Queen’s A Night at the Opera will receive a vinyl re-release later this year to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary.
The album, along with a single of Bohemian Rhapsody, will be released in October. A Night at the Opera on a crystal clear vinyl with gold labels will be released on October 17 (worldwide) and October 18 in the UK to coincide with National Album Day. A release of the Bohemian Rhapsody single will be released on October 31 in a transparent blue 7″ and 12″ variant. A picture disc and cassette edition will also be released. The album, which was originally released in November 1975, became Queen‘s first number one album, and the Bohemian Rhapsody single topped the charts for a record-breaking nine weeks.
Both reissues will be released on Universal worldwide, except in the US where they will be released through Hollywood Records. Queen guitarist Brian May said: “A Night at the Opera was a hugely important album for us. It opened up the world for us. We truly felt like we could try anything at that point, As songwriters, we were challenging each other and competing with each other in the best possible way.”
Drummer Roger Taylor added: “We were at the peak of our confidence. It felt like there wasn’t anything we couldn’t do, and it shows on that album. I always believed in Bohemian Rhapsody from the start. The first time Freddie [Mercury] played us his idea for it, I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is something special.’ And it was.”
May would go on to say the album marked a “watershed” moment for the band. He said: “It really was a watershed album for us. Thanks in a large part to Bohemian Rhapsody, people knew who we were – not just in the UK, but in America, Australia, everywhere.”
Taylor agreed, adding: “It’s such an eclectic album. It’s mad and it’s wonderful and it’s got a bit of everything in it.” Bohemian Rhapsody would top the charts once again in 1991 after Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s death.
The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004, and in 2022 was selected for preservation in the US Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. A film named after the single, starring Rami Malek, was released in 2018. A tracklist for A Night at the Opera can be found below.
- Death on Two Legs
- Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon
- I’m in Love With My Car
- You’re My Best Friend
- 39
- Sweet Lady
- Seaside Rendezvous
- The Prophet’s Song
- Love of My Life
- Good Company
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- God Save the Queen
A reissue from Universal Music in 2011 saw the release of a “long-lost” retake of Keep Yourself Alive and a different mix of Bohemian Rhapsody.
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