 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points.(September 2025) |
This is the discography of Brian May.
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] | AUS [2] [3] | AUT [4] | CAN [5] | GER [6] | NED [7] | SWE [8] | SWI [9] | US [10] | |||
| 1992 | Back to the Light | 6 | 94 | 20 | 70 | 10 [A] | 11 | 25 | 9 [A] | 159 | UK: Gold [11] |
| 1998 | Another World | 14 | 165 | 47 | — | 15 [B] | 47 | — | 31 [B] | — | |
| 2000 | La musique de Furia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] | AUS [3] | AUT [4] | GER [6] | NED [7] | SWI [9] | ||
| 1994 | Live at the Brixton Academy (The Brian May Band) | 20 | 190 | 38 | 71 | 35 | 33 |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] | CAN [12] | US [10] | ||
| 1983 | Star Fleet Project (Brian May + Friends) | 35 | 69 | 147 |
| 1993 | Resurrection – Japanese Tour Mini Album | — | — | — |
| 1998 | Red Special – Japanese Tour Mini Album | — | — | — |
| 1998 | Retro Rock Special (as T. E. Conway) | — | — | — |
| Year | Artist | Title | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] | |||
| 1985 | Chris Thompson featuring Brian May | Radio Voices | — |
| 2013 | Tangerine Dream And Brian May | Starmus – Sonic Universe | — |
| Kerry Ellis & Brian May | Acoustic by Candlelight | — | |
| 2017 | Golden Days | 27 |
| Year of release | Title | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Gettin' Smile (LP, Japan) | Tracks "Doing Alright", "Blag", "April Lady", "Polar Bear", "Earth", "Step on Me" [all songs recorded 1969] |
| 1997 | Ghost of a Smile (CD, Netherlands) |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] | AUS [3] [13] [14] | BEL [15] | CAN [16] | EUR [17] [18] | IRE [19] | NLD [20] | PRT [21] [22] | US Main. [23] | ||||
| 1983 | "Star Fleet" | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Star Fleet Project | |
| 1991 | "Driven by You" | 6 | 162 | 35 | 70 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 9 | Back to the Light | |
| 1992 | "Too Much Love Will Kill You" | 5 | 18 | 2 | — | 10 | 7 | 1 | 8 | — | UK: Silver [11] NLD: Gold [24] | |
| "Back to the Light" | 19 | 123 | 39 | — | — | — | 20 | — | — | |||
| 1993 | "Resurrection" (with Cozy Powell) | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Last Horizon" | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994 | "The Man from Manhattan" (with Freddie Mercury & Eddie Howell) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 1995 | "Nobody Knew (Black White House)" (with Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus | |
| 1998 | "The Business (Rock on Cozy Mix)" | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Another World | |
| "On My Way Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 79 | — | — | |||
| "Another World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Why Don't We Try Again" | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2012 | "Born Free" (with Kerry Ellis) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Acoustic By Candlelight | |
| 2013 | "The Kissing Me Song" (with Kerry Ellis) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Save the Badger Badger Badger" (Weebl & Brian May featuring Brian Blessed) | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| 2014 | "One Night in Hell" (with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016 | "One Voice" (with Norah Jones, Aimee Mann, Susanna Hoffs, Lydia Loveless, Neko Case, Kathryn Calder) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019 | "New Horizons (Ultima Thule Mix)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Holy Man" (with Dennis Wilson, Taylor Hawkins and Roger Taylor) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2021 | "Panic Attack 2021 (It's Gonna Be Alright)" (with Kerry Ellis) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022 | "Floating in Heaven" (with Graham Gouldman) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] | BEL [15] | IRE [19] | NED [20] | US [10] | ||||
| 1987 | "A Time For Heroes" (Meat Loaf with Brian May) | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 1992 | "We Are the Champions" (Hank Marvin feat. Brian May) | 66 [25] | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 2002 | "If We Believe" (Lynn Carey Saylor feat. Brian May) | — | — | — | — | — | You Like It Clean | |
| 2006 | "Move It" (Cliff Richard feat. Brian May & Brian Bennett) | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| 2009 | "Somebody to Love" (Catherine Porter feat. Brian May) | — | — | — | — | — | Gems for Ruby | |
