When in 1975 the group decided to release Bohemian Rhapsody, everyone told them that such a long song - 5 min 55 sec - could not become a hit. But Freddy gave a copy of the record to his friend DJ Kenny Everett, warning that it was for him that he had no right to broadcast the song. But, of course, he did not obey and within two days scrolled it 14 times! Since then, the song began to be played on all large radio stations, broadcasting completely. It was a huge success, and thanks to him Queen appeared as a group of the century. The video for this single, shot by Bruce Gowers using the ideas of the group itself, is considered the beginning of a general video mess. The single stayed in 1st place in the UK for 9 weeks.
In November 1975, the album A Night At The Opera was released. At that time, recording an album was very expensive, but it was a huge success and brought the group a platinum award for the first time. Even for the first album, Freddy developed the band's logo, now for the cover of A Night At The Opera he improved it. So the famous Queen coat of arms appeared, based on the zodiac signs of its participants: two fairies symbolize Virgo, crab - Cancer, and two lions - two Lions. The release of the album was solemnly celebrated in the luxurious Opera Bar of the London Colosseum Theater
In January 1976, Freddy received another Ivor Novello Award for Bohemian Rhapsody. And in the same month, the group went on their third tour of America. During these tours, which lasted until the end of March, they traveled all over the country. Then they went on a direct flight to Japan, where they again received a stormy reception. By this time, all 4 Queen albums were in the top twenty of the British charts - a case still unheard of. After an extensive tour of Japan, they headed to Australia. They began their performances at the other end of the world in Perth, at the Entertainment Center.
They returned to the UK to begin work on their new album, A Day At The Races. Then the recordings were suspended, and the group went on a short tour around the country. Queen decided to thank her loyal fans, and on September 18, 1976, with their characteristic scope, they organized a grandiose free concert in London Hyde Park. Somewhere from 150-200 thousand people were present - a record for Queen at that time, and still an unsurpassed number of visitors to concerts in Hyde Park.
The album A Day At The Races was released in December 1976. As a promotion for this album, the group visited the races in Kempton Park, and in a special race sponsored by EMI, they, without saying a word, put on the same horse. And she won! 5 days before the release of the album, pre-orders for it exceeded half a million - EMI had never received such a quantity.
Four days passed in the new 1977, and Queen flew to America to rehearse for the upcoming tour of America. Throughout January, February, and most of March, they traveled around the United States and Canada. At the end of this tour, Roger decided to record his first solo single at his own expense. I Wanna Testify was released in August. In May 1977, Queen flew to Stockholm - from there began their tour throughout Europe. At a concert in London Earl's Court, the famous crown-shaped lighting system first appeared. She was 54 feet wide (16.5 m), 26 feet high (8 m) and weighed 5 thousand pounds (more than 2 tons).
In October 1977, members of the fan club were first invited to take part in video filming.
In the New London Theater, the video We Are The Champions was filmed. When the planned shootings were completed, the group remained on stage and, in gratitude to their famed hardworking fans, arranged an impromptu concert. In October 1977, the group received the Britain Award for Best Single, of course, it was Bohemian Rhapsody.
In October 1977, the album News Of The World was released. On the cover was a drawing by science-fiction artist Kelly Freeze. A similar drawing was originally seen by Roger and asked if the artist could slightly alter it so that it fits the cover of the album. Frieze readily agreed.
In November, they again went to the USA to rehearse for the upcoming tour. For the first time, their financial situation allowed them to hire a special charter plane for the duration of all the tours - now on the road, they felt much more comfortable.
Their second American tour of the year began on November 11th. All four returned to the UK just before Christmas to celebrate it with their families. By Christmas, the song We Will Rock You, which led the French hit parade for 12 whole weeks, was still driven from the first place. It did ... the song We Are The Champions!
To be continued in the next part https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5d6273f204af1f00aeac207e/a-brief-history-of-queen-part-3-5d91e433f73d9d00ae0a2095