Give me ten songs to make you understand Bohemian Rhapsody.
1905 movie network news As of press time, the global box office has reached 870 million US dollars (about 5.9 billion yuan), successfully ranked sixth in the global box office list in 2018, becoming the highest-grossing biopic in history.
This Friday, the film was officially released in the mainland. Although it was screened by the National Art Federation, it still attracted a lot of money. It won more than 10 million box office with 5.8% of the films on the first day, which set a new record for the single-day box office of Art Federation films. It will greatly exceed the box office record of 64.99 million Art Federation.
The box office is not everything, but it definitely proves that Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury are unshakable in the hearts of world fans.
The film focuses on Queen’s musical journey from formal military service to Live Aid concert in 1985 in 135 minutes, and shows a legendary and multifaceted soul lead singer Freddie Mercury.
On the one hand, the film has spared no expense to restore many superb scenes in Queen, especially the Live Aid performance at the end, which has gone down in history, so that countless people who failed to attend the scene have the opportunity to be infinitely close to the legend.
On the other hand, the director also explores Freddy’s inner world with gentle brushwork, showing the loneliness, fragility, confusion and struggle behind his highlights to the audience, and creating a vivid rock hero image.
In 21 years, Queen has released 15 studio albums and created countless rock songs. Queen’s classics and legends are far from being carried by a movie. Let Xiao Dianjun take you to know the Queen that you may be familiar with and unfamiliar with in ten songs.
— — A few interesting things before listening to music — —
Queen was founded in London in 1970, with four members — — Lead singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer roger taylor and bassist John Deacon (formally joined in 1971).
The band’s predecessor was Bryan May and roger taylor’s Smile Band. Because the former lead singer ran away, Freddy was able to join and proposed that the band be renamed "Queen". The quartet performed for the first time on July 2, 1971.
Queen，1970
The band logo is designed by Freddy, an art student, and is a combination of four member constellations. Among them are two lions (roger taylor and John Deacon), a cancer (Brian May) and two fairies symbolizing his own Virgo.
Whether Queen is the greatest rock band is still inconclusive, but it is definitely one of the bands with the highest academic qualifications. Brian May, the academic record holder, not only looks like Newton, but also is a real doctor of astrophysics in Imperial College London.
In 2007, Brian May officially graduated. It has been 37 years since he first started studying PhD in 1970 (he dropped out of school to study music in 1974 and continued studying in 2006). At present, he is the honorary president of John Moores University in Liverpool, and he also has an asteroid named "52665 Brianmay".
Brian May’s graduation photo and Graduation Thesis
Roger taylor has a bachelor’s degree in biology (getting tired of studying dentistry and switching to biology), Deakin has a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering, and Freddy has a bachelor’s degree in art and graphic design.
Queen has the longest-lived fan base in the world, and the "official support club" has been established for 40 years and is still recruiting new fans.
— — Time to listen to songs — —
【My Fairy King】
My fairy king
(1973)
Mother Mercury
Look what they’ve done to me
Macquarie’s mother
Look what they did to me.
This song is included in Queen’s debut album Queen. This song "My Fairy King" has a beautiful and complicated style, and you can see the shadow of the golden song Bohemian Rhapsody in a few minutes.
This is also the first time that Freddy’s "Utopia" appeared. It is a country ruled by King Rhye and an important part of Freddy’s music and spiritual world. It has appeared in songs such as Seven Seas of Rhye and Lily of the Valley.
Freddie Mercury (1973)
Among them, the most important lyric is "Mother Mercury". It was at this time that Freddy decided to change his name from the original Indian style Farrokh Bulsara to Freddie Mercury.
Freddy was born in Tanzania to Parsi parents in India. At the age of 17, he immigrated to Britain with his family to escape the war.
Freddy as a child
In the film, Freddy’s name change seems to stem from his inferiority complex about his immigration status, but it is also said that he changed his name to distinguish his stage personality from his true self. On the stage, Freddy is the king full of expressive desire, while off the stage, he is just a simple and introverted ordinary person. Mercury also means "Mercury". Mercury is the dominant star of Virgo in Freddy constellation.
Freddy and his family
In reality, Freddy had seriously consulted his mother about the name change, and her mother fully understood him: "As long as you still love and respect me, there will be no problem." In reality, the relationship between Freddy and his parents is also more cordial and harmonious than in the movie.
【Bohemian Rhapsody】
Bohemian Rhapsody
(1975)
I don’t want to die
I don’t want to die.
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all
Sometimes I wish I had never existed.
Queen’s deification is also one of the most popular works. The song has a long duration of nearly 6 minutes, and is divided into four distinct parts. It combines various musical styles such as opera, heavy metal, gorgeous rock and cantata, and is full of violent stream of consciousness and nightmarish psychedelic colors.
The recording process of this song lasted for three weeks, and the vocal part of the song was recorded and spliced by 180 tracks, so that after the recording was completed, the magnetic powder on the master tape was almost transparent in some places.
Once the song was released, it quickly topped the British charts and won the championship for nine weeks. Forty-three years later, in December 2018, Bohemian Rhapsody officially became the most played single in the 20th century, with more than 1.6 billion downloads in the world through formal channels.
The MV recorded by members for songs is also full of avant-garde colors.
Many of the lyrics, such as "Easy Come/Easy Go" and "Nothing really matters to me", seem to imply Freddy’s attitude towards life and death.
【Love of My Life】
My love
(1975)
love of my life can’t you see
My love, don’t you understand?
bring it back bring it back
Come back, come back.
don’t take it away from me
Don’t leave me.
Love of my life is one of the few lyric rock songs in Queen, and it is a love song written by lead singer Freddie Mercury for her lover Mary Austin, at that time.
As shown in the movie, in 1970, Freddy and Mary met and fell in love when they were young. Mary has been his strong backing and spiritual pillar all the way. Although their relationship didn’t go to the end, in Freddy’s mind, Mary will always be his closest family and the only "wife".
Mary and Freddy in Reality
The song sings all the helplessness and pain for the lover to leave, and it is the love of many fans. The chorus in many concerts has become a classic scene in history.
Mary and Freddie in the movie
"Love of my life" is not necessarily a lover, but a relative of a beloved friend. After Freddy’s death, guitarist Brian May sang this song to the late Freddy many times in concerts. In 2008, he also dedicated this song to his mother who had just died.
【We Will Rock You & We Are the Champions】
(1978)
We will, we will rock you
We are the champions, my friend
We will keep on fighting through the end.
Undoubtedly, these are two of Queen’s most popular songs.
We Will Rock You was written by Brian May, and was inspired by a performance of the band in Bentley Hall. From the opening to the curtain call, the audience was singing passionately, and the scene was extremely hot. When the band left, the audience spontaneously sang You’ll Never Walk Alone.
In 1976, Queen held a free concert in Hyde Park, and the audience reached 150,000.
Brian May was inspired immediately: What can the audience do in a crowded concert? Nothing more than stamping, clapping and singing. So, he wrote these sound effects of clapping and stamping into the song and created this interactive "We Will Rock You".
Queen’s scene is always interactive.
Under the same concept of "participation", Freddy wrote another golden song "We Are the Champions" in the same period. At first glance, the title and lyrics of this song sound full of conceit and arrogance, but it just shows Queen’s attitude of giving up everything.
Taylor responded to the reporter’s question that the lyrics were too proud and conceited.
These two golden songs, like twin brothers, are always tied together to play and perform. They are the fixed ending tracks of Queen concerts and have been borrowed by countless sports and even political occasions.
Freddie Mercury once commented on himself in 1985: "I must capture everyone’s heart, otherwise this song is not a good one. It’s my duty to impress everyone. Football fans sing this song because it is a hymn to the winner. "
Next page: "The Show Must Go On" is a constant performance.