This year marks the 50th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s epic Queen hit Bohemian Rhapsody.
Scorned by music critics upon its release, the six-minute classic has had 14 weeks at No 1 in the UK charts and is Britain’s third best-selling single of all time.
Now, a rare white label 7” vinyl test pressing of Bohemian Rhapsody has gone up for sale at the White Label Auction in Aid of The BRIT Trust, “the world’s only known auction of white label test pressings.”
Over 170 lots were put on sale to collectors around the world in aid of the BRIT Trust music charity, raising a total of £44,260.
Signed copies of Coldplay and Ed Sheeran albums sold for a few grand, but it was the rare Bohemian Rhapsody vinyl that sparked the fiercest bidding war. Donated by David Munns OBE, who worked on the original 1975 EMI campaign, the piece of music history sold for a whopping £8,800. A British buyer put in the top bid, with the total sum being £11,000 in total, after commission.
White Label Auction Co-Founder and organiser, Johnny Chandler, said: “Absolutely incredible result today, a reflection of our strongest line-up to date. A beautiful mix of new and established artists, current releases and future classics, legendary albums and that original 7” test pressing of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and bringing in the single biggest amount for a lot that we have ever seen in the White Label Auction to date.
“As always, my endless thanks to the many artists, managers and record labels who’ve supported the WLA again, and to those that bid so generously to help generate much-needed funding for The BRIT Trust. I’m indebted to the WLA team, Gennaro, Julian, Alexi and Sterling for their commitment and hard work and to Dan and all at Omega Auctions.”
Dan Muscatelli-Hampson, Omega Auctions Auction Manager added: “We were well pleased to achieve a record price paid for this fantastic Queen rarity, coming up just shy of the 50th anniversary of its original release date. The market for vinyl records is incredibly strong at present and we are so pleased that we are in a fortunate position to be able to work with The Brit Trust to support the amazing work that they do.”
Tony Wadsworth CBE, Chair of The BRIT Trust, said: “We are blown away by this amazing total and by the generosity of the artists, managers and labels that made it possible. It’s so wonderful that the White Label Auction has been able to tap into the value of items that might otherwise simply gather dust on shelves. Thanks to this auction, they can do so much more good, whether in helping The BRIT Trust to fund music therapists at Nordoff and Robbins, or in contributing to the special extra curricular activities that make The BRIT School the unique place of learning that it is.
“We are hugely grateful to the music community for coming together to support The BRIT Trust in this way, and we also extend our sincere thanks to Johnny Chandler and to the whole White Label Auction team for their brilliant efforts in pulling all this together – I know that a huge amount of work goes into it. Finally, I must personally thank our trustee David Munns OBE for so kindly donating the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ test pressing from his personal collection – the £8,800 it raised by itself will make a big difference to the important work that we do.”