Classic Queen Song Removed From Greatest Hits Collection

The iconic Queen song, Fat Bottomed Girls, has been removed from the band’s upcoming Greatest Hits collection on Yoto, a new screen-free audio player for children.

The track has previously featured on the band’s 1981 Greatest Hits LP alongside We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody and the rest, but no longer exists on a digital reissue of the album on the streaming platform Yoto.

With lyrics such as “fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go round,” Fat Bottomed Girls attracted controversy upon its release in 1978 for featuring a naked woman riding a bicycle on the record sleeve. An updated sleeve version has underwear on the woman to protect her modesty.

The Times has contacted Yoto and Universal Music for comment about the song’s removal from the Greatest Hits collection on the new audio platform.

A source told The Daily Mail UK newspaper, “It is the talk of the music industry; nobody can work out why such a good-natured, fun song can't be acceptable in today's society.” The insider continued to call the song’s removal from playing on Yoto “woke gone mad”.

“Queen are one of those bands that bring generations together… and now their greatest hits are available for kids to enjoy on Yoto,” the audio player’s website says, per The Telegraph. And while Fat Bottomed Girls no longer features on the children’s player, Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You arrive with the following warnings:

Please note that the lyrics in some of these songs contain adult themes, including occasional references to violence and drugs.

“These are the original and unedited recordings. Whilst no swear words are used, parental discretion is advised when playing this content to or around younger children.

You can listen to Fat Bottomed Girls below.

In other recent Queen news, Sotheby's, the fine art auction house, is auctioning over 1,500 items that belonged to Freddie Mercury in September.

Some of the most exciting items up for auction include Mercury’s handwritten lyric sheets (some of them unfinished) for hits such as We Are The Champions and Killer Queen. His waistcoats, guitars, and moustache combs used in music videos for Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and These Are The Days Of Our Lives are also for sale.

Mercury’s “splendid” items will go up for sale on 6 September in London as part of the A World of His Own exhibit. You can register your interest in bidding here.