Queen’s Sir Brian May, 77, makes surprise wild Coachella appearance following stroke
Benson Boone and Sir Brian May performed Bohemian Rhapsody together.
Benson Boone was joined by surprise guest Sir Brian May, 77, for his Coachella set this weekend.
For the performance, which warmed up for headliner Lady Gaga and Missy Elliot, Boone, 22, wore a flared, tight-fitting blue jumpsuit.
Just before the last two songs of Boone’s electric 11-track set, he appeared on stage wearing a Freddie Mercury-inspired regal cloak – a sign of what was to come.
As the first recognisable notes of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody rang out into the California festival, the crowd cheered, and Boone took his place on his piano before jumping out of his robe to mark the change of tempo.
Then out of a smoky backdrop, Sir Brian’s iconic figure rose onto the stage, wearing a white shirt, tight jeans, and looking the picture of health after his recent stroke, as he strummed his iconic guitar solo.
Boone hit Freddie Mercury’s high notes with expertise, while Sir Brian at one point even ran across the stage to meet him in time for the epic guitar-filled crescendo, to rock out like it was 1979 again.
Sir Brian May and Benson Boone made quite the rock n’ roll pair at the California festival last night (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella) Sir Brian looked the picture of health following his stroke in September (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella)In the final guitar riff Boone sprang from the piano top and actually jumped over Sir Brian, who stayed on stage to perform Boone’s breakout hit Beautiful Things to close the set.
Boone’s royal cloak was a clear nod to Mercury, who wore a similar regal shrug and crown in Queen’s last ever live tour in 1986 for their final song.
Benson nodded to Freddie Mercury with his regal attire before he sang Bohemian Rhapsody (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella) Win two tickets to Polygon Live, the UK's first immersive music festivalPolygon Live is a 360 immersive music experience (Picture: Marc de Groot)
Metro has teamed up to give away 20 pairs of tickets to Polygon Live LDN, a unique new festival taking place in London’s Crystal Palace Park from 2-4 May 2025.
Blending light and spatial sound, the 360º immersive festival has a stellar lineup including popular artists such as Max Cooper, Jon Hopkins and Tinariwen, as well as the likes of Arooj Aftab and Photay.
For a chance to win an incredible day out at this UK-first festival for you and a friend, simply enter your details here.
You have until midnight on 18 April 2025 to enter. Good luck!
*Open to GB (excluding N. Ireland) residents aged 18 or over. Promotion open from 12:01 on 02/04/2025 and closes at 23:59 on 18/04/2025. 1 entry per person. 20 prizes of 2x General Admission Single Day tickets to attend 1 day of Polygon Live LDN 2025 at Crystal Palace Park, valid for either Friday 2 May 2025, Saturday 3 May 2025 or Sunday 4 May 2025. 1 entry per person.
Full T&Cs apply, see here. Full Polygon T&Cs apply to entry and attendance, see here.
This isn’t the first time Sir Brian has performed since he was rushed to hospital with a stroke in September last year.
Just a month after his ‘scary’ medical emergency – which came four years after his 2020 heart attack – Sir Brian performed at the Red Special Convention guitar convention despite being ‘low energy’.
While his wife Anita Dobson reassured fans on Good Morning Britain this week that Sir Brian is ‘back to his old self’ following the health scare, no one was expecting him to tackle the Coachella stage.
Benson Boone actually jumped over Sir Brian at one point in the 11-song electric set (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella) Sir Brian played his guitar solos like it was 1979 again (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella)Elsewhere on the first night of the multi-weekend Indio festival, Lady Gaga topped the bill for the second time after her 2017 headline performance.
Fans praised her elaborate and almost satanic performance, which included her hit pop songs Poker Face, Bloody Mary, Abracadabra, and Judas.
What was Sir Brian May's stroke health scare?Taking to social media with the news of his stroke in September, the We Will Rock You hitmaker said: ‘I’m here to bring you some good news I think – I can play guitar after the events of the last few days.
‘I say this because it was in some doubt because that little health hiccup I mentioned happened about a week ago and what they called it was a minor stroke.
‘All of the sudden out of the blue I didn’t have any control over this arm,’ he explained, brandishing his left arm.
