Nearly half a century on from its initial release Bohemian Rhapsody remains one of the ultimate examples of an irresistibly head-banging electric guitar riff – not to mention a go-to sing-along song and a staple at parties, weddings and, not least, Queen sets. Yet Brian May says that after all these years, he still finds its iconic heavy riffs a challenge to play – and blames Freddie Mercury for their hand-aching complexity.
The six-minute cinematic whirlwind of a track, from the 1975 album, A Night at the Opera, was actually penned by Mercury on piano. However, transferring the riffs for its climatic hard rock section onto the guitar proved to be a harder process and resulted in a riff that May still struggles to wrap his fingers around today.
