Brian May Bayar Tiket Pesawat Rp200 Jutaan untuk Gitarnya
Queen Guitarist `Paid 10,000 Pound` to Buy First Class Seat for His Guitar
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
BUKANLAH berita apabila bintang musik rock internasional meminta layanan penerbangan kelas utama. Tidak diragukan pula apabila gitaris grup rock Queen, Brian May menuntut hal yang tidak biasa dalam perjalanan udaranya kali ini.
Bintang Queen ini dikabarkan membayar 10.000 poundsterling untuk kursi tambahan di kabin kelas utama British Airways ke Los Angeles untuk peralatan gitar listrik kesayangannya.
Gitaris rock itu melakukan perjalanan udara sejauh 5.500 mil dari London ke LA untuk tampil di Classic Rock Awards di Hollywood, Selasa lalu.
Menurut Daily Mirror, ia menolak untuk menaruh peralatan gitarnya di bagasi pesawat karena khawatir kemungkinan rusak karena bertumpuk dengan barang-barang milik penumpang lainnya, seperti dilansir MailOnline.
Sebaliknya dia bersikeras bahwa gitar khususnya yang dinamai mendapat tempat khusus di kelas utama.
Nara sumber yang dekat dengan sang gitaris, usia 67 tahun, mengatakan kepada Mirror: "Dia tidak ingin ambil
risiko gitar kesayangannya rusak karena ditumpuk dengan barang milik penumpang lain."
´Staf penerbangan pun menyarankan dia untuk membeli tiket di kelas utama untuk gitarnya lantaran menolak ditaruh di bagasi."
"Itu satu-satunya pilihan untuk memastikan gitarnya berada di kelas utama untuk penumpang VIP. Gitar listriknya menjadi bagian penting hidupnya."
Mei membuat gitar di bengkel ayahnya Harold workshop
di Feltham, Middlesex, 40 tahun yang lalu. Gitar yang dia namai The Red Special dinilainya sebagai bagian penting dari perjalanan grup rock Queen.
Queen, yang baru-baru merekrut pemenang American Idol Adam Lambert untuk menggantikan almarhum Freddie Mercury setelah meninggal dunia akibat penyakit AIDS pada November 1991, memenangkan Band of the Year pada penghargaan pada Selasa.
Setelah menerima penghargaan tersebut, May mengaku bergabungnya Lambert, 32, dengan Queen memberi gairah baru bagi Queen.
Gitaris itu mengatakan: "Kami tidak berniat untuk berhenti bermusik, kami akan terus bersama sepanjang kami bisa, mudah-mudahan selamanya."
Seorang juru bicara British Airways mengatakan: "Kami tidak membahas pelanggan kami secara individual."
Perwakilan dari Brian May membantah bahwa sang bintang membayar lebih agar gitarnya terbang di kelas utama, dengan mengatakan: "Brian tidak membawa Red Special-nya (atau gitar apapun) ke Los Angeles untuk Classic Rock Awards."
IT´S NO surprise for an international rock star to travel first class. But there was no doubting that Brian May’s companion was a rather unusual one on this occasion.
The Queen star is said to have paid £10,000 for a second seat in the first class cabin of a British Airways flight to Los Angeles for his beloved electric guitar.
The rocker was making the 5,500 mile journey from London to LA to perform at the Classic Rock Awards in Hollywood on Tuesday.
According to the Daily Mirror, he refused to allow the instrument to be placed in the hold with the other luggage on the flight, fearing it may get damaged.
Instead he insisted that the Red Special guitar was given an upgrade to ride with him in first class.
A source close to May, 67, told the Mirror: ‘There is no way he would have allowed it to be treated like any other piece of luggage.
‘A member of staff and the guitar were bumped up to first class where he had to purchase a seat for it as it couldn’t go in the overhead locker.
‘It was the only option so he made sure it was treated to the full VIP works. There are few things in Brian’s life that he is as passionate about as his guitar.’
May built the guitar in his father Harold’s workshop at the family home in Feltham, Middlesex, 40 years ago. The Red Special is credited as being a key part of Queen’s signature sound.
Queen, who recently recruited American Idol winner Adam Lambert to replace the late Freddie Mercury after the singer’s death from an Aids-related illness in November 1991, won Band of the Year at the awards on Tuesday.
After picking up the award, May said that having Lambert, 32, performing with them had given them a new lease of life.
The guitarist said: ‘We have no plans to stop, we are going to keep going for as long as we can, forever hopefully.’
A spokesman for British Airways said: ´We don’t discuss individual customers.´
A representative for Brian May denied that the star had paid to have his guitar flown in first class, saying: ´Brian did not take his Red Special (or any guitar) to Los Angeles for the Classic Rock Awards.´
