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Brian May recorded the national anthem of England in 1974 before Queen's "Sheer Heart Attack tour. He played a guide piano which was edited out later and added several layers of guitars. After the song was completed it was played as an outro at virtually every concert Queen played. When recording the track May played a rough version on piano for Roy Thomas Baker. He called his own skills on the piano sub-par at the time.
May performed the song live on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Queen's golden jubilee in 2002 and has stated that he performed the song on the roof of Buckingham Palace as an homage to Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner".
Guitar layering is one of May's distinctive techniques as a rock guitarist. He has stated that the technique was born in his mind looking for a violin sound. For tracks like this, he stated he can use "up to 30" layers, using a small amplifier named the 'Deacy Amp' built by John Deacon, and later released commercially like the "Brian May" amplifier by Vox.
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