'Sadly missed' Queen's Brian May on heartache over fellow musician Gary Brooker's death

express.co.uk:

Brian May, of the rock group Queen, has taken to Instagram to voice his heartbreak after the death of another icon in the industry.The 74-year-old, who, alongside his musical career, also holds a PHD in Astrophysics, was sad to learn that Gary Brooker had passed away."Sad to lose a great musician, writer, singer and true gentleman," Brian announced to his more than three million loyal Instagram followers."Gary Brooker sang “A Whiter Shade of Pale” and immediately captured a kind of immortality."But Procol Harem fans - like me - remember “A Salty Dog” as the pinnacle of his magic."A wonderful human being - will be sadly missed.

RIP."The post received more than 27,000 likes in a matter of just a few hours, with fans flooding the page to express their sympathies for the talent that had been lost."A Whiter Shade of Pale was one of my favorite songs as a kid," enthused @davidnissimmusic, adding sadly: "I can’t believe he’s gone."@kathybektell echoed: "Revolutionary legend, he will be missed."Meanwhile @barbs_lambert wrote: "My heart goes out to his family at this sad time.

I love that song and I loved Provol Harem. Please be at peace Gary."(sic)Fans also shared their grief that another musical legend, Mark Lanegan, who sang in Queens of The Stone Age, had also died at around the same time.Brian has not commented on Mark's death as of yet.Gary might have had a special significance to Brian as the pair had performed on stage together in the past for renditions of the track 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale'.Tony Hicks of Gary Brooker and the Hollies also once recalled that Brian had come into the studio to listen to '(Love Is The Sweetest) Amnesty', and that it had a similar vocal sound to the one Brian had been known for at that time.A.