Mama, just killed a man...

They say that familiarity breeds contempt and the maxim is most definitely true when applied to pop music. Such is the ubiquity of classic songs from the hit parade over the years, and such is the way that certain songs have cemented their place in the collective consciousness by constant rotation on radio, MTV, movies and now over the internet, that it is easy to forget that the reason why these songs achieve that end in the first place - namely that they are often simply slices of pop perfection.

Often, as for example with Motown classics, it is because they follow a winning formula, while sometimes it is the capturing of a cultural mood or historical moment that earns their immortality. Sometimes they are just damn catchy. Occasionally however it is because they completely rip up the rule book and recreate the musical landscape for ever more. On hearing Queen's 1975 single Bohemian Rhapsody, people of a certain generation will almost certianly think of the headbanging scene from Wayne's World. Others may think of Freddie Mercury's 1985 performance at Live Aid, or of the groundbreaking video that accompanied the song. Most people, however, will shrug and sing-along unthinkingly, the lyrics seared into their memory by forces unnoticed. Many may just ignore it. A lot will detest it. As I say familiarity often breeds contempt. But if one is to take a second to analyse the song, it soon becomes clear that it is simply one of the greatest pop records ever made.

Now I am not a Queen fan by any stretch, although I admire them as musicians and what they achieved as a band, but whether a fan or not there is surely no sane view from anyone who appreciates music other than that Bohemian Rhapsody is a quite startling and brilliant piece of work. There is no place here to dissect in detail this 6-part masterpiece, but when you do look beyond the obvious the pure genius comes through. One of the most moving ballad melodies of all time, a quite extraordinary guitar solo, lyrical overdubs the like of which were unseen before, and all tied up in a lyrical fantasy of poetic wonderment.

Couple that with the ground-breaking visual accompaniment and the fact that at 5 minutes 55 seconds it simply blew the notions of what a pop single could be out of the water, and you have a remarkable record. The album that spawned it, 1975's A Night At The Opera, is a bonafide classic, and influential beyond some measure. It marked the emergence of Queen as a true supergroup, complete with melodramatic pretensions and a stunning live show. Don't let familiarity, or a fear of head banging dissuade you. Listen closely and the rewards are palpable.