Classic Rock Issue 346 (November 2025) Queen: A Night At The Opera

Note: We get the export/non-subscriber version of Classic Rock — magazine only… no posters, laptop sticker, etc.

Figaro-oh-oh-oh! Oh boy, do we have a royally jam-packed issue this month! Yep, hard as it may be to believe, but October (Halloween, to be specific) marks the 50th anniversary of the original release of Queens epic single Bohemian Rhapsody. Undoubtedly one of rocks Dead Sea Scrolls, its not hyperbole to say that Bo Rhap changed the course of the bands career and popular music as we know it.

This issue we celebrate it and the making of the groundbreaking album from whence it came Queens A Night At The Opera in the company of Sir Brian May and Roger Taylor. Both single and album are about to be re-released on vinyl, so I do wonder if we might have another Bo Rhap No.1 on our hands this year?

Also in the issue: we chat to Scorpions about their 60 years in rock; get the story behind UFOs sojourn to Montserrat to record No Place To Run with George Martin; go behind the scenes of Tom Pettys deeply personal Wildflowers album; Ann and Nancy Wilson tell us about the making of Hearts debut record and much more besides.

Until next month
Sian Llewellyn

Features

Queen – Fifty years on, Brian May and Roger Taylor reveal the vision, precision and daring behind Queens A Night At The Opera, the album that rewrote rocks rules.

Scorpions – Rudolph Schenker and Klause Meine look back over 60 years, from being trashed in the UK press to being lauded rock icons.

Heart – How Ann and Nancy Wilson gatecrashed a male-dominated, payola-fuelled rock scene 50 years ago with Dreamboat Annie.

Creeper – Before the vampires and rocknroll theatre, it was shoestring punk gigs, DIY video shoots, hard work and, ouch, sales work.

Tom Petty – Despite all the chaos and confusion that fed into it, the deeply personal Wildflowers is the album he regarded as his best.

David Bowie – Band members, friends and associates tell the story of The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

UFO – When ace-card guitarist Michael Schenker quit, no sulks, they took off to the Caribbean and recorded a belter without him.

Regulars

The Dirt – Foo Fighters back in the studio? Twister Sister to play 2026 world tour. Radiohead confirm UK shows. Welcome back Paradise Lost and Lemonheads. Say hello to Hollow Souls and Margarita Witch Cult. Say goodbye to Rick Davies, Brent Hinds, Tony Beard, Mark Volman.

The Stories Behind The Songs: Counting Crows – How a song written immediately after and about a wild night out became radio staple, a huge hit and their signature song.

Q&A: Eric Gales – The blues guitarist on his record for his late brother, cutting heads with Bonamassa, surviving time behind bars.

Reviews – New albums from Michael Schenker, Ash, Chrissie Hynde, Mammoth, Lemonheads, Cardiacs, Sparks, Vernon Reid, Dizzy Reed, Goo Goo Dolls, Biohazard and more. Reissues from John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band, Ronnie Wood, Steve Howe, Foghat, Humble Pie, Frank Zappa, Elton John, Supergrass, King Crimson and more. DVDs, films and books on Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Charlie Harper, Ringo Starr, U2, Marianne Faithfull and more.

Buyers Guide: Zakk Wylde – The pick of his records with Ozzy, Black Label Society and more.

Lives – We preview tours by Todd Rundgren, Y&T and Coheed And Cambria. Plus gig listings whos playing where and when.

The Soundtrack Of My Life: Devon Allman – The singer and guitarist picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance.