the many territories where Queen performed. Brian has created a text that chronicles changes in the music industry alongside major changes in the history of the world.

HOW TO VIEW THE IMAGES IN 3-D:

In order to share the magic of original Victorian style 3-D with a 21st century audience, Brian designed his own unique stereoscope, the OWL, which has become a standard in the world of stereoscopy.

Each copy of the book comes with a special edition Freddie-Mercury-Wembley-Stadium-Jacket Yellow OWL, packed neatly into the book’s slipcase in its own protective envelope. Your OWL is all you need to take you into the stunningly real three-dimensional world of Queen encapsulated in this book.

OTHER BRIAN MAY AND QUEEN ACTIVITY:

Queen + Adam Lambert begin a 26 date North American tour on 23rd June this year in Phoenix, Arizona. The tour includes two concerts at the famed Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles (June 26, 27) and concludes on 5th August in Houston, Texas. The band will debut a brand new show specially designed and created for this outing, bringing fans all their favourite Queen hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Will Rock You”, “We Are The Champions”, “Another One Bites the Dust”, and “Radio Ga Ga”. The high-energy concert will bring their catalogue alive in all its passion and glory.

Brian is due to release a stunning new studio album in collaboration with singer Kerry Ellis, entitled Golden Days, on 7th April.

The brand new Queen version of the game of Monopoly, which Brian had more than a hand in designing, will hit shops in mid-April. Players of the game will experience life on the road, following in the footsteps of Queen’s conquest of the world. The decisions they make will determine whether or not they make it in the Music Business ! This game is expected to be one of the Monopoly’s biggest sellers ever.

The much anticipated film based on Freddie’s life inside and outside of Queen is finally gathering momentum and a full announcement is expected soon. Brian and Roger will supervise the musical content of the movie.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brian May, founder, member and lead guitarist with the rock band Queen, and co-creator of the international rock theatrical, We Will Rock You, is also a PhD physicist specialising in Zodiacal dust, a passionate campaigner for animal rights, and a lifelong 3-D photography enthusiast. Most recently, he has become a successful publisher, dedicated to sharing his collection of Victorian stereo photographs with the world through the books released by the London Stereoscopic Company (a recreation of the company originally founded in 1854). Brian is currently committed to touring with Queen for much of the year, with Adam Lambert as lead vocalist, and also composes, records and performs with singer Kerry Ellis, a founding star of We Will Rock You, and successful West End and Broadway performer. Brian’s latest ventures include creating 3-D, 360-degree virtual reality movies, including a soon-to-be-released Virtual Reality film clip of Queen and Adam Lambert’s recent performance in Barcelona – the piece playfully entitled “VR the Champions” !

ABOUT THE IMPRINT AND THE HISTORY OF THE LONDON STEREOSCOPIC COMPANY

Some time in 1854 ‘The London Stereoscope Company’ was born. Its business was selling stereo views and viewers to the public, and they were leaders in a huge boom – a craze which swept England, Europe, and eventually the United States too, of stereo photographs of every conceivable subject, which, viewed by means of a stereoscope, presented scenes in life-like three dimensions. In a world which had never experienced Television, the Movies, or the Internet, this was a major sensation. In February 1856, The London Stereoscopic Company (LSC) advertised, in the Photographic Journal, “The largest collection in Europe, upwards of 100,000 stereo views.”

BRIAN MAY’S introduction to stereoscopy was as a child finding 3-D cards in his breakfast cereal. In the 1950s Weetabix gave away free coloured stereo cards in their packets, along with an opportunity to send off one-and-sixpence for the stereoscope required to view them. Brian, discovering that he could free- view them without the viewer too, was entranced, and quickly figured out how to make his own stereo views, and was hooked for life. Scouring Portobello Road market for stereoscopic items some years later, Brian discovered the intriguing Diableries cards, which stirred a special passion, which was to lead to the Diableries book 40 years later. While studying Astronomy at Imperial College, Brian became a regular viewer at Christie’s photographic auctions, at the time a rich source of long forgotten stereo views from the 1850s onwards which were turning up in people’s attics. In 2008 Brian realised his dream of recreating The London Stereoscopic Company, its aim to bring the magic of true stereoscopy to the modern world. In order to share Victorian 3-D, Brian designed his own OWL stereoscope, which is now produced in large quantities. The OWL has become a new standard around the world in stereoscopic viewing. In 2011 Brian met a redoubtable French scholar, Denis Pellerin, one of the world’s experts on French and English Photographic History. Their two passions connected immediately, and Denis became Brian’s curator, conservator, researcher, and co-author. Denis also stepped up to assume the role of editor for Queen in 3-D.

The London Stereoscopic Company is now restoring and republishing Victorian classic cards, as well as original stereoscopic works on other subjects. Finally the LSC completed the picture by entering into book publishing, each new work accompanied by an OWL stereoscope included in the package. The first four titles are A Village Lost and Found (based on a celebrated series by TR Williams made around 1853), Diableries (the entire genre of 1860s French Devilments brought together for the first time), The Poor Man’s Picture Gallery (exploring for the first time the connections between stereo views and paintings from the Pre-Raphaelite era) and Crinoline (a compelling, visually striking 3-D account of fashion’s most celebrated yet also most disastrous garment).

The London Stereoscopic Company is the ONLY publisher in the world dedicated exclusively to publishing stereoscopic works.

“Our mission is to share the world’s greatest 3-D images, from Victorian times to the present day.”
Brian May

BRIAN MAY’S OWL:

Brian has created the definitive high-quality modern-day stereoscope; reminiscent of an Owl, he named it just that. Every book the LSC publishes comes with an Owl, and the illustrations in the book, reproduced by the highest resolution printing technology available will, through this device, delight you all just as they did in Victorian times.

 

FURTHER COVERAGE:

TEAM ROCK.com
Brian May to publish Queen In 3D in May
29 March 2017 by Scott Munro

Published in The Bookseller

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Brian May is publishing the first Queen book to have been written by a band member: Queen in 3D, in May. The book promises to reveal the band through May’s eyes over the past 45 years and it will be published by his London Stereoscopic Company. The title will comprise prose from May, in addition to never-beforeseen photos he took of the band on his stereo (3D) camera.

Some of the pictures were taken on stage or behind the scenes, including intimate shots on the road and during leisure time that capture lead singer Freddie Mercury “like he has never been seen before”.

Pitched as “the closest thing to an autobiography that May has written”, the title also explores the culture, politics and atmosphere of every territory Queen has toured, both visually and in May’s writing, including stories about himself, Mercury and the band’s relationship, which he will talk about on record for the first time.

The project has taken three years to create, partly because May kept discovering more stereo images from his experiences with Queen. May told The Bookseller: “The whole process of writing this new kind of book was almost subconscious—as I looked at the 3D photos, memories were evoked and the stories poured out. It’s the 3D element that makes it extra evocative. I’m hoping each image will draw readers in deeper, like me, inviting them to immerse themselves in a scene, to share an unseen Queen moment.”

The Sunday Times Magazine has secured an interview with May for a front-cover story on the weekend before the book goes on sale, kicking off what promises to be a big campaign for the book.

May will attend the Hay Literary Festival and Waterstones Piccadilly for two “major” signings, with further signings across the country planned.

The book will be published on 25th May 2017, priced £50. It will also be published in territories across the globe.