May Day, May Day

Queen Guitarist Hands In Thesis (36 Years Late)

You dawdled over your thesis? No worries at all, mate. Queen guitarist Brian May has only just handed in his astronomy PhD thesis - 36 years after abandoning it to join the band! May recently carried out observational work in Tenerife, where he studied the formation of "zodiacal dust clouds". The subject forms the basis of a 48,000-word thesis for Imperial College, London, where 60-year-old May studied before becoming a rock star. As he handed it over to Imperial's head of astrophysics Professor Paul Nandra, May said, "It's been the longest gap year ever."

For details about Brian May's connection with Covent Garden, We Will Rock You and Canadian Idol, go to The Independent.