Brian May Writes to Matt Groening (1990)

A private letter from 1990, addressed to Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons — which had premiered as a full series only months earlier. Brian thanks Groening for the show’s repeated references to Queen, and for how much he’d enjoyed watching it himself, at a moment when the series was still a fresh cultural phenomenon rather than the decades-old institution it would become.

The letter comes with a promotional photo from The Miracle period (1989, the album released the year before), inscribed with a handwritten dedication — addressed, fittingly, to Bart.

This piece is part of “Keep On Rockin’ — the 2019 Exhibition.” See the full exhibition here.