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 - A Kind Of Magic + p/s - UK - 12" vinyl - £20.00, $27.80, €23.00 (New Item) (arrived 07-May-2021 16:53)
QUEEN A Kind Of Magic (1986 UK 12" single featuring the Extended Version of the song used as the theme to the 'Highlander' movie, also including A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling. The glossy picture sleeve shows minimal shelf wear & the vinyl is Excellent with some signs of play 12QUEEN7)
- Queen - Queen - VG - Italian - vinyl LP - £15.00, $20.85, €17.25 (New Item) (arrived 03-May-2021 08:39)
QUEEN Queen (1981 Italian issue of the 1974 10-track debut LP, picture sleeve. The sleeve is graded as VG at best, with a small tear in the opening edge, some notable edge scuffing and ringwear, whilst the vinyl has a few light surface scuffs, but remains in excellent condition. A respectable play copy or collection filler 3C064-94519)
- Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - UK - 7" vinyl - £12.00, $16.68, €13.80 (New Item) (arrived 27-Apr-2021 11:55)
QUEEN Bohemian Rhapsody (1983 US Elektra 'Spun Gold' wide-centred 7" vinyl single, also including You're My Best Friend, Elektra company series die-cut paper sleeve. Aside from a few very light paper scuffs/hairlines, the vinyl is in excellent condition E-45083)
- Queen - Innuendo - EX - UK - 12" vinyl - £15.00, $20.85, €17.25 (New Item) (arrived 27-Apr-2021 12:31)
QUEEN Innuendo (1991 UK 3-track 12" single featuring the Explosive Mix of the title cut, also including Under Pressure with David Bowie and Bijou, glossy cartoon picture sleeve. The sleeve shows some light edgewear and the vinyl has a few light surface scuffs - an excellent copy 12QUEEN16)
- Queen - A Kind Of Magic - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £20.00, $27.80, €23.00 (New Item) (arrived 27-Apr-2021 15:07)
QUEEN A Kind of Magic (1986 UK 9-track LP, the twelfth studio album featuring the singles Who Wants To Live Forever, A Kind Of Magic, Princes Of The Universe & One Vision, glossy gatefold picture sleeve with illustrated lyric inner. The sleeve has some edgewear with a tiny residual sticker mark to front & the vinyl is Excellent with light signs of play EU3509)
- Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - UK - 7" vinyl - £12.00, $16.68, €13.80 (Back In Stock) (arrived 28-Apr-2021 08:01)
QUEEN Bohemian Rhapsody (1983 US Elektra 'Spun Gold' wide-centred 7" vinyl single, also including You're My Best Friend, Elektra company series die-cut paper sleeve. Aside from a few very light paper scuffs/hairlines, the vinyl is in excellent condition E-45083)
- Queen - Jazz - 1st + Detached Poster + Inner - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £50.00, $69.50, €57.50 (New Item) (arrived 28-Apr-2021 10:58)
QUEEN Jazz (1978 UK 13-track LP, including the singles Bicycle Race, Fat Bottomed Girls & Don't Stop Me Now, housed in an embossed gatefold sleeve with round-cornered laminated inner & the 'nude bicycle race' fold-out poster. The sleeve displayssome light shelf/edge wear with tiny paper tear/scuff to cover and the poster has become detached from the sleeve, howeve the poster remains unused and the vinyl appears barely played - a great copy of this all time classic rock staple EMA788)
- Queen - A Kind Of Magic - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $34.75, €28.75 (New Item) (arrived 29-Apr-2021 14:42)
QUEEN A Kind of Magic (1986 UK 9-track vinyl LP, the eleventh studio album from the iconic British rock band, including the singles Who Wants To Live Forever and One Vision. Housed in a gatefold picture with illustrated lyric inner. The sleeveshows only a little edgewear and the vinyl looks barely played EU3509)
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