Brian May Helps Reunite Boy With Lost Guitar
A boy has his guitar back thanks to the power of social media and some help from a Queen guitarist.
Brian May became friends with British actress Mazz Murray when she began appearing in the Queen musical We Will Rock You. A recent lost-and-found social-media interaction between the two friends has now helped a budding guitarist get his prized possession back.
Murray, familiar with London's West End theater district after working on several productions over the years, knew that a guitar still in its case didn't belong outside a transit station unattended. It was Murray who spotted the classical Alhambra guitar on Jan. 14 and posted a picture of it online asking for help returning it to its owner.
She tagged May, and the Queen guitarist took the story to his 2.9 million Instagram followers to ask if any of them knew who owned it. To keep the guitar out of the hands of would-be thieves, May made sure to ask for proper identification of the sheet music inside the case.
Eventually, the news reached eight-year-old Emerson Liu Bancroft that a legendary band member was involved in the effort to reunite him with his lost instrument, and he correctly identified Harry Potter and Star Wars sheet music inside the case to earn it back.
Guitar World reported that Murray met the boy at the Novello Theatre, where she is currently playing the lead role of Donna in Mamma Mia!, to return the guitar. May even dropped in via Zoom to say hi to Bancroft.
May later followed up on Instagram with a photo of Murray and the happy guitar owner.
This likely won't be the only time in 2022 that May puts a smile on kids' faces. He's making his acting debut in the BBC show Andy and the Band this week, in which he plays the role of "Godfather of Rock."
The episode is already available on BBC iPlayer and airs on the CBBC channel on Jan. 27. May also plays guitar on a song, “Planet Rock,” that will be released on Feb. 18.