“I don’t only think in barre chords – that’s a slightly arrogant statement to make”: Brian May and Roger Taylor disagree about their guitar contributions to Taylor’s Queen tracks

Queen pair Brian May and Roger Taylor have spoken about the “injustice” of one of the band’s biggest money-spinning hits, with the drummer labeling some of May’s comments about his guitar playing as “slightly arrogant”.

The British rock icons were a band full of superlative songwriters, with Brian May and Roger Taylor responsible for mammoth hits like We Will Rock You, Tie Your Mother Down, and Stone Cold Crazy. Speaking in the latest issue of Mojo, May and Taylor discuss the tongue-in-cheek hit that became a “sticking point” for the quartet.

While writing for 1975's A Night at the Opera, Taylor began to sow the first seeds for what would become I'm in Love with My Car, even if May wasn't initially impressed.

“Brian was like, ‘Is this a joke?’” Taylor remembers. “I said, ‘Look at all those people out washing their cars on a Sunday morning, lavishing attention on them – they probably love their cars more than they love their wives.’ It’s a valid lyric I think, but kind of tongue in cheek, too, obviously… cars and girls – what else is there?”

Strangely, Taylor’s autophile anthem was picked to be the B-side for what would soon become their mega-selling hit single, Bohemian Rhapsody. A scene in the band’s 2018 biopic, also called Bohemian Rhapsody, plays into what quickly established itself as a running joke within Queen’s ranks that centered on the song’s unlikely success.

“There was a lot of truth in that,” May admits. “We were aware of the injustice of I’m in Love With My Car making as much money as Bohemian Rhapsody. It was a real sticking point for the band and it’s good we got through it. I think our sense of humor saved us.”

The conversation then takes a step back to look at the broader picture of their songwriting contributions to Queen’s hit-filled discography. Taylor may be a drummer by trade, but he is also a guitarist and offered plenty of songwriting heavy lifting in that respect.

“I think Roger would say to you that it’s very simplistic with him,” May had mused. “He thinks in barre chords on the whole. My contribution would be to come in and make the melodies work better. It’s a humble task but that’s what I’ve done on Roger’s songs – add a bit of color.”

That, however, isn’t as Taylor sees it.

“I’d take issue with quite a lot of that,” he retorts. “It’s a little bit, OK, so you’ve got a piano – now I’m going to come in and tune it. I don’t only think in barre chords, that’s a slightly arrogant statement to make. Brian’s a perfectionist and he will chase down the detail, but that didn’t mean I was going to let him fuck up my songs!”

In related Brian May news, the guitarist has highlighted the subtle but heartfelt tribute to Freddie Mercury that can be found on his new Gibson signature guitar and revealed how his flirtations with Marshall amps were extremely short-lived after being embarrassed by Jimi Hendrix.

He's also spoken about his recovery from the stroke he suffered last year, and explained how Rory Gallagher was pivotal in shaping his now-iconic guitar tone.