Bohemian Rhapsody

The best-known song on the album, ” Bohemian Rhapsody “, originated from pieces of music that Mercury had written at Ealing College. Mercury played a run-through of the track on piano in his flat to Baker, stopping suddenly to announce, “This is where the opera section comes in”. When the rest of the band started recording the song, they were unsure as to how it would be pieced together. After recording the backing track, Baker left a 30-second section of tape to add the operatic vocals. Reportedly, 180 overdubs were used, to the extent that the original tape wore thin. EMI initially refused to release the single, thinking it too long, and demanded a radio edit which Queen refused. Mercury’s close friend and advisor, Capital London radio DJ Kenny Everett , played a pivotal role in giving the single exposure. He was given a promotional copy on the condition he didn’t play it, but ended up doing so fourteen times over a single weekend. Capital’s switchboard was overwhelmed with callers inquiring when the song would be released. With EMI forced to release “Bohemian Rhapsody” due to public demand, the single reached number one in the UK for nine weeks. It is the third-best-selling single of all time in the UK, surpassed only by Band Aid ‘s ” Do They Know It’s Christmas? ” and Elton John ‘s ” Candle in the Wind 1997 “, and is the best-selling commercial single (i.e. not for charity) in the UK. It also reached number nine in the US (a 1992 re-release reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks). It is the only single ever to sell a million copies on two separate occasions and became the Christmas number one twice in the UK, the only single ever to do so. It has also been voted the greatest song of all time in three different polls.