Queen The Greatest Special
New video series celebrates A Night At The Opera vinyl reissue and 50th anniversary of Bohemian Rhapsody
With Queen’s classic 1975 album newly reissued on limited-edition crystal-clear vinyl – and its most famous song celebrating a half-century , these new episodes take us behind the scenes on the path to its unparalleled achievements across its 50 year landmark.
Queen The Greatest Special – Episode 4: 50 Years of Bohemian
Rhapsody Live
As Bohemian Rhapsody celebrates its 50th anniversary, this special episode of Queen The Greatest charts the song’s evolution on the stage, with highlights footage of Queen’s most iconic performances from each of the past five decades.
“The song continues to resonate,” says Brian May in an earlier episode of the new series of Queen The Greatest, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bohemian Rhapsody and the clear-vinyl reissue of A Night At The Opera. “We go on stage and play it at the Albert Hall, with a full orchestra and 150–piece choir, and it’s fresh as a daisy. It’s new and exciting, and the reaction you get from people is just amazing.”
In modern times, with almost 3 billion Spotify streams, the original studio version of Bohemian Rhapsody remains at the heart of popular culture. Now, this latest episode of Queen The Greatest, takes a closer look at how this timeless anthem has evolved on the stage, sharing archive live footage from iconic Queen performances representing each of the past five decades.
A cut to the historic Live Aid benefit concert of July 13 1985, finds Freddie poised at the piano, Pepsi cups balanced precariously on the lid, performing the song as the opening salvo of the band’s historic 21-minute set , treating the London Wembley Stadium and one and a half billion strong worldwide audience to the performance that is forever acknowledged as truly having stolen the show. It would be faithfully recreated some thirty years later for the band’s Bohemian Rhapsody film which would go on to become the highest grossing music biopic of all time.
“The response from the crowd was so deafening,” remembered Brian, “it took your breath away.”
As Bohemian Rhapsody segues from its wistful piano intro to the ‘Galileo’ call-and-response and hard-rock headbang sections, we fast-forward to the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert of 1992, where a twirling and energetic guest vocalist Axl Rose who had joined Queen and Elton for a performance of the song in honouring Freddie, whips Wembley’s human sea into hysteria.
Underlining Bohemian Rhapsody’s capacity for reinterpretation, the episode skips onward to November 2003’s inaugural 46664 concert in Cape Town, South Africa, where Brian and Roger join the Soweto Gospel Choir to honour Nelson Mandela while raising funds for the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Finally, as Bohemian Rhapsody reaches its plaintive denouement – ‘Nothing really matters’ – we join the Adam Lambert-fronted lineup of modern times for 2014’s New Year’s Eve concert in the shadow of London’s Big Ben. And as Freddie duets with the band via projected archive footage, this living, breathing rock classic is brought full circle. “It will always be there, I think, Bohemian Rhapsody,” says Brian. “It’s truly immortal and that’s a good feeling.”
The current series of Queen The Greatest continues weekly through to the end of November. Stay tuned for more exclusive interviews – and order the limited-edition crystal-clear vinyl reissue of A Night At The Opera HERE.
Brian May performing Queen + Adam Lambert
2014 New Year’s Eve Concert, London, U.K.
Queen The Greatest YouTube Playlist Link:
https://Queen.lnk.to/
Next Week: Queen The Greatest Special – Bohemian Rhapsody
360 Special