EMI Said Six Minutes Was Too Long for Radio—Kenny Everett Played "Bohemian Rhapsody" 14 Times

In October 1975, Queen's record company said Bohemian Rhapsody was too long, too strange and would never get on the radio. So Freddie Mercury gave a tape to his friend Kenny Everett at Capital Radio, and made him promise, with a wink, never to play it. Kenny played it fourteen times in one weekend. The phones jammed. Record shops were besieged. EMI gave in, and the song went to number one for nine weeks. But the two men at the centre of that weekend would one day share something far heavier than a hit. But the moment people still talk about is how Kenny teased it before he played it. This story is a reminder that true friends know which promises to break. Where are you watching from? Tell us your city or country in the comments. Like, share and subscribe for more true stories about the legends of music. Based on Brian May's and Roger Taylor's accounts, published histories of Bohemian Rhapsody and contemporary press. Some scene details are reconstructed; quotations are from the record. #FreddieMercury #Queen #BohemianRhapsody #KennyEverett #CapitalRadio #MusicHistory #TrueStory #RockLegends #1975