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 - Bohemian Rhapsody - 4pr - UK - 7" vinyl - £20.00, $25.00, €22.40 (New Item) (arrived 05-Jun-2020 09:29)
QUEEN Bohemian Rhapsody (Classic 1975 UK 7" vinyl single with intact four-prong centre, also including I'm In Love With My Car, EMI company die-cut paper sleeve. The vinyl is Excellent with only light signs of play EMI2375)
- Queen - Don't Stop Me Now + Sleeve - UK - 7" vinyl - £18.00, $22.50, €20.16 (New Item) (arrived 03-Jun-2020 15:23)
QUEEN Don't Stop Me Now (1978 UK 7" vinyl single with an intact four prong centre, also including In Only Seven Days. The card picture sleeve shows a little shelfwear while the vinyl remains in excellent condition EMI2910)
- Queen - Hammer To Fall - Red Sleeve - UK - 12" vinyl - £15.00, $18.75, €16.80 (New Item) (arrived 03-Jun-2020 11:40)
QUEEN Hammer To Fall (1984 UK 12" single, featuring the Headbanger's Mix, also including Tear It Up, glossy red picture sleeve with black & gold text. The sleeve displays minimal wear whilst the vinyl appears barely play 12QUEEN4)
- Queen - A Night At The Opera - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £95.00, $118.75, €106.40 (New Item) (arrived 03-Jun-2020 11:05)
QUEEN A Night At The Opera (1975 UK first issue 12-track LP with picture labels, complete with shaped card picture inner & original embossed gatefold picture sleeve with lyrics inside. The packaging & the vinyl remains in Excellent condition withjust minor evidence of wear & some play. A nice example EMTC103)
- Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - French - display - Promo - £195.00, $243.75, €218.40 (New Item) (arrived 02-Jun-2020 13:57)
QUEEN Bohemian Rhapsody (Impressive free-standing French instore promotional display for the 2019 DVD and Blu-Ray release of the acclaimed Queen biopic starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. This ingenious display is in fact a foldable oval cylinder and stands 2 metres tall (80 inches) and approx 60cm wide (24 inches) - shown here beside Frank the Robot to give it some scale! Inside the display is a series of elastic bands which keep tension on the internal framework, allowing the display to stand freely but also to be collapsible for storage and transport. Clever stuff!) *** Please Note: Frank the Robot is self-isolating and is not included with this Bo Rhap display! ***
- Queen - The Works - Factory Sample - UK - vinyl LP - £20.00, $25.00, €22.40 (New Item) (arrived 24-May-2020 13:08)
QUEEN The Works (1984 UK advance issue of the 9-track LP with stock labels, including the singles Radio Ga Ga & I Want To Break Free, complete with the red lyric inner. Note: the picture sleeve is Factory Sample stickered on the back for review ahead of release. The sleeve [VG+] shows some minor edge wear with a small paper tear by the sticker whilst the vinyl is Excellent with barely any play WORK1)
- Queen - Jazz - US - vinyl LP - £15.00, $18.75, €16.80 (New Item) (arrived 23-May-2020 10:02)
QUEEN Jazz (Original 1978 US 13-track vinyl LP housed in the in embossed gatefold picture sleeve with original inner. There is a small deletion saw-cut to the top of the sleeve & inner but both remain in otherwise excellent condition and the vinyl remains in excellent condition with only light signs of play 6E-166)
- Queen - Under Pressure - 4pr - UK - 7" vinyl - £6.99, $8.74, €7.83 (New Item) (arrived 14-May-2020 09:07)
QUEEN Under Pressure (1981 UK 7" vinyl single with intact four prong centre, also including Soul Brother, plain die-cut paper sleeve EMI5250)
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