| 2011 | "Yoü and I" (Lady Gaga feat. Brian May) | 23 | 4 | 32 | 2 | 6 | US: 3× Platinum | Born This Way |
| 2012 | "Rockstar" (Dappy feat. Brian May) | 2 | 99 | 15 | — | — | UK: Silver [11] | Bad Intentions |
| 2019 | "Blue on Black" (Five Finger Death Punch feat. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Brantley Gilbert and Brian May) | — | — | — | — | 66 | US: Platinum | And Justice for None |
| 2020 | "One Beautiful Christmas Day" (Kerry Ellis feat. Brian May) | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| Year of release | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | "Earth" / "Step on Me" | Non-album single |
| Year of release | Compilation | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Greenpeace – Alternative NRG | "New Damage" (with Soundgarden) |
| 1995 | In from the Storm(tribute to Jimi Hendrix] | "One Rainy Wish" (later released on the album Another World ) |
| 1996 | Pinocchio: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | "Il Colosso" (with Jerry Hadley, Sissel Kyrkjebø, 'Just William'), "What Are We Made Of?" (with Sissel Kyrkjebø) |
| 1996 | Twang! A Tribute to Hank Marvin & The Shadows | "FBI" (later released as a B-side of the single On My Way Up) |
| 1998 | Lullabies with a Difference | "My Boy" (recorded in 1982) |
| 2000 | Music from and Inspired by Mission: Impossible 2 | "Have a Cigar" (with the Foo Fighters) |
| 2002 | Good Rockin' Tonight – The Legacy of Sun Records | "I Don't Want Nobody Teasing Around with Me"(Japanese edition only) |
| Party at the Palace | "God Save the Queen" | |
| 2004 | Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man 2 | "Someone to Die For" (with Jimmy Gnecco) |
| 2012 | BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge 2012 | "We Will Rock You" (with Dappy) |
| Year of release | Collaborated with | Release | May's contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Minako Honda | Cancel | production |
| 1987 | Minako Honda | "Golden Days", "Crazy Nights" | songwriting, production, guitar |
| 1987 | Bad News | Bad News | production |
| 1987 | Heavy Pettin | Lettin Loose | produced by May and Mack |
| 1988 | Anita Dobson | Talking of Love | songwriting, production, guitar, backing vocals |
| 1988 | Anita Dobson | "In One of My Weaker Moments" | production, guitar |
| 1989 | Ian & Belinda | "Who Wants to Live Forever" | production, guitar (bass by John Deacon, drums by Roger Taylor) |
| 1991 | Hale and Pace and the Stonkers | "The Stonk" | production, guitar (drums by Roger Taylor) |
| Year of release | Collaborated with | Song | Album/Record | May's contribution Guitar unless stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Eddie Howell | "Man from Manhattan" | Man from Manhattan | backing vocals and guitar (piano and backing vocals by Freddie Mercury) |
| 1976 | Ian Hunter | "You Nearly Did Me In" | All-American Alien Boy | backing vocals by May, Mercury and Roger Taylor |
| 1978 | Lonnie Donegan | "Digging My Potatoes" | Puttin' on the Style | |
| 1980 | Quartz | "Circles" (recorded 1977) | B-side of the single "Stoking the Fires of Hell" (1980); also bonus track on the 2004 reissue of the album Stand Up and Fight | |
| 1983 | Jeffrey Osborne | "Stay with Me Tonight", "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right" | Stay with Me Tonight | |
| 1984 | Billy Squier | "(Another) 1984" | Signs of Life | |
| 1985 | Chris Thompson | "A Shift in the Wind, Parts 1 and 2" | Radio Voices | |
| 1986 | Ramoncín | "Como un susurro" | La vida en el filo | |
| 1988 | The Cross | "Love Lies Bleeding (She Was a Wicked, Wily Waitress)" | Shove It | |
| 1989 | Holly Johnson | "Love Train" | Blast | |
| 1989 | Living in a Box | "Blow the House Down" | Gatecrashing | |
| 1989 | Black Sabbath | "When Death Calls" | Headless Cross | guitar solo |
| 1989 | Fuzzbox | "Self!" | Big Bang! | |
| 1989 | Artists United for Nature | "Yes We Can" | Yes We Can(single; also released on the compilation Earthrise – The Rainforest Album) | |
| 1989 | Rock Aid Armenia | "Smoke on the Water" | Smoke on the Water | guitar (drums by Roger Taylor) |
| 1990 | Rock Against Repatriation | "Sailing" | Sailing | |
| 1991 | D-Rok | "Red Planet Blues", "Get Out of My Way" | Oblivion | |
| 1992 | Extreme | "Love of My Life" | Song for Love(for the Terence Higgins Trust) | |
| 1992 | Judie Tzuke | "I Can Read Books" | Wonderland | |
| 1992 | Phenomena | "A Whole Lot of Love" (recorded 1988) | Phenomena III: Inner Vision | |
