6 killer Queen videos to watch to prepare for Bohemian Rhapsody
8th September 1976: British rock group Queen at Les Ambassadeurs, where they were presented with silver, gold and platinum discs for sales in excess of one million of their hit single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The band are, from left to right, John Deacon, Freddie Mercury (Frederick Bulsara, 1946 – 1991), Roger Taylor and Brian May. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
You may know the songs of Queen, but to prepare for Bohemian Rhapsody, there’s really no better way than to watch some music videos.
It’s hard to really escape Queen in pop culture. Sure, the band may not be as ubiquitous as, say, The Beatles, but while songs like “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You” play in sports stadiums and movies, other songs get more visual homages.
Through it all, Queen has had the kind of career that spans all sorts of genres. It’s our hope that Bohemian Rhapsody, the upcoming biopic, doesn’t skimp out on showing just how wide Queen’s range is.
That all being said, here’s our primer on the styles of Queen, as told through music videos:
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
How many parodies of this video are out in the world?
This would also be the “operatic section” that gets a reference in the trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody. Besides that, however, it’s a wonderful mix of live performance and a more standard music video that we’d expect today — especially with the overlaying of the faces to show how many times things were recorded and just how many voices are, at the end, producing this track.
“Killer Queen”
This song also gets a shout-out in the trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody — and it’s a really good look at Queen’s early’70s aesthetic. You can also see Freddie Mercury’s famous bottomless mic stand at this recorded performance from Top of the Pops. (If you look closely in the trailer, it appears as though this very moment and performance will appear in the movie itself.)
Also, the hair is great. This song is, in fact, great.
“I’m Going Slightly Mad”
If “Killer Queen” is part of Queen’s earlier days (although Sheer Heart Attack is the third Queen album overall), then “I’m Going Slightly Mad” is from the end of Freddie Mercury’s time with Queen — and towards the end of his life, as well, as this video dates from the year of his death, 1991. As you can see from fan comments on the video itself, you can already see the difference in Mercury’s appearance.