My dad and I decided to make an electric guitar. I designed an
instrument from scratch, with the intention that it would have a
capability beyond anything that was out there, more tunable, with a
greater range of pitches and sounds, with a better tremolo, and with a
capability of feeding back through the air in a 'good' way'. Brian May
and his father Harold started to hand-build an electric guitar in 1963.
Brian dreamed of a guitar that would outperform any of the existing
commercially made electric guitars; his father had the technical
knowledge and skills to help make the dream come true. Brian played his
guitar on every Queen album and in all of Queen's live shows around the
world. In this book you will discover everything you ever wished to know
about Brian's unique instrument. Brian talks about every aspect of the
Red Special, from its birth to playing on the roof of Buckingham Palace,
from Live Aid to the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics - and
beyond. All of this is accompanied with original diagrams, sketches and
notes dating from the building of the guitar, as well as a great
selection of photographs including Brian on stage with his guitar,
close-ups and x-rays. Additional selling points: - Includes rare and
previously unseen photographs of the Red Special, Brian and his father,
and Queen. - The guitar has been fully dismantled and every piece is
photographed.
