Queen has many brilliant albums, but ‘A Night at the Opera’ is up there as one of their best. The most expensive album ever made at the time of its release, A Night at the Opera marked a turning point in Queen’s career, wherein, armed with a new manager, new look and new determination to change the face of music, they created an album completely fuelled by their own artistic merit and creativity. Lyrical themes go from heartbreak to space travel to driving to 18th-century opera characters, all with the characteristic Queen sense of humour seeping throughout.

Producing many of the band’s best-known tracks, from the catchy ‘You’re my Best Friend’, to the heartfelt ‘Love of my Life’, a ballad supposedly written for Mercury’s close friend Mary Austin (whom he often referred to as his ‘only true friend’) to the epic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, one of the longest singles ever to hit the radio, A Night at the Opera is arguably one of Queen’s most essential must listen albums. The latter song, a magnificent 6-minute experimental journey through progressive rock, is often regarded as one of the greatest of all time, up there with The Beach Boys and The Beatles as one of the most key moments in rock history. ‘A Night at the Opera’ is, and always will be, an important landmark in the history of rock.