Brian May says Eric Clapton and anti-vaxxers are 'fruitcakes'

Watch: Queen’s Brian May calls anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists “fruitcakes”

Queen guitarist Brian May has labelled Eric Clapton and other anti-vaxxers as "fruitcakes".

The musician told The Independent he still thought of the Layla guitarist, 76, as his hero, but that he couldn't agree with him on many issues – including hunting as well as coronavirus vaccines.

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Asked about Clapton and Stone Roses singer Ian Brown refusing to play shows with COVID restrictions and questioning the safety of vaccines, May shook his head.

He said: “I love Eric Clapton, he’s my hero, but he has very different views from me in many ways. He's a person who thinks it’s OK to shoot animals for fun, so we have our disagreements, but I would never stop respecting the man.

"Anti-vax people, I’m sorry, I think they’re fruitcakes. There’s plenty of evidence to show that vaccination helps. On the whole they’ve been very safe.

"There’s always going to be some side effect in any drug you take, but to go around saying vaccines are a plot to kill you, I’m sorry, that goes in the fruitcake jar for me.”

Speaking further about the UK's handling of the pandemic, he added that he thought it would have been "impossible for anyone to make worse decisions than Boris".

May, 74, also spoke candidly about his 1992 solo album Back To The Light and the depression he suffered at the time of making it.

Read more: Brian May initially found Queen's Don't Stop Me Now 'a bit flippant'

Not only had he lost his bandmate Freddie Mercury to AIDS and his father to cancer in 1991, but his first marriage had broken down and "a lot of times I was fighting to see my kids", he said.

The star said he hadn't understood what depression was, adding: "I ended up nearly driving off Hammersmith Bridge a lot of times. I couldn't cope."

Watch: Brian May credits cycling for saving him after his heart attack