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This programme contains
some strong language
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NEEDLE CRACKLES
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# Is this the real life...? #
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We were suddenly in a sort of
golden place.
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# Is this just fantasy...? #
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We were sort of getting off
on how far can we take this?
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It's nearly 30 years old and still
one of the world's best loved songs.
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# Scaramouch, Scaramouch... #
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It's the biggest single
of the century.
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# Thunderbolt and lightning... #
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I never heard anything like it.
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For the first time ever, this is the
full story behind Bohemian Rhapsody.
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We're on a journey of discovery
back to the studio with the band.
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The man who put it together
is going to take it apart.
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I've lost it.
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OK, I've lost another Galileo.
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# Will not let you go!
Let me go!... #
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We're going to find out
how they made THAT video.
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And you get this feedback
that trails across.
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# No, no, no, no
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# Oh, mama mia, mama mia... #
Mama mia, let me go.
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And we'll be asking
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some of the greatest
literary minds in the country
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what the song is all about.
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Beelzebub does seem to
make some sense!
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# Me-e-e-e... #
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# Dun-dun-dun! #
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Great stuff!
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"Mama, I killed a man."
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Wow! OK, I'm there! What happened?
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"Nothing happened! We all
went off singing nonsense.
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"Scaramouch, can you do
the fandango?" No!
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It hurts me now,
when I hear the song, it hurts.
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# Any way the wind blows... #
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1975.
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History is made as the Americans
and Russians meet in space.
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Saigon falls and
Vietnam is finally over.
38
00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,480
At home, unemployment
hits the one million mark
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as Margaret Thatcher becomes the
first woman to lead the Tory Party.
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Jaws is a box-office smash.
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And Queen release the single
that will catapult them to stardom
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and provide inspiration for
a new generation of rockers.
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# So you think you can love me
and leave me to die?
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# Oh, baby-y-y... #
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Axl Rose performed the song at
the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
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after the singer's death in 1991.
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He was joined by a host of stars
who'd grown up with Queen.
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# Your mommy and your daddy
gonna plague me till I die... #
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1975, I was working
in a factory in Sheffield
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and daydreaming about
wanting to be in a band
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that could produce material
of the quality of Bohemian Rhapsody.
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# All your love tonight... #
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I was obsessed with getting
all the music that band put out.
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It was a huge part
of my whole growing up.
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# Whoa, yeah! #
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Even the band of the moment
owe a huge debt to Queen.
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Bohemian Rhapsody is the Holy Grail.
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There's only that. There's
nothing else anywhere near it.
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If you ask anybody, "Honestly,
do you like Bohemian Rhapsody?"
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if they say no, they're lying.
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The release of Bohemian Rhapsody
defied all logic.
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It was a song that
broke all the rules.
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For a start,
it was six minutes long...
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..and it had an opera section.
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# I see a little silhouetto of a man
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# Scaramouch, Scaramouch
Will you do the fandango...? #
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00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,520
Nothing like it
had been heard before
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and there's been nothing like
it since. But people loved it.
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It went to number one and
stayed there for nine weeks.
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# Magnifico-o-o-o... #
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But Queen weren't a new band.
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It had taken them almost
five years to get there.
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The year before,
they'd had their first success
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with Seven Seas Of Rhye.
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00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:35,200
Long lost from the BBC archive,
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this Top Of The Pops performance
was videoed by a fan.
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Freddie's distinctive style
was taking shape even then.
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# Seven seas of Rhye... #
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They always were different
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to everybody else that was
around at the time.
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They always projected this image of
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being the big, huge rock stars
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even when they hadn't got
two ha'pennies to rub together.
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Queen even turned to women's
fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.
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I was well known as doing
theatrical-type women's outfits,
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and I think it showed quite an
extraordinary sense of thought
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that they came to me.
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But it wasn't just the rock star
look that Queen were perfecting.
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Their unique sound was also
beginning to take shape...
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..thanks to their producer,
Roy Thomas Baker.
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00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,200
Working with Queen meant,
be pure definition,
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you were working out of the zone.
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Being told by Freddie and the guys,
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"Queen II - we've got
nothing to lose,
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"just put anything in there,
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"any idea you come up with,
just give it a go."
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# Once upon a time
an old man told me a fable
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# When the piper is gone
and the soup is cold... #
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# She keeps her Moet et Chandon
in a pretty cabinet... #
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00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,720
Queen camped it up even more for
their third single, Killer Queen,
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00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,120
which went to number two in 1974.
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# For Khrushchev and Kennedy
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00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:15,440
# At any time, an invitation
you can't decline... #
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00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,360
By now, they should
have been enjoying
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the trappings of
a rock star lifestyle,
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but they were only being paid
£200 a week between them.
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# She's a killer queen
Gunpowder, gelatin... #
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Freddie was making demands,
various things he wanted,
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and we explained to him that
the money wasn't there yet.
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It would be there.
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We could see it coming.
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If the sales were like they were
reported to be, it would flow.
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But no matter how much
Freddie stamped his feet,
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there was no money,
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so Queen turned to Elton
John's manager, John Reid.
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There was a kind of stalemate
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between them and
the Sheffield brothers.
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Nothing to do with me.
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All I was concerned with
was how to get it sorted out,
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how to let them move forward
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and let everybody walk away
without losing face.
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So that's what I did.
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At that time, Freddie lived here, on
Holland Road in Kensington, London.
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It was here that he wrote
most of Bohemian Rhapsody.
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BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY PLAYS ON A PIANO
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Freddie invited me round to
his flat in Holland Road.
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I went round and when I went in, the
thing that struck me first
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was that Freddie was listening
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00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,080
to the Liza Minnelli Cabaret
soundtrack.
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00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,720
At that time, I thought,
"This is a rock group."
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This music didn't kind of fit.
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Then he showed me the flat. In the
bedroom, there was an upright piano
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with candle arms on it,
which was his headboard.
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00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:09,680
And he said that
sometimes during the night,
135
00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:15,200
he would think of something musical
and flip it back and play it.
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He was double jointed. His hands
could bend back completely.
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I think that's where
some of the passages
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00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,600
from Bohemian Rhapsody started.
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Playing it backwards.
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MUSIC: Sweet Lady
by Queen
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In the summer of 1975,
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Queen left London for Rockfield
Studios in Monmouth, South Wales.
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30 years later, they're back.
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00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:02,640
It's the first time
they've visited
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00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,200
since they recorded
Bohemian Rhapsody.
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I think there was a lot of stress
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00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:10,240
and we were very worried
about the management situation.
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We were away from home, away
from our kids and our families.
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We had young children.
It's not ideal.
