Queen guitarist Brian May recently suffered a mild stroke that briefly affected his ability to use his left arm.
But, he noted, he can still play guitar after the “small health setback.”
“I’m here to bring you some good news. The good news is that I can play the guitar after the events of the last few days,” the 77-year-old musician said in a video posted on Instagram on Wednesday. During the clip, he wiggled the fingers of his left hand.
“I say that because I was in doubt because that little health setback I mentioned happened a week ago and they called it a mild stroke. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I had no control of this arm. I was a little scared, I have to say.”
The “Bohemian Rhapsody” musician said he was taken to a hospital after the stroke and received “fantastic care” at Frimley Hospital in Surrey, England, according to the BBC.
“I didn’t want to say anything at that point because I didn’t want anyone around me, you know? I don’t really want sympathy. Please don’t do it because it would fill up my inbox and I hate that,” she said, adding: “The good news is I’m fine. I’m just doing what I’m told, which is basically nothing. I’m down to earth.”
May said she is not allowed to go out much, drive or get on a plane or do anything that “gets my heart rate up too much.”
The “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You” rockers wrapped up a five-date tour in Japan in mid-February and have not toured since. “American Idol” alum Adam Lambert has taken over as lead singer since 2011, replacing the band’s iconic vocalist Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991. It’s unclear whether May’s health will affect any of the band’s upcoming appearances.
Queen's representatives did not immediately respond to The Times' requests for comment Wednesday.
The legendary rocker, who was knighted by King Charles III in 2023, suffered a “mini-heart attack” in 2020 that left him “very close to death” at the time. Doctors told him he had three blocked arteries and he had three stents fitted to keep them open. At the time, he told the Times of London that he had had other health complications due to the medications he was taking, one of which caused “a stomach explosion that nearly killed me.”
