‘Bicycle Race’ was released as a single along with ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, both of which reference the other, and became a sensation when it was released in 1978. Not least because of the song itself, but also thanks to the controversial promotional music video that included 65 nude female models racing bicycles around Wimbledon Stadium.
However, the lead singer of Queen was not particularly fond of the activity himself. So, what inspired Freddie Mercury to write a tribute to bike riding?
The Tour de France and Queen’s ‘Bicycle Race’
Queen was one of the biggest rock bands in the world by 1978 when they settled in Montreux, France to get inspiration for their next album ‘Jazz’. By pure happenstance, Freddie Mercury caught sight of the Tour de France peloton as it passed through the city on stage 18 of the race.
Legend has it that this is what inspired the iconic singer to put pen to paper and to create ‘Bicycle Race’. The song makes several references to political, social and pop cultural topics of the times as well as its companion song ‚‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, on the Double-A-side single. In ‘Bicycle Race’ one of the lines is “fat bottomed girls, they’ll be riding today”, while the other song has the line “Get on your bikes and ride!”
Škoda used the song to promote the Tour de France when the company sponsored the race in 2017.
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