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00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,720
We'd just signed up with John Reid,
who was Elton's manager,
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00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,200
and John had said, "OK, boys,
I'll take care of the business,
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"you just make the best
album you've ever made."
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So there was that feeling.
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It was like, "We have to
go in here and kill."
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I actually remember driving here,
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thinking, "I think
I'm going the right way,"
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and playing Sheer Heart Attack,
thinking,
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"That was the last one we did.
Oh, God, that's good, isn't it?
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"It's going to be hard to make
a better one than that."
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Welcome back after all
these years. Thank you.
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Must be like
a walk down memory lane.
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This is where the seeds
for Bohemian Rhapsody were sown.
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Queen spent two weeks here
recording backing tracks
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for what was to become the most
expensive record ever made -
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00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,040
A Night At The Opera.
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00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:28,400
# Yesterday
my life was in ruins... #
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It's a poignant trip for Queen.
168
00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,840
This is where their journey
from mediocre domestic success
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to international stardom
really began.
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# Got a feeling
I should be doing all right... #
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The control room.
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00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,520
Yes, this does actually trigger some
memories for me, I've got to say.
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It's a bit plush.
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00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:58,120
I think in our day, I remember
there was no acoustic treatment.
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This is the Bohemian Rhapsody
backing track for me.
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00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:05,400
I can distinctly remember being here
and seeing you guys go through it.
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00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,640
Our backing tracks were always
either bass, guitar and drums
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00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:11,440
or bass, piano and drums.
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00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,000
This one would be Roger,
Freddie and John.
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00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,680
They're putting down
the backing track
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00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:20,080
and there's lots of spaces in it
for the operatic bits.
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00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,200
Lots of gaps and Freddie conducting.
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00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:28,520
Shall we have a look
in the studio? Yeah.
184
00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:45,640
Here, for the very first time, you
can hear Freddie Mercury rehearsing
185
00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:50,520
the piano parts for what producer
Roy Thomas Baker calls Fred's Thing.
186
00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,560
These outtakes from the original
recording sessions at Rockfield
187
00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:55,440
have never been heard before.
188
00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:04,080
Take one of mark two version
of Fred's Thing.
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00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,760
PIANO MUSIC FOR BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
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00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:24,840
MUSIC STOPS
191
00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:24,840
Fuck!
192
00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,040
Still too slow!
No, that's nice! That's nice.
193
00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,080
Bit slower, though.
194
00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,840
He just said, "Look, I've got
this very strange thing.
195
00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:39,040
"You have to be patient when we do
it cos there'll be lots of gaps."
196
00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,240
As soon as we'd mapped it out,
197
00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,400
we all understood
what was happening
198
00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:46,840
but it was a bit confusing at first.
199
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,280
It's sort of coming back a bit. Hmm.
200
00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:52,280
I think the piano WAS about there.
I think it was.
201
00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,160
Like that. Yeah, more like that
than like that.
202
00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:57,960
You were over there, but there
was no partition for the drums.
203
00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:00,320
Yeah, that's right.
It was just all in one room.
204
00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,200
Yeah. That was the drum kit.
205
00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:07,800
Yeah. Nine AC30s, of course,
206
00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,600
but I don't think I would
have had the nine in here.
207
00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:12,800
We were still saving up
for the one, weren't we?
208
00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,080
Yeah! I think most likely
I would have had three.
209
00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,200
I remember the first time
I heard the melody,
210
00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,600
the main sort of melody,
I loved the melody. Yeah.
211
00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,760
A lot of our stuff
was done, written in the studio,
212
00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:30,680
but this was an exception.
Really, as Roger says,
213
00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:34,160
it was all in Freddie's mind
before we started.
214
00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,480
Freddie was a great person
to be in a band with really because,
215
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:45,960
one, he was such a great...
rhythmic, rhythmic piano player,
216
00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:50,000
and it made the backing tracks
very easy to do.
217
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,960
They sort of... It all knitted
together. They swung well.
218
00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,240
His bony fingers would whack it out.
219
00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,640
The backing tracks, if you listen
to them now, are immaculate!
220
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:04,040
Freddie and Roger and John
are just absolutely together.
221
00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,280
It's totally live, totally real.
There's a feel there.
222
00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,000
PERCUSSIVE MUSIC PLAYS
223
00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,160
As soon as you hit
an E flat chord on here,
224
00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:20,400
you think of Freddie. I do, anyway.
225
00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:28,880
It's nearly 20 years since
Queen played together.
226
00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:35,480
This performance at Wembley
in 1986 saw them bow out on top.
227
00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,680
No-one could sell tickets faster.
228
00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:44,120
But if it hadn't been for
the success of Bohemian Rhapsody,
229
00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,040
they might never have got there.
230
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:49,880
So what's so special about
the song that made Queen?
231
00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,880
To find out, we have to speak to
the man who put it all together.
232
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,360
Capitol Records,
Hollywood, Los Angeles -
233
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:11,560
home to some of the most important
recordings in the history of music.
234
00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:15,400
Nearly 30 years after he delivered
the finished track to EMI,
235
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,440
Roy Thomas Baker has come here
to take Bohemian Rhapsody apart.
236
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,600
# Galileo... # I've lost it.
237
00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:25,680
OK, I've lost another Galileo.
238
00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,640
There's another Galileo missing.
239
00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,520
This is the original 24-track tape
in its original box.
240
00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:38,840
It's now so fragile
241
00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,200
that it has to be baked in
an oven before it can be played
242
00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:43,600
or it will disintegrate.
243
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,160
And here's Freddie's doodles
on the sleeve notes,
244
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,080
which he did at the time
Bohemian Rhapsody was recording.
245
00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:52,200
# Thunderbolt and lightning,
Very, very frightening me... #
246
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:56,120
The original mix,
when we were doing it manually,
247
00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,480
it was a case of I was
sitting approximately here,
248
00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:04,240
controlling the drums,
bass, piano, guitars.
249
00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:09,200
Then, about here was Freddie,
and he had control over the vocals.
250
00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:13,560
He'd be switching vocals on and off
and doing it that way.
251
00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:15,240
Let me push up the...
252
00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,520
# This time tomorrow
253
00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:21,200
# Carry on, carry on
254
00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,560
# As if nothing really matters... #
255
00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:26,640
So this is the piano.
256
00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:30,400
This is the piano solo.
257
00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,760
This was actually done live by
Freddie as we were doing the track.
258
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,840
So when you listen to
the piano tracks,
259
00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,200
you can just about hear
some of the drums in the background
260
00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,280
because it was all done in one room,
it wasn't done in a separate room.
