Shane McDonald Facebook pixel
Bohemian Rhapsody Piano Tutorials

Bohemian Rhapsody Piano Tutorials

by | May 29, 2023 | Shanes Queen Site

All 3 sections of the song Bohemian Rhapsody have been broken down and are now available as piano tutorials on my YouTube channel. If you want to know How to Play Bohemian Rhapsody then you can visit the Shane’s Queen Site YouTube channel and review and learn all 3 sections of this classic song. The Bohemian Rhapsody Piano Tutorial videos have 2 parts ; the first part has a slowed down fully explained walkthrough the song and then in the second part there is a full cover with the chords of Bohemian Rhapsody displayed on screen so that you can play along.

Bohemian Rhapsody Tutorial Section 1 (Intro Section)

This is everything from the start of the song, through the guitar solo and ends at the start of the opera section.

Tutorial Section 2 (Opera Section)

This is the iconic Opera Section of Bohemian Rhapsody and is a tricky section to master as there are a number of chords that occur in quick succession with no real logic as to their appearance. This section ends at the start of the hard rock section.

Tutorial Section 3 (Rock Section)

This is everything from the rock section to the end of the song. Not a particularly tough section to master, the hardest part of this section is the Bb bass run which occurs in the left hand and can be tricky to get right … even for the seasoned player.

If you have any questions about How to Play Bohemian Rhapsody on Piano please do drop a comment on this post.

Don’t forget to vote for which Piano Tutorial you want to see next…   <— Click here to Vote!

I will be doing more piano tutorials in the coming months but I do hope that you enjoy the Bohemian Rhapsody Piano Tutorials. Don’t forget the Bohemian Rhapsody Chords are available on the Chords & Tab section of this website if you just want to review the music.

Brian May apparently in talks for Bohemian Rhapsody Movie sequel

Brian May apparently in talks for Bohemian Rhapsody Movie sequel

by | Mar 5, 2023 | Interesting Queen Items

According to recent media reports, Queen guitarist Brian May seems to be looking at a sequel to the Queen Biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Brian was quoted as having said, “there’s plenty more mileage in the band’s story“. Brian also hinted at the fact that he wants the same actors, including Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, and Joe Mazzello as John Deacon, to reprise their roles in this sequel, calling the actors ‘phenomenal’ in their roles. Brian went on to say “It’s so tempting to do the sequel – it would be worth it just to work with those boys again.“

So what would a Bohemian Rhapsody Movie Sequel look like?

The Bohemian Rhapsody Sequel would continue from where the first movie left off, that being the amazing success of Live Aid.

The following are 10 key Queen milestones which occurred after Live Aid;

  • The recording of the ‘Kind of Magic’ Album.
  • Freddie recording the Barcelona album with Monseratt Carballe
  • Some of Freddie’s other solo releases such as The Great Pretender
  • Freddie’s AIDs diagnosis
  • The recording of ‘The Miracle’ album in 1989.
  • Brian May’s Dads death and his marriage break-up.
  • The recording of the  last Queen album ‘Innuendo’
  • Freddie Mercury’s death
  • The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
  • The recording of ‘Made in Heaven’ using Freddie’s vocals from 1991.

There are many other options for Bohemian Rhapsody 2   … but will it ever happen?

The Public Opinion

In a poll that I ran on Twitter last year, asking if people wanted to see a sequel to the Bohemian Rhapsody Movie, 83% of those who responded said No.

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think about Brian’s plans for a movie sequel to Bohemian Rhapsody.

If you wish to read more about this topic, please take a look at this post on the same topic from last year; Are Brian May & Roger Taylor planning a Sequel, Bohemian Rhapsody 2?

 

We Will Rock You Returns to London

We Will Rock You Returns to London

by | Dec 6, 2022 | Interesting Queen Items, Queen Related Events

The We Will Rock You (London show) returns to the West End, 21 years after it first exploded onto the theatre scene in London, The now world-side smash show by Queen and Ben Elton returns to London in 2023 for a strictly limited 12-week run at the London Coliseum, St Martin’s Ln, London. The London Coliseum is the very same venue that saw Freddie Mercury’s Royal Ballet gala performance back in 1979.

The We Will Rock You musical features 24 of Queen’s greatest hits and has a really well-written script. I myself saw the We Will Rock You London show when it was back in the Dominion Theatre, which also saw the huge Freddie Mercury statue on top of the Dominion entrance. That statue was later commandeered by Roger and he placed it in his back garden – I wonder if Roger will give it back for this limited run. Apparently, Brian May and Roger Taylor are delighted that the We Will Rock you show will soon be returning and entertaining London fans once again.

Brian May said: “I’m thrilled we finally have this opportunity to put We Will Rock You back on stage in London, where it was born. The show’s original message of the fight to re-establish individuality in a dystopian corporate world is even more relevant now than when we began. It will be a completely new production that will burst onto the prestigious London Coliseum stage – but the story, the humour, and of course the Queen music, will hit you harder than ever. We WILL Rock You – again!!”

We Will Rock You was first premiered at London’s Dominion Theatre in 2002. Since then, ‘We Will Rock You’ London was seen by 6 million people over 4,600 performances during an amazing 12-year run. We Will Rock you became one of the most successful musicals in West End history and ended up achieving the status of the longest-runner at the Dominion Theatre by a margin of 9 years. The We Will Rock You Musical went on to play to a global audience of 20 million across 28 different countries.

‘We Will Rock You’ tells the story of a globalized future without musical instruments. A handful of rock rebels, the Bohemians, fight against the all-powerful Globalsoft company and its boss, the Killer Queen; they fight for freedom, individuality and the rebirth of the age of rock. Scaramouche and Galileo, two young outsiders, cannot come to terms with the bleak conformist reality. They join the Bohemians and embark on the search to find the unlimited power of freedom, love and rock!

‘We Will Rock You’ is produced by Phil McIntyre Live Ltd, Queen Theatrical Productions and Tribeca Theatrical Productions.

For more information on the We Will Rock you return to London visit the official website at www.wewillrockyoulondon.co.uk or try their Twitter handle @WWRYMusical and Instagram at @WWRYMusical.

If you have any comments on the We Will Rock You return to London please leave them below.

One of the best shows I’ve seen in yonks. An evening of sheer entertainment and enjoyment
Daily Mirror

Freddie Mercury – 5th September 1946 – 24th November 1991

Freddie Mercury – 5th September 1946 – 24th November 1991

by | Nov 23, 2022 | Freddie Mercury News

Freddie Mercury died November 24th 1991 – Anniversary of his passing

On this day in 1991, 24th November,  Freddie Mercury died at his home in Logan Place, London.

Freddie Mercury died and the world lost its best Rock Front-man. 

31 Years on we still Remember Freddie … Freddie Mercury – Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs: 5th September 1946 – 24th November 1991

Please feel free to leave your comments or Tributes below…

 

About Freddie Mercury

Farrokh Bulsara was born on Thursday, 5th of September 1946 on small African spice island of Zanzibar, to parents Bomi and Jer Bulsara. His early school years were spent away from the family as he attended a boarding school in Bombay. Freddie’s father Bomi, was a British diplomat, so they were often moving from one location to another. In 1954, aged only 8 years, Freddie started to attend British College School, St. Peter’s in Panchgan. At this time his schoolmates started to call him by the more English name of Freddie. The school was typically British and in sports Freddie was very strong in boxing and in table tennis, winning many trophies and medals. Freddie also loved art and music and showed great talent in both areas; playing the piano and performing in school shows and also joining the school choir. Freddie, with the encouragement of the headmaster of the school, did piano lessons and applied himself to them very well achieving Grade IV in both practical and theory. In 1958, five friends at St Peter’s School formed a rock’n’roll outfit called ‘The Hectics’ – the members were Freddie Bulsara, Bruce Murray, Derrick Branche, Victory Rana and Farang Irani (Freddie was the piano player in the band). They played at school parties, at annual events and school dances.

Read Full Freddie Mercury article

Did Freddie Mercury sing a TV Theme Tune in the Great Pretender?

Did Freddie Mercury sing a TV Theme Tune in the Great Pretender?

by | Nov 12, 2022 | Freddie Mercury News, Queen Fun

Is Freddie Mercury Singing the Coronation Street Theme Tune in the Great Pretender?

I was recently listening to the version of The Great Pretender which Freddie Mercury covered back in 1987. About halfway through Freddie does a few vocal gymnastics and I just thought it sounded familiar. I realized it and decided to highlight it in this post and video.

Is Freddie Mercury Singing the Coronation Street Theme Tune in the Great Pretender? During the song, The Great Pretender, which Freddie Mercury covered in 1987, there is a section of his vocal gymnastics in the middle of the song which sounds like the theme from Coronation Street. Don’t forget that the music video for I Want to Break Free was actually a parody of Coronation Street. The video was actually banned in the USA, mainly because they did not know that this was a parody, and instead they just thought that Queen were just dressing in drag for the sake of it. At that stage, unfortunately, Queen lost the USA and as it turned out, the last time Queen played in the USA was in September 1982.

So What do you think – Did Freddie sing the theme tune to Coronation Street in The Great Pretender?
Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts… The video can be viewed directly at https://youtu.be/eq_gyGs8oNI or you can watch it embedded by scrolling down within this post.

If you like this video where I explore “If Freddie Mercury is Singing the Coronation Street Theme Tune in the Great Pretender?” please do leave a comment below or on the original YouTube video and also don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the Shane’s Queen Site YouTube channel for more videos like this, by clicking this link – https://www.youtube.com/c/ShanesQueenSite?sub_confirmation=1

If you want the Great Pretender piano chords <— click here!

Face it Alone being released this week

Face it Alone being released this week

by | Oct 11, 2022 | Freddie Mercury News, Interesting Queen Items, Queen Discography, Queen Related Events

Face it Alone, an Unreleased Freddie Mercury Song is released on October 13th

Queen are releasing a new song featuring legendary frontman Freddie Mercury called “Face It Alone” later this week. The song itself has been called, “a little gem from Freddie … which we kind of forgotten about … wonderful … a real discover”. The song was actually recorded during the sessions from the album, The Miracle, released in 1989.

Originally the song was due for release in September and the date was pushed back to October 13th. Apparently, the first play of the song will be on Ken Bruce’s programme on BBC2 at 11:15am on Thursday 13th October.

Brian May added, “It was kind of hiding in plain sight. We looked at it many times and thought, ‘Oh no, we can’t really rescue that.’ But in fact, we went in there again and our wonderful engineering team went, ‘Okay, we can do this and this.’ It’s like kind of stitching bits together. Brian made a final comment stating that “it’s beautiful. It’s touching.”

At the moment Billboards can be seen around London displaying the song’s name and date. I have also seen shots from Japan with the title in Japanese – it seems Queen are very proud of this release. The Hashtag #FaceItAlone has been ranking very well amongst UK audiences on Instagram and Twitter.

The band has been really teasing the release of this new Queen single with a series of huge billboards all around the world with the text “Queen – Face It Alone” and it also includes a picture of Freddie Mercury in one of his iconic poses and a QR code. The signs first appeared in London and have since been spotted in countries such as Canada, Mexico, Japan, and many more.

The Track, Face it Alone will be released on Thursday 13th October at 11:15hrs BST / 6:15 ET / 3/15 PT … for those who have the initial listen, please leave a comment below on what you think of the track.

Face it Along - Queen Song released October 13th 2022
Face it Alone Billboards

Images on Queen’s Official Instagram account of the Billboards for Face It Alone from all around the globe…

Lyrics for Face it Alone
Face it Alone - Piano Chords

Don’t forget to bookmark this site which has Queen News, Queen chords and my How to Play Queen Videos.

My Next Performances with Celebrating Queen

My Next Performances with Celebrating Queen

by | Sep 14, 2022 | Shanes Queen Site

I’m delighted to be traveling again to meet up with the Celebrating Queen band. The following are the dates in the next few months where the Celebrating Queen band are going to be performing and below I have outlined my Next Performances with Celebrating Queen.

Murphy Maize Days Festival on Saturday September 24th 2022.

We will be headlinging the 13th annual Murphy Maize Days Festival which is held in Murphy, located midway between Plano and Wylie and event is a FREE festival open to all. So if you are a Queen fan in Dallas we would love to see you there. If you are coming to the Murphy Maize Days festival please leave a comment below and I hope to see you there.

The location of the festival is Murphy Central which is at 550 N. Murphy Road Murphy, TX 75094). You can join the festivities from midday to 9:45pm. Our band, Celebrating Queen goes on stage around 8pm so don’t miss 90 minutes of Queen hits ! There will also be other live music all day, great food from local restaurants and caterers, drinks, market vendors, a wonderful fun kid zone, and much more!

To find out more about the festival, the schedule and what to expect you can visit the official Maize Days Festival website for more information. The website has information on how to get there, parking, vendors and much more – visit https://maizedays.com/schedule/ for full details.

Miami-Dade Parks’ Love-In at Greynolds Park, Miami on October 16th.

After Texas in September I will be high-tailing it to Florida to perform at the Greynolds Park Love-in. This festival is steeped in music history and as far as I know The Grateful Dead apparently played in this park at a similar festival on April 14, 1968. This festival is a real excuse to step back in time to the ‘60s, ’70s and ‘80s with a full day of great food, fun attractions, tasty food and of course live concerts and that of course includes ourselves. We are honored to be headlining at the Love-In this year and it’s the first time I’ve had 2 headlinging events in the same year.

If you are going to the Love-in at Greynolds Park Miami, or the Murphy Maize Days Festival above please leave a comment below and perhaps I might see you at one my Next Performances with Celebrating Queen.

Murphy Maize Days Festival, Murphy, Texas
Queen to Play Concert Queen Jubilee at Platinum Party at the Palace

Queen to Play Concert Queen Jubilee at Platinum Party at the Palace

by | May 19, 2022 | General Queen News


Queen on the Line-up for the Platinum Party at the Palace

Queen have been given the honour of opening the Platinum Party at the Palace which celebrates the Queen’s 70th year as Monarch.

Queen will open the Platinum Party at the Palace and Diana Ross will close the proceedings. It is going to be an amazing evening of entertainment and I’m just sorry that I’m not in London on this date as it should be a great concert. Other stars involved in the Queen’s 70th year celebration include Alicia Keys, Duran Duran, Sam Ryder, Sir Rod Stewart, Hans Zimmer, Celeste, Sir Elton John, Ella Eyre, Craig David, Mabel, Elbow, Andrea Bocelli, Mimi Webb, Sam Ryder, Jax Jones, Celeste, Nile Rodgers, Sigala and more.

The BBC and Buckingham Palace unveiled this amazing group of performers from the world’s of music and dance for the Platinum Party at the Palace concert, which takes place on Saturday June 4th at Buckingham Palace. This concert will be performed live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Radio 2 – all acts performing their biggest hits in a star-studded tribute to Her Majesty’s unprecedented anniversary.

Other Stars from the stage, sport and screen will be appearing at the event and on film will include Sir David Attenborough, Emma Raducanu, David Beckham, Stephen Fry, Dame Julie Andrews, The Royal Ballet, Ellie Simmonds, and a specially recorded performance from Sir Elton John. Sam Ryder, the United Kingdom’s Eurovision hero, will also perform live, fresh from his success in Italy.

The evening will also have special guest appearance by Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda plus performances featuring casts and special guests from The Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, Six, The Lion King and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Queen + Adam Lambert will open the concert with a very special one-off spectacular production, which will no doubt summon memories of Brian May’s historic appearance on the Palace roof at the Golden Jubilee Concert back in 2002.

The show is going to be 2hours 30 mins in length, so I’m not sure how long Queen will actually get based on the number of performers on the bill – however there are 3 stages so this probably explains it. The legend that is Diana Ross will clse the show, with her first UK live performance in fifteen years.

The concert will be hosted by Roman Kemp and Kirsty Young and the concert is expected to have 22,000 people inattendance with 10,000 tickets allocated in a public ballot and over 7,500 tickets for key workers, members of the Armed Forces, volunteers, and charities.

Speaking for Queen + Adam Lambert, Brian May said; “Twenty years after playing The Queen’s glorious Golden Jubilee we’re very happy to be invited again. Then there was a moment when I wondered … after Buckingham Palace roof where can you go? Well … you will see!!!”

Further details and additional artists will be confirmed closer to the event – with some surprises left for the evening itself.

Queen perform at Platinum Party at the Palace
Are Brian May & Roger Taylor planning a Sequel, Bohemian Rhapsody 2?

Are Brian May & Roger Taylor planning a Sequel, Bohemian Rhapsody 2?

by | Feb 13, 2022 | General Queen News

Will there be a Bohemian Rhapsody Sequel?

