Queen guitarist Brian May returned to the stage after recovering from a stroke he suffered in late August. On Sunday, the 77-year-old shared a video on Instagram showing him playing the guitar and engaging with the audience about his preferred equipment. At one point, he asked the crowd, "Do you endorse what I'm saying though?" as they burst into laughter. "Me at the Red Special Convention out west of London Town on Saturday," May captioned the post. "Never been before. Wasn't too sure about going this time because I've been really low on energy — but so glad I did. THANKS so much guys – you gave me so much love and a huge boost of confidence. Here I am explaining why I love VOX AC30's so much... showing what happens when you gradually turn up the input level – and a sharp glitter becomes a throaty roar – but without ever losing clarity."
He concluded: "What you guys probably didn't know was that was the first time I've touched that guitar for 2 months. It's been a weird time ... Love to all – Bri." Fans expressed their support in the comments section, with one user writing, "That must have been a roomful of VERY happy people... Yourself included, I'm sure. Good to see ya back on that horse !!!" Another fan commented, "What a joy seeing and hearing you playing again! I'm doing little jumps – for real! I'm also delighted you went to receive all the love for this wonderful group of folks." A third fan added, "They were lucky to have you there! So happy to hear you had a great time."
On September 4, May disclosed that he had experienced a stroke a week earlier, which temporarily left him unable to use his left arm. The musician shared the news via social media, stating that there was uncertainty about whether he would be able to play guitar again following his "little health hiccup." "I'm here to bring you some good news — the good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days," May began in his video. "I say this because it was in some doubt because that little health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago and what they called it was a minor stroke. It was a little scary, I have to say."
He added that he lost control of his arm "out of the blue" during the health scare. Praising the medics for their "fantastic care," May continued, "I didn't want to say anything at the time because I didn't want anything surrounding, you know. I really don't want sympathy." "Please don't do that because it'll clutter up my inbox and I hate that," quipped the British performer. "The good news is I'm okay. Just doing what I'm told, which is basically nothing. I'm grounded."
Despite the incident, May appeared in good spirits in the clip, explaining to followers that he isn't allowed to drive or get on a plane as that risks raising his heart rate. "Not allowed to have planes flying over, which will stress me," said May. "But I'm good." The "Don't Stop Me Now" artist is no stranger to health scares. In 2020, he suffered a "very near death" heart attack. Doctors discovered May had three blocked arteries and was fitted for three stents, which help keep the arteries open. "It's a long climb back," he told The Times at the time. "I've had complications due to the drugs I'm on, one of which was a stomach explosion that nearly killed me." "I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't have high cholesterol and I was exercising through the tour, so why did it happen?" he pondered. "At least I now have a heart that is working far better than it was."
May hasn't performed on the road since February, when he and Queen played a five-date tour across Japan. The band wrapped up their run on February 14.
