Guitarist Brian May was living in a bedsit in Earls Court, West London while frontman Freddie Mercury lived in a flat in Kensington that suffered from rising damp. This meant that Queen saw almost none of the money they earned, as Trident Studios paid them £60 weekly. Despite this success, the band was broke at the time, largely due to a contract they had signed which meant that they would produce albums for a production company, who would then sell the album to a record label. The album was a minor hit in the US, reaching number twelve, while 'Killer Queen' hit the top 20. Queen's previous album, Sheer Heart Attack (1974), had obtained commercial success and brought the band mainstream attention, with the single ' Killer Queen' reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart.

So we were making this album knowing it was live or die.' 'We had made hit records but we hadn't had any of the money back and if A Night at the Opera hadn't been a huge success I think we would have just disappeared under the ocean someplace. In 2018, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 128 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

It has been hailed as Queen's best album, and one of the greatest albums in music history. At the 19th Grammy Awards, its first single 'Bohemian Rhapsody' received Grammy Award nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus and Best Arrangement for Voices. Despite being twice as long as the average length of singles during the 1970s, the song became immensely popular worldwide.Ĭontemporary reviews for A Night at the Opera were mixed, with praise for its production and the diverse musical themes, and recognition as the album that established Queen as worldwide superstars.

It also produced the band's most successful single in the UK, ' Bohemian Rhapsody', which became their first UK number one. It peaked at number four on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and became the band's first platinum-certified album in the US. Upon release, A Night at the Opera topped the UK Albums Chart for four non-consecutive weeks. Aside from their usual equipment, Queen also utilised a diverse range of instruments such as a double bass, harp, ukulele and more. They employed a complex production that extensively used multitrack recording, and the songs incorporated a wide range of styles, such as ballads, music hall, dixieland, hard rock and progressive rock influences.

Subsequently, they ended their contract with Trident Studios and did not use their studios for the album (the sole exception being 'God Save the Queen', which had been recorded the previous year). Due to management issues, Queen had received almost none of the money they earned for their previous albums. Named after the Marx Brothers' film of the same name, A Night at the Opera was recorded at various studios across a four-month period in 1975. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, it was reportedly the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release. A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 21 November 1975 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States.

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