Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Queen Bassist Made Chancellor

You know how there were bands and artists from your youth that you followed throughout your life? For me, one was Queen. Fat Bottom Girls, Bohemian Rhapsody and all the rest were anthems to me. Almost orchestral, with lyrics that had me looking stuff up in the enclopedia (Scaramouche, like Freddie, was "born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad") I remember where I was when I hear that Freddie Mercury has died and it struck me more than the passing of John Lennon or Elvis Presley.


Now, Queen's guitarist, Brian May has continued to amaze me. Before joining the group in 1970, May had completed a Baccalaurate degree in science (with honors) had already started work on a PhD at the Imperial College London departments of Physics and Mathematics, "studying reflected light from interstellar dust and the velocity of dust in the plane of the Solar System." Um, damn!

Yesterday, it was announced that he had been selected Chancellor for Liverpool John Moores University, succeeding Cherie Blair (wife of the former PM).

He's written Bang! The Complete History of the Universe and a host of scholarly articles in astrophysics.

Certainly May and Queen have challenged conventional wisdom. They're role models to me of working from a uniquely inspiring vision and having at it!

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