Watch Brian May’s Remastered “Too Much Love Will Kill You” Official Music Video

Brian May
(Image credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Featuring some glorious acoustic guitar work and infectious melodic hooks, Brian May considers the poignant track “Too Much Love Will Kill You” from his 1992 solo album Back to the Light to be, “in a way, the most important song I ever wrote.”

Ahead of the August 6 re-release of his '92 debut longer player, this top-ten selling hit has, today, been made available in its remastered form.

Though it’s often thought the song is a tribute to his much-loved friend and bandmate Freddie Mercury who sadly passed away in 1991, the inspiration behind “Too Much Love Will Kill You” actually stems from May’s own personal upheaval during the late ‘80s. In fact, a version of the song was recorded with Freddie Mercury on vocals for Queen’s Miracle (although it never made it onto the 1989 album).

Brian May

(Image credit: Richard Gray. © Duck Productions Ltd)

“"Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a big, long story,” explains May, “and the version that you hear on Back to the Light is the original. It has the original keyboard that I played when we were writing the song. Me and Frank Musker, and his lady friend at the time, were in a room and it was like a therapy session for me. I was just pouring out all these words because I felt like I was trapped. I was in a place that I could never, ever get out of. All I could do is write about it. This is the only song I wrote in that probably nine months or a year period.” 

Available on CD, Vinyl, Cassette, digital download and streaming formats, Brian May’s remastered Back to the Light album is available to pre-order here.

Rod Brakes

Rod Brakes is a music journalist with an expertise in guitars. Having spent many years at the coalface as a guitar dealer and tech, Rod's more recent work as a writer covering artists, industry pros and gear includes contributions for leading publications and websites such as GuitaristTotal Guitar, Guitar WorldGuitar Player and MusicRadar in addition to specialist music books, blogs and social media. He is also a lifelong musician.