Bohemian Rhapsody is Out

Image result for bohemian rhapsody
You can probably guess what this post will be about based on the picture and title of the blog itself, but the long-awaited Freddy Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody has recently been released. It is available via Blu-Ray and can be digitally watched.

I have not personally seen this video yet, but I will be watching it some time this week after which I will be able to write a review in a future blog post. In any case, let me quickly describe a BRIEF history of Queen.

Being that the movie is a biopic, it focuses on their career. Queen formed in London in 1970 and released their self-titled debut in 1972. They broke out in 1974 with their Sheer Heart Attack record featuring the breakout Killer Queen. They then followed with A Night at The Opera (1975), which features the same song as the title of this movie, A Day at The Races (1976), and News of The World (1977), which included one of their signature songs - We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions almost ALWAYS played together.

Queen's popularity took a dip in the late 70s, but they made themselves known again with their 1980 record The Game featuring another signature song - Another One Bites The Dust, and the ONLY song with Mercury on guitar Crazy LIttle Thing Called Love - a touch of rockability I must say. Other hits throughout the decade included their Bowie colab, Under Pressure (1982), and One Vision (1986) among others.

Mercury died as the result of AIDS in November of 1991. His 1992 tribute concert was in massive attendance and featured many prominent acts including the remaining three quarters of Queen themselves. The last ever Queen record featuring Mercury's vocals (i.e. the last songs recorded with him), was Made in Heaven (1995). Queen had since continued touring as Queen & Paul Rodgers (featuring Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company fame), and more recently with Adam Lambert (as Queen + Adam Lambert).

Please let me know your thoughts if you already watched the movie. I will be reviewing it later on this week.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Legacy of Davorin Popovich and Indexi

Image
In the former Yugoslavia, there were many successful artists, but one of the most important, and even overlooked sometimes, was a popular band called Indexi (The Indeces). They had an awesome lead singer. The late, great Davorin Popovich today is remembered for has raspy, tenor voice - to me, a bit comparable to Burton Cummings of The Guess Who fame. Over the years, he has earned various nicknames such as Dacho and Pimpek. They were the seeds for other bands. Formed back in 1962, Indexi set the stage for what is now known as the Sarajevo School of Pop Rock - a movement that would live for the next three decades (a la before the Yugoslav wars). Their name, by the way, is the plural of Index - a student's gradebook. Each student was expected to record and maintain their own grades. The core  members, aside from Popovich, consisted of late guitarist Slobodan Bodo Kavachevich and bass player Fadil Redzich (pronounce "dz," like "s" in "risotto)."
Read more

Jimmy Stokley and Exile

Image
  Although of minor significance, today is 35 years since we lostJimmy Stokley of Exile. A little known Kentucky band, Exile is perhaps only known for their 1978 hit Kiss You All Over . In the 80s, the band shifted to more of a country sound, and has not made any noteable chart hits since. A Jagger-like frontman Born James Carr Stokley on October 18, 1943, Stokley joined The Fascinations in 1963, who then became Jimmy Stokley and The Exiles, featuring future Exile guiarist J.P. Penington  Jimmy Stokley and The Exiles, were, towards the end of the decade, shortened to simply The Exiles, before the plural form was dropped in the mid 70s, becoming Exile. Interestingly, Stokley's attire and attitude on stage led to many calling him the American Mick Jagger. One hitters In 1978, Exile issued their LP Mixed Emotions  through Warner Bros. records. The record features the disco-ey hit Kiss You All Over , written by producer Mike Chapman (also notorious for working with Blondie). Despite co
Read more

Bijelo Dugme - Former Yugoslavia's Greatest Rock Band

Image
In today's blog post, we will examine perhaps one of the GREATEST rock bands of the former Yugoslavia. Bijelo Dugme (The White Button), which by sound is largely influenced by the heavy metal likes of Deep Purple, Zeppelin, and Sabbath; however in culture, they were most simillar to the Beatles. In fact, there was a Dugmeania in the former Yugoslavia in the late 70s akin to Beatlemania in the US in the 60s. The brainchild of the band was a young man named Goran Bregovich, aka Brega. He was born on 3, 22, 1950 in Sarajevo to a Serbian mother and a Croatian father. At some point, his mother enrolled him into a music school with violin as a chosen instrument, but around twelve he was expelled showing lack of interest. Consequently, his mother bought him a guitar in his early teenage years. Brega's first bands were high school bands. He played bass guitar for Beshtije (The Beasts). At a  br in 1969, Bregovich met Zeljko Bebek who was part of a band called Kodeksi (The Codexes)
Read more