Queen wanted to release Bohemian Rhapsody as a single in 1975. The record label executives insisted that, at 6 minutes, it was too long, and would never be a hit. The song was played to other musicians who said the band had no hope of it ever being played on the radio. Producer Roy Baker and the Band bypassed this corporate assessment by playing the song to D.J. Kenny Everett. The plan worked — Everett teased his listeners by playing only parts of the song. Audience demand intensified when Everett played the full song on his show 14 times in 2 days. Hordes of fans attempted to buy the single the following Monday, only to be told by record stores that it had not yet been released.

The song became the 1975 UK Christmas number one, holding the top spot for nine weeks.

A video was produced so that the band could avoid miming on Top of the Pops since they would have looked off miming such a complex song. Although "pop promos", as they were known at the time already existed, they were usually a straight video of the band performing. Queen's artistic efforts made this a watershed.

The video opens with a shot of the four band members standing in a diamond formation with their heads tilted back in near darkness. The lights fade up: this painting is the Popiconic moment when Mercury’s face is lit up and the MTV age was born.

Spiel by Steeve (with help from Wikipedia).

Available on:

*Paper with plastic hangers £30.

Thick watercolour paper  £30.

Canvas £39.

The Daily Telegraph £30.

 All about 60x76 cm

If you are interested in getting one done for you it's really simple, contact me, Steeve, via the contact system on this website.

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