Rock fans around the world were left in shock and concern when news broke that Brian May, the legendary Queen guitarist, had suffered a minor stroke.
For someone who has spent decades mesmerizing audiences with electrifying guitar solos, the thought of potentially losing the ability to play was terrifying. But now, after months of recovery, Brian May is opening up about the scary moment, how he fought back, and what the future holds for his music and his health.
It happened last September—a moment that sent shockwaves through May’s family and the entire rock community. Speaking in a recent interview with Guitarist, Brian recalled the fear he felt when he suddenly lost control of his left arm:
“It went through my mind. When I suddenly couldn’t control this left arm, it was quite scary. I had no idea what was going on. I phoned my doctor and she said, ‘Okay, I think you’re having a minor stroke. Dial 999, get in the ambulance and I’ll see you there.’”
But even in that frightening moment, Brian found a glimmer of hope. He said:
“Even at the worst time, although I couldn’t control where the arm was, I could control my fingers. So I thought, ‘I’m probably not really in danger.’ I’m all right now. I’m just taking it slow.”
That spark of control—being able to move his fingers—gave May the confidence that he could recover. And recover he did.
His wife, Anita Dobson, later shared details of his progress. According to her, Brian turned to music as part of his healing process:
“He’s much better now. He’s stabilized, which is brilliant. I just hope we don’t have any more reoccurrences. He’s got the use of that arm, which was a bit of a challenge, back now. He’s playing the piano quite a lot in the house. He likes a lot of Beethoven. I love it—the piano in the house is really just very relaxing.”
And then, slowly but surely, he picked up his guitar again.
She said: “He very slowly started to pick up an acoustic guitar and gradually just exercised the muscles. And it very quickly came back.”
