2. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
http://youtu.be/fJ9rUzIMcZQ Year: 1975 AND 1991 Weeks at No.1: Fourteen Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Instantly recognisable all around the world, Bohemian Rhapsody is simply one of the most famous and popular songs ever written. The song has a mix of everything: ballad, hard rock and opera, combining drastic changes to the tempo and style. The sombre lyrics contain fatalistic ideas of accidentally killing someone and seemingly seeking God for forgiveness. Any further context is generally kept a secret within the band: Mercury stated it is about relationships, Brian May suggesting it is personal to Mercury's emotional traumas and Roger Taylor explains the message is found at the beginning and end, with a lot of nonsense in the middle. Before release, executives told Queen that at 5:55 the song was too long and critical reaction was poor; it wouldn't be a hit. Queen went ahead with the release at the end of October anyway and it would break sales records, hitting number one for a massive nine weeks (including Christmas). Its second Christmas stay at top spot followed the death of singer Freddie Mercury in November 1991 as a result of bronchopneumonia, brought on by AIDS. The music video was one of the very first made, hailed as the launch of the 'MTV era', and made in just four hours at a cost of £4,500. To this day it is the third best-selling single of all time in the UK, and the first song to reach number one on two separate occasions.