BO RHAP - BEST SINGLE OF ALL TIME
Guinness Book award from the people...
Queen's 1975 (and 1991) No.1 giant 'Bohemian Rhapsody' has been voted the
favourite single of all time in a poll to appear in the new Guinness World
Records book of BRITISH HIT SINGLES, published on May 24th. The book, which
commemorates 50 years of the UK Singles Chart and is widely considered to be the
Bible of all things singles-related, received over 31,000 individual votes from
its readers.
On May 8th, Brian May and Roger Taylor were presented with a special award to
recognise this fantastic achievement. Presenting the award, the editor of the
Guinness World Records BRITISH HIT SINGLES David Roberts said: "Queen is a
band whose achievements are legendary. No band, apart from The Beatles, has had
more Top 10 hit singles and they are the first group to top the charts twice
with the same single. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is also the biggest selling
non-charity
single of all time."
In the BRITISH HIT SINGLES book, Brian May, Queen's guitarist and songwriter
comments "The song was apparently so far ahead of any rival that even
months before the deadline, its position was unimpeachable. It has become a
classic phenomenon and one which no one will ever allow us to forget! Thank you,
people, for the memory."
The song continues to live on every night during the musical 'We Will Rock You'
at London's Dominion Theatre - an ensemble cast recreating all the harmonies to
stunning effect.
David Roberts, editor of the BRITISH HIT SINGLES book added: "It really was
miles ahead of the opposition but it is interesting looking down the list where
there is a good mixture of old and new - unlike many polls which seem to have an imbalance of hits from the last two years. Our readers (or chartologists as
we like to call them) voted across all six decades of the singles chart, making
it the most definitive top 100 ever."
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Pictured Left: Brian May and Roger Taylor accept the award from British Hit Singles editor David Roberts, an award they would thoughtfully present to Freddie Mercury's mother at a later date.
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www.queenonline.com
Mai 2002