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Guitar World
Guitar World
Entertainment
Janelle Borg

“It took me a long time to feel confident about being the only guitar on stage. I always felt like I needed a rhythm guitar”: Brian May fought to add a rhythm guitarist to Queen in their early years – and several players would eventually grant his wish

Brian May playing live onstage with Queen + Adam Lambert.

While Queen would go on to become one of history's most enduring live powerhouses (who can forget their Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium?), Brian May recently revealed that he initially felt insecure about being the only guitarist in the band, and even campaigned for the inclusion of a rhythm guitarist in the band’s early days.

“There’s videos from the early days and I think we were pretty good,” he tells Guitarist. “Very early on, we arrived at this view that being a live act was not the same as the studio. Actually, it was simpler because there’s only four of us on stage and no overdubs.

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