Queen guitarist Brian May has been through the wringer this year with his health. The axe-wielding legend and astrophysicist has been outspoken about his numerous health problems on social media this year.

The rocker recently appeared on Good Morning Britain, where he detailed the health battles he’s been fighting, specifically the stomach hemorrhage triggered by medication prescribed following his heart attack. During the interview, Brian May revealed that he’s “grateful to be alive” after the ordeal his body and poor health has put him through.

“I had a wonderful, wonderful surgeon. I had three stents in me, which are working just fine, and I feel good,” The 73-year-old rocker revealed.

May claims that it was the medication he was given following a heart attack that nearly killed him.

“It was shocking,” May said. “You have to be so careful with the medication that they give you, because it’s great for the stents, it’s great for the heart, but it’s not very good for the rest of your body and you can really go down. It’s a tightrope.

“The worst thing that happened was the stomach hemorrhage, and I lost an awful lot of blood all at one time and just was wiped out. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t get across the floor. That was the worst point for me. But I had a bit of a bad time all-round – it sounds amusing really. A catalog of disasters.” Watch the interview below.

Check out Brian May on Good Morning Britain:

YouTube VideoPlay

Brian May was admitted to hospital in March after shredding his buttock muscles during a gardening stint. The incident triggered a small heart attack and the discovery of three blocked arteries that left May “very near death.”

Love Classic Rock?

Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more

May was readmitted to the hospital for an MRI scan, which discovered a severely compressed sciatic nerve – the consequence of a 50-year stint as a guitarist.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine