Sunday, 31 May 2009

Queen - 'Bohemian Rhapsody'

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is in the style of a stream-of-consciousness nightmare that has unusual song structure, especially for popular music. The song has no chorus, instead consisting of seemingly disjointed sections including operatic segments, an a cappella passage, and a heavy rock solo.

When it was released as a single, "Bohemian Rhapsody" became an unlikely commercial success, staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks. It has become one of the UK's best ever selling singles (with sales of 2,176,000), bettered only by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Elton John's "Candle In The Wind 1997".

The single was accompanied by a promotional video; considered groundbreaking, it helped establish the visual language of the modern music video. Although critical reaction was initially mixed, especially in America, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is often considered to be Queen's magnum opus and one of their all-time greatest songs. In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Bohemian Rhapsody" at number 163 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

You can read more about Bohemian Rhapsoday here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_rhapsody

Saturday, 30 May 2009

Queen - 'Save Me' (Live At The Bowl)

Queen perform 'Save Me' live. Taken from 'Queen On Fire: Live at the Bowl'.

Queen + Paul Rogers: Live In Ukraine

When it comes to taking on logic-defying challenges, Queen have never fought shy: think Hyde Park, Latin America, Live. Here’s the case in point: just weeks ahead of the start of the band’s 2008 Queen + Paul Rodgers' The Cosmos Rocks tour the band were approached to help Ukraine’s AntiAids Foundation reach out to the youth of the country with the message 'Don’t Let Aids Ruin Your Life'. Despite the difficulties involved, Queen + Paul Rodgers made it to Freedom Square for the night of September 12, 2008. Over 350,000 Ukrainians came to see them play and more than 10million homes watched the show live on television. In all, more than 20 million took part in what the band recall as "an unforgettable experience... one of those rare things in life you know you will never forget. A meeting in Music, but also a coming together to fight a common enemy..."