Watch Some Cats Sing Queen-Inspired ‘Bohemian Catsody’
A new parody video featuring a quartet of cats singing a reimagined version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," complete with feline-inspired lyrics, has surfaced on YouTube.
You can see the video below.
The clip surely would have delighted the late Freddie Mercury, who was undoubtedly a cat person. In the early '70s, girlfriend Mary Austin gifted him a pair of cats, Tom and Jerry, who quickly became central characters in Mercury's life. The Queen singer would even check in with them while on the road.
“He’d get to a hotel, we’d dial through and he really would talk to his cats,” Peter Freestone, Mercury's personal assistant, wrote in his memoir, Mister Mercury. “Mary would hold Tom and Jerry in turn up to the receiver to listen to Freddie talking. This continued throughout the years with succeeding feline occupants of his houses.”
Several years later, Austin gifted Mercury another cat, Tiffany, and the cats kept rolling in. Seven more furry family members were added over the years: Oscar, Goliath, Lily, Miko, Dorothy, Delilah and Romeo. Mercury even dedicated his 1985 solo album Mr. Bad Guy to his companions, writing in the liner notes: “This album is dedicated to my cat Jerry — also Tom, Oscar and Tiffany and all the cat lovers across the universe — screw everybody else!”
Though 1975's "Bohemian Rhapsody," began as "basically a joke" according to producer Roy Baker, it's since become of the most recognizable songs in rock history. Three years ago, it reentered the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a third time following the success of the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. The song initially made it to No. 9 as the fourth single from A Night at the Opera and then made it to No. 2 in 1992 after appearing in the movie Wayne’s World.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a popular cover choice, too, and has been tackled by a spectrum of artists ranging from Kanye West to the English National Ballet. Other YouTube takes include toddler sing-alongs, trombone symphonies and more.
Mercury, who died in 1991, didn't live to see the song's phenomenal impact on pop culture and rock history, but he probably had an idea at the time of its creation that it was something special. “We were always pushing each other to try things," guitarist Brian May said earlier this year. "You know, one day Freddie had a big smile on his face when I came into the studio, and he popped a cassette into the player and said: ‘Listen to this, darling. This is going to surprise you.'"