Sir Brian May feared he'd never play guitar again after suffering a stroke
The Queen rocker was taken to hospital last September after suffering a "minor" stroke that left him without any control over one of his arms and he admitted it a "scary" time when he first fell ill because he didn't know if he'd pick up his instrument again
6 February 2025
Discussing his anxieties about potentially not being able to play, he told Guitarist magazine: "It went through my mind. When I suddenly couldn't control this left arm, it was quite scary. I had no idea what was going on.
"I phoned my doctor and she said, 'Okay, I think you're having a minor stroke. Dial 999, get in the ambulance and I'll see you there.' But even at the worst time, although I couldn't control where the arm was, I could control my fingers.
"So I thought, 'I'm probably not really in danger.' I'm all right now. I'm just taking it slow."
The 77-year-old guitarist had told fans about his "little health hiccup" on Instagram just days after being hospitalised.
The 'We Will Rock You' hitmaker told fans in an Instagram video update: "I hope you're all well out there. I'm here to bring you first of all some good news. I think good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days and 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 and all of a sudden - out of the blue - I didn't have any control over this arm so was a little scary."
Praising the staff who cared for him at Frimley Hospital in Camberley, Surrey, he added: "I have to say I had the most fantastic care and attention from Frimley Hospital where I went blue lights flashing... the lot. Very exciting!"
His wife, actress Anita Dobson, confirmed a few weeks later that he was on track to make a "full recovery".
Speaking to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column, Anita said: "He's been told to rest. It's hard to keep him resting, but he needs to, otherwise he won't get well.
"He's doing great - he's on the road, he's doing really, really well. We're very pleased.
"I'm completely confident he'll make a full recovery.
"You have to take things slowly, chill a bit. He's not that kind of animal!"
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