On This Day 24/08/1975 Bohemian Rhapsody

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On this day, 24th August 1975, legendary rock band Queen started recording 'Bohemian Rhapsody' at Rockfield studio's in Monmouth, Wales, (the song was recorded over three weeks).

Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack of a refraining chorus and consisting of several sections: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda. It is one of the few progressive rock songs of the 1970s to achieve widespread commercial success and appeal to a mainstream audience.

Mercury referred to "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a "mock opera" that resulted from the combination of three songs he had written.

Mercury had mentally prepared the song beforehand and directed the band throughout the sessions. May, Mercury, and Taylor sang their vocal parts continually for ten to twelve hours a day, resulting in 180 separate overdubs.

According to Guitarist Brian May, much of Queen's material was written in the studio, but this song "was all in Freddie's mind" before they started.

Although critical reaction was initially mixed, retrospective reviews have acclaimed "Bohemian Rhapsody" one of the greatest songs of all time, and it is often regarded as the band's signature song. The promotional video is credited with furthering the development of the music video medium. It has appeared in numerous polls of the greatest songs in popular music, including a ranking at number 17 on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. A Rolling Stone readers' poll ranked Mercury's vocal performance as the greatest in rock history.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" topped the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks (plus another five weeks following Mercury's death in 1991) and is the UK's third best-selling single of all time. It also topped the charts in countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Netherlands, and has sold over six million copies worldwide. In the United States, the song peaked at number nine in 1976, but reached a new peak of number two after appearing in the 1992 film Wayne's World. In 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Following the release of the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, it became the most streamed song from the 20th century.In 2021, it was certified diamond in the US for combined digital sales/streams equal to 10 million units, and is one of the best selling songs of all time

On This Day 19/11/1975 Queen

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On this day, 19 November 1975, rock greats Queen played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre on their A Night At The Opera Tour. The were supported by Mr Big.

Formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), later joined by John Deacon (bass). Their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock, and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock.

A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 21 November 1975 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, it was reportedly the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release.

Named after the Marx Brothers' film of the same name, A Night at the Opera was recorded at various studios across a four-month period in 1975. Due to management issues, Queen had received almost none of the money they earned for their previous albums. Subsequently, they ended their contract with Trident Studios and did not use their studios for the album (the sole exception being "God Save the Queen", which had been recorded the previous year).

They employed a complex production that extensively used multitrack recording, and the songs incorporated a wide range of styles, such as ballads, music hall, dixieland, hard rock and progressive rock influences. Aside from their usual equipment, Queen also utilised a diverse range of instruments such as a double bass, harp, ukulele and more.

Upon release, A Night at the Opera topped the UK Albums Chart for four non-consecutive weeks. It peaked at number four on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and became the band's first platinum-certified album in the US. It also produced the band's most successful single in the UK, "Bohemian Rhapsody", which became their first number one song in the country. Despite being twice as long as the average length of singles during the 1970s, the song became immensely popular worldwide.

Setlist

Procession

Bohemian Rhapsody

(Rock section)

Ogre Battle

Sweet Lady

White Queen (As It Began)

Flick of the Wrist

Bohemian Rhapsody

Killer Queen

The March of the Black Queen

Bohemian Rhapsody

(Reprise)

Bring Back That Leroy Brown

Son and Daughter

The Prophet's Song

Stone Cold Crazy

Doing All Right

Keep Yourself Alive

Seven Seas of Rhye

Liar

In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited

Encore:

Now I'm Here

Big Spender

(Cy Coleman cover)

Be-Bop-A-Lula

(Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps cover)

Jailhouse Rock

(Elvis Presley cover)

God Save the Queen

([traditional] cover)