261
00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,760
We put covers over the piano to
try and deaden down the sound
262
00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:50,560
of the other instruments.
263
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,000
But the bass, you can hear the bass
in the background,
264
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,320
you can hear the drums.
265
00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,280
The drums...
266
00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:57,320
..then.
267
00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:01,960
This is the drums on their own.
268
00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,440
DRUM TRACK PLAYS
269
00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:19,840
# Scaramouch, Scaramouch
Will you do the fandango?
270
00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:21,840
# Thunderbolt and light... #
271
00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:27,040
Now John, who was on bass, we
spread the bass over three channels.
272
00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,960
BASS GUITAR PLAYS
273
00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:36,520
We had the...drums
and bass together and piano.
274
00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:41,120
DRUMS, BASS AND PIANO
OF BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
275
00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:55,160
VOCALS ADDED
276
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:59,680
This is the solo from Brian.
277
00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,280
That was also recorded on one track.
278
00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,320
It wasn't done on multiple tracks,
it was just one track.
279
00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:22,960
I wanted to make a little tune
280
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,600
that would be a sort of
counterpart to the main melody.
281
00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:27,520
I didn't want to
just play the melody.
282
00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:30,200
It could all have been
so different, couldn't it?
283
00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:31,840
I can remember singing it to Freddie
284
00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,120
and him going,
"Yeah, that would be good."
285
00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:38,840
I think, certainly
my best stuff is born that way.
286
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,560
It's much better for me to hear it
in my head and then try and play it
287
00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,480
than sit down with a guitar
and let the fingers do it.
288
00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:48,120
The fingers tend to be
a little...predictable
289
00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:50,160
unless they're being
led by the brain.
290
00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:57,640
We were sort of getting off on
the...on how far can we take this
291
00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:59,840
and how big can we make this?
292
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:03,720
"Let's make a wall of sound
that really is a wall,
293
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,920
"that starts down there
and goes right up."
294
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,120
So, really, we were quite interested
295
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:11,440
in seeing how far you could
actually go
296
00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:13,680
before it became totally ridiculous,
297
00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:18,000
or the limits of
the technology stopped you.
298
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,160
OK, this is the little
Galileo section,
299
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,360
which is between high vocal
from Roger and low from Freddie.
300
00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:30,760
So, this is Roger's track first.
301
00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,920
# Galileo, Galileo
302
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,040
# Galileo Figaro... #
303
00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:39,200
We used to joke
about pliers under the frock.
304
00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:44,560
We were lucky. We had a very good
chemistry when it came to vocals.
305
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,400
I mean, Brian could get down
quite low.
306
00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,240
Fred had this incredibly powerful
voice through the middle
307
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,680
and I was very good
on all the high stuff.
308
00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,000
So we all sang every part.
309
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,600
Also, now you're about to hear
the opera section.
310
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,440
Only the vocals,
no backing track at all.
311
00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,280
# Easy come, easy go
Will you let me go?
312
00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:07,080
# Bismillah!
No, we will not let you go
313
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:08,440
# Let him go!
314
00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:11,000
# Bismillah! We will not let you go!
315
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,600
# Let him go! Bismillah!
We will not let you go
316
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,000
# Let me go! Will not let you go
Let me go! Will not let you go!
317
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,080
# Let me go-o-o-o
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
318
00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,000
# Oh, mama mia, mama mia
319
00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:24,560
# Mama mia, let me go
320
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,840
# Beelzebub has a devil put aside
321
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:34,440
# For me-e-e, for me-e-e, for meeee
322
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:48,280
# So you think you can
stone me and spit in my eye
323
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:53,240
# So you think you can love me
and leave me to die
324
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,920
# Oh, baby
325
00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:00,120
# Can't do this to me, baby
326
00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:01,800
# Just gotta get out
327
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,520
# Just gotta get right
outta here... #
328
00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,000
John volunteered not to sing. I
don't think he liked his own vocals.
329
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,240
He wasn't going to get an argument
from any of us, including the band,
330
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:14,440
so, basically, it
was the three guys,
331
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,400
it was Freddie, Brian and
Roger who would sing.
332
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,400
This is going to be a rare scenario.
333
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,200
We're going to be playing
the instrumentation
334
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,600
of the opera section
without the opera.
335
00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:27,600
Just purely the track,
336
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:32,360
and the track consists of
drums, bass, Freddie on piano
337
00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:35,840
and Roger's overdub of a timpani.
338
00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,760
There's a few...stumbled notes here,
339
00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,400
which obviously weren't supposed to
be heard. Now you might hear them.
340
00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,800
INSTRUMENTAL TRACK PLAYS
341
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:11,760
# So you think you can stone me
and spit in my eye... #
342
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,480
The thing about Freddie was he was
far more organised than he lets on.
343
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:17,720
He'd have little
scraps of paper everywhere
344
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,560
with little things
and Galileos here,
345
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,280
so it was all written down
just on paper and pencil.
346
00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:27,080
It seemed like it was a bit
haphazard, but it wasn't.
347
00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:39,520
There was times it wasn't easy,
it was very, very hard,
348
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,800
but we didn't mind because we knew
we were setting certain trends
349
00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,120
that then eventually technology
caught up with us,
350
00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:46,720
so that was pretty good.
351
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,480
Four hours into their visit
to Rockfield
352
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,520
and Brian and Roger can't resist
striking up in the studio.
353
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:03,160
Yeah...
That note without the bass.
354
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,880
Right, then. To the living quarters.
355
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:18,640
# Seaside
whenever you stroll along with me
356
00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:22,080
# I'm merely contemplating
what you feel inside... #
357
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:26,720
This is Roy,
this is...Freddie, I think.
358
00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:28,520
And I think this is me.
359
00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,200
Welcome to my luxurious apartment.
360
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,840
It wasn't just coming in to
make Bohemian Rhapsody.
361
00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,360
It was like we had to make the album
which was gonna, I guess, save us.
362
00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:41,920
If I'd realised Brian's room
363
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,400
was this much bigger
than mine at the time...
364
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:46,000
There would have been hell to pay!
365
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,240
Yes, this was bigger
than Roger's room, yeah.
366
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:52,400
# Fantastic, c'est la vie
mesdames et messieurs... #
367
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,560
It really was a job of work.
368
00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:57,000
I remember we utilised
the various rooms
369
00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,480
about what is basically
an old farmyard.
370
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:04,720
# Duh, duh, do-do, do-do
do, do, do, do, do... #
371
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,840
This is definitely not
on a par with Brian's.
372
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:17,800
One of the key memories I have is
373
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:21,240
we were all sitting up one Saturday
night with nothing better to do
374
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,400
than watch A Night At The Opera
by the Marx Brothers.
