40th anniversary of Bohemian Rhapsody – fan memories – BBC Russian

Alexander Kan columnist for BBC Russian Service
Cultural Affairs

• 6,5 million copies sold in the world

• 5 parts: introduction, ballad opera roles, some in the style of hard rock and thoughtful code

• 120 vocal tracks, overlapping

• 3 times (in different years) rose to the top spot of the British hit parade.

31 October 1975 the British rock band Queen released the single Bohemian Rhapsody. Columnist for Culture BBC Russian Service, Alexander Kahn recalled his the then impressions of the song, the right this week fortieth birthday.

In the fall of 1975, I was a student-fifth year, enlightened rock fan, and with incredible greed caught any difficulty penetrate the Iron Curtain crumbs of information about your favorite rock music.

The radio was one of the main sources of knowledge, and every week I was rooted to the spot, in the conventional hour stuck to the receiver to to track movement within the UK charts Top-20, which is then passed on their wave BBC World Service BBC.

A study is now in hindsight study found that which was published Oct. 31 single Bohemian Rhapsody first entered the official British charts November 2 modest 47 place.

I hear it could only a week later, on November 9 when the song climbed to 17th place and thus entered the highlights on the BBC BBC twenty.

Shock and delight

Even the one piece of – at best half of the six-minute song, which was able to accommodate extremely hard in their time frame format Top -20 – shocked, it is difficult to think of another word.

By that time I already knew and loved the Queen, especially their album was released a year earlier Sheer Heart Attack with a bright, witty and incredibly inventive hit Killer Queen.

Image copyright Getty

Image caption September 8, 1976 by Queen were presented with silver, gold and platinum discs due to the fact that the sales of their single Bohemian Rhapsody has exceeded 1 million copies

But, nevertheless, a powerful operatic vocals, grand style, tempo, composition, melody, instrumental variations, which abounded in the new song and that absolutely knocked it out of the usual pop format seemed to make the appearance of Bohemian Rhapsody in the hit parade kakoy- the paradoxical coincidence aberration, an exception to pop the rules.

Not to mention its length – and DJ Bi-bi-si did not fail to announce that it lasts quite incredible for a single six minutes.

Not to mention the unintelligible text in which flashed mysterious and incomprehensible manner associated with each other, Galileo, Figaro, Scaramouche, Fandango and Beelzebub, and almost the only one to succumb to the perception of the phrase sounded more than ominous: “Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he’s dead” (Mama, just killed a man. Bailiffs gun to his head, pulled the trigger, and now he’s dead).

No, I can not, with confidence I predicted expert, a song to use massive commercial success. Without her to live in the hit parade …

To my incredible surprise, to which every week adds all the growing sense of excitement, Bohemian Rhapsody is not only not disappeared, but surely moved up: November 9 – 17 place November 16 – 9th place on November 23 – the coveted Number One, the first in the history of the group and a major achievement for any pop-rock artists.

More – more. From week to week, for nine weeks, the song is hard to keep on top of the list of popularity, including in the Christmas week.

Well, according to the established decades of British pop music tradition Christmas Number One – it’s just the Holy Grail, the struggle for the possession of which the major record companies are almost in the summer, carefully planning their releases to the most powerful and potentially impact the song has appeared in time in time for Christmas.

Breaking time

In principle, manifested Queen on Bohemian Rhapsody ingenuity, commitment lard song most unusual musical, poetic, mythological images were to rock the mid-70s is not so much the exception.

On the background stretched on the whole plate grand syuitno-symphonic opus Jethro Tull, Yes, Pink Floyd and Rick Wakeman six-minute Bohemian Rhapsody looked even kutse.

However, neither Jethro Tull, or Yes (as, indeed, and Led Zeppelin) singles not released, and Pink Floyd songs picked for singles, though bright, but simpler (Time, Money).

The dividing line between rock and pop music was great as ever. He was overcome by just a year or two later, when swept into the world of British rock “young punks” punks dare dinosaur prog rock.

A Queen remained. And quirky, unusual, broken Bohemian Rhapsody has overcome time and, despite the hackneyed and familiar, if you listen to her, strikes are now no less than 40 years ago …