Queen's Iranian rhapsody
by J.A. Lopata
In more signs that the censorious relationship that Iran has
with Western culture is relaxing, the Iranian government
gave official approval for the release of a greatest hits
collection from British rock band Queen.
Queen is the first rock band to receive such approval under
the harshly conservative Islamic regime, which considers
homosexuality a crime.
That approval may come as a surprise to those who know that
the band’s former frontman Freddie Mercury was gay. But many
may not know that Mercury traced his roots to an Iranian
ancestry.
He was proud of his Middle Eastern heritage and illegal
bootleg copies of his music have made Queen one of the most
popular bands in Iran for years, according to the BBC.
In album notes that come with the new legal release, the hit
song “Bohemian Rhapsody” is described as a story about a
young man who accidentally kills a man and subsequently
sells his soul to the devil, only to regain his soul just
prior to his execution by calling on God with the Arabic
word “Bismillah.”
This
piece first appeared in "In Newsweekly: New England's
largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
newspaper."
September 20, 2004 |