375
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,400
We were big Marx Brothers fans.
376
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,200
I think it's a nicer room.
Relatively opulent, his was.
377
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,360
Kitchen...
It's got a door and everything!
378
00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:36,520
We'd been thinking of things
to call the album, etc, etc.
379
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:40,680
Then suddenly it was there right in
front of us - A Night At The Opera.
380
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:45,160
# As a matter of fact
So tres charmant, my dear
381
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,960
# Underneath the moonlight... #
382
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:49,840
This is in a rather sad state.
383
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,000
This is the desk, actually,
Bohemian Rhapsody
384
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,280
and the rest of A Night At The Opera
was recorded on.
385
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:58,400
Missing its guts, some of which
are still in use in the studio.
386
00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:01,320
I still enjoy hearing
387
00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,240
A Night At The Opera
as an album all the way through,
388
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,480
cos that's the way it was designed,
389
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,640
and Bohemian Rhapsody is the jewel
in that crown, if you like.
390
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,280
# Sensational seaside
rendezvous... #
391
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,960
Years before The Darkness
were even born!
392
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,360
After two weeks, Queen left
Rockfield and went to London,
393
00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:29,320
where they finished Bohemian
Rhapsody and the rest of the album.
394
00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,440
You know
something special's going on.
395
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:33,960
I've got this little phrase
396
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:36,280
where there are two
feelings in your body -
397
00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,720
you've got a feeling in your head
and a feeling in your tummy.
398
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:40,360
The feeling in you head is the one
399
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:42,520
that fools you all the time
and teases you.
400
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,440
But there's a feeling in the pit
of your stomach that you know
401
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:51,240
when something's right or wrong, and
this was just something fantastic.
402
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,280
Absolutely fantastic. Seminal.
403
00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:57,200
When the album was finished,
they had to decide on a single.
404
00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:01,760
At six minutes long, though,
Bohemian Rhapsody was a huge gamble.
405
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:06,080
# Is this the real life...? #
406
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:11,320
I remember Brian brought a rough
mix of Bohemian Rhapsody
407
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,520
round to my flat in London.
408
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,520
He says, "This is going
to be the new single."
409
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:18,960
And...he put it on.
410
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:23,080
And, I think as everybody else
he must have played it to said,
411
00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,040
"You ain't got a hope in hell
of getting this played on radio!"
412
00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:27,440
Seven minute long!
413
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,640
# I'm just a poor boy... #
414
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:36,200
I had an acetate of it and I
played it to a couple of people,
415
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,160
one of whom was Elton John.
416
00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:43,160
And I played it to him and he said,
417
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,080
"Are you fucking mad?"
418
00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,880
But Queen had a powerful ally.
419
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,720
We invited Kenny Everett along,
and he listened to it,
420
00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:57,880
and he said, "That's wonderful,
that's great!
421
00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:59,920
"They should have a new position.
422
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:02,880
"It shouldn't be one, it should be
a position above that, like half.
423
00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:05,160
"And that's where it should be.
It should be half."
424
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,040
And we gave him a copy and we said,
425
00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,400
"Whatever you do, you can't
play this." And he said,
426
00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,760
"OK, I won't play it," and winked.
427
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,960
And them that following weekend,
he played it, like, 14 times
428
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:19,280
on his radio, Capital, show.
429
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,360
The choice was made
430
00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:23,320
but Queen were about to go on tour
431
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,080
and, anyway, they couldn't
perform the opera section live,
432
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:27,560
so they had to make a video.
433
00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:31,480
I have to say, the main reason
we made it was cos
434
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:33,320
we didn't want to go
on Top Of The Pops.
435
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:37,800
Not because we didn't
like the programme,
436
00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:41,760
but we didn't feel comfortable
standing around sort of...miming
437
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:44,840
in a rather unfamiliar situation.
438
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,280
We wanted to make our own vehicle.
Plus we knew we'd be on tour
439
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,880
and if it was in the charts, we
wouldn't be able go in there anyway.
440
00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:55,080
We were actually signed
to a company called Trillion
441
00:29:55,080 --> 00:30:00,080
that was an independent outside
broadcast unit for sports for ITV.
442
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,920
And we suddenly thought, "Why
don't we use one of their trucks,
443
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,320
"get their cameras into Elstree?"
444
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:08,360
where we were rehearsing,
and we'd film it.
445
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,640
"We'll put it
on this video tape stuff."
446
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:15,320
# Now I'm here, now I'm here... #
447
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:17,160
The band called in Bruce Gowers,
448
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:21,320
who directed a film of Queen's 1974
concert at London's Rainbow Theatre.
449
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:26,960
He didn't know then, but making
the Bohemian Rhapsody video
450
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,880
would change his life forever.
451
00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:35,960
He's now the director of America's
biggest show, American Idol.
452
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,640
There was a call from the band,
from Freddie and the group,
453
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:42,800
and we got together and
talked about making a video,
454
00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:44,800
which weren't called videos
in those days,
455
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,040
it was called a pop promo.
456
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:52,800
We had the idea of bringing
the cover of Queen II to life.
457
00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,200
That was our favourite image of us.
458
00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:00,320
# And the light of the night
burned bright... #
459
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,760
This cover shot was taken
by photographer Mick Rock
460
00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:04,520
18 months before.
461
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,920
He'd been inspired by a picture
of the actress Marlene Dietrich,
462
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:09,960
which he'd showed to Freddie.
463
00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:11,920
He loved it immediately.
464
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:16,280
He then went and worked on the group
and, OK, cool, Marlene Dietrich.
465
00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:18,440
Freddie wanted to be Marlene
466
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,320
and he was determined
that should go down.
467
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,440
The whole band was always involved
468
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,000
in the discussion and the end result
469
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,080
so it was a co-operative
to that extent,
470
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:29,800
but there was but one leader.
471
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:38,600
Just sit there for a sec.
Which one do you want?
472
00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:41,320
Try being Freddie for the moment.
473
00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:48,360
So how did they actually achieve
the Bohemian Rhapsody look?
474
00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:50,840
There. That's good.
475
00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:53,120
How's that? Down again.
476
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,200
OK and up again. That's it.
477
00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:00,920
We tracked down the team
who shot the video.
478
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:04,600
Cameraman Barry Dodd and
floor manager Jim McCutcheon
479
00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,200
were sent to Elstree Studios
to shoot the video.
480
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:11,240
They had no idea they were about to
become part of pop music history.
481
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:15,080
They'd been in there
rehearsing their tour.
482
00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,600
And what a better to rehearse
a tour than in a film studio
483
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,200
which is the size of a hangar
and soundproofed,
484
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,720
where the roadies come in,
build the stage,
485
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,360
build the lighting rig,
build the sound rig?
