May PhD

Queen guitarist Brian May has finally finished his PhD thesis, which he began as a student in the 1970s, The Times reports.

May, 59, earned a degree in physics at Imperial College in London. After years of studying interplanetary dust, he abandoned work towards his doctorate when Queen took off.

His interest in the subject was reignited when he co-authored Bang! The Complete History of the Universe, which tells the story of the universe from the big bang through its subsequent evolution. It was released last year.

"For the last nine months, I've done nothing except slave over my PhD, which is now written up, thank God," May reportedly told students at a ceremony at Exeter University in south-west Britain when he received an honorary doctorate.

"But there are times when you really want to give up. There are times when you go, 'Why on earth did I take this on?'"

May worked on the PhD between 1971 and 1974. He kept all his hand-written notes on the subject through the years, discovering them in his attic recently.

"People are aware he is here and there is a feeling it is pretty cool that he has come back to finish his PhD, even if he has not been hugely visible," Abigail Smith, a spokeswoman for Imperial College, was quoted as saying by The Times.

The rocker will receive his PhD next May, assuming his thesis is approved by supervisors.