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 Miracle - Hologram Sleeve - UK - 7" vinyl - £20.00, $24.40, €22.20 (New Item) (arrived 21-Sep-2019 10:08)
QUEEN The Miracle (1989 UK limited edition 7" vinyl single, also includes a live version of Stone Cold Crazy recorded at the Rainbow in London 1974 and taken from the 'Rare Live' video, 'The Miracle' album artwork hologram stickered picture sleeve. The sleeve displays minimal wear, with just a little scuffing whilst the vinyl shows the odd light cosmetic surface scuff but little evidence of play QUEENH15)
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Queen - The Works - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £10.00, $12.20, €11.10 (New Item) (arrived 18-Sep-2019 16:57)
QUEEN The Works (1984 UK 9-track LP including Radio Ga Ga, It's A Hard Life, I Want To Break Free & Hammer To Fall, complete with lyric inner. The cover [VG+] shows some light foxing with a seam split to the top and the vinyl is Excellent with little signs of play EMC2400141)
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Queen - A Day At The Races - 180gm - US - vinyl LP - £15.00, $18.30, €16.65 (New Item) (arrived 17-Sep-2019 14:44)
QUEEN A Day At The Races (2008 US limited edition 11-track LP pressed on 180gram Virgin Vinyl, originally released in November 1976, deluxe gatefold picture sleeve with illustrated inner. The sleeve is Near Mint & still in open shrink. The heavyweight vinyl grades EX/EX- with a few light paper hairline marks not affecting play)
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Queen - Now I'm Here - Japanese - 7" vinyl - £35.00, $42.70, €38.85 (New Item) (arrived 16-Sep-2019 15:50)
QUEEN Now I'm Here (1974 Japanese wide centred 7" vinyl single, also including Lily Of The Valley, unique group picture insert with lyrics on the back. The insert displays minimal wear and the vinyl looks barely played P-1377E)
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Queen - Teo Toriatte (Let Us Cling Together) - Japanese - 7" vinyl - £40.00, $48.80, €44.40 (New Item) (arrived 16-Sep-2019 15:47)
QUEEN Teo Toriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (1977 Japanese-only wide centred 7" single, also featuring Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, housed in a die-cut company sleeve complete with a superb & unique picture insert with lyrics on the back. Theinsert displays minimal wear with some light foxing, whilst the vinyl shows just a few light signs of play P-157E)
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Queen - Need Your Loving Tonight - Japanese - 7" vinyl - £45.00, $54.90, €49.95 (New Item) (arrived 16-Sep-2019 15:45)
QUEEN Need Your Loving Tonight (1981 Japanese only Elektra 'caterpillar' label wide centred 7" vinyl single, also including Rock It [Prime Jive], complete with the unique picture insert with lyrics on the reverse. The insert displays minimal wearwhilst the vinyl remains excellent with only a few little signs of play P654E)
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Queen - Back Chat - Japanese - 7" vinyl - Promo - £55.00, $67.10, €61.05 (New Item) (arrived 16-Sep-2019 15:44)
QUEEN Back Chat (Rare 1982 Japanese white title label promo sample vinyl 7" for the single, also including Las Palabras De Amor, unique 'coloured heads' picture insert printed with lyrics on the reverse. The insert displays some light wear and the vinyl shows only very, very light signs of play P-1708)
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Queen - Staying Power - Japanese - 7" vinyl - £75.00, $91.50, €83.25 (New Item) (arrived 16-Sep-2019 15:40)
QUEEN Staying Power (Rare 1982 Japanese wide centred Elektra label 7" vinyl single, also including Calling All Girls, unique pink bordered group picture insert with Japanese text biography & English lyrics printed on the reverse. The insert displays just a little light wear or signs of age, whilst the vinyl has only a few light paper scuffs, with light signs of play P-1678)
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