Queen Quiz: How much do you know about A Night At The Opera?

Queen in 1975, studio portrait — (Image credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Fifty years ago, Queen were literally conquering the charts.

That use of the word 'literally' may suggest hyperbole, but it's literally (there we go again) true. Roll back half a century, and Bohemian Rhapsody was enjoying a then-record nine-week stay at the top of the UK chart. It would also hit the top spot in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. The song literally tore up the rulebook. Well, not literally, but you know what we mean.

Queen didn't much care for rulebooks. Instead, they rebuilt rock music in their own flamboyant image. A Night At The Opera (1975) and A Day At The Races (1976) stand as the twin pillars of that imperial phase: ambitious, indulgent, gloriously over-the-top albums that proved rock could be theatrical, intelligent, demented, brave and silly. All at the same time.

The two albums found Queen stomping on the creative throttle. Bursting with confidence and freed from contractual shackles, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon treated the recording studio like a Disney playground and a Frankenstein lab. The results were kaleidoscopic: music hall pastiche rubbing shoulders with proto-metal, delicate acoustic confessionals sitting alongside the-royalties-are-still-rolling-in-half-a-century-later anthems. Oh, and Freddie Mercury could sing a bit.

Of course, A Night At The Opera will forever be tethered to what idiots these days refer to as "Bo Rap", the six-minute miracle that changed Queen's trajectory in addition to chart history. But to focus solely on that would miss the bigger picture. These albums reward the deep dive: the orchestration, the wit, the Red Special solos, the audacity of a band who had brains and bravado and chose both. Meanwhile, A Day At The Races lived in its predecessor’s shadow, but it was a fierce addition to the band’s already formidable attack.

This quiz invites you to step back into that golden era – to test your knowledge of the songs, the stories, the excess and the genius. No pressure. Just remember: Queen never did things by halves, and neither should you. In other words, don't cheat. Brian will know, and it'll make him grumpy.

Issue 346 of Classic Rock, in which Brian and Roger tell the story of A Night At The Opera, is available to buy online.

Artists

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.

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