![]() ![]() There seems to exist a perception that Freddie Mercury was an “out” gay man throughout his career. Queen’s presence on MTV paled in comparison to other major 1970s British bands and artists such as Robert Plant, Yes, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Elton John, and so on. I don’t remember seeing “Another One Bites the Dust” on MTV even though the song was a huge American radio hit. I can barely even remember any other Queen videos on MTV. So in America, “Bohemian Rhapsody” became more popular in the 1990s than it had been in the previous two decades. The video’s dated, cheesy charm perfectly matched Wayne and Garth’s heroic loser-retro personas. MTV heavily played a new music video combining the original video with goofy scenes from the movie, and somehow it worked perfectly. That movie completely revived the song and sent it to the top of the charts. “Bohemian Rhapsody’s” biggest American popularity came in the early 1990s because of Wayne’s World. It was very old MTV almost never played anything from the 1970s. ![]() Americans thus had much less opportunity to see “Bohemian Rhapsody” during the 1970s. ![]() TV shows featuring popular music in the United States, such as American Bandstand, Soul Train, Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert, Solid Gold, or Midnight Special emphasized live performance or dancing, and most never played any music videos. In the 1970s, not very many American television shows played music videos, certainly not compared to Britain. But “Bohemian Rhapsody” didn’t play as much in the US compared to the UK. It played heavily on British television throughout the mid-late 1970s, influencing the first wave of MTV video directors. It was one of the first conceptual videos with a lot of special effects, not just a straight performance clip. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is, without a doubt, one of the most important music videos ever made. “I Want to Break Free” and “Radio Gaga” probably had more airplay than of any of their other videos, including the pioneering “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Queen had only a limited presence on MTV in the 1980s. Watching these videos made me queasy and paralyzed with fear. “I Want to Break Free” includes a raunchy homoerotic modern dance sequence, while “Radio Gaga” includes a terrifying scene of wartime destruction. Every shot of Mercury’s hairy chest, every queer innuendo reminded me that I will die of AIDS if I’m gay. Watching them today, they wrench me back to 1985 and dump me back into the shame, paranoia, and terror I felt at the possibility that I was gay, and, because of that possibility, that I would die of AIDS. Back in 1985, these videos forced me to confront something about myself that I was absolutely not prepared to confront. I have a very strong emotional reaction to these videos. ![]()
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