with a name like Z S, have you not seen Space Oddity, Life on Mars?
Promos were around in the 60's witness Rain, Paperback Writer, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Subterranean Homesick Blues et all.
The promo film clip was an old idea even in 1975.
Imagine, the song, was released in 1971. The single (and its video) were in 1975, but still it was almost a month before Bo Rhap.
More examples: Abba's Waterloo & Ring Ring, Queen's Keep Yourself Alive & Liar
Why then do they make such a big deal about their video being the first?
When I told my dad about it, he shrugged and said, music videos have been around for a while, although they were mainly shown in cinemas...
Is that so? I thought this was a similar situation like "Killer Queen". They could not perform due to busy schedule so they taped and added a few creative inputs.
It is said that it was (one of) the first that was actually shot on videotape. And perhaps more important it was the first one that got real attention as being a "videoclip". Mostly the promofilms were the band singing their song, just in one setting or somewhere in a field or something. Bohemian Rhapsody was a mixture of live footage and footage shot according a storyboard. In those days this clip was very innovative. Perhaps it isn't really the first videoclip (though I want to think of it as being the first one), but it is acknowledged as THE first videoclip.
Something completely different but to explain my view, Chubby Checker did not invent the Twist, he saw children or people singing on the streets while they made movements with their feet as if they were putting out sigarettes. He used that in his performance and it was called The Twist. So he is seen as the first one that did that...
So all twisters are secret smokers ... good to know.
Yeah, I guess it is the creative use of different shots of the four guys and the coming to life of the Queen II cover.
deleted user 22.11.2004 19:06
It wasn't the first, but it sure did revolutionize the whole concept of music videos.
I think it's utterly impossible to credit an entire revolution just to one video. It's like when George Harrison said they invented MTV with Paperback Writer & Rain. Same overrating point. Almost as ridiculous as saying Thriller wouldn't exist without Hot Space, or saying Beatles are responsible for the declination of the USSR
I agree, though it has been said that the video for Bohemian Rhapsody pioneered the video age. Before then, it was just standing in front of a camera performing a song. Now it's performing the song, doing other actions, interacting with people or scenery, etc.
Queen's video for Bohemian Rhapsody definitely changed the video world, but I don't think it is to be credited as the first music video.
deleted user 23.11.2004 14:30
The thing about the BR-vid is the huge wave of public attention it got. If the BR-vid was pioneering (and I agree with all those who said that there had been plenty of promo films before), it was because it was a first glimps of the importance that video-clips should gain later on. Maybe you can say that it was the first promo vid to really make a difference in terms of really contributing to the success of a song (no way BR would've gone no.1 for that long without the impact of its promo video !).
And that's what makes its importance. After Bohemian Rhapsody video-clips really began to become a standart promo tool, whereas before they weren't the norm.
That's why it is so often referred to as being pioneering. It's because of its significant success, not because of its status as the first video ever or something like it. It kicked off a wave that eventually led to MTV.