Queen will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their fourth album, 1975's A Night At the Opera, and its signature song, "Bohemian Rhapsody," by reissuing both on vinyl.
And, in keeping with Queen's "regal" image, both reissues are quite opulent with A Night At the Opera coming out on October 17th on lavish crystal clear vinyl with gold labels, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" following on October 31st on transparent blue heavyweight 12” vinyl. It will also be available as a direct-to-consumer exclusive 12” picture disc and blue cassette single.
Commenting on the album, guitarist Brian May says, "A Night At the Opera was a hugely important album for us. It opened up the world for us... We truly felt like we could try anything at that point. As songwriters, we were challenging each other and competing with each other in the best possible way... Thanks in a large part to 'Bohemian Rhapsody', people knew who we were – not just in the UK, but in America, Australia, everywhere.”
And drummer Roger Taylor adds, "We were at the peak of our confidence. It felt like there wasn’t anything we couldn’t do, and it shows on that album... It’s such an eclectic album. It’s mad and it’s wonderful and it’s got a bit of everything in it.”
A Night At the Opera peaked at number-four on the Billboard 200 and has been certified three-times platinum for sales in excess of three million copies.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" climbed as high as number-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and the physical released has been certified platinum for sales of a million copies, while the digital release bumps it to over 10-million and Diamond status.
It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004, and in 2022 it was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
And, in addition to "Bohemian Rhapsody," A Night At the Opera also included "You're My Best Friend," "39," "I'm in Love With My Car," and "Love of My Life."
Check out the full post about it here from Queen's official Instagram page.
IN OTHER MUSIC NEWS.....
Geddy Lee is admittedly doing some "shameless book promotion" as he's posted a video on Instagram of him talking about his third book, 72 Stories, which is about his collection of baseball memorabilia.
72 Stories from the Collection of Geddy Lee, which was originally a limited-edition book given to those who bought items in his collection when he auctioned them in July 2024, will be published by HarperCollins on September 30th.
Lee's previous two books are the aforementioned Big Beautiful Book of Bass in 2018, and his 2023 memoir, My Effin' Life.