Bohemian Rhapsody and My Closet Love of Queen

It is inevitable whenever a subject is thrust into the limelight that our own personal memories come to the fore. And naturally we want to share them.  As soon as I learned about the new movie Bohemian Rhapsody I searched for the trailer and watched part of an interview with Rami Malek.  I tried not to overdo my exposure- I didn’t watch the entire trailer or interview, just a short part of each… just enough.  Why?  Queen is why. I wanted to feel enraptured by them once again, I wanted to remember what it was like. And I wasn’t let down.

The brilliance of the band Queen- all the members, but of course the persona of Freddie Mercury, is unmatched.  Through my life I recall their music, their hits, their innovation- I stood in awe of them.  But quietly.  I was never an outright “fan”.  I- very unfortunately- never saw them live. I always stopped to listen if I heard a song playing, and honestly just felt an admiration for them that was incomparable really- especially Freddie- genius as he was.

Beyond that, Queen holds a very special place in my life. Growing up in a small cow town in Nevada, we had “both kinds of music”- country and western. Before the age of about 12 I only knew of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Glen Campbell, and so on.  Nothing wrong with that. But one day in 6th grade that all changed.  I heard Queen and discovered a new world.

News Of The World 8 track- still available 40 years later- on Ebay.

That day, that time, that exact moment is so distinct in my memory- probably one of the most distinct from that age. It was lunch time. I was in the school cafeteria eating lunch.  A fellow student- her name was Renee- walked in carrying something new to me, and probably new to most of the kids in the county. It was a portable tape player, playing an 8 track tape; it was 1978. The tape player was blue and plastic and had a convenient carrying handle on the top.

Still available in 2018 on Ebay- Panasonic Dynamite TNT Plunger 8 track tape player.

The music coming out of it was like none I had ever heard. It was Queen. I remember that feeling, like life had just changed, like some door had been opened up.  I remember hearing We Will Rock You…. They sure did.  And they haven’t stopped.