By SAM BOOTH

QUEEN guitarist Brian May has revealed he has been taking 3D photos behind the scenes of new Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody.

The film, due out in October, tells the story of the band from their formation up to their now legendary performance at Live Aid in 1985, and May says these candid shots will appear in an updated version of his book, Queen 3D, to be issued later this year.

He said: “A new version of Queen 3D will have the 3D photos I have taken on the set of the Queen film, so there will be lots of 3D images of people pretending to be us and doing so very well.”

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, at a talk with Professor Roger Taylor on Scottish Victorian stereo photographer George Washington Wilson, the rock icon talked about his almost lifelong passion for stereo photography.

He said: “I always took a camera on tours, I didn’t always use it as tours were quite busy with other things, but while I was quite excited about what I took at the time, I came back and put them away in a drawer until they became Queen 3D.

“One of my favourites is of Freddie Mercury back stage putting on his make up.  It is so natural and personal.  I was always there with my camera making a nuisance of myself so he was unaware.

“It really looks like you could just reach out and touch him.”

George Washington Wilson, born in Alva, Banffshire in 1823, was a pioneering Scottish artist who became famous for his photography, including the only extant photo of Queen Victoria and John Brown.  An image, once cropped for a postcard, that went on to fuel rumours of their affair.

He led the way in the trend for stereo photography in the Victorian era, taking 3D images of Scottish lochs, street scenes and inside landmarks such as cathedrals, as well as creating the world’s first photomontage.

May said: “He was the prestigious Scottish photographer of his time who sold millions around the world, but was then forgotten.

“It’s Roger’s and my mission to bring 3D photography into the 21st Century.”

Speaking for the first time at theEdinburgh Book Festival, at the event in Charlotte Square sponsored by The Ivy on the Square, May also spoke passionately about Scotland.  He said: “It is great to be back in Scotland, the place I believe to be the land of culture and land of my mother so I need to be here.”

George Washington Wilson: An Artist and Photographer by Professor Roger Taylor with introduction by Dr Brian May is out now.

(Dr Brian May and Prof Roger Taylor also presented the book to an audience of 750 in Aberdeen on Thursday 16thAugust 2018.)