okay - loads of stupid thread on here lately...so here goes a genuine "what if" scenario
the recording and releae of Bo-Rhap was significant for two reasons
1. queen ahd changed management and freddie more or less convinced them and the band to go with Bo-Rhap as the single
2. queen were broke...they had made a lot of money - but none of it had come back to them
...so.....at the point of BoRhap's release...one question...what if they hadn't put it out as a single? where would they be now? would they be a Mott/Sweet/ type band - still doing the tours but never really making the big time? or (more importantly) which subsequent track would've broke them through both Europe and US?
(and don't make silly "they woulda made it anyway" replies - that's not the question - the question is: "what if BoRhap had never been released....which track would've broke queen through - if any?
Do you mean for UK? Bo Rhap wasn't very big hit in USA, so for some countries it wouldn't change a lot, I think.
But for UK... I don't know - maybe Somebody To Love?
...and sorry - STL would not have done it (as great as it was) BECAUSE ANYONE WHO KNOWS QUEEN knows that ADATR was the leftover tracks form ANATO - these were all written and waiting to be recorded...os therefore - if no Bo-Rhap then queen go bankrupt (they were officially broke at time of release) therefore no ANATO
Well, 9th place for 'the song of the millenium' is not so good, IMO!
And do you mean for people who knows Queen or for just non-Queen people? WE know about ADATR, but most of people doesn't.
I don't know if WWRY and WATC would have been written in this assumed scenario, but they could certainly have been Queen's breakthrough hits world wide. The band might have split before releasing those songs because of lack of success.
Had they not released BoRhap, I am not entirely sure they would have released all the same songs that they did. If BoRhap hadn't been released, I don't really know what would have really been their break through and established them as one of the greatest bands ever. This could have been really devastating for them.
for what it's worth, i started this thread because i had ideas of what might have been
the embryo of borhap ws evident in the mid-section of side black, queen II. so i do think freddie would've produced some magnum opus at some point...only thing is, it oculd well have been much later - say '78/79.
In the meantime queen would've had two options
1. compile all the "work in progress" together to make a couple of solid rock albums from ANATO, ADATR and NOTW writing sessions and hope that something commercial breaks them trhough.
2. become a led/zep/yes/genesis type album band and sell out stadiums etc in the 70s - something like prophet song could've become their gig-climaxing "Stairway", "music box" "2112" anthem