486
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,680
But then they wanted
to create a video
487
00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:31,840
of one of the numbers
that they'd done.
488
00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:33,320
Get the boys in, shall we?
489
00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:39,840
They had a very analytical
approach to everything.
490
00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:42,480
They knew exactly where we were
going with what we were doing.
491
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,440
Take your positions, please.
492
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:47,160
Stand by with the smoke.
493
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:50,360
Here, using the Queen
tribute band GaGa,
494
00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:53,160
Barry and Jim show us
how they did it.
495
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,840
I got to Elstree about
7.00 in the evening.
496
00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:00,480
Everything was lit, everything
was organised and ready to shoot.
497
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,840
We started shooting about 7.15.
498
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,400
Ready, Barry? I think so, James.
Let's have a took at it.
499
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,000
Lose the top lights, please.
Back lights up.
500
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,600
Let's have some smoke, please.
501
00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,360
And roll the track, please.
502
00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:20,520
Five, four, three, two, one, music.
503
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:23,440
# Is this the real life...? #
Stand by, cross fade.
504
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:27,160
# ..Is this just fantasy?
505
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:30,360
# Caught in a landslide
506
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:35,200
# No escape from reality... #
Cross fade. Up you come.
507
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,760
# ..Open your eyes... #
508
00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:42,640
And we lit the four faces and
we put the cameras on them.
509
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:46,160
That was all done beforehand
510
00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:49,400
in one corner of this big studio,
this big stage.
511
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,000
It was later that we got on
to the rock and roll thing but
512
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:53,960
what a lot of people
probably don't know is
513
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:55,600
it was all shot in the same area.
514
00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:01,080
# I see a little silhouetto of a man
515
00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:04,880
# Scaramouch, Scaramouch
Will you do the fandango?
516
00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:08,520
# Thunderbolt and lightning
Very, very frightening me
517
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:13,200
# Galileo, Galileo, Galileo,
Galileo, Galileo, Figaro... #
518
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:16,680
What we did to get the echo effect
on the "magnifico",
519
00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:19,200
we have a second camera
looking at a monitor,
520
00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:22,720
and you get feedback,
just the same as audio feedback,
521
00:34:22,720 --> 00:34:24,120
you get video feedback.
522
00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:28,080
So the vision mixer just opens
the fader as he sings that line
523
00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,600
and you get this feedback
that trails across.
524
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:32,800
# I'm just a poor boy... #
525
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:34,840
In those days,
the technology was good,
526
00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:37,440
but a lot of the effects,
we had to create ourselves.
527
00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:38,680
We used a thing like this.
528
00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:41,320
This is similar to the one we used.
It's a multi-facet lens.
529
00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:43,440
We held this in front of the camera
530
00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:46,160
to achieve the multiple images
that we see.
531
00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:49,520
# Thunderbolts and lightning,
very, very frightening me... #
532
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:54,200
In those days, that was special
effects. Sort of laughable now.
533
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:56,280
It was make it up as you go along.
534
00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,200
# Spare him his life
from this monstrosity... #
535
00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:03,920
BRUCE GOWERS:
We finished shooting around 10.30.
536
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,400
That was the choral element
and the rock and roll element.
537
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,840
Then we all hightailed
down to the pub.
538
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,920
When we came to edit, there
was a rush to get it completed
539
00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:16,240
because we were trying to
get it aired, I think,
540
00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:18,280
the week of shooting,
on Top Of The Pops.
541
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:21,720
# No, no, no, no, no, no... #
542
00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:25,800
So we cut it in maybe four hours,
five hours, something like that.
543
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,640
And as soon as it was done,
it was shipped off to the Beeb.
544
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:34,680
# For me, for me, for meeeee... #
545
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:40,000
Stop the tape, please.
546
00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,880
I remember distinctly seeing the
first rough cut that Bruce brought
547
00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:47,320
to show us when we were on tour,
548
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:49,520
sitting around this
little telly watching it.
549
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:51,360
We all laughed very heartily,
550
00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:53,760
saying, "It's really funny,
it's really great."
551
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,240
Slightly kitsch...
552
00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:00,080
..but it seems
to bring the song to life.
553
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:05,240
The video took less than four hours
to film and cost just £4,500.
554
00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:08,520
# Is this the real life?
555
00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:10,320
# Is this just fantasy...? #
556
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:14,240
It aired on Top Of The Pops for
the first time in November '75.
557
00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:17,720
It was unforgettable,
a seminal moment in music history.
558
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:24,320
I remember the Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen thing being, like, a rarity.
559
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:30,240
Something that, "Oh, my God, stop
everything! It's the Queen video!"
560
00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:33,480
# I'm just a poor boy
561
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,680
# I need no sympathy... #
562
00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:37,800
I remember watching the video
563
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,800
and thinking, "Oh, my God!
What is this?!"
564
00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:43,240
# A little high, little low
565
00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:46,920
# Any way the wind blows... #
566
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:49,760
It just shocked people.
"Wow, look at this!",
567
00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:51,360
especially those multi-images
568
00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:53,520
when the big choir
was singing and all that.
569
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:55,480
Nobody had ever done anything
like that before.
570
00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:56,640
It was just brilliant.
571
00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:03,000
The video turned Queen and Freddie
Mercury into household names,
572
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:06,200
much to the delight
of their families.
573
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:10,640
Well, it was completely
a different thing for us to watch.
574
00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:15,640
In those days, they used to
perform live on Top Of The Pops,
575
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:19,760
but this video came out and
everybody was excited about it.
576
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:24,440
And the way he sang,
especially his costumes!
577
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:31,120
I remember when Freddie
came to visit us
578
00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:33,320
for a few days and stayed over.
579
00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:36,560
We thought we'd take him
to York for the day.
580
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:41,040
All we saw was a crowd
of these schoolchildren
581
00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:44,120
coming faster and faster towards us
and in the end
582
00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:46,240
we had to run the opposite way.
583
00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:50,520
And then I realised, "My God, he's
being recognised by just everybody!"
584
00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:57,040
I went to the shops
and I was very excited.
585
00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:01,240
They were all round the shops,
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen.
586
00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:06,520
I got one and I was
so pleased with myself
587
00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:13,360
that I'm buying my son's
first number one record.
588
00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,600
# Goodbye, everybody... #
589
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:20,960
We were in Southampton,
playing a concert in our tour.
590
00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:24,520
I remember my mother
was there visiting.
591
00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:28,520
I got a phone call in the morning
saying we were number one.
