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Brian May (Composer)

Brian May was an Australian film composer best known for scoring Mad Max and Mad Max 2. He composed over 30 film scores and was regarded as one of Australia's finest screen composers. May established a scholarship for promising Australian film composers to study at the University of Southern California.

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142 views3 pages

Brian May (Composer)

Brian May was an Australian film composer best known for scoring Mad Max and Mad Max 2. He composed over 30 film scores and was regarded as one of Australia's finest screen composers. May established a scholarship for promising Australian film composers to study at the University of Southern California.

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mbraticic
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Brian May (composer) 1

Brian May (composer)


For the British musician, see Brian May.

Brian May
Born 28 July 1934
Adelaide, Australia

Died 25 April 1997 (aged 62)


Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Genres Film score

Occupations Composer, conductor

Instruments Piano, violin

Brian May (28 July 1934 – 25 April 1997) was an Australian film composer. His best known scores are those for
Mad Max and Mad Max 2.[1]

Biography
May was born in Adelaide on 28 July 1934. He trained at the Adelaide Elder Conservatorium as a pianist, violinist
and conductor. He joined the ABC Adelaide in 1957 and was asked to form and conduct the ABC Adelaide Big
Band, a full-blown ensemble that was rated as the best of the ABC state-based bands. He moved to Melbourne when
he was 35 to arrange and conduct the ABC's Melbourne Show band. The Show Band made its radio debut on the
First Network on 13 March 1969. Background music for Australian television had previously been taken from
records. May changed this by writing and arranging the themes for television programmes, including Bellbird,
Return to Eden, The Last Frontier, A Dangerous Life and Darling of the Gods.
A breakthrough for May was the drama series Rush, set on the 19th-century Victorian goldfields. The theme was
composed by Australian George Dreyfus, but May's arrangement of the theme was recorded by the Show Band and
quickly reached the top of the Australian charts, selling more than 100,000 copies. This type of success was usually
reserved for pop groups such as Sherbert and Skyhooks. May also composed the Countdown theme and the
Melbourne Show Band launched the highly successful Countdown television series. He left the ABC in 1984 and his
interests turned to film music. He composed more than 30 feature film scores, including Gallipoli, Mad Max, Mad
Max 2, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Dr. Giggles and one episode of "Tales from the Crypt". May preferred
to orchestrate his scores himself.
He died in Melbourne on 25 April 1997 at the age of 62.

Filmography
• Patrick (1978)
• Mad Max (1979) – Won Best Original Music Score award by AFI.
• Snapshot (1979)
• Thirst (1979)
• Harlequin (1980)
• Nightmares (1980)
• Gallipoli (1981) (additional music)
• Mad Max 2 (1981) – Nominated for Best Original Music Score by AFI.
• Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)
• Roadgames (1981) – Nominated for Best Original Music Score by AFI.
Brian May (composer) 2

• The Survivor (1981)


• Breakfast in Paris (1982)
• Kitty and the Bagman (1982)
• Turkey Shoot (1982)
• A Slice of Life (1983)
• Cloak & Dagger (1984)
• Innocent Prey (1984)
• Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
• Frog Dreaming (1986) – Nominated for Best Original Music Score by AFI.
• Sky Pirates (1986)
• Death Before Dishonor (1987)
• Steel Dawn (1987)
• Bloodmoon (1990)
• Dead Sleep (1990)
• Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
• Dr. Giggles (1992)
• Hurricane Smith (1992)
• Blind Side (1993)

Awards
Mad Max won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Original Score. May won many other awards, including
the Golden Award from the Australian Performing Rights Association. May spent many years in America working
on film scores. He was regarded as the finest of Australia's screen composers.

Legacy
His will established the Brian May Trust, a charitable testamentary trust, to provide a scholarship to promising
Australian film composers to study film-scoring at the University of Southern California (USC). The Trustees have
determined that the scholarship will be provided for tuition in film-scoring at the USC's Thornton School of Music in
the course known as the 'Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television Graduate Certificate'. The Brian May Trust
Scholarship was first awarded for the 2003/2004 Academic Year and will continue to be awarded biennially.

References
[1] Ivan Hutchinson, "Brian May", Cinema Papers, Feb-March 1985 p47-49, 88

External links
• Brian May (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006189/) at the Internet Movie Database
• Brian May (http://www.allmovie.com/artist/p101813) at AllMovie
• Brian May Scholarship (http://www.brianmayscholarship.org)
• Brian May interview – Film Score Monthly (http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/1997/
07_May---Brian_May__1934-1997.asp)
Article Sources and Contributors 3

Article Sources and Contributors


Brian May (composer) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=609897586 Contributors: Adammw, AuburnPilot, Bearcat, Closedmouth, Cnwilliams, DOHC Holiday, Deeplogic,
Dl2000, DonEd, Dutchy85, E-Kartoffel, Edwardx, Favonian, Feydey, Fitzpatrickjm, Garion96, Gavia immer, GiskardReventlov, GregorB, JackofOz, Jeffman52001, Johnsp1, Kathleen.wright5,
KelleyCook, Lambiam, Longhair, Marc87, Martarius, Mickea, Mrspeed, O keyes, Ostinato2, PDH, Philip Trueman, Stemonitis, Tabletop, TyroCat, Ulric1313, Waacstats, Ὁ οἶστρος, 9
anonymous edits

License
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//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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