Queen star Brian May suffers minor stroke

Legendary hitmaker Brian May has opened up about his recent health scare that left him unable to use his arm.

Queen guitarist Sir Brian May has revealed he suffered a stroke that left him unable to use his left arm.

The legendary musician opened up about his “health hiccup” in a video that was released on social media and his personal website.

“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,’ he said, twiddling his fingers for emphasis in front of the camera.

Sir Brian said he had a “minor stroke” in late August and “all of a sudden didn’t have any control of this arm”, waving his left arm in the video.

“So it’s a little scary I have to say,” he admitted.

“I had the most fantastic care and attention from the hospital where I went. Blue lights flashing and the lot. Very exciting.”

Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed he suffered a stroke on Instagram.

The 77-year-old astrophysicist and animal rights campaigner said he “really doesn’t want sympathy”, asking fans not to send in message that will “really clutter up my inbox”.

“Good news is I’m OK. I’m just doing what I’m told, which is basically nothing. I’m grounded. I’m not allowed to go out — I’m not allowed to drive, get on a plane. I’m not allowed to raise the heart rate too high … but I’m good.”

His video was shared alongside a promotion for his new documentary: Brian May – the badgers, the farmers and me, in which he criticises the ongoing badger cull, which has killed tens of thousands of animals.

Brian May from Queen during a performance at Adelaide Oval 2020. Picture: Matt Loxton

Sir Brian’s latest health scare comes after he survived a heart attack in 2020.

He had been recuperating from a torn muscle and trapped nerve as a result of a gardening injury when he experienced chest pains.

Sir Brian reported his concerns to his doctor — who drove him to hospital himself. He discovered he had blocked arteries.

“I was shocked, I thought I was a healthy guy. Everyone says I’ve got a great blood pressure and I keep fit, I bike, good diet,” he said at the time.

“I had – in the middle of the whole saga of the painful backside – I had a small heart attack. I say small, it’s not something that did me any harm. It was about 40 minutes of pain in the chest and tightness. It’s that feeling in the arms and sweating.

“And you kind of know, you’ve heard things and you think ‘this is a heart attack’. To cut a long story short, my wonderful doctor drove me to the hospital himself and I had an angiogram (an X-ray used to examine blood vessels).”

Sir Brian was given an OBE in 2005 and knighted last year for services to music and charity. He is among the surviving members of Queen, and wrote 22 top 20 hits.

Originally published as Queen star Brian May suffers minor stroke