592
00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,960
I just remember going
down to breakfast and going,
593
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:34,600
"Guess what, Mum. We're number one!"
594
00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:37,200
It was great. It was fantastic!
595
00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:45,600
Of course, it hurts me now
when I hear the song. It hurts.
596
00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,920
# Any way the wind blows... #
597
00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:56,520
Bohemian Rhapsody went on to sell
598
00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:58,960
more than two million copies
in the UK alone.
599
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,400
It sold millions more
all over the world.
600
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:06,440
It's highly collectable. Get your
hands on one of these, though,
601
00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:08,840
and you're sitting on
a small fortune,
602
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,960
just like Queen's longest-serving
roadie, Peter Hince.
603
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:15,440
This is number 195 and, yeah,
604
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:19,000
the most collectable record in the
world, apparently. Very valuable.
605
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,640
What's it worth? I think it's about
two and a half to three grand.
606
00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:24,760
Given to me by my mate Fred.
607
00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:28,480
Thank you, Fred. It'll probably buy
a hearing aid which I'm sure,
608
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:31,560
after listening to all that
bloody noise all those years,
609
00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:34,280
I'll need quite soon,
so thank you very much.
610
00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:39,000
Some of the music press, however,
611
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:42,200
didn't think Bohemian Rhapsody
was worth a single penny.
612
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:46,160
In Melody Maker, they decided
the song had all the demented fury
613
00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,160
of the Balham Amateur
Operatic Society
614
00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:50,120
performing The Pirates Of Penzance.
615
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:59,360
Meanwhile, in America the song only
reached number nine in the charts.
616
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:02,560
Most people there didn't
know what to make of it.
617
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:04,480
There's a sense
with Bohemian Rhapsody,
618
00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:06,520
it's almost
the quintessential example
619
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:10,960
of the kind of thing that doesn't
exactly go over well in America.
620
00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:16,680
It may have captured the hearts
of the record-buying public,
621
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:20,040
but it had also captured
their imagination.
622
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,400
What on earth did it all mean?
623
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:26,240
"Is this the real life?
624
00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:28,280
"Is this just fantasy?
625
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:31,680
"Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
626
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:35,280
"Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
627
00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:38,040
"I'm just a poor boy
I need no sympathy
628
00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:41,760
"I'm easy come, easy go
A little high, a little low
629
00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,600
"Any way the wind blows
doesn't really matter to me."
630
00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:49,360
So does anybody know
what the lyrics are about?
631
00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:51,280
We went to Oxford University
632
00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:55,520
to ask some of the most brilliant
literary minds in the country.
633
00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:57,960
At the start, it says,
"Is this the real life?
634
00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:02,240
"Is this just fantasy?" Finding out
what the fantasy is about and means
635
00:41:02,240 --> 00:41:06,280
is one of the problems in
understanding the whole thing.
636
00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:10,400
The more you know about the
personality of who wrote it...
637
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,680
..a man, I think,
between cultures...
638
00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:16,800
..between, if you like, selves,
presiding over several selves
639
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:19,960
several kinds of sexual identities
and proclivities and habits,
640
00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:24,280
and also, Africa, India, London...
641
00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:27,480
It's a story that no matter how many
times you tell it to yourself,
642
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:30,600
you think, "What on earth
is it about?"
643
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:33,880
You can listen to it over and over.
644
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,760
It's like a sweet lady woman
because you try to fathom it...
645
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:39,160
But you'll never understand it.
646
00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:41,120
Yeah, and you'll never need
to understand it.
647
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:43,200
The bottom line is you love it.
648
00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:45,960
"Mama, just killed a man
649
00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:50,200
"Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead."
650
00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:52,520
Just killed a man? No, you haven't.
651
00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:55,000
Put a gun against his head? No.
652
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:59,920
What you've done is taken a nice
sounding rhyme from a Beatles song -
653
00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:04,280
"Got up outta bed
Dragged a comb across my head..."
654
00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:08,160
That's what you're doing.
You're inhabiting a world of,
655
00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:09,920
actually, in some ways, rather...
656
00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:15,160
I did read somewhere that you were
the only person that knew what
657
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,040
the song was about and you'd
carry that secret to the grave.
658
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:21,800
I read that as well! Not true?
659
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,200
Well...I know what it means.
660
00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:26,840
I don't think it's that difficult.
661
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:30,000
I think it's fairly
self-explanatory.
662
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,080
There's just a bit of nonsense
in the middle.
663
00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:36,160
"Too late, my time has come
664
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,080
"Sends shivers down my spine
665
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:41,720
"Body's aching all the time
Goodbye, everybody
666
00:42:41,720 --> 00:42:43,520
"I've got to go."
667
00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:49,560
Shivers, aching, all sorts of more
or less sexual sensations going on.
668
00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:56,080
Indeed, the structure of the lyrics
traces a kind of sexual rhythm.
669
00:42:56,080 --> 00:43:00,800
It ends up post-coitally,
not in some nihilistic position,
670
00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:05,720
but simply in a state of careless,
indifferent, post-coital exhaustion.
671
00:43:05,720 --> 00:43:07,400
"I see a little silhouetto of a man
672
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:09,760
"Scaramouch, Scaramouch
Will you do the fandango?
673
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,520
"Thunderbolt and lightning
Very, very frightening me
674
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:16,600
"Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo
Galileo, Figaro, magnifico
675
00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:19,200
"I'm just a poor boy
Nobody loves me..."
676
00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:24,440
"Scaramouch, Scaramouch.
Do the fandango." Brilliant words!
677
00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:27,640
Who'd use Scaramouch in a pop song?
678
00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:31,600
Galileo.
Renaissance scientist, astronomer.
679
00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:34,040
There's no reason for
Galileo to be here.
680
00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:38,120
Figaro - The Marriage Of Figaro,
perhaps. Mozart?
681
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:40,960
Magnifico - it's there because it
sounds like Figaro,
682
00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:43,040
which sounds like Galileo.
683
00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:45,760
"Mama, I killed a man." Wow!
684
00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:47,640
OK, I'm there. What happened?
685
00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:50,360
"Nothing happened! We all
went off singing nonsense!
686
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,360
"Scaramouch, can you do
the fandango?" No!
687
00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:55,840
"Easy come, easy go
Will you let me go?
688
00:43:55,840 --> 00:43:58,480
"Bismillah!
No, we will not let him go!
689
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:02,080
"Let him go! Bismillah!
We will not let him go! Let him go!
690
00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:04,120
"Bismillah! We will not let him go!
691
00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:06,680
"Let him go! Will not let you go!"
692
00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:11,080
Here you have a grab-bag of cultural
allusions that may link together.
