According to astrophysicist Dr. Brian May, recently appointed Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University and coauthor of Bang! The Complete History of the Universe, “Most astronomers are frustrated rock stars.” For more than three decades, though, this particular scholar was in precisely the opposite position. Dr. May, you see, is also the guitarist and cofounder of the legendary rock group Queen, which is set to kick off a world tour in Moscow on September 16 in support of the new Queen + Paul Rodgers record The Cosmos Rocks.

May wanted “to be an astronomer and musician at the same time” but abandoned his studies at Imperial College London in 1971 to devote all his energies to becoming, well, a rock star. With the 1973 release of their debut album, Queen launched into rock’s outer space with 15 studio and 5 live albums that have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and spawned unforgettable hits such as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”

All the while, May never lost his interest in astrophysics. By the time Queen’s second album was released, he had coauthored two research papers, one of which made the pages of Nature magazine in 1972. But it wasn’t until 35 years later that he completed his thesis on interplanetary dust — “I wrote it on the last Queen tour,” May says — and handed it in at Imperial College in August of last year. Three months later, he assumed the Chancellorship of Liverpool John Moores, and this past May he officially earned his doctorate.

Just as he got in the swing of talking shop with highly-regarded fellow astronomers and fielding lecture requests, May says Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers sucked him back into Queen. He notes he’s as excited about the new material as he ever was in the good old days with Queen. “It’s Paul’s first album with us, and going out on tour with it does feel like the first time in many ways. But I’ll continue my astronomy, and now that I have some powerful astronomical friends, we’re planning a new experiment on the dynamics of interplanetary dust.” He also plans to finish a book on Victorian-era stereo photographer T. R. Williams during the tour.

How does May juggle his roles as astrophysicist, educator, rock star, author, and record producer? “I’m lucky enough to be able to interact at a top level in all my ‘careers,’ but it means I never sleep,” he admits. “If I wasn’t creating, I would be very hard to live with…well, harder!”