Original white label test pressing of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ sells for over $12,000

An original white label 7-inch test pressing of Queen’s 1975 classic “Bohemian Rhapsody” sold for close to $12,000 during the annual White Label Auction to benefit the Brit Trust.

White label test pressings are made so artists, managers and labels can listen to the audio ahead of a single’s release. Usually only a few are produced.

This year marked the fifth annual White Label Auction, and prior to this year’s lot the auctions have raised over $215,000 for the music industry charity, which was established in 1989 to “improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts.”

This year’s auction also included white label pressings from The Beach Boys, Dire Straits, Genesis and Eric Clapton.

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” written by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, was featured on their album A Night at the Opera. It hit #1 in the U.K. and was Queen’s first chart-topper. The song was rereleased in 1991 following Mercury’s death and returned to the #1 spot.

Queen is set to revisit A Night at the Opera with a set of vinyl reissues dropping Oct. 17. In addition, on Oct. 31 “Bohemian Rhapsody” will be released on transparent blue heavyweight 12-inch vinyl, as a 12-inch picture disc and as a blue cassette single.