Bibek Acharya
When you think of Queen, realistically, you think of one song – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. It’s not only a track that defines the band, but it’s a track that defines an era. More than that, it’s a song that defines a sound, being the ultimate example of truly theatrical rock. Its a song bands have referenced and fans have loved since – but it was never Freddie Mercury’s favourite.
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a truly fascinating hit. It’s one of the best-selling songs of all time, having sold over 17 million times. It’s a truly timeless track that is globally known and equally beloved. But it’s by no means an easy or simple song. It’s not a cookie-cutter hit that appeals to the masses.
When you think of Queen, realistically, you think of one song – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. It’s not only a track that defines the band, but it’s a track that defines an era. More than that, it’s a song that defines a sound, being the ultimate example of truly theatrical rock. Its a song bands have referenced and fans have loved since – but it was never Freddie Mercury’s favourite.
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a truly fascinating hit. It’s one of the best-selling songs of all time, having sold over 17 million times. It’s a truly timeless track that is globally known and equally beloved. But it’s by no means an easy or simple song. It’s not a cookie-cutter hit that appeals to the masses. Immediately, it’s over five minutes long – a fact that instantly separates it from easy hits. Then, across that run time, the band move through increasingly theatrical parts, weaving between tempos and inspirations as Mercury sings over the top, more like a musical theatre actor or an opera singer than any typical rock star.
It’s so left-field that when they recorded it, their label was completely unconvinced. “It had a very big risk factor. The radios didn’t really like it initially because it was too long, and the record companies said you can’t market it that way, and after me having virtually put the three songs together, they wanted me to sort of slice it up again, so I said no way,” Mercury explained once, sticking to his guns with the song. They were told no one would ever play the track,k and it would wind up an expensive flop. They were very, very wrong.But even after all that, and after the world adopted the track as one of its favourite songs, Mercury still had a strong affection for another hit—a far simpler one. According to their old roadie, Peter Hince, the singer went on to like a newer song more.
“Freddie actually said ‘Somebody To Love’ was a better piece of songwriting than Bo Rap. He felt that as a pure piece of songwriting, it was better,” Hince recalled, and it provides an interesting insight into Mercury’s evaluation of his own work.
To the majority, the first thing that comes to mind when considering Mercury’s legacy is theatricality. In that way, it would be expected that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ would be the pinnacle of that. But his deeper love for a more lyrical simple, yet richly emotional ballad reveals that perhaps he always put feeling ahead of theatre. Or, that songcraft always came above everything else.While ‘Somebody To Love’ is certainly not as complex as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, it’s powerful in a completely opposing way. The theatrical hit is spanning and storytelling, while ‘Somebody To Love’ is deeply universal, tapping into a collective human desire for connection. To Mercury, perhaps articulating something shared was a more noble achievement than a theatrical production, maybe there was a stronger sense of proud to be found in making something simpler that he knew more people would see themselves in that making something exciting and interesting but ultimately unrelatable.
Maybe, after all, Mercury’s favourite Queen song reveals a lot more about the singer as a person rather than a performer.
