Written by Freddie Mercury for the band’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera. It is a six-minute suite, consisting of several sections without a chorus: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda.
The song is a more accessible take on the 1970s progressive rock genre. It was reportedly the most expensive single ever made at the time of its release, although the exact cost of production cannot be determined.
When it was released as a single, “Bohemian Rhapsody” became a commercial success, staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and selling more than a million copies by the end of January 1976.
It reached number one again in 1991 for another five weeks when the same version was re-released following Freddie’s death, eventually becoming the UK’s third-best-selling single of all time.
It is also the only song to be the UK Christmas number one twice by the same artist. It topped the charts in several other markets as well, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and The Netherlands, later becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time selling over 6 million copies worldwide. In the United States, the song originally peaked at number nine in 1976.
It returned to the chart at number two in 1992, and also appeared in the film Wayne’s World, which contributed to the revival of its American popularity.
Although critical reaction was initially mixed, “Bohemian Rhapsody” remains one of Queen’s most popular songs and is frequently considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
The single was accompanied by a promotional video, which many scholars consider ground-breaking. Rolling Stone stated that its influence can’t be overstated, practically inventing the music video seven years before MTV went on the air.
The Guardian ranked the music video number 31 on their list of the 50 key events in rock music history, adding it ensured videos would be a mandatory tool in the marketing of music.
In 2004, Bohemian Rhapsody was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2012, the song topped the list on an ITV nationwide poll in the UK to find “The Nation’s Favourite Number One” over 60 years of music, while Mercury’s vocal performance was chosen as the greatest in rock history by readers of Rolling Stone.
For more details about the song, please see addition information on Wikipedia.
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- Queen - The Works - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £15.00, $18.75, €16.80 (New Item) (arrived 30-Nov-2020 16:52)
QUEEN The Works (1984 UK 9-track LP including Radio Ga Ga and I Want To Break Free, picture sleeve lyric inner. The sleeve has a slight nick in the top edge and shows some light edgewear, whilst the vinyl looks barely played WORK1)
- Queen - Innuendo - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £85.00, $106.25, €95.20 (New Item) (arrived 20-Nov-2020 15:41)
QUEEN Innuendo (1991 UK 12-track LP, the fourteenth studio album by the British rock band featuring four songs specially edited for the vinyl edition - I'm Going Slightly Mad, Don't Try So Hard, The Hitman & Bijou, spot lacquered picture sleeve with illustrated lyric inner. The sleeve shows light foxing & general wear but is free from tears or creasing, whlist the vinyl has just a few couple of light hairlines leaving it Excellent. A superb example of this classic 90s vinyl pressing PCSD115)
- Queen - Sheer Heart Attack - 1st + Inner - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £65.00, $81.25, €72.80 (New Item) (arrived 11-Nov-2020 12:08)
QUEEN Sheer Heart Attack (1974 UK first issue 13-track vinyl LP, their marvellous third studio album including Stone Cold Crazy, Now I'm Here, Killer Queen & Brighton Rock. The fully laminated picture sleeve has the 'Trident' logo on the reverse and shows just light laminate wear but comes complete with the lyric inner which displays angle-cut corners and the trident on both sides with the 'G&L' credit printed below and has just a minor seam split to the bottom however, the vinyl itself remains in excellent condition with minimal spindlewear showing light play EMC3061)
- Queen - Live At Wembley '86 - UK - 2-CD album set - £10.00, $12.50, €11.20 (Back In Stock) (arrived 11-Nov-2020 14:04)
QUEEN Live At Wembley '86 (1992 UK 28-track double CD, recorded live on Saturday 12th July 1986 during the Magic Tour at Wembley Stadium in London, includes Tie Your Mother Down, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Bohemian Rhapsody and more, fat double casewith front & back picture inlay and booklet CDPCSP725)
- Queen - Sheer Heart Attack - 1st + Inner - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £65.00, $81.25, €72.80 (Back In Stock) (arrived 13-Nov-2020 09:47)
QUEEN Sheer Heart Attack (1974 UK first issue 13-track vinyl LP, their marvellous third studio album including Stone Cold Crazy, Now I'm Here, Killer Queen & Brighton Rock. The fully laminated picture sleeve has the 'Trident' logo on the reverse and shows just light laminate wear but comes complete with the lyric inner which displays angle-cut corners and the trident on both sides with the 'G&L' credit printed below and has just a minor seam split to the bottom however, the vinyl itself remains in excellent condition with minimal spindlewear showing light play EMC3061)
- Queen - Sheer Heart Attack - 2nd + Inner - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $31.25, €28.00 (New Item) (arrived 13-Nov-2020 11:04)
QUEEN Sheer Heart Attack (1974 UK second issue 13-track vinyl LP, the third studio album from the British rock group, including Stone Cold Crazy, Now I'm Here, Killer Queen and Brighton Rock. The fully laminated picture sleeve with the Queen crest on the back [but without the 'Trident' logo] has just light signs of shelfwear but comes with the angle-corned lyric inner which has seam splits to each edge, whilst the vinyl appears barely played EMC3061)
- Queen - Friends Will Be Friends - UK - 7" vinyl - £15.00, $18.75, €16.80 (New Item) (arrived 16-Nov-2020 07:25)
QUEEN Friends Will be Friends (1986 UK solid centre 7" vinyl single, also including Seven Seas Of Rhye, glossy card picture sleeve. The sleeve displays minimal wear whilst the vinyl shows very little signs of play QUEEN8)
- Queen - Greatest Hits- 1st - UK - vinyl LP - £30.00, $37.50, €33.60 (New Item) (arrived 18-Nov-2020 16:29)
QUEEN Greatest Hits (1981 UK 17-track compilation LP, complete with illustrated song credit inner, non-barcoded picture sleeve. The sleeve shows little of its age & the vinyl looks barely played - a superb copy of this classic! EMTV30)
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