Few bands have had an impact on the history of rock music that rivals that of Queen. The iconic band were a global sensation and they helped to create the sound that would define British rock.
Tracks like ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and ‘Killer Queen’ are enduring popular, but they will forever be best-known for the searing rock opera, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
Released in 1975 as the lead single for their fourth studio album, Bohemian Rhapsody was written and composed by Freddie Mercury and it had its roots far earlier in the Queen story. Guitarist Brian May has revealed the bizarre origins of the legendary song, which was originally known as ‘The Cowboy Song’.
In a 2008 interview, May recalled first hearing the track: “I remember Freddie coming in with loads of bits of paper from his dad’s work, like Post-it notes, and pounding on the piano. He played the piano like most people play the drums.”
“And this song he had was full of gaps where he explained that something operatic would happen here, and so on. He’d worked out the harmonies in his head.”
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But that first play between Mercury and May came before the band had even been properly formed and it would be years until it was worked on in earnest. May revealed that the first Queen rehearsals of Bohemian Rhapsody came at the Ridge Farm Studio, Surrey in 1975 and the band spent three weeks refining the track.
When they were ready to record it they moved to Rockfield Studios in Wales and used four addition studios to record the many parts of the song. Queen used a wide range of technologies and recording equipment to create the final track, which required 160 layered tracks of vocal overdubs to complete the grand chorale.
Finally, the single was released on October 31, 1975. That was about a month before the album ‘A Night at the Opera’ was released. At the time, the band had no idea that they had just made one of the most iconic songs in music history.
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