50 Years Later: The Story Behind the Recording of Bohemian Rhapsody at Rockfield Studios

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Queen’s iconic song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ being recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales. In 1975, Queen had already found success with ‘Killer Queen’ and returned to the studio after a year. Kingsley Ward, co-founder of Rockfield, recalls that during their stay, the band was mostly relaxed and didn’t seem to be working much. However, when he spoke to guitarist Brian May, he learned that Freddie Mercury was composing a new song, which turned out to be the legendary ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ Ward first heard the full version of the song on the radio while driving, recalling how amazed he was by the final mix, which had been recorded in multiple sections. As part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations, May and drummer Roger Taylor performed the song at the Last Night of the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The song has also gone viral again, with a flash mob performance by French pianist Julien Cohen in Paris that has garnered over 11 million likes on Instagram. The recording of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at Rockfield remains one of the many musical milestones achieved at the studio, which has also hosted the likes of Oasis and Black Sabbath.