Fifty years after Queen completed recording "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Rockfield Studios, co-founder Kingsley Ward has recalled how Freddie Mercury began composing the song during a week-long stay in the Welsh countryside.
Ward, who and his brother Charles established Rockfield in the 1960s, said the band first visited in 1974 and returned in 1975 after the success of "Killer Queen." While the group had been at the studio for a week and "hadn't done much," Ward told BBC Radio Wales, he saw guitarist Brian May playing frisbee outside and was told Mercury was inside "writing something." Ward approached the piano and heard what was then a new tune with the working title "Freddie's Thing." "I had no idea… but it was Bohemian Rhapsody," he said.
Ward said the song, which blends ballad, operatic and hard rock elements, was recorded in three separate sections at Rockfield and left the studio as distinct parts. He did not hear the assembled track until he heard it on the radio while driving on the M4 motorway and was "amazed" at the result. "I remember that particular solo because it was so outstanding," Ward said of Mercury's vocal performance.
To mark the anniversary, Brian May and Roger Taylor joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Last Night of the Proms finale this week to perform the song. The recording’s renewed visibility has also been driven by a viral flash mob in Paris organised by pianist Julien Cohen, in which about 30 musicians assembled in a street performance that received more than 11 million likes on Instagram.
Guitarist Olly Pearson, from Wrexham, said he took part in the Paris performance and handled an energetic rendition of May's solo. "It was just so amazing – I don't even have words for it," he said. Pearson said he was nervous before the performance but that "the adrenaline kicked in," and described playing the song as a point of pride. Ward praised Pearson's contribution, calling his solo "fantastic" and "brilliant."
Rockfield occupies a notable place in British rock history. Kingsley and Charles Ward set up the studio after being turned down for a recording opportunity by producer George Martin. The rural complex later hosted a string of major acts, including Oasis, and served as an early recording base for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath in 1970. Osbourne has spoken of Rockfield's freedom to play at high volume, saying "No-one would allow us to play as loud as that. The roof tiles were rattling."
Ward recounted that even after the Queen sessions, he had not heard the three parts combined until the record was broadcast. He praised the song's continued resonance half a century on and welcomed the way new performances, from the Proms to the Paris flash mob, have kept the track in the public ear.
Pearson said his long-term aspiration is to perform in a "big band" at Wembley Stadium and suggested he would welcome the opportunity to play alongside May. Ward endorsed the idea, calling May "such a nice person" and suggesting he "would be interested."
The story of "Bohemian Rhapsody"—a song that fused multiple genres and production techniques—remains tied to the practical and creative freedoms Rockfield offered. Ward’s recollections, and the continuing public celebrations, underline the song’s status as a landmark recording in British rock and its continuing cultural impact five decades after its completion.