Latest news with #RedSpecial
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Here's What Happened at the Royal Swedish Ceremony That Honored Queen's Brian May & Roger Taylor and Herbie Hancock
Legendary rockers Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, master jazz artist Herbie Hancock and conductor/soprano and contemporary classical musician Barbara Hannigan received their Polar Music Prize awards from the hands of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in the Vinterträdgården room of Stockholm's elegant Grand Hôtel on Tuesday (May 27). The 500-plus-person audience, made up of Swedish royalty, music industry players (artists, songwriters, publishers, execs and more) and friends and family of the laureates, rose to its feet many times during the six-hour event, as each of the laureates delivered heartfelt speeches. Hannigan thanked her mentors with a special mention for her (five minutes older) twin brother Brian; Hancock spoke of his father's support for his musical career even though he wanted his son to be an engineer; and May also talked about his late father Harold, who helped him build his original Red Special electric guitar (also known as the 'Old Lady'), which May owns to this day. More from Billboard Looking Back on 30 Years of Sweden's Polar Music Prize Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' & 'What I Want' With Tate McRae Launch Atop Billboard's Country Charts Post Malone Brings Out NBA Legend Allen Iverson for 'White Iverson' Performance in Philadelphia The event began with a royal ceremony, in the presence of not just the King but several members of Sweden's Royal Family, followed by a multi-course banquet. The laureates were serenaded during both halves of the Polar Music Prive evening by a number of Swedish and international musicians playing music written by or performed by the three musical icons during their careers. Jazz vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding and pianist/producer Robert Glasper got an ovation for their rendition of the Hancock composition 'Trust Me,' and returned to the stage to perform Hancock's seminal 'Watermelon Man.' Spalding then teamed with Argentinian pianist Leo Genovese for a stunning performance of Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now,' in honor of Hancock's 2007 album River: The Joni Letters. That tribute album to Mitchell won the Grammy for album of the year in 2008. The audience did not wait for that performance to end to give it a standing ovation. Similar ovations showed the attendees' love for Adam Lambert's versions of Queen's 'Who Wants to Live Forever' at the ceremony and 'Another One Bites the Dust' at the banquet, as May and Taylor looked on approvingly. The biggest ovation of the night went to Sweden's Ghost, who recently topped the Billboard 200 with their album Skeletá. Frontman Tobias Forge donned a golden mask and was accompanied by Swedish heavy metal guitarist Fredrik Åkesson and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, singing a cappella from a balcony high above the banquet tables, for a tour-de-force on 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' As the evening was coming to a close, Marie Ledin, managing director of the Polar Music Prize and daughter of the award's founder, ABBA manager Stig 'Stikkan' Anderson, received an overwhelming response from the banquet guests as she thanked her father as well as her mother Gudrun, the Royal Family, the laureates and the entire assembled audience. Ledin spoke about each of the laureates in turn: 'Let me begin with Queen – this much-loved band are truly rock royalty! As a big fan myself, I've been lucky enough to have seen them in concert several times here in Stockholm. They taught me that music can be bold, dramatic, fascinating and fun. 'Herbie Hancock is a true musical pioneer and one of the most influential musicians of our time. He has taught us that music can challenge us intellectually even as it enriches our soul. Herbie has deservedly earned the admiration of musicians across all genres. 'Barbara Hannigan is a visionary soprano and conductor, and a passionate advocate for contemporary music. With her avant-garde experimentation, she proves that classical music does not have to live in the past, but is a living, breathing art form in itself.' The 2025 laureates were also honored by the presence of three previous laureates, Max Martin (2016), Anne-Sophie Mutter (2019) and Nile Rodgers (2024). One more special guest was Anita Dobson, who was in attendance with her husband Brian May. Dobson is having an especially great week, as she has guest starred on every episode of the current season of the BBC's Doctor Who and will play a large part in the season finale on Saturday (May 31), though she wouldn't reveal any details about the conclusion of her story