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The story
To mark the 80th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s birth, Queen: Budapest — a concert film documenting the band’s 1986 Budapest show — opens in theaters on October 7. The release prompted a music critic’s piece on Queen’s enduring appeal, which was picked up on 5ch [Japan’s largest anonymous forum network] and sparked a flood of comments about favorite tracks and “greatest album” debates. Some pushed for the Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack era, others questioned the synth-heavy direction from The Game onward, and opinions split sharply over claims like “they only caught on here because of a Kimutaku drama” [a nickname for actor Takuya Kimura] and “overseas they rank below Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.”
Tue, Sep 29, 6:05 PM
2026 marks the 80th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s birth. The historic 1986 Budapest concert, captured at the peak of Queen’s powers, hits theaters October 7 as Queen: Budapest. More than half a century on, why does Queen still command such devotion? Music critic Yuichi Masuda — who has followed the band in real time since 1975, later served as editor-in-chief of Music Life magazine, and supervised the Japanese subtitles for Bohemian Rhapsody — breaks down the appeal.
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Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Bai-seku
Bisexual? (soramimi) [note: soramimi is the Japanese meme of 'mishearing' foreign lyrics as unrelated Japanese/English phrases — here the 'Bicycle Race' chant gets misheard]
Bicycle (if you catch my drift)
'I tripped and fell!' [another soramimi — the line gets misheard as this Japanese phrase]
Seriously, what a wimp of an article
Just come out and say QUEEN II lol
is the number one Queen song for me
Even the Beatles only managed that with three
Ringo Starr(ish) over here like 'Octopus's Garden…'
They only blew up here because of a Kimutaku drama, total one-hit wonder
'half a century' my ass
don't even know the title though
Ibrahiiiiiiim—
even the trailer just leaves me going 'who even are these guys'
You'll get it once you watch it
there's no one else quite like them
for singles just stick to the classics — Bohemian Rhapsody, Don't Stop Me Now, Another One Bites the Dust
though the one I actually listen to most is A Kind of Magic
yet it alone gets the crowd roaring — that's incredible
it wasn't even a huge hit back then, and watching the video I just thought 'funny old guy' lol
but when that intro played in the movie, I cried
they never sold that well
in terms of sales
they're way behind Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd
there's also 'The Show Must Go On'
No wait, 'The Show Must Go On' is great
I like the version of 'The Show Must Go On' that Elton John sings
guess that doesn't count since it's a Freddie solo track
Was about to type 'When I'm Sixty-Four' but that's a Paul song
even though it feels like a Ringo one
Keep Yourself Alive
Liar
Brighton Rock
that's the list
after that, drum machines and synth bass crept in and the albums started sounding cheap
I pre-ordered the Hot Space LP right after The Game, which was a masterpiece, and only ever put it on the turntable once
Yeah, the synth-heavy tracks definitely feel dated listening now
On Jazz, the needle drops and track one is 'Mustapha' — it blew my mind, I thought it was something off an Islamic call to prayer
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Queen debuted in 1973, and even after Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991, the band stayed popular through greatest-hits compilations and tributes; the 2018 hit film Bohemian Rhapsody further widened their fanbase among younger listeners in Japan. Greatest Hits is considered one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history, so the thread’s claims that Queen is a “one-hit wonder overseas” or “inferior to Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd” don’t necessarily line up with actual sales figures. The new film Queen: Budapest documents the final show of the 1986 Magic Tour, widely known as one of the last major concerts Freddie performed despite a worsening throat condition. The thread’s disagreement centered mainly on which album era counts as Queen’s classic period — those favoring early work like Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack clashed with those who saw the synth-driven sound from The Game onward as a step down.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisupo Sokuho+ [entertainment/sports news board]) thread “Queen, Beloved for Over Half a Century — 5 Essential Songs to Start With.”
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