“We were at the peak of our confidence. It felt like there wasn’t anything we couldn’t do”: Queen’s A Night at the Opera and Bo Rhap to get 50th anniversary reissues in October

It’s coming up for half a century (blimey) since Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and its accompanying A Night At The Opera album, and so, as is this way with these things, both are getting a 50^th anniversary reissue this autumn.

Originally released in November 1975, the album is coming out again on crystal-clear vinyl with gold labels (gold, you see, for fifty). Bohemian Rhapsody, which spent nine weeks at Number One in 1975/1976 and then another five in 1991/1992 in the wake of Freddie Mercury’s death, is being reissued on transparent blue vinyl – in both 7 and 12 inch forms – and as an exclusive picture disc. There’s also a cassette, if you’re into such things.

A Night At The Opera was the first Queen record to top the UK album chart and show the full extent of the band’s range, from the hard rock of Death On Two Legs to the Kinks-like knees up of Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon to Brian May’s folk-influenced 39.

The album’s pièce de résistance, though, was undoubtedly Bohemian Rhapsody, which was quite unlike anything any pop fan had heard in 1975. Even the Beatles at their most audacious hadn’t ever attempted anything as outlandish as this six-minute-long multi-part single with an operatic section, layered harmonies and, oh yes, a gong.

“We truly felt like we could try anything at that point,” guitarist Brian May said in a statement. “As songwriters, we were challenging each other and competing with each other in the best possible way. It really was a watershed album for us. Thanks in a large part to Bohemian Rhapsody, people knew who we were – not just in the UK, but in America, Australia, everywhere.”

“We were at the peak of our confidence,” adds drummer Roger Taylor, “It felt like there wasn’t anything we couldn’t do, and it shows on that album. A Night At The Opera is such an eclectic album. It’s mad and it’s wonderful and it’s got a bit of everything in it.”

The 50^th anniversary package for A Night At The Opera comes out on October 18 in the UK, to coincide with National Album Day. Those outside the UK get it a day before, on October 17. Bohemian Rhapsody is being reissued two weeks later, on October 31.