Queen's Brian May leaves fans in tears with 'heartfelt' family update

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Queen legend Brian May has shared a touching throwback on Instagram, delighting fans with a heartfelt map his father Harold May created during the band's first European tour in 1974.
The rock icon, aged 77 and married to EastEnders and Doctor Who star Anita Dobson, posted: "My Dad's supportive handiwork for our first Queen tour of Europe... 1974! ! ! As honoured in Stockholm last night. Love to all - Bri."
The nostalgic post, which commemorates the Queen II tour that saw the band play ten gigs across six countries in just over two weeks, has sparked an outpouring of love from followers.
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Fans flocked to the comments section to share their admiration, with one fan writing: "Oh what a heartfelt map full of love for you, Sir!".
Another added their voice, saying: "Wow! ! What a treasure! ! Can't you just picture him sitting there, drawing, coloring, marking the routes, all the time thinking proudly, 'That's MY boy!'", reports Plymouth Live.
A third shared a personal memory: "I saw and crying, I didn't expect than I'm a small girl at 1994 in Russia, my Papa brought me a CD The Works and told 'See, this is a good Music' then a couldn't explain my life without Queen music."
An admirer also commented on the detail in the map: "What beautiful attention to detail your father gave to these maps and what a lovely tribute you gave to him last night. Inspiring word."
This heartwarming revelation comes hot on the heels of the news that Brian and fellow Queen member Roger Taylor were celebrated with the 2025 Polar Music Prize at a grand ceremony in Sweden on Tuesday (May 27).
The musicians were lauded for their impressive careers and impact on music, and accepting the award, Brian May told the audience: "In this special moment, I contemplate how that younger Brian May in 1974 would have felt if he knew that we would be living this kind of dream 50 years in the future."
Reflecting on Queen's origins, Roger Taylor said: "When we started our band... we had ambitions, but never dreamed of the journey that was to follow. We were fortunate in the fact that our four wildly different personalities came together to achieve a wonderful chemistry."
And, speaking about the uniqueness of the Polar Music Prize, Brian continued: "The Polar Music Prize is exceptional in the fact that, unlike other awards, it recognises the entirety of an artist's career. What an honour to be included in the glittering cavalcade of previous laureates."
The evening celebration featured live performances honouring Queen and other recipients, including rock group Ghost who covered Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody with Opeth's Fredrik Akesson on guitar.
Adam Lambert, Queen's contemporary frontman, then captivated the crowd with renditions of classic hits Who Wants to Live Forever and Another One Bites the Dust.

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