Bohemian Rhapsody by Sixpence 1976

Sixpence plays “Bohemian Rhapsody“ October 3, 1976 at the Bastille in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC. Here’s the entire setlist of videos they recorded that day: A few commenters have questioned its authenticity, but I can assure you this video is not fake. I was there and at age 30 and played piano with Inner Light, the other band that recorded the same day. Back in 1976 video cassettes were not yet in wide production, and VHS/Beta standards had not been widely adopted, so the tape could only be played back on the same make/model machine. This machine (Panasonic High Band) was made for only one year. In 1977 I purchased the 1-inch open reel tape for $25, but it took 34 years before I found someone who could convert the obsolete format so it could be viewed once again. During that time it was stored in garages and basements where the tape absorbed moisture, so it was baked in an oven, then the ensuing mold was scraped by hand from each frame. The audio came through pretty good, but the video quality suffers from years of poor storage conditions. The Washington Post published an article about this video in 2021: