EDSON, Alberta — An unemployed Canadian man became an internet sensation after posting a video online in which he performs “Bohemian Rhapsody,” in full, in the back of a police car after being arrested on a drunk-driving charge.
The 10-minute police video, which Robert Wilkinson posted on YouTube for the amusement of his friends, already received more than one million hits.
The now-famous performance, in which he sings both the vocal and instrumental parts of the Queen classic, took place in the back of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police car in November after Wilkinson was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Edson, Alberta.
The 29-year-old was given the video by authorities when he decided to defend himself against the charge, which is currently pending, The Smoking Gun reported.
Wilkinson, who said he did not know the video had gone viral, told the website that he was a keen karaoke singer and had performed every single one of the 113 Beatles songs available on karaoke machines.
Other videos Wilkinson has posted online include one in which he gets punched in the face by a friend, another that shows him eating a 10-pound sandwich and one documenting his dismissal from a Vancouver film school.
He also appears to brew his own beer, his Facebook page suggests, and has stated that he is “solving the world’s problems, one beer at a time.”