Sir Brian May believes music has saved him from depression.
Brian May has opened up about his battle with depression
The 66-year-old Queen guitarist has opened up about his mental health issues, admitting he's struggled with dark moods for much of his life, but he's convinced being able to play music for a living has helped pull him back from the brink because he uses it as "therapy".
Speaking to The Independent newspaper, he explained: "Music has fuelled my whole life. It saved my life a lot of times, because I'm a depressive person who has that on his back the whole time.
"And music is the best therapy. I think [depression] is built into my psyche. I think it's a hereditary thing, something I've been aware of for a very long time. And you evolve strategies to deal with it and stay functional."
Brian went on to talk about receiving a knighthood from King Charles this year in the monarch's first honours list - insisting the title is special to him but many people already assumed he was a Sir.
He added: "A lot of people do [think I was knighted years ago] which is quite funny. I was getting letters that said 'Sir Brian'."
However, the rocker was still surprised to get the nod from the palace because he was convinced years of political activism would have ruined his chances.
He went on to say: "I'm doing stuff all the time which the government doesn't like. I fight for the rights of wild animals, particularly and certainly people like (former British Prime Minister) Boris Johnson would find me a complete irritation. I think it only happened because Boris went away."
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