Brian May recalled the “‘strange experience’ of working with Guns N’ Roses in 2008 for their ‘Chinese Democracy’ album.
The Queen guitarist was one of many guest artists on this disc, which was recorded in 9 years. Brian’s contributions were finally cut during editing and the musician has now remembered this unusual project.
“It was a strange experience,” he revealed to Classic Rock magazine. “I think it was right in the middle of the project. At this point, Axl (Rose, the singer, editor’s note) was more or less a hermit. He was working at his house and I was working in the studio with his sound engineer. He was coming very rarely. Once in a while he would call and be very enthusiastic. He would talk a lot and then he would disappear again. Nothing I did ended up on the album.”
Back when “Chinese Democracy” was released, Brian May told his fans on his official website that he lamented that his work was not on the album, adding, “I worked hard and I was proud of it.”
The rocker also confessed to Classic Rock that he hasn’t been in contact with Axl Rose since then, though admitting that he himself is “a bit shy and lonely”.
He added: “I very much regret the fact that I haven’t kept in touch with Ed Van Halen.”
Ed Van Halen passed away on October 6, 2020.
