Bohemian Rhapsody

Factual error: In a scene in 1980, Brian May is teaching everyone the beat for his new song "We Will Rock You." However that song was released in 1977.

Factual error: We see Fat Bottomed Girls being performed in 1975 in the USA. The song wasn't played live for the first time until 1978.

Ssiscool

Factual error: During the Live Aid gig Roger Taylor uses a Tama Iron Cobra pedal on his bass drum which was not produced until the '90s.

Factual error: Just before Live Aid, Roger says Queen "haven't played together in years." In fact Queen wrapped up their Works world tour just two months before Live Aid took place.

Factual error: In one of the scenes at Freddie's house captioned London 1980, the song Superfreak by Rick James is playing in the background. This song wasn't released until 1981.

Ssiscool

Factual error: During the Live Aid concert, more specifically during "Hammer to Fall" the camera cuts to a shot of the crowd. One fan is seen wearing a Milwaukee Brewers hat, however the logo on the hat was not introduced until 2000.

Factual error: During the first concerts as "Smile" Roger Taylor uses a Sonor HiLite drum set, which was not produced until the '90s.

Factual error: They are shown in one scene singing as a group into the side of an RE-20 microphone. This microphone does not pick up sound from the side. It is an end address microphone.

Factual error: When showing the gold disks in the office of EMI, the camera pans over a copy of News Of The World. In this shot it is clear to see a Virgin Records logo on it, showing it's a reissue, not an original.

Ssiscool

Factual error: In the film, Freddie meets Brian and Roger after a gig. In actuality, the three were friends while in college, after which they shared a flat and Freddie and Roger worked together selling used clothing. Freddie was in another band but was a fan of Smile and his friend was the lead singer Tim. Freddie replaced Tim but John was never in Smile. He joined after the name changed to Queen. Also, when Freddie berates John about his electrical engineer education, that wasn't true. In fact, John Deacon invented the "Deacy" amp which Queen, to this day, still uses.

Factual error: In the scene with the host Kenny and Freddie at Capitol Radio. Kenny puts the record on a Technics 1200 Mk2. On November 21, 1975, "A Night at the Opera" was released. The single "Bohemian Rhapsody" on October 31, 1975, but the Technics 1200 Mk2 was released in summer 1978. (00:48:00 - 00:48:30)

Factual error: The drumkit Roger is using with Smile is a Sonor Hilite which was manufactured in the late 80s.

Factual error: During the Live Aid performance of Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek adjusts the knob on the piano with his right hand, but during the real Live Aid concert Freddie adjusts it with his left hand.

Factual error: In a scene in 1980, Brian May is teaching everyone the beat for his new song "We Will Rock You." However that song was released in 1977.

More mistakes in Bohemian Rhapsody
More quotes from Bohemian Rhapsody

Trivia: Adam Lambert has a cameo as the truck driver who looks at Freddy in the phone booth.

oswal13

More trivia for Bohemian Rhapsody

Question: What is the significance of the bar scene they keep cutting to during the live aid performance? It does not appear to be the same door that Freddie first played with Smile so I'm not sure the significance. Also, who is the blonde guy with glasses sitting next to Bob Geldof when Bob is asking for money? That's supposed to be someone famous?

Answer: It's not any specific bar, it's just a very common trope in this kind of movie to show everyday people in a bar/pub watching/responding to a massive televised event (cf. V for Vendetta). The guy sitting next to Bob Geldof is David Hepworth, who's not super famous; he's a British music journalist and was a co-presenter of Live Aid.

More questions & answers from Bohemian Rhapsody

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.