My Chemical Romance ‘Rock’ With Queen Legend Brian May

Queen guitar hero Brian May sat in with My Chemical Romance during the New Jersey rockers' headlining set at England's Reading Festival over the weekend. May joined MCR for an epic version of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You,’ the first song of their encore.

May also handled six-string duties for My Chem’s set-closing ‘Welcome to the Black Parade,’ a song known for its soaring, Queen-inspired lead guitar. MCR topped the Reading bill Friday, the first night of the three-day fest.

My Chemical Romance were notoriously attacked with (plastic) bottles by an unseemly crowd during their set at the 2006 Reading Festival, but frontman Gerard Way told NME that he had no doubts that this year's performance would be, as the British say, 'ace.' "I had a feeling that morning, it flipped in my brain, not, ‘Are we ready for this,' [but] I almost felt like, ‘Is the crowd ready for us?'" This time around, bottle throwing was kept to a minimum.

May certainly has rocked his share of big events (Queen's triumphant set during Live Aid in 1985, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, comes to mind), but the living legend still made sure to be well rehearsed before hitting the Reading stage. "It’s one thing to play along with a track at home and roughly 'get it,'" May wrote in an online post. "It’s quite another to be well-enough prepared to get up and do it in front of 120,000 people at a festival of mud!"

As for working with the band, May had nothing but good things to say. "The Chem boys [are] the nicest bunch of guys you could possibly meet," wrote May. "Dedicated, inspired, modest, appreciative, considerate, and with all the crackling electricity of a touring unit just reaching a peak of perfection."

Watch Brian May and My Chemical Romance Rocking Out 'Welcome to the Black Parade'