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Queen Bohemian Rhapsody - Blue #200 UK 7" vinyl single (7 inch record / 45)
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| Tracklisting / Additional Info: |
1. Bohemian Rhapsody
2. I'm In Love With My Car
CONDITION
This record is in superb MINT condition with no spindle marks around centre to indicate any previous playing.
The glossy purple sleeve has gold lettering with white EMI Records lettering & logo and 1978 Export logo on the front. Along with the hand-written number on the reverse is the lettering 'dp delga press limited' along left hand flap and 'Printed in England' in bottom left hand corner.
The sleeve itself is in superb shape with just a couple of minor scuffs and a very slight crease in the top right hand corner but absolutely nothing of any serious note.
THIS IS NUMBER 200 OUT OF 200!!!
This copy has been taken from a private collection of an ex-EMI employee who obtained it from one of the guests at the luncheon where they were distributed (see below).
Hand numbered in black felt pen on back of the sleeve and on the 'A' side label (all copies were hand-numbered on the label, some on the a-sides and some on the b-sides).
The full colour 'Night At The Opera' crest labels are smooth & glossy apart from a 1" diameter around centre hole which is a rough matt finish and has the wording "Special Limited Edition" printed.
Machine stamped matrixes of "EMI2375A-3 Blair" & "EMI2375B-1".
BACKGROUND HISTORY
Released on October 31st 1975, 'Bo Rhap' entered the charts the following week at No. 47, climbing to No. 1 three weeks later, where it stayed for an incredible nine weeks, helped by a memorable innovative video.
Three years later, Queen had gone from strength to strength, creating stadium anthems such as 'We Are The Champions' and 'We will Rock You', but it was 'Bohemian Rhapsody' that was remembered when EMI was awarded the prestigious Queen's Award To Industry For Export Achievement. Beating off competition from thousands of other manufacturers, EMI's International Division won the title due to the massive increase in exports of records by British artists.
Justifiably proud, Paul Watts, then General Manager of EMI's International Division, decided to commemorate the award with the release of a special single. The choice of artist was easy.
The then current vogue for coloured vinyl seemed to the the ideal way to present this special edition of 200 copies: "We came up with the band's original colors - purple and gold, as on the 'Queen I' cover," Watts remembered. "These colors signified Queen in a way. We decided on a maroon and gold sleeve and a single in purple vinyl." But it wasn't to be: the project became a corporate event, with EMI Records Ltd (and not just EMI the label) getting in on the action. Paul Watt reluctantly relinquished control of the project to "the team upstairs", imploring them to "make sure you do it right!"
But as Watts had feared, there was a blunder: "Lo and behold, when the record came back from the factory, it wasn't purple at all, but blue! It was a cock-up, but as we only had 200, it wasn't worth changing it." At the EMI pressing plant in Hayes, Middlesex, Production Controller John Tagg had no idea that the vinyl should have been purple, and - acting on corporate directives - pressed the record in blue. "The blue granules were specially formulated for the project," he remembered.
Pressing the run of 200 blue vinyl singles from the usual minimum of 1,000 or 1,500 black vinyl records was no easy feat, with Tagg and his team having to isolate the special edition from the rest of their system. Getting a pure blue strain of vinyl was also time-consuming, and the Queen single took around three days to produce, costing an exorbitant £4 to £5 per copy, where the usual rate was 50p. To finish off the record, full-colour "Night At The Opera" crest labels were printed and each disc was hand numbered on the A-side and again on the back of the special purple-and-gold sleeve.
Although John Tagg claims that the record was "very much a limited edition" of only 200 and that all the materials associated with the pressing were destroyed afterwards, some unnumbered test pressings or end-of-run copies did slip out. These come with finished labels but no sleeves.
EMI's International Division was formally presented with the Queen's Award To Industry for Export Achievement at a three-hour luncheon in the Cotswold suite at London's Sellfridge Hotel on Wednesday, 26th July 1978. EMI directors and management were out in force, but Her Majesty was absent, sending instead the Vice Lord-Lieutenant Of Greater London, Admiral Sir Charles Madden as her representative. the group themselves were also noticeably absent, being holed up in Montreux, Switzerland, recording the "Jazz" album and holding a typically extravagant party for Roger Taylor's 29th birthday
The initial 10 copies of blue vinyl singles were framed and given to the members of Queen's entourage and EMI executives.
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| Condition : |
This item is in Excellent condition or better (unless it says otherwise in the above description). We buy items as close to Mint condition as possible and many will be unplayed and as close to new as you could hope to find. Irrespective of the source, all of our collectables meet our strict grading and are 100% guaranteed. Click here for more info. |
| Availability: |
Sold Out - 'Request Next' to get an email if it comes back into stock.
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| Year of Release: |
1978 - 46 years old |
| Artist: |
Queen (click here for complete listing) |
| Title: |
Bohemian Rhapsody (click here for more of the same title) |
| Postage/Shipping: |
Add item to your basket for a postage/shipping quote |
| Format: |
7" vinyl single (7 inch record / 45) |
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| Record Label: |
EMI |
| Catalogue No: |
EMI2375 |
| Country of Origin: |
UK
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| Language: |
Regardless of country of origin all tracks are sung in English, unless otherwise stated in our description. |
| Additional info: |
Deleted
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| EIL.COM Ref No |
QUE07BO423356 (quote this reference in any e-mails, letters, faxes or phone calls to help identify this item) |
| Genres: |
Rock
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| Related Artists: |
Anita Dobson, Bad News, Billy Squier, Brian May, Carmine Appice, Catherine Porter, Claire Sweeney, D-ROK, Darkness [Dance], Eddie Howell, Freddie Mercury, Heavy Pettin, Hilary Hilary, Ibex, John Deacon, Larry Lurex, Left-Handed Marriage, Minako Honda, Montserrat Caballe, Peter Straker, Roger Taylor, Smile, The Cross, The Immortals, The Others [1960S], The SAS Band, Tim Staffell, Wire Daisies |
| Complete Stock List: |
Queen |
| email: |
sales@eil.com to contact our sales team. |
| Alternative Names: |
None |
| To order by phone: |
Call +44 1474 815010 quoting EIL.COM reference number QUE07BO423356 |
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![](http://gb.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=423356&media=https://images.eil.com/large_image/QUEEN_BOHEMIAN%2BRHAPSODY%2B%2D%2BBLUE%2B%23200-423356.jpg&description=QUEEN Bohemian Rhapsody (1978 UK in-house limited edition BLUE
vinyl 7" specially pressed for luncheon commemorating EMI attaining
the 'Queen's Award To Industry For Export Achievement' in 1978, in
unique custom purple & gold presentation sleeve - Rare in its own
right, this is hand numbered 200 out of the 200 copies on both the
reverse of the sleeve and the A-side label! See 'additional info' for
further details on the condition and the background regarding this
legendary item!) )
