Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Named Most-Streamed Song From 20th Century

By Jem Aswad

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Universal Music Group today announced that “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the iconic single by British rock legends Queen, officially became the world’s most-streamed song from the 20th Century, as well as the most-streamed Classic Rock song of all time. Today (Dec. 10), the original song and official video for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” taken from the group’s 1975 album “A Night at the Opera,” surpassed 1.6 billion streams globally across all major streaming services.

Playing no small role in this feat is the feature film of the same name , a biopic of the group and lead singer Freddie Mercury, which is one of the top films of 2018.

Brian May, ’s guitarist and founding member said, “So the River of Rock Music has metamorphosed into streams! Very happy that our music is still flowing to the max!”

Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of , said, “’Bohemian Rhapsody’ is one the greatest songs by one of the greatest bands in history. We are so proud to represent Queen and are thrilled to see the song still inspiring new fans around the world more than four decades after its release.  My congratulations to Queen and [longtime manager] Jim Beach on an incredible achievement that is a testament to the enduring brilliance of Queen.”

UMG represents Queen’s iconic catalog globally outside North America, as well as providing support to the band across global merchandise, retail licensing and brand management through Bravado, UMG’s brand-management and merchandise company.

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY & QUEEN IN NUMBERS (provided by UMG)

-The track was first released as a single on October 31, 1975

-“Bohemian Rhapsody” was Queen’s first Top 10 hit in the US. In the UK it went to #1 for 9 consecutive weeks, a record at the time.

-“Bohemian Rhapsody” is the only song in history ever to have topped the U.K. charts twice at Christmas.

-The video for “Bohemian Rhapsody” is generally recognized as the first promotional music video ever aired, and was based on the group’s “Queen II” album cover, the photo for which was taken by Mick Rock. It was directed by Bruce Gowers and was shot in 3 hours for a cost of £3,500 at the time at the band’s rehearsal space.

-“Bohemian Rhapsody” has been covered by many artists over the years, including Pink, Kanye West, Robbie Williams, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Montserrat Caballe, The Muppets and Elton John & Axl Rose (for the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in April 1992).

-Queen have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide