Handwritten notes by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury counsel that the legendary singer toyed with calling the band’s basic hit “Mongolian Rhapsody” relatively than “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The revelation comes as lots of Mercury’s former possessions are set to go up for public sale. Mary Austin, Freddie’s longtime buddy and companion, has determined to promote a number of of the gadgets she inherited from the Queen singer. Among them are early lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The notes had been hand-scribbled onto a notepad for British Midland Airways, an airline that started in 1964 and lasted till its acquisition by British Airways in 2012. Mercury seems to have been testing out varied lyrics for his tune thought. One web page options an assortment of phrases, together with “fandango,” “Figaro,” “thunderbolts and lighting” and “belladonna.”
Still, it is the phrase “Mongolian” crossed out and changed by “Bohemian” that has grabbed folks’s consideration. The New York Times spoke to a number of Queen historians who had by no means earlier than heard of the choice title. They additionally weren’t stunned.
Watch Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Video
Mark Blake, writer of Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen, famous the band typically “had joke titles for things.” Jim Jenkins, one in every of Queen’s official biographers, admitted he’d by no means heard of “Mongolian Rhapsody” however added that Mercury “never liked to explain” his lyrics or titles.
Released in 1975, “Bohemian Rhapsody” would grow to be one in every of Queen’s defining songs, a sprawling operatic monitor that is still one of the vital well-known in rock historical past. Unsurprisingly, Mercury’s early drafts of the tune are anticipated to fetch a excessive worth once they come to public sale in September. The notes are estimated to be value $1.5 million.
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A thread runs by means of all of it: a hard-won sense of individuality. Queen had been a band like no different.
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