# The 1975 number one song that terrified Queen’s record label

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-1975-number-one-song-that-terrified-queens-record-label/
- Published: 2026-07-28T08:11:22+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-28T18:36:18+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1975-number-one-queen-song-that-was-almost-never-released/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- EMI feared "Bohemian Rhapsody" was too long and odd to succeed.
- Queen insisted on releasing it unedited despite label concerns.
- DJ Kenny Everett's airplay helped it top the UK charts.

## Summary

The article revisits the story of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", released in 1975, which reportedly alarmed EMI Records before it became one of the band's biggest hits. Executives at the label were said to be nervous about releasing the track as a single because of its unconventional structure and near six-minute length, far exceeding what radio stations typically played at the time, fearing it would flop commercially.

Despite the label's reluctance, Freddie Mercury and the rest of Queen pushed for the song to be released unedited, and it was radio DJ Kenny Everett's repeated plays of an advance copy that helped build public demand and force EMI's hand. "Bohemian Rhapsody" went on to top the UK singles chart for nine weeks in late 1975, becoming Queen's signature song and later returning to number one in 1991 following Mercury's death.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.