Planning: Takushi Kimura / Pinch Ichi yoko
Copywriter: Xiong Renkai
Video Production: Zhu Tiexiong / Pinch a horizontal
The four-academy-winning Queen biographical film "Bohemian Rhapsody" is scheduled to be released in domestic art theaters on March 22.
Before going to the cinema, pre/review: Why did this film achieve the highest box office result of a musical biopic in history – $860 million? How legendary and great is Queen?
Explain vol.2 | How great is Queen?"
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Queen was originally formed in London in 1970 when guitarist Brian May was a PhD in astrophysics at Imperial College, drummer Roger Taylor was studying dentist at the Royal College of Medicine in London, and lead singer Freddie Mercury was studying design at the Ealing College of Art. When bassist John Deacon joined in 1971, the Queen four-member lineup we know best was formed.
The band released their first self-titled album Queen in 1973 and their second album Queen II in March 1974, neither receiving much market response. It wasn't until September 1974 that Queen made a name for herself on the BBC's performance of Seven Seas Of Rhye, and in November the album Sheer Heart Attack was number one on the UK Pop Chart.
In November 1975, Queen released the album ANight at the Opera, which included classic tracks such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Love of My Life". As one of the most expensive records to produce in the UK at the time, the band creatively introduced stereo technology and classical music elements into the album, and the four's increasingly mature performance, singing ability and songwriting talents were also revealed.
At that time, London's most famous radio DJ Kenny Everett was a good friend of Freddie's, and with Kenny's help, CapitalLondon Radio frantically played the album's songs every day, and at most Bohemian Rhapsody was released 36 times a day. In addition to this, the band also produced the world's first commercial MV for the song, which was promoted using television.
The quality of the album itself coupled with overwhelming publicity led to the success of A Night at the Opera. The album finished fourth on the US Billboard Albums Chart and won the UK Pop Chart Albums Chart for four consecutive weeks, and Queen's career began.
In 1977, they created two sports events, "WeWill Rock You" and "We Are the Champions," the former of which was also used as the theme song for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. In 1980, they pioneered funk rock with Anther One Bites the Dust, which became Queen's best-selling single. Although the band was depressed for a while in the early 1980s for various reasons, their outstanding performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert brought them great fame. It wasn't until the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1991 that the band gradually reduced its activity.
With such a glorious career, Queen naturally set countless records in the history of music. Their albums are estimated to have sold between 170 million and 300 million, while the 1981 compilation of Greatest Hit sold 6 million, holding the uk record for domestic record sales. Even in the age of streaming, Queen's influence has not waned, and by the end of 2018, Bohemian Rhapsody was the most streamed song of the 20th century, with 1.6 billion views.
Queen has a basic soil for success, that is, the popularity of British rock around the world.
Intergenerationally, Queen is a generation that inherits the past. The first peak of British rock music came in the mid-1960s, when a series of British bands, represented by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who, revolutionized American rock music that originated in the United States, achieving great success around the world, and Americans even called the process the "British Invasion". Subsequently, British rock music further developed, taking the lead in heavy metal, avant-garde rock, psychedelic rock and other styles.
So when they first debuted in the '70s, Queen had a fertile ground for rock 'n' roll at their feet, and they did draw a lot of nourishment from it. At the time they were known as the combination of Led Zeppelin and Yes because they had both the heavy metal style of the former and the multi-segment arrangement of narrative poems, as well as the avant-garde rock and roll of the latter. But soon, they added elements of the mid-'70s to the songs, such as the glam rock that emerged.
In the 80s, Queen actively followed the new trends of disco and funk in the United States, creating songs such as "Another One Bites the Dust", which made great contributions to the formation and development of Pop music, Michael Jackson, Wham! George Michael says he's taken inspiration from it.
In today's business parlance, it can be said that this is a band that "goes with the flow".
But this fusion style was also once criticized by music critics as too "flattering". But there's no denying that this approach allowed Queen to play a major role in the transition from Rock to Pop in mainstream music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, earning them the title of "Rock Variety Hall".
Queen's legend also lies in lead singer Freddie Mercury's charisma, immigrant background and gay identity.
Freddie was also the first rock star to publicly admit to having AIDS and die of the disease, dying in 1991 at the age of 45. After his death, the other members of the band established the Anti-AIDS Trust in his name, which contributed greatly to the fight against AIDS, knowledge and stigmatization.
It is worth mentioning that "Bohemian Rhapsody" won the third place in 2018 with a box office of $76 million in South Korea and the first place in Japan with $100 million.
In the spring of 1975, Queen's pinnacle, A Night At The Opera, had not yet been released, and the band was arranged by their manager to expand into Japan. At that time, the Japanese were already generally exposed to Western pop music, but few musicians and bands came to perform in person, so Queen was warmly welcomed with the same specifications as the Beatles, and was also arranged to perform at budokan, the highest performance venue in Japan at that time, and tickets were sold out.
As a result, after queen's fame was further enhanced, this band had a unique position in the hearts of Japanese people, and became one of the most popular rock bands in Japanese pop culture. There are all terriers related to Queen in the "Strange Adventures of JOJO" and the movie "Don't Want to Be in Love".
For South Koreans, censorship was still very strict in the 1970s, many Western music was banned, and Queen's "Love of My Life" became the most popular Western song on the radio because it did not directly show resistance. In the democracy movement of the 1980s, songs as straightforward and simple as "We Will Rock You" became a favorite of young people. "We Are the Champions" was even once the closing music of restaurants and bars in South Korea when they were about to close. Therefore, Queen has a particularly high place in the hearts of that generation of Koreans. Bird Uncle Psy has said that Freddie Mercury is the musician who influenced him the most growing up
We weren't so lucky, and Queen's Chinese debut didn't come until 2016, more than 40 years after they were in the army. In addition, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was officially announced last week to be released in domestic art theaters, but according to the famous American entertainment media Hollywood Reporter, the film will be cut when it is released in China, and the scenes of Freddie Mercury kissing gay people in the film will not be on the Chinese big screen.