Queen guitarist Brian May has shared a tribute honoring Roy Thomas Baker, the famed producer whose April 12 passing at age 78 made headlines in the rock world yesterday (April 22).
Of Baker’s many credits, his most iconic came from his work with Queen. He has producer credits on the legendary band’s first five albums: 1973’s Queen, 1974’s Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, 1975’s A Night at the Opera, and 1976’s A Day at the Races.
May took to Instagram and shared a series of photos of Baker, along with a lengthy caption, which began, “Very sad to hear of the passing of Roy Thomas Baker. Roy played a huge part in the production of so much Queen music in the early days. Photographs of Roy seem to be quite rare, but I was able to find these 3-D pictures of a trip that my then wife, Chrissy, and I made to visit Roy and his wife, Barbara, in their cottage in Norfolk.”
He continues about the series of photos, “It must have been 1973. We went strawberry picking, and, as you can see, Roy was interested in the stereoscopic process, posing in a pile of wood for stereoscopic effect! I took the tennis picture at Ridge Farm, on a day when we were visited by some Japanese journalists from *Music Life* magazine.”
May concluded, ” … Roy’s production contribution along with Mike Stone’s engineering for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ will never be forgotten. I regret slipping out of touch lately with Roy. I suppose life moves at such a pace these days that we imagine there will be plenty of time to rekindle a friendship, and then suddenly, one day, it’s too late. Thank you, Roy for all the great work you did for us, and all the fun we had. Rest in Peace.”
