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 Greatest - Sealed - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £249.99, $314.99, €292.49 (New Item) (arrived 29-Mar-2024 10:52)
QUEEN The Greatest (2021 UK Limited Special Edition 'The Greatest Pop Up Store' 17-track 2-LP set pressed on 180 Gram Heavyweight Vinyl - The Greatest Hits album originally released in 1981, featuring a collection of hits from their 1973 to 1980 period includes Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites The Dust, Killer Queen, Don't Stop Me Now, Somebody To Love, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions. This was only available in the pop-up store in in Carnaby Street, with 500 copies available in-store and 500 on the bands official online web store. Housed in a picture sleeve with an exclusive outer slipcase, and remains factory sealed from new. These sold-out within minutes and are now extremely collectable!) **Limited to 1000 Copies Only**
- Queen - Flash Gordon - 180 Gram Vinyl - US - vinyl LP - £25.00, $31.50, €29.25 (New Item) (arrived 27-Mar-2024 15:37)
QUEEN Flash Gordon (2011 US issue limited edition 18-track LP pressed on 180gram Heavyweight Vinyl - Originally released in December 1980, the album features the soundtrack for the science fiction movie 'Flash Gordon', including the classic hit 'Flash's Theme'. Housed in a picture sleeve replicating the original with a die-cut inner sleeve. The sleeve dispalys minimal wear and the vinyl shows only very light signs of play)
- Queen - Body Language - Japanese - 7" vinyl - £50.00, $63.00, €58.50 (New Item) (arrived 20-Mar-2024 12:44)
QUEEN Body Language (1982 Japanese wide centred 7" vinyl single, also including Life Is Real, unique picture insert with lyrics on the reverse. The insert displays minimal wear and the vinyl looks barely played P-1650)
- Queen - Live Killers - EX - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £35.00, $44.10, €40.95 (New Item) (arrived 20-Mar-2024 12:59)
QUEEN Live Killers (1979 UK 22-track double LP, featuring a brilliant collection of tracks recorded live during the European leg of Queen's 'Jazz' world tour between January & March 1979. Comes housed in the original non-barcoded gatefold sleeve with colour coded album note inners. The sleeve is Excellent with some minor shelf wear [small dent on spine] & the vinyl is clean & in Excellent condition with minimal play EMSP330)
- Queen - Live Killers - VG - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £20.00, $25.20, €23.40 (New Item) (arrived 26-Mar-2024 09:57)
QUEEN Live Killers (1979 UK 22-track double LP, featuring a brilliant collection of tracks recorded live during the European leg of Queen's 'Jazz' world tour between January & March 1979. Housed in a gatefold picture sleeve with green and red narrative inners. The sleeve [VG] has some notable spine scuffing and edgewear; the inners have small seam splits in the bottom edge. The vinyl appears near as new - a great play copy EMSP330)
- Queen - Queen - Blair - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £30.00, $37.80, €35.10 (New Item) (arrived 26-Mar-2024 10:03)
QUEEN Queen (1973 UK 10-track vinyl LP with 'BLAIR'/'BLAIR RULES' etched in the run-outs, the band's debut album including Keep Yourself Alive, Son And Daughter and a short instrumental version of Seven Seas Of Rhye. The matt picture sleeve displays some minor edgewear, whilst the vinyl has only light signs of play, overall an Excellent example EMC3006)
- Queen - A Kind Of Magic - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £20.00, $25.20, €23.40 (New Item) (arrived 26-Mar-2024 10:15)
QUEEN A Kind of Magic (1986 UK 9-track vinyl LP, the twelfth studio album featuring the singles Who Wants To Live Forever, A Kind Of Magic, Princes Of The Universe & One Vision. The glossy gatefold picture sleeve has light wear but comes withthe illustrated lyric inner and the vinyl displays some hairlines with no real impact on play EU3509)
- Queen - The Miracle - Picture Disc Edition - UK - picture disc LP - £59.99, $75.59, €70.19 (New Item) (arrived 26-Mar-2024 12:53)
QUEEN The Miracle (2022 UK/EU online exclusive Picture Disc Edition 10-track LP with audio from the 2011 Bob Ludwig remaster. A stylish picture record featuring the 'four merged faces' cover artwork image by their long-time art directorRichard Gray. Die-cut display picture sleeve machine-numbered from an edition limited to just 4000 copies)
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