Queen Return to No.1 as the World Remembers Freddie Mercury

On this day, 21 December 1991

On this day in music history, Queen began a five-week run at No.1 on the UK Singles Chart with the double A-side “Bohemian Rhapsody / These Are the Days of Our Lives.”

The chart-topping return of their 1975 masterpiece came just weeks after the death of Freddie Mercury, who passed away on 24 November 1991 from complications related to AIDS. The re-release served both as a tribute and a reflection of the nation’s deep grief, with fans rushing to buy the single in staggering numbers.

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” originally released in 1975, had already made history as one of the most innovative and theatrical singles ever recorded spending nine weeks at No.1 and transforming Queen into global superstars. Its reappearance at the top of the charts in 1991 made it the first song in UK history to reach No.1 on two separate occasions for a total of more than fourteen weeks.

Paired with “These Are the Days of Our Lives,” the emotional ballad from the 1991 album Innuendo, the single carried even greater poignancy. The song’s music video filmed in May 1991 featured a visibly ill Freddie Mercury delivering the now-iconic final line: “I still love you.” This was the last video he ever recorded.

Walk Through London’s Queen History on my Rock & Roll Tour of Soho, we explore the places where Queen recorded, performed, and made history as one of the greatest British global rock exports selling in excess of 250 million records worldwide.

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