The wisdom of Everett.

I saw Bohemian Rhapsody last night, the Freddie Mercury biopic. Pretty dismal – apart from Rami Malek’s electrifying portrayal of Freddie – but it reminded me of something I’d forgotten. When Bohemian Rhapsody was released, the BBC said it was too long, too complex to be a single and refused to play it. The British public, they said, wouldn’t get it. So Freddie took it to Kenny Everett at Capital Radio. Everett thought it was a masterpiece and played it repeatedly. Then other Capital DJs, notably Nicky Horne and Roger Scott, starting playing it too. The rest, thanks to Kenny Everett, is history. Bohemian Rhapsody’s hymn-like qualities make it a popular choice at funerals. Once, at Ruislip crematorium, Queen’s Greatest Hits was inserted into the CD player and on came Track 1 – Bohemian Rhapsody. Trouble was, nobody pressed Stop. It was like a sketch from a Kenny Everett show because Track 2 was this…..