Over the last few days I have seen many facebook posts and online articles stating that Brian may and Rogert Taylor are planning a Bohemian Rhapsody Sequel.

According to what I saw online, Brian May seems somewhat open to the possibility of a Sequel fo Bohemian Rhapsody. He was quoted to saying that it would take a lot of inspiration in order to create Bohemian Rhapsody 2.

The original Bohemian Rhapsody movie was released with a lot of varying viewpoints and reviews. Some people loved it and some hated it. Overall the movie got over $1 Billion in takings when you combine box office takings, sreaming and DVD/BluRay sales. I’m sure it’s a lot more when you consider all the merchandise which was sold. The biopic even won 4 Academy Awards (Oscars) and won best Picture at the Golden Globes.

What could a Bohemian Rhapsody Sequel involve?

As we all know Freddie died from AIDS on Sunday November 24th 1991, and the story would for sure include this harrowing storyline.

The Bohemian Rhapsody movie released in 2018, portrayed the history of the band Queen and it’s members from the early 70s, up until 1985 and the famous Live Aid concert. If there was to be a Bohemian Rhapsody Sequel the story would have to pick-up from Live Aid and show parts of the Queen story which would include the Magic Tour in 1986, the Miracle Album, Freddies diagnosis of being HIV positive, The Barcelon Album, The Innuendo, Freddies Death in 1991 and perhaps even the story of how Made in Heaven came to be.

I’m not sure that Roger and Brian would want to replay the death of their friend Freddie, and this is just one sticking point I have about why a Sequel to Bohemian Rhapsody will probably never happen – and if it does happen I doubt it will have the same box office success as the first. Freddie went through a lot in his final weeks and he kept his illness to himself. I’m not sure Queen fans will want to see such a depiction. Also, considering the first film took over 10 years from conception to release, how long will it take to generate good ideas for a new script and then film, edit and release a new movie.

The other question is, Do Queen Fans Want a Bohemian Rhaopsody 2?

In a brief Twitter Poll which I ran, 83% of 71 respondants said that they did NOT want to see a Bohemian Rhapsody Sequel.

Although Brian is more open to a sequel, he did say that they were open to the iodea but they haven’t made any progress. I doubt this will make any progress any time soon – unless someone writes an astronomical script.

What do you think? Should there be a Bohemian Rhapsody 2?

Please leave a comment below and let everyone know your thoughts on a second Bohemian Rhapsody movie. What do you think of ths idea? And if you are in favour of a second Queen movie, what main storylines would you like to see explored in such a script?

Queen, the Most Played Rock Band Around the World

Queen, the Most Played Rock Band Around the World

by | Feb 6, 2022 | Interesting Queen Items

Queen, the Most Played Rock Band Around the World

A recent article by Martin Kielty wrote about how Queen are officially the Most Played Rock Band on Radio Around the World. Martin’s article used data analytics service Viberate to create the report. It also stated that Queen are the fourth most-played artist across all genres. So this means Rock and for that matter Queen are definitely resonating with a new generation of fans.

The analysis also looked at relevant music and social media channels, industry trends, audio streams, video streams, etc. According to the report, Rock is the 4th biggest genre on Spotify and the 2nd biggest genre on radio.

I personally think that this success is partly due to the excellent job that Queen do with things like social media, fan specials, Queen events such as the pop up shops. Plus, the interaction of band members Brian May and Roger Taylor on social media helps connect with new fans. Imagine what Freddie would think of this.

Over the past year I have even seen a 25% increase in website traffic, in particular around the Bohemian Rhapsody song/movie and also the area of Queen Tribute Bands. Queen are definitely in popular culture. The success of the Oscar Winning Bohemian Rhapsody movie, the Queen and Adam Lambert tours, The QueenPod and Recovering Queen podcasts and also some recent book publications, keeps Queen in constant view. The generation who grew up on Queen are now finding Streaming services and interacting with Queen on social media for themselves. Plus, new generations of music fans are finding the Queen back catalogue for themselves. Queen look like they will be around forever… There can be only One.

If you would like to read the amazing article in all its glory, please click the link below.

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/queen-most-played-radio-rock-band/?trackback=twitter_mobile
Queen Are Most-Played Rock Band on Radio Around the World by Kielty

Celebrating Queen Tribute Live at the OYO Hotel and Casino Las Vegas - Book Now