On Christmas Eve 1975, Queen performed at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, closing the U.K. leg of their “A Night at the Opera” tour. They wowed the audience with one of the first live renditions of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which would go on to spend 44 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 2, and nine weeks at No. 1 in the U.K. They also played their hit “Now I’m Here.”
December 24 has seen some notable music moments over the years. In 1994, Brandy released “Baby” from her debut album, reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B chart. In 2018, Bad Bunny dropped his debut album, “X 100pre,” which debuted at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 200 and topped the Latin Albums chart. His single “MIA,” featuring Drake, peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100.
Culturally, December 24 has its highlights too. In 1963, The Beatles kicked off their Christmas Show at the Astoria Cinema in London, performing hits like “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” In 1991, Louis Tomlinson was born in Doncaster, England. He later gained fame with One Direction, scoring 13 Top 40 hits in the U.S. and 18 in the U.K. as well as solo success with “Back To You.”
Sadly, the music world has also faced losses on this date. In 1960, George Formby lost his wife and manager, Beryl Ingham. He passed away in March 1961. In 2016, Rick Parfitt of Status Quo died at 68 after nearly 50 years with the band, which had over 55 U.K. Top 40 singles.