arc to Billboard (as she shouldn't). The Polar Music Prize was first awarded in 1992, to Paul McCartney and the Baltic States, newly independent from the former Soviet Union. Since then, the prestige of the prize has only grown, with awards going to artists from all over the world. A partial list includes Elton John, Ravi Shankar, Metallica, Ennio Morricone, Led Zeppelin, Renée Fleming, Grandmaster Flash, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Isaac Stern, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Sonny Rollins, Diane Warren, Gilberto Gil, B.B. King, Emmylou Harris, Yo-Yo Ma, Miriam Makeba, Björk, Wayne Shorter, Patti Smith, Dizzy Gillespie, Chris Blackwell, Iggy Pop, Angélique Kidjo, the Kronos Quartet, Youssou N'Dour and Chuck Berry. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brian May's first Gibson signature is here – and it's got nothing to do with the Red Special
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. After announcing their unexpected partnership early last year, Gibson and Brian May have unveiled their first collaborative signature guitar creation – and it's not a Murphy Lab Red Special. Instead, the legendary Queen guitarist has been honored with a 12-string SJ-200 acoustic guitar. When May and Gibson first confirmed they would be working together, many speculated that the partnership would lead to Custom Shop (and maybe even Epiphone) recreations of the iconic Red Special. Hype was further fanned when May himself revealed to Guitar World that reissues of the DIY guitar he made with his father were indeed on the cards, but it seems we'll have to wait a little longer for a Gibson Red Special. For their first drop, the pair have instead prioritized a 12-string SJ-200, which was designed specifically for May after he required one for tour. However, it's quite unlike your standard 12-string – not only are 12-string SJ-200s exceptionally uncommon, this particular example has also been altered to suit May's personal strumming style. As May explains in a press release, his signature SJ-200 flips the 12-string script on its head by reversing the order of the octave and regular acoustic guitar strings. 'The idea for this guitar came when I needed a 12-String on tour, and the one I was accustomed to wasn't performing right on stage,' May explains. 'The guys at Gibson very kindly said, 'We'll make you something special that you can use on the tours.' 'One of the things I asked for was for the octaves to be placed around the other way from where it is normally done, because I like to pick upwards and hear the top notes when I'm playing. I like to hear the high octave coming through as then I can play tunes on it.' A bevy of top-notch tonewoods form the foundation of May's first Gibson, with AAA rosewood back and sides lining up alongside an AAA Sitka spruce top that boasts an elegant Vintage Sunburst finish. Image 1 of 2 Image 2 of 2 Elsewhere, there's a rosewood fingerboard with agoya shell eight-point star inlays, a planetary themed pickguard designed by May, and gold Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, as well as a solid rosewood moustache bridge, walnut stringer and Fishman Matrix electronics. All in all, it's a very pretty SJ-200 indeed, but as May is quick to point out, it's also a display of refined acoustic guitar engineering. The decision to reverse-mount the strings – so the thicker-gauge strings are on top of the thinner octaves – is a small but influential decision that will have a huge impact on its tone and playability. As Gibson puts it, it lends itself to 'a distinctive sound that's unlike other Gibson 12-String acoustic models'. May, unsurprisingly, is impressed: 'If you look at this guitar, the beauty of it, and the beauty of the sound, and look at the science in this guitar, look how much technology and craftsmanship has gone into this guitar. 'Gibson was able to put the universe on it in a figurative way and the planet Mercury is here, and that is a little nod to a friend of mine that is always with me.' Image 1 of 4 Image 2 of 4 Image 3 of 4 Image 4 of 4 'As a trailblazing sound pioneer, trendsetter, and one of the most influential musicians of all time, it's an absolute privilege to be collaborating with Sir Brian May,' says Cesar Gueikian, CEO of Gibson, of the new release. 'Brian's impact on music and culture is second to none and was a transformational influence on my personal music journey. We are deeply honored that Brian has trusted Gibson with this SJ-200 12-string guitar, and we are excited to finally bring it to music lovers around the world.' Only 100 of these 12-string SJ-200s will be made, and they'll be available for $7,999 via the Gibson Garages in Nashville and London, and on the Gibson website. Head over to Gibson to find out more. Image 1 of 3 Image 2 of 3 Image 3 of 3
