Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" Britain's Favorite Single of All Time

Aired May 09, 2002 - 05:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Talk about music, Chad,...

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... not weather.

MYERS: No, we were signing this already this morning.

COSTELLO: We were noshing like this.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: The votes are in and the -- and Queen, yes Queen, is Britain's favorite of all time.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: The group Queen.

MYERS: The Queen.

COSTELLO: Not the...

MYERS: Yes, the group Queen.

COSTELLO: ... Queen but the group Queen.

MYERS: Well.

COSTELLO: Yes, we're not talking that Royalty here, we're talking about the record.

MYERS: Correct.

COSTELLO: The epic rock song "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen has won the title of Britain's Favorite Single of All Time.

ITN reporter Nina Nannar has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(QUEEN SINGING) NINA NANNAR, ITN-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," written by the band's singer Freddie Mercury, twice a No. 1, and today named Britain's All-Time Favorite Single.

(QUEEN SINGING)

NANNAR: The epic topped a poll of a hundred voted by readers of the Guinness Book of Hit Singles. Today two of the band members recall the time 27 years ago when Freddie Mercury first brought them the song.

ROGER TAYLOR, QUEEN MEMBER: Well the first thing that struck me was the beauty of the immediate melody. You know, mama, I just killed a man, that's the verse, and I thought that's a wonderful verse. And then -- and he said no, you wait for this middle bit, you know.

(QUEEN SINGING)

NANNAR: The six-minute song was the clear winner in the poll.

(on camera): The poll organizers admit the voters are not your everyday members of the record buying public. They are -- in their own words -- "chance anoraks people who obsessively follow and buy the top 40." So they've come up with a few surprises.

(voice-over): This is the top five. Madonna's "Like a Prayer" is No. 5 and at 4 is Abba's "Dancing Queen." The Beatles are at 3 with "Hey Jude." John Lennon's "Imagine" is No. 2 with Queen beating the lot.

It's the Fab Four, though, who are the ultimate winners, 4 songs in the top 10 and the band that even Queen say they'd have had at No. 1.

Nina Nannar, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com