Overview
- Released on October 31, 1975 as the lead single from A Night at the Opera, the track spent nine weeks at No. 1 in the UK.
- Freddie Mercury conceived the song’s three-part design—ballad, operatic section, and hard‑rock climax—before stepping into the studio.
- Producer Roy Thomas Baker stacked nearly 200 overdubbed vocals by Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor, pushing 24‑track tape to the brink.
- Early radio doubts over its length gave way after DJ Kenny Everett played the full recording repeatedly, triggering intense listener demand.
- Brian May told the BBC he never tires of performing it, while its Live Aid spotlight, unresolved lyrics and later honors from the BBC and Rolling Stone cement its legacy.