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 Night At The Opera - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £35.00, $47.60, €39.20 (New Item) (arrived 28-Feb-2021 13:50)
QUEEN A Night At The Opera (1975 UK first press 12-track LP with picture labels, including Bohemian Rhapsody & You're My Best Friend. Comes housed in the original embossed gatefold picture sleeve with illustrated inner. The cover [VG] has some discolouration & general storage wear while the vinyl grades as EX with very little sign of play EMTC103)
- Queen - A Kind Of Magic - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £15.00, $20.40, €16.80 (Back In Stock) (arrived 10-Feb-2021 09:56)
QUEEN A Kind Of Magic (1986 UK 9-track LP, the eleventh studio album featuring the singles Who Wants To Live Forever, A Kind of Magic, Princes Of The Universe & One Vision, complete with illustrated lyric inner, gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve & vinyl grade VG+ with some light shelf wear & faint paper hairline scuffs to show play EU3509)
- Queen - The Seven Seas Of Rhye - Japanese - 7" vinyl - £250.00, $340.00, €280.00 (New Item) (arrived 26-Jan-2021 15:37)
QUEEN The Seven Seas Of Rhye (Mega rare original 1974 Japanese Elektra 'Caterpillar' label 7" vinyl single, also including The Loser In The End, only their second single release in Japan, with a unique picture insert with the '¥500' price point on the front and printed with lyrics on the reverse. The insert has a small amount of discoloration / foxing otherwise has little signs of wear, and the vinyl looks barely played. A really nice example of this very hard to find pressing P-1314E)
- Queen - The Complete Works - Complete - UK - vinyl box set - £395.00, $537.20, €442.40 (New Item) (arrived 27-Jan-2021 08:48)
QUEEN The Complete Works (Mammoth 1985 UK Limited Edition Fourteen LP box set, featuring all of their classic albums up to & including The Works, complete with the Bonus 'Complete Vision' LP containing previously unreleased material. Each record is housed in a stunning white, embossed sleeve with a number on the front denoting each album, complete with unused fold-out poster map, a booklet charting the band's extensive tour history as well as the 'Complete Works' glossy colour photo-booklet, all housed in a generous 3" deep 12" square textured box, lavishly embossed with the artist & title in bold gold print. The outer box has minimal wear and just a few spots of cosmetic age & all vinyl discs are mint & unplayed. Essential! QB1)
- Queen - The Complete Works - Complete - UK - vinyl box set - £395.00, $537.20, €442.40 (New Item) (arrived 27-Jan-2021 10:21)
QUEEN The Complete Works (Mammoth 1985 UK Limited Edition Fourteen LP box set, featuring all of their classic albums up to & including The Works, complete with the Bonus 'Complete Vision' LP containing previously unreleased material. Each record is housed in a stunning white, embossed sleeve with a number on the front denoting each album, complete with unused fold-out poster map, a booklet charting the band's extensive tour history as well as the 'Complete Works' glossy colour photo-booklet, all housed in a generous 3" deep 12" square textured box, lavishly embossed with the artist & title in bold gold print. The outer box has minimal wear and just a few spots of cosmetic age & all vinyl discs are mint & unplayed. Essential! QB1)
- Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love - UK - 7" vinyl - £8.00, $10.88, €8.96 (New Item) (arrived 28-Jan-2021 16:02)
QUEEN Crazy Little Thing Called Love (1979 UK 7" single with four prong centre, also including a fantastic fast live version of We Will Rock You taken from the Live Killers album, EMI die-cut paper sleeve. The vinyl is Excellent with some minor paper hairlines not affecting play EMI5001)
- Queen - Under Pressure - 4pr - P/S - UK - 7" vinyl - £15.00, $20.40, €16.80 (New Item) (arrived 29-Jan-2021 16:18)
QUEEN & DAVID BOWIE Under Pressure (1981 UK 7" vinyl single with intact four prong centre, also including Soul Brother, title sleeve with lyrics printed on the reverse. The sleeve has a small tear to the top edge whilst the vinyl has just light signs ofplay EMI5250)
- Queen - A Kind Of Magic - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £15.00, $20.40, €16.80 (New Item) (arrived 08-Feb-2021 10:28)
QUEEN A Kind Of Magic (1986 UK 9-track LP, the eleventh studio album featuring the singles Who Wants To Live Forever, A Kind of Magic, Princes Of The Universe & One Vision, complete with illustrated lyric inner, gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve & vinyl grade VG+ with some light shelf wear & faint paper hairline scuffs to show play EU3509)
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