A GROUP of die-hard Queen fans will meet in Bradford today to watch the much-anticipated biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Martin Josephson, Graham Powell and Tony Ferguson, who have collectively seen the hit band more than 100 times, will watch a special ‘premier experience’ of the film at the Thornbury Odeon.

It will be an experience made all the more poignant as it marks 40 years since the trio saw the rock band at Wembley.

Martin and Graham have known each other since they were around seven years old, then Martin and Tony were introduced by a mutual friend in 1977 and soon got chatting about their love of Queen.

The film, which stars Rami Malek at Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, charts the band’s rise to stardom and the recording of some of their most memorable songs.

It also chronicles stories from Mercury’s personal life and the band’s near-implosion.

A trailer released ahead of the film begins with a recording of Mercury engaging in a call and response with an audience, which the singer often did during live performances.

It shows Malek playing the legendary front man in different periods of the band’s long career, plus the recording of the six-minute, opera-influenced song from which the movie gets its name.

The actor is also seen performing as Mercury during Queen’s famous set at the 1985 benefit concert Live Aid.

Martin, 59, who is originally from the Pudsey area, but now lives in Bury, Greater Manchester, has been a Queen fan since he was teenager.

He has since spent thousands of pounds and travelled the world to see the band more than 60 times.

His love affair began in 1974, when he saw them playing a song called Seven Seas of Rhye on Top of the Pops.

"That was it," he said. "I was blown away."

It wasn't until two years later in 1976 that he saw Queen live for the first time.

The gig, which he describes as "kind of life-changing", was in Edinburgh and marked the beginning of his devotion to seeing his idols play across the globe, including in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

And in 1982, he was lucky enough to meet Freddie Mercury when Queen played Elland Road in Leeds.

"He was really polite and kind of quiet really," said Martin.

He says he still gets fun and pleasure from seeing Queen and has also met American singer-songwriter Adam Lambert who now performs and tours with the band.

Martin's favourite song is the lesser-known 'Dead on Time' from the Jazz album which was released in 1978.

"They are just at their peak at that point to me," Martin said.

But he hopes Bohemian Rhapsody will open up Queen's music to a new audience - decades on from when they rocked the music world.

"The film should create a whole new generation of fans," he said.

"It's got to be good. I would love to see Oscar nominations for it, but we'll have to wait and see."

The other members of Queen will be played by Gwilym Lee (Brian May), Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon) and Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor).