Following the release of Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody comes some huge Queen news. The 1975 single of the same name has become the most streamed song of the 20th century. Bohemian Rhapsody has topped previous record holder Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. No doubt the film’s box office success has sparked such a big achievement for the hit song.
As it stands the single is the only song by the same artist to be UK Christmas No 1 twice.
When first released in 1975, Bohemian Rhapsody remained top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks, selling over a million copies by the end of January the next year.
The song became No 1 again in late 1991 for a total of five weeks following Mercury’s death.
Also, Bohemian Rhapsody is the third best-selling single in the UK ever, have sold over 2.5 million copies.
But now Bohemian Rhapsody has been streamed over 1.6 billion times across streaming services from Youtube to Spotify.
In a statement, Queen guitarist Brian May said: “So the river of rock music has metamorphosed into streams! Very happy that our music is still flowing to the max!”
Lucian Grainge, CEO of Queen’s label Universal Music Group added: “[An] incredible achievement that is a testament to the enduring brilliance of Queen”.
As it stands Bohemian Rhapsody is 20-1 to be Christmas No 1 for third time.
