Robert Wilkinson, a home brewer (surprise) from Edmonton, Alberta Canada, was pulled over while driving his pick up truck, just a tad intoxicated, back in November of 2011.
Captured on police video, a very drunk Wilkinson has a few philosophical words with the arresting officer before launching into his version of Queen's 1975 hit, “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Wilkinson was given a copy of the evidence when he decided to defend himself in court and then chose to upload the video himself, after numerous friends wanted to see it. Of course, the video has now been viewed by hundreds of thousands of viewers all over the world and it is doubtful that many would believe his not guilty pleas to the charges of impaired driving and refusal to take the breathalyzer test.
Wilkinson's version of the song was performed almost flawlessly, all six-plus minutes of it, including many of the instrumentals that Wilkinson also recreated. He was only admonished by the arresting officer once throughout the song when he got a bit over-enthusiastic, otherwise, he was quite cooperative with the police.
While I think it is doubtful that Wilkinson's posting of the video will aid him at all by the time his November 2012 trial date arrives, but perhaps he will be given some credit for at least knowing all of the lyrics, something very few professional singers who have tackled the song, with exception to Freddie Mercury himself, have managed to do. And if nothing else, perhaps he can parlay his Internet fame into a lucrative endorsement deal for voice lessons and hand-held breathalyzer units.
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