For 50 years, Bohemian Rhapsody has been one of the world’s favourite rock songs.
Released on October 31, 1975, it has consistently featured at the top of ‘all-time greatest’ song lists, and sold more than 2.6 million records in the UK alone – twice reaching No1.
The six-minute track shot to the top of the charts and stayed there for nine weeks while Queen were out on tour.
Because the band were unable to perform it live in the studio, its first Top of the Pops appearance in November 1975 featured a made video that reportedly took just four hours to film on a £4,000 budget.
But behind the scenes, singer Freddie Mercury was reportedly terrified of performing the fan favourite live.
In a new interview, Peter Freestone, one of Freddie’s closest friends, revealed that the star almost caused a riot by once leaving it off their setlist.
For 50 years, Bohemian Rhapsody has been one of the world’s favourite rock songs (pictured Freddie Mercury)
Released on October 31, 1975, it has consistently featured at the top of ‘all-time greatest’ song lists, and sold more than 2.6 million records in the UK alone – twice reaching No1
He told The Sun: ‘He didn’t enjoy it live because there is a section when it is just the piano, which you couldn’t hide among banging drums and thrashing guitars.
‘Even some years after its release, he dreaded playing the piano solo in it.’
Peter explained that while the song’s video is iconic, it was actually filmed in a rush so it could be sent to Top Of The Pops while the band were out on tour.
For years, the song’s lyrics have sparked debate, with many speculating that they alluded to Freddie’s sexuality.
However, Peter said he doubts Freddie would have written something so open about such a personal subject, especially given how worried he was about his parents’ reaction.
He noted that homosexuality had only recently been decriminalised in the Sixties, and Freddie’s parents were deeply religious.
Instead, Peter believes the track is simply about love, explaining: ‘All his songs are either about finding it or losing it.’
It comes after Freddie’s alleged love child has said the late music legend would have hated his biopic Bohemian Rhapsody because it is ‘full of fabrication’.
But behind the scenes, singer Freddie Mercury was reportedly terrified of performing the fan favourite live (pictured with his best pal Peter Freestone)
In a new interview, Peter revealed that the star almost caused a riot by once leaving it off their setlist (pictured Freddie in 1985)
The Queen star’s alleged daughter, who is only identified as ‘B’, was revealed earlier this year by biographer Lesley-Ann Jones, who says Freddie secretly fathered a child during an affair in 1976.
She alleges the late singer kept in contact with his daughter and even gave her 17 volumes of detailed personal journals before his death in 1991.
The Sun reported that B says Freddie would have blocked the 2018 film about the band unless he had some input.
Speaking about lead actor Rami Malek, who played Freddie, she said he never smiled or looked happy, unlike her dad.
She is also upset with how his AIDS diagnosis was handled, accusing producers of factual inaccuracies surrounding the dates.
The woman told the publication she came forward as Freddie’s daughter only to correct ‘a movie that is full of fabrication’.
It comes after Freddie’s alleged love child has said the music legend would have hated his biopic Bohemian Rhapsody because it is ‘full of fabrication’ (pictured actor Rami Malek in the 2018 film)
She added: ‘Freddie would have been appalled by the movie. It would have made his hair stand on end. This film presents a version of him so far removed from the truth.’
Jones, who has written several books on Mercury, says the 48-year-old woman – identified only as ‘B’ – is the result of a fling between Mercury and the wife of a close friend – that she now has DNA evidence to back it up.
The biography, titled Love Of My Life, claims Freddie shared the secret with his bandmates before he died – and that the woman now lives in Europe with a family of her own.
In a handwritten letter included in the book, the woman writes: ‘Freddie Mercury was and is my father. We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life.
‘He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people’s standards, unusual and even outrageous. That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me.
‘Those who have been aware of my existence kept his greatest secret out of loyalty to Freddie.’
