Queen
A Rare Blue Vinyl Pressing Of The Single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody / I’m In Love With My Car’, 1978
Lot Closed
September 12, 01:36 PM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
No. 108 from a limited edition of 200, the purple and gold record cover containing blue vinyl pressing with disc labels bearing the ‘Night At The Opera’ crest, the A-side label and back cover each inscribed 108 in black ink; together with purple and gold outer carrying envelope; and two commemorative wine glasses etched ‘EMI Records’ dated 1978.
Track Listing
A-side: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (EMI 2375 A-3)
B-side: ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ (EMI 2375 B-1)
Dimensions
Each EMI glass 6 1/2in (16.5cm) high
Provenance
Presented to a typist secretary at EMI Hayes, who attended the commemorative dinner at Selfridge’s in London, 26th July 1978.
By descent to the current owner.
This limited-edition blue vinyl single was commissioned by EMI to celebrate receiving the prestigious ‘Queen’s Award to Industry for export achievement' in 1978. The award was presented at a dinner at Selfridge’s in London on 26 July 1978, when the limited-edition single was given to guests along with other souvenirs including commemorative glasses, a scarf, a box of matches, and a pen.
The event was not attended by the band themselves as they were recording 'Jazz' in Montreux at the time. The first ten pressings were framed and given to the members of Queen, their key management and EMI executives. Freddie Mercury’s personal copy of this rare pressing (number 2 in the edition of 200) was sold at Sotheby’s during the Freddie Mercury: A World Of His Own auction series in September 2023.
Aside from the numbered limited edition of 200, a small number of test pressings and end-of-run copies are known to exist (without sleeves), but any pressings related to this limited edition rarely appear at auction.