In the posts regarding my top ten Queen songs a few days ago, you may have noticed that I didn't include "Bohemian Rhapsody". There were a couple of reasons for this, most of which have to do with its fame, but I do think the song is a remarkable achievement. However, I don't think it's unique - in fact, I think the song was inspired by, and perhaps even based on, a Mott the Hoople song called "Marionette" (from their 1974 album, The Hoople). Queen had toured with them in 1973, and alluded to the experience in "Now I'm Here" ("Down in the city just Hoople and me...") on Sheer Heart Attack, which was released the following year. On the Mott the Hoople website, in honour of their too-brief reunion of 2009, Brian May was quoted thus: "On tour as support to Mott The Hoople (the only time Queen ever supported anyone), I was always conscious that we were in the presence of something great, something highly evolved, close to the centre of the Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, something to breathe in and learn from."

My contention today is that "Bohemian Rhapsody" was another result of that influence. Here are links to the track in question (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aWhdmFr61Q) and its lyrics (http://www.elyrics.net/read/m/mott-the-hoople-lyrics/marionette-lyrics.html).