William Shatner has confessed that he hadn’t heard Queen‘s classic single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ until he covered it for his new album.

The former Star Trek actor has recorded his own version of the track – which was originally released in 1975 – for his new LP ‘Seeking Major Tom’, which was released earlier this week (October 11) and feature covers of Pink Floyd‘s ‘Learning To Fly’ and Black Sabbath‘s ‘Iron Man’.

But in an interview with Spinner, Shatner admitted that he had no idea about the history of Queen or Freddie Mercury until he started work on the album and had never heard ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. He said:

I knew nothing of it until I came to it in this latter day.


Shatner, who has previously covered Pulp‘s 1994 single ‘Common People’, also said: “I don’t have time to identify the songs. I love music and I listen to music, but I had no way of saying, ‘That’s Freddie Mercury and Queen’.

“If you had asked me a year ago about Freddie Mercury and Queen, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. If you had played me ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, I would have told you that it was one of the greatest pieces of music I’ve ever played,” he added.

“It’s modern and beautifully sung. And then if you would have told me about the history of Freddie Mercury and Queen, I would have gasped because it’s so dramatic.”

Earlier this month, Queen were honoured with the Icon award at the BMI awards. The ceremony was hosted by Broadcast Music, Inc, and rewards musicians for their airplay success in the US.

According to reports, meanwhile, Queen guitarist Brian May wants to recruit Lady Gaga to tour with the band as their singer, while drummer Roger Taylor has hinted that they could reunite for the Olympics.