693
00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:13,040
We can make them link together,
694
00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:16,000
but if we do, that says more
about us than the song.
695
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:18,240
I think so. It may be just sound.
696
00:44:18,240 --> 00:44:22,040
What would Freddie think of us
saying all this about his poem?
697
00:44:22,040 --> 00:44:23,440
He wouldn't mind. "Fuck off."
698
00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:25,720
He'd be absolutely delighted
that Oxford University
699
00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:27,520
are talking about it.
Fucking delighted!
700
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:40,120
Presenting A Night At The Opera,
ladies and gentlemen, this is Queen!
701
00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:41,680
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
702
00:44:44,240 --> 00:44:47,080
# We are what we are... #
703
00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:50,800
As the world pondered the meaning
behind Mercury's lyrics,
704
00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:54,360
Queen crowned their year with
their single and album at number one
705
00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:57,440
and a Christmas Eve concert
at London's Hammersmith Odeon.
706
00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:14,680
I just loved this band.
I thought they were terrific.
707
00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:16,280
They were fantastic live!
708
00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:18,320
They were amazing live!
709
00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:20,800
They could really play
and they were dynamic
710
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:22,960
and they had fabulous energy
on stage.
711
00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:25,160
# When you shook my hand... #
712
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,440
That fabulous year they had,
713
00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:35,240
culminating in the Whistle Test
special at Hammersmith Odeon.
714
00:45:35,240 --> 00:45:38,080
Again, this is celebration time.
715
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:48,240
Now we're gonna do a nice,
tasty little medley for you.
716
00:45:48,240 --> 00:45:50,640
Just like the one
we did the other day, yes.
717
00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:56,320
We'll start with a segment from
a number called Bohemian Rhapsody.
718
00:45:56,320 --> 00:45:57,720
CROWD CHEER
719
00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:05,760
# Mama... #
720
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:07,840
Bohemian Rhapsody
stayed at number one
721
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:11,640
until the end of January
the following year.
722
00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:14,640
It was to take an extraordinary song
from an extraordinary band
723
00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:17,120
to knock it off the top.
724
00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:18,800
# Mama mia
725
00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:20,480
# Here I go again
726
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:23,760
# My, my, how can I resist you?
727
00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:27,520
# Mama mia
Does it show again...? #
728
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:31,320
We never suspected we'd nudge Queen
off the top,
729
00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:34,640
but to release Mama Mia
was an obvious thing
730
00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:38,600
because it had been such
a big hit in other territories.
731
00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:42,120
The fact that the words "mama mia"
732
00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:45,360
are included in
Bohemian Rhapsody as well...
733
00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:48,720
..it's...just coincidence.
734
00:46:48,720 --> 00:46:52,080
# Just one look and
I can hear a bell ring... #
735
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:56,480
When I first heard
Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio,
736
00:46:56,480 --> 00:47:01,040
I thought it was pretty
phenomenal and fantastic.
737
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:03,960
I loved it from the word go
and so did Benny and the girls.
738
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:10,720
Bohemian Rhapsody went on to top
virtually every relevant poll
739
00:47:10,720 --> 00:47:13,160
and continues to do so to this day.
740
00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:15,360
Queen picked up
many other awards too.
741
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:17,600
Perhaps the most impressive
was this one -
742
00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:19,280
The Brits Special Award
743
00:47:19,280 --> 00:47:23,400
for an outstanding contribution
to British music, in 1990.
744
00:47:23,400 --> 00:47:25,360
Thank you, good night.
745
00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:29,280
The following year,
after Freddie Mercury's death,
746
00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:31,200
the single was released again.
747
00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,120
And guess what...
748
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:35,880
16 years later, it's number one
again, and here it is.
749
00:47:35,880 --> 00:47:39,000
This is Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody
at number one.
750
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,400
It sold an awful lot
around the world.
751
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:44,720
I think as much again
as it had done the first time.
752
00:47:44,720 --> 00:47:50,320
I suppose I'm not gonna
tell you I'm surprised.
753
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:53,360
It's a great track.
754
00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:57,640
I'm sure it will have another
lease of life in another few years!
755
00:47:57,640 --> 00:47:58,840
In America, though,
756
00:47:58,840 --> 00:48:01,360
it would take something other
than Freddie Mercury's death
757
00:48:01,360 --> 00:48:03,400
to send it to the top of the charts.
758
00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:05,720
Queen's career there had nosedived
759
00:48:05,720 --> 00:48:09,160
ever since they'd released a video
which Americans just didn't get.
760
00:48:12,520 --> 00:48:13,760
I remember Freddie saying,
761
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:18,840
"I suppose I'll have to fucking die
before we're big in America again."
762
00:48:18,840 --> 00:48:22,240
America had resisted from the days
of I Want To Break Free video,
763
00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:25,760
where we dressed up in drag,
which was unforgivable.
764
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:28,360
# I want to break free
765
00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:32,960
# I want to break free... #
766
00:48:35,200 --> 00:48:38,360
But America's love affair
with Queen was eventually rekindled
767
00:48:38,360 --> 00:48:42,200
and Bohemian Rhapsody became a hit
again thanks to Hollywood.
768
00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:44,160
Remember this?
769
00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:46,680
I think we'll go with a little
Bohemian Rhapsody, gentlemen.
770
00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:47,880
Good call!
771
00:48:47,880 --> 00:48:51,880
I think that scene in that movie
masculinised that song.
772
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:55,720
You know, I think it
made it OK for people.
773
00:48:55,720 --> 00:48:59,600
Even though the song was a hit the
first time, it wasn't a number one.
774
00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:05,760
But it became a much bigger deal
when Wayne and Garth made it OK.
775
00:49:05,760 --> 00:49:10,600
# Beelzebub has a devil
put aside for me-e-e... #
776
00:49:10,600 --> 00:49:14,600
I shot this thing probably
for a good ten hours.
777
00:49:14,600 --> 00:49:16,640
And did it over and over
and over again.
778
00:49:16,640 --> 00:49:18,360
# For me-e-e... #
779
00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:22,560
And all the perfect energy came
together at the perfect time.
780
00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:26,280
# For meeeee... #
781
00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:28,640
It's like we all got
struck by lightning.
782
00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:33,080
# Dun-dun-dun! #
783
00:49:33,080 --> 00:49:35,600
Great stuff, love it!
784
00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:37,600
I've been in that car, trust me,
785
00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:42,000
with a couple of mates of mine
in Sheffield, I have so been there!
786
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:43,040
It's classic!
787
00:49:45,040 --> 00:49:48,960
When the heavy bit kicks in
and their heads go up and down...
788
00:49:48,960 --> 00:49:50,960
..I nearly wet my pants.
