Brummies plan mass singalong to Queen classic 'Bohemian Rhapsody'

The organisers behind Birmingham’s recent mass singalong of Toto’s ‘Africa‘ have planned another musical flashmob in Cathedral Square, but this time they’re hoping hundreds will gather to belt out iconic Queen hit Bohemian Rhapsody.

The young lads behind the stunt are inviting everyone to join them at Cathedral Square – also known as Pigeon Park – outside St. Phillip’s Cathedral in the city centre to sing the chart classic.

WATCH: ‘Toto – Africa’ mass singalong in Birmingham:

Only last month, hundreds of Brummies gathered outside Birmingham Cathedral to sing Toto’s famous 80s classic ‘Africa’, in a bid to spread a bit of happiness.

Armed with their phones and song sheets, people of all ages and backgrounds joined forces in the city centre for only a few minutes, to share their love of the popular song, before dispersing full of smiles and festive spirit.

Despite the freezing temperatures and to their surprise, people from all over the Midlands came trickling in with only minutes to spare before the start time.

Hundreds of Brummies held a mass singalong of Toto's 1982 hit 'Africa' — Hundreds of Brummies held a mass singalong of Toto’s 1982 hit ‘Africa’Ba

Well over 150 people had congregated in Cathedral Square, where organisers were handing out printed lyric sheets for all who wanted to join in.

As crowds swelled ahead of the start time of 7 pm, onlookers were pleasantly surprised to suddenly hear a booming rendition of Toto’s internationally acclaimed 1982 number-one hit single being echoed across Colmore Row.

Although only participating for a mere few minutes, the attendees seemed excited and proud to have gathered together and taken part in the social stunt.

The mass singlalong was thought up by Birmingham club promoter Curtis Gott

Event co-organiser Curtis Gott, who is Birmingham manager for the Propaganda club night at the O2 Academy in Horse Fair, said he came up with the idea when he was feeling down, taking inspiration from similar mass sing-alongs, including one in Newcastle and a viral event outside The White House in Washington, which raised money for The Water Project.

“I was having a bad day at work and I thought I wanna collect everyone together and do a big singalong in Pigeon Park, so I created a Facebook event and within hours it went viral with thousands of RSVPs.”

This time, Curtis returns with friends Samuel Catlow and Jon Mahon in the hope of spreading cheer and raising money for charity.

At the last singalong, the boys went around with a collection tin to raise funds for charitable causes in Africa.

“We were incredibly grateful for the generosity shown by attendees during the tin shake last time. The money has been donated to Forward UK.”

Forward UK is part of the Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development which is committed to gender equality and safeguarding the rights of African girls and women.

For their next gathering, they have committed to collecting money for NAT, the National Aids Trust, “in honour of Freddy Mercury and to aid in the fight with HIV. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.”

Queen lead singer Farrokh "Freddie" Mercury, photographed here performing in New Haven in November 1977, died from bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS in 1991. — Queen lead singer Farrokh “Freddie” Mercury, photographed here performing in New Haven in November 1977, died from bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS in 1991.

The ‘Singing Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody in Pigeon Park‘ event is scheduled to take place on Monday 29th January between 7pm and 8pm.

Bohemian Rhapsody was written by Freddie Mercury for British rock band Queen’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera. The six-minute rock track consists of several sections without a chorus: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda.

When it was released as a single, Bohemian Rhapsody became a commercial success, staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and selling more than a million copies. It reached number one again in 1991 for another five weeks when the same version was re-released following Mercury’s death, eventually becoming the UK’s third-best-selling single of all time. It is also the only song to be the UK Christmas number one twice by the same artist.

Co-organiser Samuel Catlow said he was proud of what he and Curtis has achieved and the ability to bring people together for something good during difficult times:

“It needs to happen. People need to come together. If anything, and I know I sound like a hippie and it sounds a bit cliché, but music does bring people together. It has tonight and has been doing all over the world, so let’s just keep going.”

Following the success of the ‘Africa’ singalong, a ‘Do the Macarena in Pigeon Park‘ event has also been set up on Facebook by Love Activists. They hope to raise money for homeless charities by mass performing the iconic 90s dance routine on Saturday 16th December at 5pm.

To attend the Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody singalong, join the Facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1491010154352742