Bohemian Rhapsody

It's been more than 10 years since I first set my ears on "Bohemian Rhapsody", my first proper encounter with Queen when my sister bought the single and played it for me. Although I didn't realise it at that time, that was the re-released version after Freddie Mercury's death in 1991. I found out later that the song was actually originally released in 1975 and is Queen's biggest hit ever, and that before his death, Mercury had donated the rights of the song to the Terrence Higgins Trust, a British charity.

After hearing many Queen songs on English radio a few years after my first audition of "Bohemian Rhapsody", I became interested in the band and bought their three "Greatest Hits" compilations. I even read Freddie Mercury's biography and found out a lot more about this flamboyant frontman of one of the greatest British bands of all time.

The thing I like most about Queen was how they refused to be labelled. They were a rock band definitely, but their music was very much more than pure rock. All four members contributed to writing songs, which added to the variety of styles. Mercury was trained in classical piano and had a keen interest in opera. And so Queen's music contained elements like classical, opera, dance, disco, electronic and anything else you can think of. They were ahead of their time, but the band's lifespan was unfortunately cut short by Mercury's untimely passing. Not before leaving behind a legacy of great songs though. (Even though Queen have worked with a number of vocalists since then, it will never be the same without Mercury.)

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is probably my favourite English song ever. An interesting mix of ballad, rock, opera, it must have been a ground-breaking surprise back in the 1970s. Then there were the rock anthems like "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You", the futuristic "Radio Ga Ga", the haunting "the Show Must Go On", the poignant "Too Much Love Will Kill You", the Elvis Presley pastiche "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", the disco track "Another One Bites the Dust", the impromptu collaboration with David Bowie "Under Pressure", the fast-paced and breathless "Don't Stop Me Now". The list is just endless.

My favourite quote of Mercury (taken from Rick Sky's book "The Show Must Go On":
"I like to deliberately do things that aren't considered Queen. I always believe in doing something different. Otherwise what's the point? You might as well give out copies of your old records."

I think that is one reason why hocc likes Queen too. We both appreciate their daring to be different. And that is also one reason why I like hocc - for doing things that aren't considered hocc, for being different and for conjuring up surprises when we least expect it.