| 1992 | Tony Martin | "If There Is a Heaven" | Back Where I Belong | |
| 1992 | Cozy Powell | "Somewhere in Time" (instrumental version of "Nothin' But Blue"], "Ride to Win" | The Drums Are Back | guitar (bass by John Deacon on "Somewhere in Time") |
| 1992 | Steve Hackett | "Don’t Fall Away From Me" (recorded 1986) | The Unauthorised Biography | |
| 1993 | Paul Rodgers | "I'm Ready" | Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters | |
| 1993 | Steve Hackett | "Cassandra" (recorded 1986) | Guitar Noir(bonus track) | |
| 1993 | The Left Handed Marriage | "Appointment", "She Was Once My Friend", "I Need Time" [recorded 1967] | Crazy Chain | guitar, backing vocals; I Need Time written by Bill Richards and May |
| 1994 | Os Paralamas do Sucesso | "El Vampiro Bajo El Sol" | Severino | |
| 1995 | Jennifer Rush | "Who Wants to Live Forever" | Out of My Hands | vocals and guitar |
| 1995 | Gordon Giltrap | "Heartsong" [recorded 1993] | Music for the Small Screen | |
| 1995 | Carmine Appice | "Nobody Knew (Black White House)" | Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus | |
| 1995 | S.O.L. (Stefan Zauner) | "Make My Dream Come True" | S.O.L. – Some Other Language | |
| 1996 | Status Quo | "Raining in My Heart" | Don't Stop | |
| 1996 | Rock Therapy | "Reaching Out" | Reaching Out (single; for the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre) | |
| 2000 | Steve Hackett | "Slot Machine" (recorded 1986) | Feedback '86 | |
| 2000 | Tony Iommi | "Goodbye Lament" (featuring Dave Grohl), "Flame On" (featuring Ian Astbury) | Iommi | |
| 2000 | Freddie Mercury | "She Blows Hot and Cold (Alternative Version)" (recorded 1984) | The Solo Collection (box set) | |
| 2000 | Foo Fighters | Have a Cigar | Mission: Impossible 2 (soundtrack) | |
| 2002 | Michael Kamen | "Light the Fire Within" | unreleased; official theme of the 2002 Winter Olympics | |
| 2002 | Claire Sweeney | "Too Much Love Will Kill You" | Claire | |
| 2002 | Foo Fighters | "Tired of You" | One by One | |
| 2003 | The Yardbirds | "Mr. You're a Better Man Than I" | Birdland | |
| 2003 | Tim Staffell | "Earth", "Doin' Alright" | Amigo | guitar & vocals |
| 2004 | Zucchero | "Il mare impetuoso al tramonto salì sulla luna e dietro una tendina di stelle..." | Zu & Co. | |
| 2006 | Meat Loaf | "Bad for Good" | Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose | |
| 2007 | Lynn Carey Saylor | "We Belong" [26] | You Like It Clean | guitar & background vocals |
| 2007 | Guns N' Roses | "Catcher in the Rye (Demo)" | Chinese Democracy (Sessions) | Uncredited guitar Solo |
| 2008 | Minako Honda | "Amazing Grace (Traditional) Produced by Brian May" | Eternal Melody | Arrangement, backing vocals, keyboards, toy koto, production |
| 2008 | Kerry Ellis | "Defying Gravity", "I'm Not that Girl", "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" | Wicked in Rock | Arrangement, bass, guitars, keys, production, programming |
| 2010 | "Dangerland", "Anthem", "I Can't Be Your Friend (This Can't Be Over)", "Defying Gravity", "I'm Not that Girl", "You Have to Be There", "Love It When You Call", "Save Me", "Diamonds Are Forever", "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)", "I Loved a Butterfly" | Anthems | Arrangement, backing vocals, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards, production | |
| 2010 | Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders | "Way Down", "Don't Have to Speak" | Red Light Fever | guitar |
| 2010 | Meat Loaf | "Love Is Not Real", "The Song of Madness" | Hang Cool Teddy Bear | |
| 2011 | Tangerine Dream | Starmus – Sonic Universe | ||
| 2011 | Lady Gaga | "You and I" | Born This Way | guitar |
| 2015 | Motörhead | "The Devil" | Bad Magic | guitar solo |
| 2020 | Woman | "I'm a Woman" | guitar & production | |
| Live Recordings (Selection) | ||||
| 1988 | Prince's Trust Gala Concert | Prince's Trust Rock Gala (VHS; recorded live on 6 June 1988 at the Royal Albert Hall) | guitar (bass by Deacon) | |
| 1992 | Pavarotti and Friends | "Too Much Love Will Kill You", "La donna è mobile" | (recorded live in Modena on 27 September 1992) | |
| 2005 | The Strat Pack | "Peggy Sue", "Maybe Baby", "I Fought the Law", "Oh Boy!", "That'll Be the Day" (with The Crickets and Albert Lee); "All Right Now" (with Paul Rodgers) | The Strat Pack: Live in Concert (DVD; recorded live at the concert from the 50th Anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar, 24 September 2004) | |