789
00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:54,960
Mike was asking for aspirin
because his head hurt so bad!
790
00:49:57,600 --> 00:50:00,280
It's great hearing
your own tracks on the radio.
791
00:50:00,280 --> 00:50:03,000
If it happened and we were in the
Winnebago on tour or something,
792
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:05,320
and it came on the radio,
we'd all be head-banging to it,
793
00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:08,200
and just sort of enjoying
the moment.
794
00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:13,040
I guess Wayne's World were closer
to the mark than even they realised.
795
00:50:13,040 --> 00:50:17,520
Hello, everybody. Feeling good?
796
00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:21,160
Are you ready to rock?
797
00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:25,680
AUDIENCE CHEER
Ready to roll? OK, let's do it!
798
00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:28,760
Even today, Queen's music lives on.
799
00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:33,040
More than a million people have seen
the band's musical We Will Rock You.
800
00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:35,000
And the centrepiece of the show,
801
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:39,160
the one generations of Queen fans
want to hear more than any other...
802
00:50:39,160 --> 00:50:42,520
Why, do you really need to ask?!
803
00:50:42,520 --> 00:50:44,920
# Mama
804
00:50:44,920 --> 00:50:48,160
# Just killed a man... #
805
00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:50,760
I was four years old and it
was my mum's favourite song
806
00:50:50,760 --> 00:50:52,320
and I thought it was brilliant.
807
00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:54,320
# Held a gun against his head
808
00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:56,560
# Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
809
00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:58,760
# Mama
810
00:50:58,760 --> 00:51:02,520
# Life had just begun... #
811
00:51:02,520 --> 00:51:06,560
"But now I've gone and
thrown it all away, Mama, ooh."
812
00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:09,000
What can you say?! It's unique!
813
00:51:17,760 --> 00:51:19,000
I think it was probably...
814
00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:21,600
We wondered when it was going
to finish, didn't we? Yes!
815
00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:32,200
I was quite young, but I remember
the video. Very cool video!
816
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:35,920
# Sends shivers down my spine
817
00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:39,960
# Body's aching all the time... #
818
00:51:39,960 --> 00:51:42,960
Goodbye, everybody.
819
00:51:44,520 --> 00:51:47,080
I've got to go.
820
00:51:47,080 --> 00:51:53,000
# Got to leave you all behind
and face the truth... #
821
00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:57,440
What I remember is Wayne's World
and the two guys singing it in that
822
00:51:57,440 --> 00:51:59,240
and I'll always remember that.
823
00:51:59,240 --> 00:52:05,720
# Mama, oo-oo-ooh... #
824
00:52:05,720 --> 00:52:06,800
Brilliant!
825
00:52:06,800 --> 00:52:11,160
First time I heard it was on
the Live At Wembley video in '86.
826
00:52:11,160 --> 00:52:14,120
She was playing it and I walked in
and I was like, whoa!
827
00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:17,080
# I don't want to die
828
00:52:17,080 --> 00:52:21,680
# I sometimes wish
I'd never been born at all
829
00:52:53,320 --> 00:52:56,640
# Scaramouch, Scaramouch
Will you do the fandango?
830
00:52:58,040 --> 00:53:00,040
# Very, very frightening me
831
00:53:00,040 --> 00:53:01,720
# Galileo, Galileo
832
00:53:01,720 --> 00:53:03,240
# Galileo, Galileo
833
00:53:09,760 --> 00:53:12,880
# He's just a poor boy
from a poor family
834
00:53:12,880 --> 00:53:15,840
# Spare him his life
From this monstrosity... #
835
00:53:17,200 --> 00:53:20,400
"Easy come, easy go
Will you let me go?"
836
00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:23,360
# Bismillah! No!
We will not let you go...! #
837
00:53:23,360 --> 00:53:26,680
Let him go! # Bismillah!
We will not let you go... #
838
00:53:26,680 --> 00:53:29,520
Let him go! # Bismillah!
We will not let you go... #
839
00:53:29,520 --> 00:53:31,760
Let me go!
# Will not let you go... #
840
00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:33,440
Let me go.
# Will not let you go. Never!
841
00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:37,320
# Let me go-o-o-o-o-o! #
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
842
00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:40,400
# Oh, mama mia, mama mia... #
Mama mia, let me go
843
00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:44,120
# Beelzebub has a devil
put aside for me... #
844
00:53:57,920 --> 00:54:04,240
# So you think you can stone me
and spit in my eye?
845
00:54:04,240 --> 00:54:09,240
# So you think you can love me
and leave me to die? #
846
00:54:09,240 --> 00:54:10,600
I've had moments thinking,
847
00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:13,320
"Oh, God, I'll never get away
from Bohemian Rhapsody,"
848
00:54:13,320 --> 00:54:16,280
but when I hear the thing I still
smile and I still feel proud,
849
00:54:16,280 --> 00:54:17,720
and it doesn't really date.
850
00:54:17,720 --> 00:54:20,840
# Just gotta get
right outta here... #
851
00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:24,320
You can't guess that
something will grab the country,
852
00:54:24,320 --> 00:54:28,080
and eventually a lot of other
countries, as much as that did.
853
00:54:28,080 --> 00:54:33,520
We were surprised at
the longevity of the record...
854
00:54:33,520 --> 00:54:35,760
..but delighted,
855
00:54:35,760 --> 00:54:39,960
hence our infinite faith
in the taste of the public.
856
00:54:50,960 --> 00:54:55,280
And that's it. All you ever wanted
to know about Bohemian Rhapsody,
857
00:54:55,280 --> 00:54:59,880
and more, save for some choice
words from the man who wrote it.
858
00:54:59,880 --> 00:55:02,120
FREDDIE: As far as our music
is concerned,
859
00:55:02,120 --> 00:55:04,400
people should just listen
to it and discard it.
860
00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:07,720
That's what people do.
Wait for the next one.
861
00:55:07,720 --> 00:55:09,480
Bohemian Rhapsody always comes back,
862
00:55:09,480 --> 00:55:12,040
but, as far as I'm concerned,
all those days are over,
863
00:55:12,040 --> 00:55:15,120
that era's over,
that type of music is now over
864
00:55:15,120 --> 00:55:18,720
and I don't wish to even think
about it or write about it.
865
00:55:18,720 --> 00:55:23,840
# Nothing really matters
866
00:55:23,840 --> 00:55:30,680
# To-o-o-o meeeee
867
00:55:46,120 --> 00:55:50,840
# Any way the wind blo-o-o-ws. #
868
00:56:16,120 --> 00:56:19,120
That's it.
I don't know any more chords!
110784
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