Synopsis

Queen perform "Bicycle Race" amid colorful stage footage, animated imagery, and flashes from earlier performances. The video's most notorious material comes from a staged race at Wimbledon Stadium, where 65 nude female models ride bicycles around the track. In the original promotional edit, visual effects obscure the nudity, creating a psychedelic, collage-like sequence. Later releases presented a different edit that used more of the uncensored cycling footage alongside the band's performance.

Factoids & Trivia

• The bicycle race was filmed at Wimbledon Stadium in London on September 17, 1978, as part of the promotional campaign for Queen's seventh album, *Jazz*.

• Sixty-five female models took part in the race. Queen were not present at the Wimbledon shoot; the band performance footage was recorded separately in Dallas, Texas, on October 28, 1978.

• The original promotional version used multicolored blocks, blurring, and other visual effects to conceal the nudity. Later versions, including the edit issued on *Greatest Video Hits I*, restored much of the original footage.

• The stunt attracted censorship and alterations in several markets. The image used for the related "Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" single was also modified, with underwear painted onto the cyclist.

• The single was a double A-side with "Fat Bottomed Girls," pairing two songs from *Jazz* with deliberately provocative imagery and marketing.

• A long-running story claims that the bicycle supplier demanded replacement saddles after learning how the bikes had been used. The anecdote has become one of the most enduring pieces of trivia connected with the video.