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Queen The Complete Guide
Queen The Complete Guide
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Contents
Articles
Overview
Queen Awards and nominations 1 1 21 25 25 41 54 61 73 73 82 82 90 99 107 116 122 129 135 139 145 151 158 165 173 181 181 185 185
Members
Freddie Mercury Brian May John Deacon Roger Taylor
Discography
Queen discography
Studio albums
Queen Queen II Sheer Heart Attack A Night at the Opera A Day at the Races News of the World Jazz The Game Hot Space The Works A Kind of Magic The Miracle Innuendo Made in Heaven
Soundtrack album
Flash Gordon
Live albums
Live Killers
Live Magic At the Beeb Live at Wembly '86 Queen on Fire Live at the Bowl Queen Rock Montreal
188 191 194 197 202 205 205 212 214 216 218 220 223 224 226 230 232 232 234 235 236 237 240 243 245 247 250 250 254 256 258 261 263 265 276
Compilation albums
Greatest Hits Greatest Hits II Classic Queen The 12" Collection Queen Rocks Greatest Hits III Stone Cold Classics The AZ of Queen, Volume 1 Absolute Greatest Deep Cuts, Volume 1 (1973-1976)
Box sets
The Complete Works Box of Tricks Ultimate Queen The Crown Jewels The Platinum Collection The Singles Collection Volume 1 The Singles Collection Volume 2 The Singles Collection Volume 3 The Singles Collection Volume 4
Singles
"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar" "Seven Seas of Rye" "Killer Queen" "Flick of the Wrist" "Now I'm Here" "Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend"
"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Long Away" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" "We Are the Champions" "We Will Rock You" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late" "Bicycle Race" "Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Mustapha" "Love of My Life" "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight" "Flash" "Under Pressure" "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat" "Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall" "Thank God It's Christmas" "One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"
279 282 285 287 289 291 296 303 305 307 311 314 317 318 320 325 327 329 334 336 338 346 348 350 351 353 355 359 366 368 371 374 378 381 383 385 386 392
"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle" "Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "The Show Must Go On" "These Are the Days of Our Lives" "Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "I Was Born to Love You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me" "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"
393 397 400 402 404 406 410 412 415 419 421 426 428 430 432 434 437 441 441 451 453 455 456 458 458 461 464 467 470 473 475 477 477 485 486
Songs
List of songs by Queen "Clebrity" "Say It's Not True" "See What A Fool I've Been" "Stone Cold Crazy"
Videography
Queen videography We Will Rock You The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Greatest Video Hits 1 Queen at Wembley Greatest Video Hits 2 We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan
Tours
Queen live performances Sheer Heart Attack Tour A Night at the Opera Tour
Summer Gigs 1976 A Day at the Races Tour News of the World Tour Jazz Tour Crazy Tour The Game Tour Hot Space Tour The Works Tour Magic Tour
490 492 495 498 502 505 512 517 523 526 526 528 529 529 531 533 534 534 535 537 541 542 547 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 561 564 564 580 587 591 594
Related articles
"Another One Rides the Bus" Jim Beach Deacy Amp Spike Edney "In My Defence" Larry Lurex Let the Cosmos Rock The Mercury Phoenix Trust Mountain Studios A Night at the Hip Hopera The Official International Queen Fan Club The Cross Queen + Paul Rodgers Queen Hyde Park 1976 Queen I Tour Queen Live at Golders Green Hippodrome Queen at the Ballet John Reid David Richards SingStar Queen Smile The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody We Will Rock You The Cosmos Rocks Five Live Live in Ukraine "You Are the Champion"
Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour Rock the Cosmos Tour Concert for Kampuchea Super Live in Japan
References
Article Sources and Contributors Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 611 625
Article Licenses
License 629
Overview
Queen
Queen
Queen in concert, 1984. John Deacon (far left), Freddie Mercury (centre stage), Brian May (foreground), Roger Taylor (drums) Background information Origin Genres Years active Labels Associated acts Website London, England Rock 1971 [1] present [2]
Capitol, Parlophone, EMI, Hollywood, Island, Elektra Smile, The Cross, Queen + Paul Rodgers [queenonline.com queenonline.com] Members Brian May Roger Taylor Past members Freddie Mercury John Deacon
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's earliest works were heavily influenced by progressive rock; in the mid-1970s, the band ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works, bringing them greater commercial success.[3] It also became something of a trademark to incorporate more diverse and innovative styles in their music, exploring the likes of vaudeville, gospel music, electronic music and funk. Brian May and Roger Taylor had been playing together in a band named Smile. Freddie Mercury (then known by his birth name of Farrokh, or Freddie, Bulsara) was a fan of Smile, and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques. Mercury himself joined the band shortly thereafter, changed the name of the band to 'Queen' and adopted his familiar stage name. John Deacon was recruited prior to recording their first album. Queen enjoyed success in the UK during the early 1970s, but it was the release of Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and A Night at the Opera (1975) that gained the band international success.[4] The latter featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", which stayed at number one in the UK charts for nine weeks.[5] In 1991 Mercury died of
Queen bronchopneumonia, a complication of AIDS, and Deacon retired in 1997.[6] Since then May and Taylor have infrequently performed together, including a collaboration with Paul Rodgers under the name Queen + Paul Rodgers which ended in May 2009.[7] The band has released a total of 18 number one albums, 18 number one singles and 10 number one DVDs, and have sold over 150 million albums, with some estimates in excess of 300 million albums,[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. They have been honoured with seven Ivor Novello awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.[13]
History
Early days (196874)
In 1968, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's Imperial College, and bassist Tim Staffell decided to form a band. May placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Mitch Mitchell/Ginger Baker type" drummer; Roger Taylor, a young dental student, auditioned and got the job. The group called themselves Smile.[14] While attending Ealing Art College Tim Staffell became friends with Farrokh Bulsara, a fellow student who had assumed the English name of Freddie. Bulsara felt that he and the band had the same tastes and soon became a keen fan of Smile. In late 1970, after Staffell left to join the band Humpy Bong, the remaining Smile members, encouraged by Bulsara, changed their name to "Queen" and continued working together.[15] When asked about the name, Bulsara explained, "I thought up the name Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."[15] The band had a number of bass players during this period who did not fit with the band's chemistry. It was not until February 1971 that they settled on John Deacon and began to rehearse for their first album. They recorded four of their own songs; "Liar", "Keep Yourself Alive", "The Night Comes Down" and "Jesus" for a demo tape, no record companies were interested.[16] It was also around this time Freddie changed his surname to 'Mercury', inspired by the line "Mother Mercury, look what they've done to me," in the song My Fairy King.[17] Having attended art college, Mercury also designed Queen's logo (also called the Queen crest) shortly before the release of the band's first album.[18] The logo combines the zodiac signs of all four members: two lions for Leo (Deacon and Taylor), a crab for Cancer (May), and two fairies for Virgo (Mercury).[18] The The basic Queen logo (minus the crest) incorporated chiefly since the lions embrace a stylised letter Q, the crab rests atop the release of The Works (1984) letter with flames rising directly above it, and the fairies are each sheltering below a lion.[18] There is also a crown inside the Q and the whole logo is over-shadowed by an enormous phoenix. The whole symbol bears a passing resemblance to the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, particularly with the lion supporters.[18] The original logo, as found on the reverse-side of the first album cover, was a simple line drawing but more intricate colour versions were used on later sleeves. In 1973, after a series of delays, Queen released their eponymous debut album, an effort influenced by the heavy metal and progressive rock of the day. The album was received well by critics; Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone said "their debut album is superb",[19] and Chicago's Daily Herald called it an "above average debut".[20] It drew little mainstream attention and the lead single "Keep Yourself Alive", a Brian May composition, sold poorly. The group's second LP Queen II was released in 1974. The album reached number five on the British album charts and became the first Queen album to chart in the UK.[21] The Freddie Mercury-written lead single "Seven Seas of Rhye" reached number ten in the UK, giving the band their first hit.[21] Their heaviest and darkest release, the album
Queen features long complex instrumental passages, fantasy-themed lyrics and musical virtuosity.[22] Aside from its only single, the album also included the song "The March of the Black Queen", a six-minute epic which lacks a chorus or song structure, bearing similarity to Queen's later work, "Bohemian Rhapsody". The Daily Vault described the number as "menacing".[23] Critical reaction was mixed, the Winnipeg Free Press describing the record as a "monstrosity".[24] Allmusic has described the album as a favourite among the band's hardcore fans,[25] and it is the first of three Queen albums to feature in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[26] Like its predecessor, sales of Queen II in the US were low.
Queen only single ever to sell a million copies on two separate occasions,[39] and became the Christmas number one twice in the UK; the only single ever to do so. Bohemian Rhapsody has been voted numerous times the greatest song of all time.[40] [41] The band decided to make a video to go with the single; the result is generally considered to have been the first "true" music video ever produced.[42] [43] (Although other bands, including The Beatles, had made short promotional films or videos of songs prior to this, generally those were specifically made to be aired on specific television shows). The second single from the album, "You're My Best Friend", the second song composed by John Deacon, and his first single, peaked at number sixteen in the United States[29] and went on to become a worldwide Top Ten hit.[39]
In 1978 the band released Jazz, which included the hit single double a side single "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race". The album reached number two in the UK, and number six on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.[50] This album was "the target of a bizarre marketing campaign, in which sixty-five naked women were perched atop bicycles rented from Halford's Cycles and sent racing around Wimbledon Stadium."[51] The word "jazz" was not used in a strict sense, and the album was noted by critics for its collection of different styles, jazz not being one of them.[52] Queen in New Haven, Connecticut in 1978. Rolling Stone Magazine criticised it for being "dull", saying "Queen hasn't the imagination to play jazz Queen hasn't the imagination, for that matter, to play rock & roll."[52] Reviews of the album in recent years have been more favourable.[53] Other notable tracks from Jazz include "Dead on Time", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Let Me Entertain You", and "Mustapha", in which Arabesque music is combined with heavy rock guitar. The bands first live album, Live Killers, was released in 1979; it went platinum twice in the United States.[54] They also released the very successful single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", a rockabilly song done in the style of Elvis Presley. The song made the top 10 in many countries, and was the bands first number one single in the United States where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.[29]
Queen
Queen
In 1982 the band released the album Hot Space, a departure from their trademark seventies sound, this time being a mixture of rock, pop rock, funk and R&B. The band had stopped touring North America after their Hot Space Tour, as their success there had waned, although they would perform on American television for the only time during the eighth season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Queen left Elektra Records, their label in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and signed onto EMI/Capitol Records. After working steadily for over ten years, Queen decided that they would not perform any live shows in 1983. During this time, they recorded a new album, and several members of the band explored side projects and solo work. May released a mini-album entitled Star Fleet Project, on which he collaborated with Eddie Van Halen.[68]
Queen live in Frankfurt on 26 September 1984. Compatible with his performance and compositions, Freddie Mercury was also a multi-instrumentalist.
In 1984, Queen released the album The Works, which included the successful singles "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free".[69] [70] Despite these hit singles, the album failed to do well in the United States, while in the UK it went triple platinum and remained in the album chart for two years.[71] Queen embarked that year on The Works Tour, the first tour to feature keyboardist Spike Edney as an extra live musician. The tour featured several dates in Bophuthatswana, South Africa, at the arena at Sun City.[72] Upon returning to England, they were the subject of outrage, having played there during the height of apartheid and in violation of worldwide divestment efforts. The band responded to the critics by stating that they were playing music for fans in that country, and they also stressed that the concerts were played before integrated audiences.[73]
Queen two hours and over 120,000 fans packed the park for what proved to be Queen's final live performance with Mercury.[81] Queen also played behind the Iron Curtain when they performed to a crowd of 80,000 in Budapest, in what was one of the biggest rock concerts ever held in Eastern Europe.[82] More than 1 million people saw Queen on the tour400,000 in the United Kingdom alone, a record at the time.[72] After working on various solo projects during 1988 (including Mercury's collaboration with Montserrat Caball, Barcelona) the band released The Miracle in 1989. The album continued the direction of A Kind of Magic, using a pop-rock sound mixed with a few heavy numbers. It spawned the European hits "I Want It All", "Breakthru", "The Invisible Man", "Scandal", and "The Miracle".[83] The Miracle also began a change in direction of Queen's songwriting philosophy. Since the band's beginning, nearly all songs had been written by and credited to a single member, with other members adding minimally. With The Miracle the band's songwriting became more collaborative, and they vowed to credit the final product only to Queen as a group.[84]
After fans noticed Mercury's increasingly gaunt appearance in 1988, rumours began to spread that Mercury was suffering from AIDS. Mercury flatly denied this, insisting he was merely "exhausted" and too busy to provide interviews.[86] The band decided to continue making albums, starting with The Miracle in 1989 and continuing with Innuendo in 1991. Despite his, indeed, deteriorating health, the lead singer continued to contribute. For the last two albums made while Mercury was still alive, the band credited all songs to Queen, rather than specific members of the group, freeing them of internal conflict and differences. In 1990, Mercury made his final public appearance when he joined the rest of Queen to collect the BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.[87] [88] Innuendo was released in early 1991 with an eponymous number 1 UK hit[89] and three other charting singles ("Im Going Slightly Mad", "Headlong", and "The Show Must Go On)". The band's second greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits II, followed in October of the same year.[90]
Queen
8 On 23 November 1991, in a prepared statement made on his deathbed, Mercury confirmed that he had AIDS.[91] Within 24 hours of that statement, he died of bronchial pneumonia, which was brought on as a complication of AIDS.[92] His funeral service on 27 November in Kensal Green, West London was private, and held in accordance with the Zoroastrian religious faith of his family.[93] [94] "Bohemian Rhapsody" was re-released as a single shortly after Mercury's death, with "These Are the Days of Our Lives" as the double A-side. The single went to number one for the second time in the UK, holding the top spot for five weeks through Christmas, making it the only single in the UK to ever get Christmas Number 1 twice with the same version. Initial proceeds from the single approximately 1,000,000 were donated to the Terrence Higgins Trust.[95] Queen's popularity was stimulated in the United States when "Bohemian Rhapsody" was featured in the 1992 comedy film Wayne's World. Its inclusion helped the song reach number two in the U.S. charts for five weeks in 1992, and won the band an MTV Award at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.[96] Wayne's World footage was used to make a new music video for the song, with which the band and management were delighted.[97]
On 20 April 1992, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was held at London's Wembley Stadium to a 72,000-strong crowd.[98] Performers, including Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Elton John, David Bowie, Annie Lennox and Metallica performed various Queen songs along with the three remaining Queen members. The concert is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as "The largest rock star benefit concert",[99] as it was televised to over 1.2 billion viewers worldwide,[72] and raised over 20,000,000 for AIDS charities.[95] Queen's last album featuring Mercury, titled Made in Heaven, was finally released in 1995, four years after his death. It was constructed from Mercury's final recordings in 1991, featuring tracks such as "Too Much Love Will Kill You" and "Heaven for Everyone", plus material left over from their previous studio albums. In addition, re-worked material from May, Taylor and Mercury's solo albums were included. The album reached #1 on the UK charts immediately following its release, and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[100] [101] In 1997, Queen returned to the studio to record "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)". It was released as a bonus track on the Queen Rocks compilation album later that year. The song was later released as a single reaching number 13 in the UK chart.[102] In 1997 Queen performed "The Show Must Go On" with Elton John and the Berjart Ballet marking the last performance and public appearance of John Deacon, who chose to retire.[103] Brian May and Roger Taylor performed together at several award ceremonies and charity concerts sharing vocals with various guest singers. During this time they were billed as Queen + followed by the name of the guest singer. In 1998 the duo appeared at Luciano Pavarotti's benefit concert with Brian performing "Too Much Love Will Kill You" with Pavarotti, later playing "Radio Ga Ga", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" with Zucchero. They again attended and performed in 2003. Several of the guest singers recorded new versions of Queens hits under the Queen + name, including Robbie Williams and Britney Spears.[104] In 1999, a Greatest Hits III album was released. This featured, among others, "Queen + Wyclef Jean" on a rap version of "Another One Bites the Dust". A live version of "Somebody to Love" by George Michael; and a live version of "The Show Must Go On" with Elton John.[105] By this point, Queen's vast amount of record sales made them the second best selling artist in the UK of all time, behind The Beatles.[101] In 2002, Queen were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is located at 6358 Hollywood Blvd.[106]
The statue of Freddie Mercury in Montreux that is also featured on the cover of the album Made in Heaven (1995).
Queen
Queen "Many of you will have read bits and pieces on the internet about Queen changing record companies and so I wanted to confirm to you that the band have signed a new contract with Universal Music. More to follow on this in the months to come. In the meantime, we would like to thank the EMI team for all their hard work over the years, the many successes and the fond memories, and of course we look forward to continuing to work with EMI Music Publishing who take care of our songwriting affairs. Next year we start working with our new record company to celebrate Queen's 40th anniversary and we will be announcing full details of the plans over the next 3 months. As Brian has already said Queen's next moves will involve 'studio work, computers and live work'. During an interview for Hardtalk on 22 September 2010 Brian confirmed that the band's new deal was with Island Records, a subsidiary of Universal.[117] [118] For the first time since the late 1980s, Queen's catalogue will have the same distributor worldwide, as their US home, Hollywood Records, is currently distributed by Universal (for a time in the late 1980s, Queen was on EMI-owned Capitol Records in the US).
10
Artistry
Musical style
The band drew artistic influence from many other British rock acts at the time such as Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie and Led Zeppelin. Queen composed music that drew inspiration from many different genres of music, often with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. Among the genres they have been associated with are: progressive rock,[119] hard rock,[119] glam rock,[119] heavy metal,[119] pop rock,[119] dance/disco,[120] blues-rock and psychedelic rock.[121] Queen also wrote songs that were inspired by genres that are not typically associated with rock, such as ragtime, opera, gospel, vaudeville and folk. Sonic experimentation figured heavily in Queen's songs. A distinctive characteristic of Queen's music are the vocal harmonies which are usually composed of the voices of May, Mercury and Taylor best heard on the studio albums A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races. Some of the ground work for the development of this sound can be attributed to their former producer Roy Thomas Baker as well as their engineer Mike Stone. Besides vocal harmonies, Queen were also known for multi-tracking voices to imitate the sound of a large choir through overdubs. For instance, according to Brian May, there are over 180 vocal overdubs in "Bohemian Rhapsody".[122] Many Queen songs were also written with audience participation in mind, such as "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions".[123]
Influence
Queen have been recognised as having made significant contributions to such genres as hard rock[124] and heavy metal,[125] amongst others. Hence the band has been cited as an influence by many other musicians. Moreover, like their music, the bands and artists that have claimed to be influenced by Queen are diverse and span different generations, countries and genres. Some of the musicians that have cited the band as an influence include: Anthrax,[126] Ben Folds Five,[127] Nirvana,[128] The Darkness, [129] Def Leppard,[130] Dream Theater,[131] Extreme,[132] Trivium,[133] Foo Fighters,[134] Franz Ferdinand,[135] George Michael,[136] Green Day,[137] Guns N' Roses,[138] Helloween,[139] Iron Maiden,[140] [141] Kansas,[142] Katy Perry,[143] Keane,[144] Lady Gaga,[145] Manic Street Preachers,[146] Metallica,[147] Mika,[148] Muse,[149] My Chemical Romance,[150] Panic at the Disco,[151] Queensrche,[152] Radiohead,[153] Robbie Williams,[154] Trent Reznor,[155] Steve Vai,[156] Sum 41,[157] Styx,[158] The Flaming Lips,[159] The Killers[160] and The Smashing Pumpkins.[161] [162]
Queen Queen have been cited as a major influence on the "neo-classical metal" genre by Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen.[163] Metallica recorded a cover version of "Stone Cold Crazy", which first appeared on the Rubiyt: Elektra's 40th Anniversary album in 1990, and won their first Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1991. In the early 70s, Queen helped spur the heavy metal genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence;[125] [140] the New Wave of British Heavy Metal followed in a similar vein, fusing the music with a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed.
11
Legacy
Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was named by the Guinness Book of Records in 2002 as the top British single of all time, and in 2004 the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[164] [165] In 2005 an industry poll ranked Queen's performance at Live Aid in 1985 as the best live act in history.[9] [166] In 2007 they were also voted the greatest British band in history by BBC Radio 2 listeners.[167] As of 2005, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Queen albums have spent a total of 1,322weeks (twenty-six years) on the UK Album Charts; more time than any other musical act.[64] [67] Also in 2005, with the release of their live album with Paul Rodgers, Queen moved into third place on the list of acts with the most aggregate time spent on the British record charts.[168] In 2006 the Greatest Hits album was the all-time best selling album in UK Chart history, with sales upwards of 5,407,587copies, over 604,295 more copies than its nearest competitor, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[65] Their Greatest Hits II album came in seventh with sales upwards of 3,631,321 copies.[65] [169] The band has released a total of eighteen number one albums, eighteen number one singles, and ten number one DVDs worldwide making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. Queen have sold over 150 million albums, with some estimates in excess of 300 million albums worldwide,[9] [10] [12] [170] including 32.5 million in the United States[171] alone as of 2004. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the band is also the only group in which every member has composed more than one chart-topping single, and all four members of Queen were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003.[13] [172] In 2009, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame,[173] [174] and the latter was voted the world's favourite song in a global music poll.[175] Queen are one of the most bootlegged bands ever, according to Nick Weymouth, who manages the band's official website.[176] A 2001 survey discovered the existence of 12,225 websites dedicated to Queen bootlegs, the highest number for any band.[177] Bootleg recordings have contributed to the band's popularity in certain countries where Western music is censored, such as Iran.[178] In a project called Queen: The Top 100 Bootlegs, many of these have been made officially available to download for a nominal fee from Queen's website, with profits going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.[176] Queen were named 13th on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock list.[179] In 2010, Queen were ranked 17th on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.[180]
Queen
12
In other media
Musical theatre
In 2002, a musical or "rock theatrical" based on the songs of Queen, titled We Will Rock You, opened at the Dominion Theatre on London's West End.[9] The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and produced by Robert De Niro. It has since been staged in many cities around the world.[9] The original London production was scheduled to close on Saturday, 7 October 2006 at the Dominion Theatre, but due to public demand, the show has now been extended indefinitely. We Will Rock You has become the longest running musical ever to run at this prime London theatre, overtaking the previous record holder, the Grease musical.[181] Brian May has confirmed that they are considering writing a sequel to the musical.[182] The musical is toured around the UK in 2009, playing at Manchester Palace Theatre, Sunderland Empire, Birmingham Hippodrome, Bristol Hippodrome, Edinburgh Playhouse. The launch of the musical coincided with Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. As part of the Jubilee celebrations Brian May The Dominion Theatre in London's West End, where performed a guitar solo of "God Save the Queen",[183] as featured We Will Rock You has been performed since 2002. on Queen's A Night at the Opera, from the roof of Buckingham Palace. The recording of this performance was used as video for the same song on the 30th Anniversary DVD edition of A Night at the Opera.[184] [185] Sean Bovim created "Queen at the Ballet", a tribute to Freddie Mercury, which uses Queen's music as a soundtrack for the shows dancers, who interpret the stories behind tracks such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Radio Ga Ga" and "Killer Queen".[186] Queen's music also appears in the Off-Broadway production Power Balladz, most notably the song "We Are the Champions", with the show's two performers believing the song was "the apex of artistic achievement in its day".[187]
Digital realm
In conjunction with Electronic Arts, Queen released the computer game Queen: The eYe in 1998, to commercial and critical failure. The music itselftracks from Queen's vast catalogue, in many cases remixed into new instrumental versionswas by and large well received, but the game experience was hampered by poor game play. Adding to the problem was an extremely long development time, resulting in graphic elements that already seemed outdated by the time of release. Under the supervision of May and Taylor, numerous restoration projects have been under way involving Queen's lengthy audio and video catalogue. DVD releases of their 1986 Wembley concert (titled Live At Wembley Stadium) and 1982 Milton Keynes concert (Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl), and two Greatest Video Hits (Volumes 1 and 2, spanning the 1970s and 1980s) have seen the band's music remixed into 5.1 and DTS surround sound. So far, only two of the band's albums, A Night at the Opera and The Game, have been fully remixed into high-resolution multichannel surround on DVD-Audio. A Night at the Opera was re-released with some revised 5.1 mixes and accompanying videos in 2005 for the 30th anniversary of the album's original release (CD+DVD-Video set). In
Queen 2007, a Blu-ray edition of Queen's previously released concerts Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid was released together marking their first project in 1080p HD. Queen have been featured multiple times in the Guitar Hero franchise: a cover of "Killer Queen" in the original Guitar Hero, "We Are The Champions", "Fat Bottomed Girls," and the Paul Rodgers collaboration "C-lebrity" in a track pack for Guitar Hero World Tour, "Under Pressure" with David Bowie in Guitar Hero 5 ,[188] and "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. On 13 October 2009, Brian May revealed there was "talk" going on "behind the scenes" about a dedicated Queen Rock Band game.[189] Queen have also been featured multiple times in the Rock Band franchise: a track pack of 10 songs which are compatible with Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Rock Band 3 (Three of those are also compatible with Lego Rock Band) Their hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" was featured in Rock Band 3 with full harmony and keys support. The band also appeared in the video game, Lego Rock Band, as playable Lego avatars.[190] In March 2009, Sony Computer Entertainment released a Queen branded version of the company's karaoke franchise, SingStar. The game, which is available on PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, is titled SingStar Queen and has 25 songs on the PS3 and 20 on the PS2.[191] "We Will Rock You" and other songs by Queen also appear in DJ Hero.[192]
13
Queen Forever", and "Innuendo". Brian May later criticised the show for editing specific scenes,[194] one which made the group's time with contestant Ace Young look negative, despite it being the opposite. Taylor and May again appeared on the American Idol Season 8 finale in May 2009, performing "We Are the Champions" with finalists Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. Al Murray's Happy Hour has a Queen theme, as it uses "Don't Stop Me Now" for the introduction and features guest performers along with host Al Murray singing different Queen songs each episode. The remainder of Queen did appear at the end of a series of the show. "I Was Born to Love You" was used as the theme song of the Japanese drama Pride on Fuji Television in 2004, starring Takuya Kimura and Yko Takeuchi. The show's soundtrack also contained other songs by Queen, including "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". The band made tentative plans to provide material for use in "The Hotel New Hampshire" but this project was abandoned. "Keep Passing The Open Windows" (which is an important catch-phrase line in the movie) did survive. The Simpsons has also made storylines in which they use Queen songs such as 'You're My Best friend'. On 15 November 2009 Brian May and Roger Taylor appeared on the singing contest television show "X Factor".[114] In the Autumn of 2009, the Fox television show Glee featured the fictional high school's show choir singing "Somebody To Love" as their second act performance in the episode The Rhodes Not Taken. The performance was included on the show's Volume One soundtrack CD, and is available as a single via digital download. Brian May announced in a BBC interview[195] that Sacha Baron Cohen, previously best known for his comedic characters Borat, Ali G and Brno, had been chosen to play Mercury in a film. The motion picture is being written by Peter Morgan, who had been nominated for Oscars for his screenplays The Queen and Frost/Nixon. The film, which is being co-produced by Robert De Niro's TriBeCa Productions, will focus on Queen's formative years and the period leading up to the celebrated performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. Filming is due to begin sometime in 2011.[196]
14
Members
Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, piano, guitar (19701991) Brian May: guitars, keyboards, vocals (1970present) John Deacon: bass, guitar (19711997) Roger Taylor: drums, percussion, vocals (1970present)
Discography
Queen (1973) Queen II (1974) Sheer Heart Attack (1974) A Night at the Opera (1975) A Day at the Races (1976) News of the World (1977) Jazz (1978) The Game (1980) Hot Space (1982) The Works (1984) A Kind of Magic (1986)
Queen
15
References
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We would spend four days multi-layering a guitar solo and then some imbecile from the record company would come in and say, 'I like that synth!'"". [58] Billboard 12 July 1980 (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=kSQEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PT29& dq=Flash Gordon (album) queen& hl=en& ei=MPkxTY_UApGYhQet4s29Cw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=5& ved=0CEcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage& q=Flash Gordon (album) queen& f=false) Billboard Retrieved January 15, 2011 [59] "Queen's Flashy Rock" (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_07-27-1982_-_Washington_Post_-_Capital_Centre). The Washington Post. (1982-07-27). . Retrieved January 15, 2011 [60] Henke, James (1981-06-11) "Queen Holds Court in South America" Rolling Stone Retrieved January 15, 2011 [61] Purvis, Georg (2007) Queen: Complete Works p.315. Reynolds & Hearn, [62] Queen biography 1981 (http:/ / queenzone. com/ queenzone/ bio_view. aspx?q=13). Queen Zone. 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[129] "http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ news/ the-darkness-follow-up-hyde-park-w-new-queen-influenced-album. aspx" [130] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Def Leppard (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p4062). Allmusic. [131] "Dream Theater The Official Site" (http:/ / www. dreamtheater. net/ disco_guests. php?s=dragon_attack). . [132] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Prato, Greg. Extreme (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p4215). Allmusic. [133] Trivium Matthew Kiichi Heafy (http:/ / www. trivium. org/ board_posts/ matthew-kiichi-heafy) Retrieved March 15, 2011 [134] Arjun S Ravi (12 October 2007). "They're back: And thank God for the Foo Fighters" (http:/ / www. screenindia. com/ old/ fullstory. php?content_id=17443). Screen Weekly. . Retrieved 2 December 2009. [135] "Franz Ferdinand Queen Myth Prompted Franz Ferdinand to Go Backwards" (http:/ / www. contactmusic. com/ new/ xmlfeed. nsf/ story/ queen-myth-prompted-franz-ferdinand-to-go-backwards). . [136] "The Legend" (http:/ / www. mercury-and-queen. com/ legend. htm). . [137] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Hendrickson, Matt. Green Day (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ news/ coverstory/ how_green_day_conquered_the_world). Rolling Stones. [138] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Prato, Greg. Guns N' Roses (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p4416). Allmusic. [139] Helloween cover Queen's song 'Sheer Heart Attack' of 'News of the World' album (http:/ / www. roadrunnerrecords. com/ blabbermouth. net/ news. aspx?mode=Article& newsitemID=9892) (Blabbermouth Helloween bassist interview) [140] Queen, 50 greatest songs as voted for by Maiden, Priest, Kiss, etc. (http:/ / www. queencuttings. com/ cod/ ClassicRock_oct2006. html) (Classic Rock magazine-Queen tribute) [141] ""Bri's Soapbox" June26th" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssb. html). [142] Ankeny, Jason. Kansas (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p4655). Allmusic. [143] Leahey, Andrew Katy Perry (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ katy-perry-p1010533) Allmusic Retrieved January 25, 2011 [144] "Keane's influences" (http:/ / www. keaneshaped. co. uk/ faq/ #influences). www.keaneshaped.co.uk. . [145] Dingwall, John (2009-11-27). "The Fear Factor; Lady Gaga used tough times as inspiration for her new album" (http:/ / www. thefreelibrary. com/ THE+ FEAR+ FACTOR;+ Lady+ Gaga+ used+ tough+ times+ as+ inspiration+ for+ her. . . -a0213005824). Daily Record: pp.4849. . Retrieved 2011-01-25. [146] "MSP BBC interview" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ wales/ music/ sites/ manicstreetpreachers/ pages/ interview_2005. shtml). www.bbc.co.uk. . [147] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Prato, Greg. Metallica (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p4906). Allmusic. [148] Jones, Emma (5 January 2007). Mika (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 6231243. stm). BBC. [149] Jonathan Fisher (17 June 2006). "Muse talk to DiS: new album, Western films and WIN! WIN! WIN! / Music News // Drowned In Sound" (http:/ / drownedinsound. com/ news/ 916414). Drownedinsound.com. . Retrieved 2 June 2010.
18
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[150] Leahey, Andrew My Chemical Romance (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ my-chemical-romance-p533805) Allmusic Retrieved 24 January 2011 [151] "Allmusic (((Queen > Overview))" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p5205). . [152] "Queensryche" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ queensrche-p5206). . [153] "All messed up" (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ music/ 2006/ jun/ 18/ 9). The Guardian (London). 18 June 2006. . [154] "Robbie Williams came close to becoming Queen lead singer" (http:/ / www. femalefirst. co. uk/ celebrity/ Robbie+ Williams-3016. html). . [155] "Nine Inches Of Love" (http:/ / www. theninhotline. net/ archives/ articles/ xart2a. shtml). TheNINHotline.com (Internet). March 1992. . [156] "Steve Vai AllMusic" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ steve-vai-p5736). . [157] allmusic.com (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r782664) [158] Prato, Greg. Styx (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p5550). Allmusic. [159] "The Flaming Lips - Bohemian Rhapsody (Live) VideoSift: Online Video *Quality Control" (http:/ / videosift. com/ video/ The-Flaming-Lips-Bohemian-Rhapsody-Live). Videosift.com. 2010-11-01. . Retrieved 2010-11-07. [160] Gonzalez, Ma; Sorrento, Jj; Tsao, E (September 2007). "Rolling Stone" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ thekillers). The American journal of medicine (RollingStone.com) 120 (9): 7724. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2007.06.018. ISSN0002-9343. PMID17765044. [161] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Prato, Greg. The Smashing Pumpkins (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p5462). Allmusic. [162] "Rebellious Jukebox" (http:/ / starla. org/ articles/ maker. htm). Melody Maker. 14 August 1993. [163] Yngwie Malmsteen (http:/ / www. metalstorm. ee/ bands/ bandmember. php?member_id=850). Metal Storm. [164] "Queen rock on in poll" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ entertainment/ 1974538. stm). BBC News. 8 May 2002. . [165] Grammy Hall of Fame Award (http:/ / www2. grammy. com/ Recording_Academy/ Awards/ Hall_Of_Fame/ #B) Grammy.com [166] "Queen win greatest live gig poll" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 4420308. stm). BBC. 9 November 2005. . [167] "Queen declared 'top British band'" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 6224235. stm). BBC. 2 January 2007. . [168] Noah, Sherna (10 December 2005). "Queen closer to King as UK chart-toppers" (http:/ / news. scotsman. com/ elvispresley/ Queen-closer-to-King-as. 2685286. jp). Edinburgh: scotsman.com. [169] Brown, Mark (16 November 2006) Queen are the champions in all-time album sales chart (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ uk/ 2006/ nov/ 16/ musicnews. lifeandhealth) The Guardian Retrieved February 16, 2011 [170] "BBC BREAKFAST NEWS VIDEO" (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=GwlE8dmRyko). BBC NEWS. 6 November 2009. . Retrieved 6 November 2009. [171] Top Selling Artists (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php?table=tblTopArt). RIAA. [172] 2003 Award and Induction Ceremony: Queen (http:/ / www. songwritershalloffame. org/ ceremony/ entry/ C3124/ 207916) Songwriters Hall of Fame Retrieved 24 January 2011 [173] Grammy Hall of Fame Award (http:/ / www. grammy. org/ recording-academy/ awards/ hall-of-fame#w) Grammy.org Retrieved February 16, 2011 [174] Queen enter Grammy Hall of Fame (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ 7758704. stm) BBC News Retrieved April 21, 2011 [175] Haines, Lester (29 September 2005) 'We Are The Champions' voted world's fave song (http:/ / www. theregister. co. uk/ 2005/ 09/ 29/ world_music_poll/ ) (Sony Ericsson world music poll) Retrieved February 16, 2011 [176] "Queen embrace new technology: whether it's remixing for DVD or releasing live sets online, the band have stayed at the forefront of change" (http:/ / www. accessmylibrary. com/ coms2/ summary_0286-11853838_ITM). Music Week. 12 November 2005. . [177] "Classic bands top net bootleg chart" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ entertainment/ 1235544. stm). BBC News. 22 March 2001. . [178] "People Watch" (http:/ / nl. newsbank. com/ nl-search/ we/ Archives?p_product=ST& s_site=dfw& p_multi=ST& p_theme=realcities& p_action=search& p_maxdocs=200& p_topdoc=1& p_text_direct-0=104BD3D9D7DE52B0& p_field_direct-0=document_id& p_perpage=10& p_sort=YMD_date:D). Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 26 August 2004. . [179] "www.rockonthenet.com" (http:/ / www. rockonthenet. com/ archive/ 2000/ vh1hardrock. htm). www.rockonthenet.com. . Retrieved 2 June 2010. [180] VH1 Listed 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time (http:/ / today24news. com/ entertainment/ vh1-listed-100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-083804) Today24News [181] We Will Rock You (http:/ / londontheatre. co. uk/ londontheatre/ news/ jan06/ wewillrockyou27jan06. htm). London Theatre. [182] Queen plan second stage musical (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 7348143. stm) BBC News Retrieved January 23, 2011 [183] May, Brian (April 2004). "Biography" (http:/ / brianmay. com/ brian/ biog. html). brianmay.com. [184] A Night at the Opera, 30th Anniversary CD/DVD (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ a-night-at-the-opera-30th-anniversary-cddvd-r811132) Allmusic Retrieved February 25, 2011 [185] God Save The Queen (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ songs/ anightat. htm#god) Ulimate Queen Retrieved February 25, 2011 [186] Sewpersad, Roshan (21 October 2004). "Too little balls for balletomanes" (http:/ / www. oulitnet. co. za/ teater/ queen_ballet. asp). LitNet (South Africa). [187] Christopher Isherwood (August 19, 2010) Here They Go Again: Head-Banging Anthems of Their Youth (http:/ / theater. nytimes. com/ 2010/ 08/ 20/ theater/ reviews/ 20power. html) The New York Times [188] "Rock Band's Queen 10-Pack In All Its Glory" (http:/ / kotaku. com/ 5373074/ rock-bands-queen-10+ pack-in-all-its-glory). Kotaku.com. 2 October 2009. . Retrieved 2 June 2010. [189] Masters, Tim (13 October 2009). "Queen star May hails Muse album" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ 8304176. stm). BBC News.
19
Queen
[190] "Queen Playable in Lego Rock Band along with their songs "We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions"" (http:/ / www. 1up. com/ do/ newsStory?cId=3176569). 1up.com. 20 October 2009. . Retrieved 2 June 2010. [191] Previous post Next post. "Singstar Queen Track Listing Revealed | GameLife" (http:/ / www. wired. com/ gamelife/ 2009/ 02/ singstar-queen/ ). Wired.com. . Retrieved 2 June 2010. [192] "Music, Current Set List" (http:/ / www. djhero. com/ music/ ). DJ Hero. . Retrieved 2 June 2010. [193] Episode Guide (http:/ / www. that70sshow. com/ ). That '70s Show. December 2008. Scholar search (http:/ / scholar. google. co. uk/ scholar?hl=en& lr=& q=intitle:Episode+ Guide& as_publication=& as_ylo=& as_yhi=& btnG=Search) [194] Lyndsey, Parker (13 April 2006). Queen's Brian May Addresses 'Idol Fallout' (http:/ / music. yahoo. com/ read/ news/ 31620391). Yahoo!. [195] "BBC Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ entertainment-arts-11340336). BBC News. 17 September 2010. . Retrieved 22 September 2010. [196] ""Is it because I has a mankini?" Ali G creator to take on Queen" (http:/ / www. independent. co. uk/ arts-entertainment/ films/ news/ is-it-because-i-has-a-mankini-ali-g-creator-to-take-on-queen-2082687. html). London: The Independent. 17 September 2010. . Retrieved 22 September 2010.
20
Further reading
Brooks, Greg (1995). Queen Live: A Concert Documentary. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN9780711948143 Dawson, Mike (2008). Freddie & Me. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN9780224081931 Dean, Ken; Charlesworth, Chris (1991). Queen: The New Visual Documentary. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN9780711928282 Goodall, Nigel; Lewry, Peter (1998). The Ultimate Queen. London: Simon & Schuster. ISBN9780684821498 Gunn, Jacky; Jenkins, Jim (1992). Queen: As It Began. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN9780330332590 Hodkinson, Mark (2005). Queen: The Early Years. London: Music Sales Limited. ISBN9780711960121 Hogan, Peter (1994). The Complete Guide to the Music of Queen. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN9780711935266 Jackson, Laura (2002). Queen: The Definitive Biography. London: Piatkus. ISBN9780749923174 Michael, Mick (1992). Queen, In Their Own Words. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN9780711930148 Nester, Daniel (2003). God Save My Queen: A Tribute. Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull Press. ISBN9781887128278 Nester, Daniel (2004). God Save My Queen II: The Show Must Go On. Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull Press. ISBN9781932360516 Purvis, Georg (2006). Queen: Complete Works. Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN9781905287338
External links
Official web site (http://www.queenonline.com/home) Queen band logo (http://www.famouslogos.us/queen-logo) Queen (http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Music/Bands_and_Artists/Q/Queen/) at the Open Directory Project
21
Accolades
Inductions
2001 - The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] 2002 - The band was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[2] 2003 - The band became the first band, rather than individual, to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[3] 2004 - The band was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.[4] 2004 - "Bohemian Rhapsody" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[5] 2004 - The band was inducted into the RockWalk of Fame (at Guitar Center on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard)[6] 2006 - The band was the first inducted into the VH1 Rock Honors.[7] 2009 - "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" are inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[5]
Awards
1974 Sounds: 3rd Best New British Band, 9th Best International Band Disc: 10th Brightest Hope NME: 2nd Most Promising New Name 1975 Melody Maker: 'Band of the Year'[8] Record Mirror: 2nd Best British Newcomer, 2nd Best Single ("Killer Queen"), 9th International Group NME: 8th Best British Group, 7th Best Stage Band, 4th Most Promising Group In The World, 3rd Most Promising New Name, 17th Best World Group Disc: Top Live Band, Top International Group, Top British Group, Top Single ("Killer Queen"), 3rd Best Album (Sheer Heart Attack), 5th Best Album (Queen II) Ivor Novello Award to Mercury for "Killer Queen"[9] Golden Lion Award (Belgium) to Mercury for "Killer Queen" Carl Allen Award for contribution to the Ballroom Dancing Industry 1976 NME: 1st British Stage Band, 2nd Group, 5th World Group, 3rd World Stage Band, Mercury: 7th World Singer, May: 3rd Top Guitarist, 1st British Single ("Bohemian Rhapsody"), 2nd Album ("A Night at the Opera") Record Mirror / Disc: 1st Best British Group, 1st World Group, No. 1 Single ("Bohemian Rhapsody"), No. 6 Album ("A Night at the Opera"), Mercury: 5th British Singer, 6th World Singer, 4th British Songwriter, 5th World Songwriter, May: 4th British Musician, 4th World Musician Sound: Best Band, Best Album (A Night at the Opera), Best Single ("Bohemian Rhapsody")[10] Ivor Novello Award to Mercury for "Bohemian Rhapsody"[9] 1977 The BRIT Awards: Best British Single of the Last 25 Years ("Bohemian Rhapsody")[11] Europe One Radio: Most Potential Rock Band Daily Mail: Best Group
Awards and nominations 1979 Music Life, Japan: Top Group, Top Album (Jazz), Top Single, Top Singer, Top Guitarist, Top Drummer, Top Bass Player 1980 Juno Awards, Canada: Best Group, Best International Single ("Another One Bites the Dust"), Best International Album (The Game) Record World USA: Top Male Group, Top Producer, Top Disco Crossover (All awarded for "Another One Bites the Dust") Dick Clark Awards USA: Best Band Circus Magazine USA: 2nd Best Group, 1st Live Show, No. 1 Album (The Game), No. 1 Single ("Another One Bites the Dust"), No.3 Single ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love"), Mercury: 2nd Male Vocalist, 3rd Best Songwriter, 3rd Best Keyboard Player; 3rd Best Guitarist, 3rd Best Bassist, 3rd Best Drummer 1981 American Music Awards: 'Favorite Pop/Rock Single' ("Another One Bites the Dust")[8] Music Life, Japan: Best Group, Best Vocalist, Best Bass Player, 2nd Best Guitarist, 2nd Drummer NARM Award USA: Biggest Selling Single of 1980 ("Another One Bites the Dust") 1984 Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Silver Clef Award: Outstanding Contribution to British Music UK Video Awards: Highly Commended in Best Compilation Category for The Works EP. Best Video award for "Radio Ga Ga" 1986 Daily Mirror Reader's Poll: Top British Group, Top Male Vocalist, 5th Best Album (A Kind of Magic) Daily Express: Best Album Cover Award (A Kind of Magic) British Video Awards: Top Music Video Award (Live In Rio) Worldwide Music Awards: Best Worldwide Group 1987 Sun: Best Male Vocalist for Mercury Capital Radio London: Best Group Ivor Novello Award: for Outstanding Contribution to British Music British Video Awards: Best Video, Music category for "Live In Budapest"
22
1988 Golden Rose Festival, Montreux: International Music Media Conference: Best Long Form Video worldwide (The Magic Years) Festerio, Rio De Janiero: Best video documentary (The Magic Years) 1989 Independent Television Awards: Best Band of the Eighties US Film & Video Festival: Silver Screen Award (The Magic Years) Diamond Awards, Antwerp: Best Special Effects Award ("The Invisible Man") 1990 The BRIT Awards: Outstanding Contribution to Music[9] 1991 American Film & Video Festival, Chicago: Innuendo won 1st Prize, I'm Going Slightly Mad won 3rd Prize for Creative Excellence in the Art Culture and Performing Arts category
Awards and nominations Monitor Awards (International Teleproduction Society), New York City: Best Achievement in Music Video ("Innuendo") 1992 The BRIT Awards: Mercury received a posthumous Outstanding Contribution To Music Award, Best Single Award ("These Are the Days of Our Lives";).[12] Ivor Novello Award: Best Single ("These Are the Days of Our Lives"), May received a Best TV Commercial Music Award ("Driven By You") Golden Giraffe Award: Greatest Hits II (Award given by the Association of Hungarian Record Producers) MTV Awards: Best Video From A Movie (Wayne's World) US Film & Video Festival, Chicago: Gold Camera Awards (The Freddie Mercury Tribute), (Greatest Flix II), ("The Show Must Go On") ("These Are the Days of Our Lives") 1993 Ivor Novello Award: to Mercury ("Living on My Own") (posthumous) American Society Of Composers, Authors & Publishers: Mercury posthumously awarded for "Bohemian Rhapsody" as the Most Played Record in the U.S. of 1993 Monitor Awards, Hollywood: "Red Couch" Awards (Greatest Flix II and "I'm Going Slightly Mad") 1997 Ivor Novello Award: Best Song Lyrically & Musically ("Too Much Love Will Kill You") 2001 Golden Rose Film Festival, Montreux: Prix de la Presse (The Freddie Mercury Untold Story) 2002 New York Film Festival: Gold World Medal for the Best Television and Entertainment Program (Variety Special Section), Gold World Medal for the Best Home Video (Music Video Section) for The Freddie Mercury Untold Story Capital FM Awards: Outstanding Contribution to Music Guinness World Records: UKs best single of the past 50 years ("Bohemian Rhapsody") Annual DVD Awards: Best DVD-Audio/Non Video (A Night at the Opera) Surround Music Awards: "Most Adventurous Mix" and "Listener's Choice" (A Night at the Opera) 2003 Annual DVD Awards: Best DVD-Audio (The Game) DVD Awards At The Universal Sheraton: DVD-Audio Of The Year (The Game) Capital Legends Awards: Legendary Group European Music DVD-Award: Best Live DVD (Live At Wembley Stadium) Surround Music Award: "Best Mix: Non-Orchestral" (The Game)
23
2008 New York City radio station Q104.3 FM WAXQ names Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" number 13 in their 2008 Top 1,043 Songs Of All Time listener-generated countdown.
24
Polls
1999 - The band was voted the 2nd greatest band in music history.[13] 2005 - The band's performance at Live Aid is voted two times by a large selection of musicians and critics to be the greatest live show of all time.[14] 2007 - The band was voted the 'Best British Band Of All Time.'[15] 2008 - The band enters the Grammy Hall of Fame.
References
[1] Queen (http:/ / rockhall. com/ hof/ inductee. asp?id=1142), Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, [2] Queen honoured with Hollywood star (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ entertainment/ 2339131. stm), BBC, 18 October 2002, [3] ( Scholar search (http:/ / scholar. google. co. uk/ scholar?hl=en& lr=& q=intitle:Queen& as_publication=& as_ylo=& as_yhi=& btnG=Search)) Queen (http:/ / songwritershalloffame. org/ inductee_ceremony_detail. asp?ceremonyId=24& inducteeCeremonyId=178), Songwriters Hall of Fame, [4] ( Scholar search (http:/ / scholar. google. co. uk/ scholar?hl=en& lr=& q=intitle:UK+ Music+ Hall+ of+ Fame& as_publication=& as_ylo=& as_yhi=& btnG=Search)) UK Music Hall of Fame (http:/ / channel4. com/ music/ microsites/ U/ UKMHOF), Channel 4, [5] The Grammys (http:/ / grammy. com/ Recording_Academy/ Awards/ Hall_Of_Fame/ ), The Recording Academy, [6] Queen (http:/ / rockwalk. com/ inductees/ inductee. cfm?id=154), Guitar Center, [7] VH1 Rock Honors (http:/ / vh1. com/ shows/ events/ rock_honors/ 2006), VH1, [8] Queen (http:/ / rockonthenet. com/ artists-q/ queen. htm), Rock On The Net, [9] ( Scholar search (http:/ / scholar. google. co. uk/ scholar?hl=en& lr=& q=intitle:Freddie+ Mercury& as_publication=& as_ylo=& as_yhi=& btnG=Search)) Freddie Mercury (http:/ / knittingcircle. org. uk/ freddiemercury. htm), The Knitting Circle, [10] Today in Music History (31 January) (http:/ / soundgenerator. com/ news/ showarticle. cfm?articleID=249), Sound Generator, [11] 'The Brit Awards, found October 7, 2007 (http:/ / www. everyhit. com/ awardbrit. html), Everyhit.com, [12] Freddie Mercury biography (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ name/ nm0006198/ bio), IMDB, [13] Music Of The Millennium (http:/ / mr-mercury. co. uk/ Articles/ music_of_the_millenium. htm), Channel 4, [14] Queen win greatest live gig poll (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ music/ 4420308. stm), BBC, 9 November 2005, [15] Queen declared 'top British band' (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 6224235. stm), BBC, 2 January 2007,
25
Members
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Mercury performing in New Haven, Connecticut, 1978 Background information Birth name Born Origin Died Genres Occupations Instruments Years active Labels Farrokh Bulsara 5 September 1946Stone Town, Zanzibar [1] London, England, UK 24 November 1991 (aged45)Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom Rock, hard rock, glam rock Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar 196991 Columbia, Polydor, EMI, Parlophone, Hollywood Records
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara (Gujarati: ), September 5, 1946 November 24, 1991)[2] [3] was a British musician, best known as the lead vocalist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range.[4] [5] [6] As a songwriter, Mercury composed many hits for Queen, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "We Are the Champions". In addition to his work with Queen, he led a solo career, penning hits such as "Barcelona", "I Was Born to Love You" and "Living on My Own". Mercury also occasionally served as a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. He died of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease. Mercury, who was a Parsi born in Zanzibar and grew up there and in India until his mid-teens, has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star".[7] In 2006, Time Asia named him as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years,[8] and he continues to be voted one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music. In 2005, a poll organised by Blender and MTV2 saw Mercury voted the greatest male singer of all time.[9] In 2009, a Classic Rock poll saw him voted the greatest rock singer of all time.[10] In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 18
Freddie Mercury on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.[6] Allmusic has characterised Mercury as "one of rock's greatest all-time entertainers", who possessed "one of the greatest voices in all of music".[11]
26
Early life
Mercury was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Africa (now part of Tanzania). His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara,[a] were Parsis from the Gujarat region of the then province of Bombay Presidency in British India.[12] [b] The family surname is derived from the town of Bulsar (also known as Valsad) in southern Gujarat. As Parsis, Mercury and his family practised the Zoroastrian religion.[13] The Bulsara family had moved to Zanzibar so that his father could continue his job as a cashier at the British Colonial Office. He had a younger sister, Kashmira.[14] Mercury spent the bulk of his childhood in India and began taking piano lessons at the age of seven.[15] In 1954, at the age of eight, Mercury was sent to study at St. Peter's School, a British-style boarding school for boys in Panchgani near Bombay (now Mumbai), India.[16] Aged 12, he formed a school band, The Hectics, and covered artists such as Cliff Richard and Little Richard.[17] A friend from the time recalls that he had "an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano".[18] It was also at St. Peter's where he began to call himself "Freddie". Mercury remained in India, living with his grandmother and aunt until he completed his education at St. Mary's School, Bombay.[19] At the age of 17, Mercury and his family fled from Zanzibar for safety reasons due to the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution.[7] The family moved into a small house in Feltham, Middlesex, England. Mercury enrolled at Isleworth Polytechnic (now West Thames College) in West London where he studied art. He ultimately earned a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Ealing Art College, later using these skills to design the Queen crest. Mercury remained a British citizen for the rest of his life.
Following graduation, Mercury joined a series of bands and sold second-hand clothes in the Kensington Market in London. He also held a job at Heathrow Airport. Friends from the time remember him as a quiet and shy young man who showed a great deal of interest in music.[20] In 1969 he joined the band Ibex, later renamed Wreckage. When this band failed to take off, he joined a second band called Sour Milk Sea. However, by early 1970 this group broke up as well.[21] In April 1970, Mercury joined guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor who had previously been in a band called Smile. Despite reservations from the other members, Mercury chose the name "Queen" for the new band. He later said about the band's name, "I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it".[1] At about the same time, he changed his surname, Bulsara, to Mercury.[22]
Freddie Mercury
27
Career
Singer
Although Mercury's speaking voice naturally fell in the baritone range, he delivered most songs in the tenor range.[23] His vocal range extended from bass low F (F2) to soprano high F (F6).[24] He could belt up to tenor high F (F5).[24] Biographer David Bret described his voice as "escalating within a few bars from a deep, throaty rock-growl to tender, vibrant tenor, then on to a high-pitched, perfect coloratura, pure and crystalline in the upper reaches".[25] Spanish soprano Montserrat Caball, with whom Mercury recorded an album, expressed her opinion that "the difference between Freddie and almost all the other rock stars was that he was selling the voice".[26] She adds, "His technique was astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sung with an incisive sense of rhythm, his vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from a register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right coloring or expressive nuance for each word."[24] As Queen's career progressed, he would increasingly alter the highest notes of their songs when live, often harmonising with seconds, thirds or fifths instead. Mercury was said to have "the rawest vocal fold nodules" and claimed never to have had any formal vocal training.[27]
Songwriter
Freddie Mercury's vocal Mercury wrote 10 of the 17 songs on Queen's Greatest Hits album: range "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Seven Seas of Rhye", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", "Bicycle Race", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Play the Game".
The most notable aspect of his songwriting involved the wide range of genres that he used, which included, among other styles, rockabilly, progressive rock, heavy metal, gospel and disco. As he explained in a 1986 interview, "I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things."[28] Compared to many popular songwriters, Mercury also tended to write musically complex material. For example, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is acyclic in structure and comprises dozens of chords.[29] [30] He also wrote six songs from Queen II which deal with multiple key changes and complex material. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", on the other hand, contains only a few chords. Despite the fact that Mercury often wrote very intricate harmonies, he also claimed that he could barely read music.[31] He wrote most of his songs on the piano and used a wide variety of different key signatures.[29]
Freddie Mercury
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Live performer
Mercury was noted for his live performances, which were often delivered to stadium audiences around the world. He displayed a highly theatrical style that often evoked a great deal of participation from the crowd. A writer for The Spectator described him as "a performer out to tease, shock and ultimately charm his audience with various extravagant versions of himself".[32] David Bowie, who performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recorded the song "Under Pressure" with Queen, praised Mercury's performance style, saying: "Of all the more theatrical rock performers, Freddie took it further than the rest... he took it over the edge. And of course, I always admired a man who wears tights. I only saw him in concert once and as they say, he was definitely a man who could hold an audience in the palm of his hand."[33]
One of Mercury's most notable performances with Queen took place at Live Aid in 1985, during which the entire stadium audience of 72,000 people clapped, sang and swayed in unison. Queen's performance at the event has since been voted by a group of music executives as the greatest live performance in the history of rock music. The results were aired on a television program called "The World's Greatest Gigs".[34] [35] In reviewing Live Aid in 2005, one critic wrote, "Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top spots to Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, etc all are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, as evidenced by his Dionysian Live Aid performance, was easily the most godlike of them all."[36] Over the course of his career, Mercury performed an estimated 700 concerts in countries around the world with Queen. A notable aspect of Queen concerts was the large scale involved.[28] He once explained, "We're the Cecil B. DeMille of rock and roll, always wanting to do things bigger and better."[28] The band were the first ever to play in South American stadiums, breaking worldwide records for concert attendance in the Morumbi Stadium in So Paulo in 1981.[37] In 1986, Queen also played behind the Iron Curtain when they performed to a crowd of 80,000 in Budapest, in what was one of the biggest rock concerts ever held in Eastern Europe.[38] Mercury's final live performance with Queen took place on 9 August 1986 at Knebworth Park in England and drew an attendance estimated as high as 300,000.[39]
Instrumentalist
As a young boy in India, Mercury received formal piano training up to the age of nine. Later on, while living in London, he learned guitar. Much of the music he liked was guitar-oriented: his favourite artists at the time were The Who, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin. He was often self-deprecating about his own skills on both instruments and from the early 1980s onward began extensively using guest keyboardists for both Queen and his solo career. Most notably, he enlisted Fred Mandel (a Canadian musician who also worked for Pink Floyd, Elton John and Supertramp) for his first solo project, and from 1985 onward collaborated with Mike Moran (in the studio) and Spike Edney (in concert), leaving most of the keyboard work exclusively to them.
Freddie Mercury playing guitar during a live concert with Queen in Frankfurt, Germany, 1984.
Mercury played the piano in many of Queen's most popular songs, including "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", "Somebody To Love" and "Don't Stop Me Now". He
Freddie Mercury used concert grand pianos and, occasionally, other keyboard instruments such as the harpsichord. From 1980 onward, he also made frequent use of synthesizers in the studio. Queen guitarist Brian May claims that Mercury was unimpressed with his own abilities at the piano and used the instrument less over time because he wanted to walk around onstage and entertain the audience.[40] Although he wrote many lines for the guitar, Mercury possessed only rudimentary skills on the instrument. Songs like "Ogre Battle" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" were composed on the guitar; the latter featured Mercury playing acoustic guitar both on stage and in the studio.
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Solo career
In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury put out two solo albums and several singles. Although his solo work was not as commercially successful as most Queen albums, the two off-Queen albums and several of the singles debuted in the top 10 of the UK Album Charts. His first solo effort involved his contribution to the Richard "Wolfie" Wolf mix of Love Kills on the 1984 album (the song also used as the end title theme for National Lampoon's "Loaded Weapon") and new soundtrack to the 1926 Fritz Lang film Metropolis. The song, produced by Giorgio Moroder, debuted at the number 10 position in the UK charts.[41] Mercury's two full albums outside the band were Mr. Bad Guy (1985) and Barcelona (1988). The former is a pop-oriented album that emphasises disco and dance music. "Barcelona" was recorded and performed with the opera singer Montserrat Caball, whom he had long admired. Mr. Bad Guy debuted in the top ten of the UK Album Charts.[41] In 1993, a remix of "Living on My Own", a single from the album, reached the #1 position on the UK Singles Charts.[42] The song also garnered Mercury a posthumous Ivor Novello Award. Allmusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes Mr. Bad Guy as "outstanding from start to finish" and expressed his view that Mercury "did a commendable job of stretching into uncharted territory".[43] In particular, the album is heavily synthesiser-driven in a way that is not characteristic of previous Queen albums. Barcelona, recorded with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caball, combines elements of popular music and opera. Many critics were uncertain what to make of the album; one referred to it as "the most bizarre CD of the year".[44] The album was a commercial success,[45] and the album's title track debuted at the #8 position in the UK charts and was a hit in Spain.[46] The title track received massive air play as the official hymn of the 1992 Summer Olympics (held in Barcelona one year after Mercury's death). Caball sang it live at the opening of the Olympics with Mercury's part played on a screen, and again prior to the start of the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final in Barcelona.[47] In addition to the two solo albums, Mercury released several singles, including his own version of the hit The Great Pretender by The Platters, which debuted at number five in the UK in 1987.[41] In September 2006, a compilation album featuring Mercury's solo work was released in the UK in honour of what would have been his 60th birthday. The album debuted in the top 10 of the UK Album Charts.[48] In 19811983, Mercury recorded several tracks with Michael Jackson, including a demo of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This"; none of these collaborations were officially released, although bootleg recordings exist. Jackson went on to record the former song with Mick Jagger for The Jacksons's album Victory, and Mercury included the solo version of the latter song on his Mr. Bad Guy album.
Personal life
In the early 1970s Mercury had a long-term relationship with Mary Austin, whom he had met through guitarist Brian May. He lived with Austin for several years in West Kensington. By the mid-1970s, however, the singer had begun an affair with a male American record executive at Elektra Records, which ultimately resulted in the end of his relationship with Austin.[49] Mercury and Austin nevertheless remained close friends through the years, with Mercury often referring to her as his only true friend. In a 1985 interview, Mercury said of Austin, "All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary [Austin], but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other,
Freddie Mercury that's enough for me."[50] He also wrote several songs about Austin, the most notable of which is "Love of My Life". Mercury was also the godfather of Mary's oldest son, Richard.[40] During the early-to-mid-80s, he was romantically involved with Barbara Valentin, an Austrian actress,[51] who is featured in the video for "It's a Hard Life".[52] By 1985, he began another long-term relationship with a hairdresser named Jim Hutton. Hutton, who himself was tested HIV-positive in 1990,[53] lived with Mercury for the last six years of his life, nursed him during his illness and was present at his bedside when he died. Hutton claimed that Mercury died wearing a wedding band that Hutton had given him.[53] Hutton died from cancer on 1 January 2010.[54] Although he cultivated a flamboyant stage personality, Mercury was a very shy and retiring man in person, particularly around people he did not know well.[18] [26] [55] He also granted very few interviews. Mercury once said of himself: "When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man."[56]
30
The front cover of The Sun the day after Mercury's death.
Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors, and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue. A little over 24 hours after issuing that statement, Mercury died on the evening of 24 November 1991 at the age of 45, at his home in Kensington.[61] The official cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.[62] The news of his death had reached newspaper and television crews by the early hours of 25 November.[63] On 27 November, Mercury's funeral service was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest. An intensely private man, Mercury's service was for 35 of his close friends and family, with Elton John and the remaining members of Queen among those in attendance.[64] [65] Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery, West London, with the whereabouts of his ashes believed to be known only to Mary Austin.[66] In his will, Mercury left the vast majority of his wealth, including his home and recording royalties, to Mary Austin, and the remainder to his parents and sister. He further left 500,000 to his chef Joe Fanelli, 500,000 to his personal assistant Peter Freestone, 100,000 to his driver Terry Giddings, and 500,000 to Jim Hutton.[67] Mary Austin
Freddie Mercury continues to live at Mercury's home, Garden Lodge, Kensington, with her family.[67] Hutton was involved in a 2000 biography of Mercury, Freddie Mercury, the Untold Story, and also gave an interview for The Times for what would have been Mercury's 60th birthday.[57]
31
HIV
Mercury hid his HIV status from the public for several years, and it has been suggested that he could have raised a great deal of money and awareness earlier by speaking truthfully about his situation and his fight against the disease.[73] [74]
Other controversies
Queen were widely criticised when they broke a United Nations cultural boycott in 1984 by performing a series of shows at Sun City, an entertainment complex in Bophuthatswana, a homeland of (then) apartheid South Africa. As a result of these shows, Queen was placed on a United Nations list of artists who broke the boycott and was widely criticised in magazines such as the NME.[36] A further controversy ensued in August 2006, when an organisation calling itself the Islamic Mobilization and Propagation petitioned the Zanzibar government's culture ministry, demanding that a large-scale celebration of what would have been Mercury's sixtieth birthday be cancelled. The organisation issued several complaints about the planned celebrations, including that Mercury was not a true Zanzibari and that he was gay, which is not in accordance with their interpretation of sharia. The organisation claimed that "associating Mercury with Zanzibar degrades our island as a place of Islam".[70] The planned celebration was cancelled.
Legacy
Continued popularity
The extent to which Mercury's death may have enhanced Queen's popularity is not clear. In the United States, where Queen's popularity had lagged in the 1980s, sales of Queen albums went up dramatically in 1992, the year following his death.[75] In 1992 one American critic noted, "what cynics call the 'dead star' factor had come into playQueen is in the middle of a major resurgence".[76] The movie Wayne's World, which featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", also came out in 1992. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Queen have sold 32.5million albums in the United States, about half of which have been sold since Mercury's death in 1991.[77]
Freddie Mercury Estimates of Queen's total worldwide record sales to date have been set as high as 300million.[78] In the UK, Queen have now spent more collective weeks on the UK Album Charts than any other musical act (including The Beatles),[79] and Queen's Greatest Hits is the highest selling album of all time in the UK.[80] Two of Mercury's songs, "We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", have also each been voted as the greatest song of all time in major polls by Sony Ericsson[81] and Guinness World Records,[82] respectively. The former poll was an attempt to determine the world's favourite song, while the Guinness poll took place in the UK. In October 2007, the video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" was voted the greatest of all time by readers of Q magazine.[83] Consistently rated as one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music, Mercury was voted second to Mariah Carey in MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music.[8] Additionally, in January 2009, Mercury was voted second to Robert Plant in a poll of the greatest voices in rock, on the digital radio station Planet Rock.[84] In May 2009, Classic Rock magazine voted Freddie Mercury as the greatest singer in rock.[10]
32
Tributes
A statue in Montreux, Switzerland (by sculptor Irena Sedlecka) has been erected as a tribute to Mercury. It stands 3 metres high overlooking Lake Geneva and was unveiled on 25 November 1996 by Freddie's father and Montserrat Caball. Beginning in 2003, fans from around the world gather in Switzerland annually to pay tribute to the singer as part of the "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day" on the first weekend of September and the Bearpark And Esh Colliery Band played at the Freddie Mercury statue on 1 June 2010.[85] In 1999, a Royal Mail stamp with the image of Mercury on stage was issued in his honour as part of the Millennium Stamp series.[86] [87]
In 2009, a plaque was unveiled in Feltham where Mercury and his family moved upon arriving in England in 1964. The star in memory of Mercury's achievements was unveiled in Feltham High Street by his mother Jer Bulsara and Queen bandmate Brian May.[88] A tribute to Queen has been on display at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas throughout 2009 on its video canopy.[89] In December 2009 a large model of Mercury wearing tartan was put on display in the centre of Edinburgh as publicity for the run of We Will Rock You at the Playhouse Theatre.[90] A statue of Mercury stands over the entrance to the Dominion Theatre in London's West End since May 2002, where the main show has been Queen and Ben Elton's musical We Will Rock You.[91] [92]
Freddie Mercury organised The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness to celebrate the life and legacy of Mercury and raise money for AIDS research, which took place on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992.[94] The Mercury Phoenix Trust has since raised millions of pounds for various AIDS charities. The tribute concert, which took place at Wembley Stadium for an audience of 72,000, featured a wide variety of guests including; Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin), Roger Daltrey (of The Who), Extreme, Elton John, Metallica, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Tony Iommi (of Black Sabbath), Guns N' Roses, Elizabeth Taylor, George Michael, Def Leppard, Seal, Liza Minnelli (and also U2 via Satellite). The concert was broadcast live to 76 countries and had an estimated viewing audience of 1billion people.[95]
33
Portrayal in film
Brian May announced in a September 2010 BBC interview[99] that Sacha Baron Cohen, previously best known for his comedic characters Borat, Ali G and Brno, had been chosen to play Mercury in a film about his life. The motion picture is being written by Peter Morgan, who had been nominated for Oscars for his screenplays The Queen and Frost/Nixon. The film, which is being co-produced by Robert De Niro's TriBeCa Productions, will focus on Queen's formative years and the period leading up to the celebrated performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. Filming is due to begin sometime in 2011.[100]
Notes
a) On Mercury's birth certificate,[12] his parents defined themselves with "Nationality: British Indian" and "Race: Parsi". The Parsis are an originally Persian ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent who follow Zoroastrianism. b) The Bulsara family gets its name from Bulsar, a city and district that is now in the Indian state of Gujarat and is today officially known as Valsad. In the 17th century, Bulsar was one of the five centres of the Zoroastrian religion (the other four were also in what is today Gujarat) and consequently "Bulsara" is a relatively common name amongst Zoroastrians. c) Mercury is also portrayed as himself in the animated show Cromartie High School as the character Freddie, and in the British Channel 4 show House Of Rock along with Marc Bolan, John Lennon, Notorious BIG, John Denver and Kurt Cobain.
Freddie Mercury
34
References
[1] Highleyman 2005. [2] http:/ / mr-mercury. co. uk/ Images/ Birthcertificatefreddie. jpg [3] "Freddie Mercury (real name Farrokh Bulsara) Biography" (http:/ / www. inoutstar. com/ news/ Freddie-Mercury-real-name-Farrokh-Bulsara-1876. html). Inout Star. . Retrieved 11 July 2010. [4] Independent 2006 [5] Dance: Deux the fandango (http:/ / entertainment. timesonline. co. uk/ tol/ arts_and_entertainment/ article675005. ece). [6] RollingStone.com 100 Greatest Singers of All Time (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ music/ lists/ 6027/ 32782). [7] Januszczak 1996. [8] Fitzpatrick 2006. [9] list (http:/ / www. amiannoying. com/ (S(wwb0os55dj4oeh45sg3hgt3g))/ collection. aspx?collection=534) of Blender and MTV2's "22 Greatest Voices" (archived at www.amiannoying.com). [10] Classic Rock, "50 Greatest Singers in Rock", May 2009 [11] Greg, Prato. "Freddie Mercury biography" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p4899). Allmusic. . Retrieved 24 January 2011. [12] "Linda B" 2000. [13] Sky 1992, pp.89 [14] Das 2000. [15] Queen Online History: Freddie Mercury (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ history/ 35/ ) [16] Freddie Mercury Biography (http:/ / www. livemusicmagazine. com/ They bid us farewell - Freddie Mercury. htm). [17] Hodkinson 2004, pp.2,61. [18] O'Donnell 2005. [19] "Tribute to King of Queen Freddie Mercury | NowPublic News Coverage" (http:/ / www. nowpublic. com/ culture/ tribute-king-queen-freddie-mercury). Nowpublic.com. . Retrieved 22 November 2009. [20] Davis 1996, pp.1,10 [21] Skala 2006. [22] SutcliffeHinceMack 2009, p.22 [23] Evans, David; Peter Freestone (2001), Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=AH8zZsbmB98C& pg=PA108#v=onepage& q), London: Omnibus, pp.1089, ISBN0-7119-8674-6, [24] Soto-Morettini, D. (2006), Popular Singing: A Practical Guide To: Pop, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Country and Gospel, A & C Black, ISBN978-0713672664 [25] Bret 1996, p.26. [26] Cain 2006. [27] Rush 1977b. [28] Wenner 2001. [29] Queen 1992. [30] Aledort 2003. [31] Coleman 1981. [32] Blaikie 1996. [33] Ressner 1992 [34] Minchin 2005. [35] BBC News 2005b. [36] Harris 2005. [37] Bret 1996, p.91. [38] Billboard 16 Aug 1986 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=4SQEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PT85& lpg=PT85& dq=queen+ 80,000+ budapest+ 1986& source=bl& ots=wQMfbXfcyc& sig=K8MAZ-1hSIAbZc0W4IwQjAVRNR8& hl=en& ei=zU9bTeWEDNCwhQeK39zcDQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=3& ved=0CCsQ6AEwAjgK) Retrieved 17 February 2011 [39] Jones 1999. [40] Longfellow 2006 [41] Rees & Crampton 1999, p.809. [42] Rees & Crampton 1999, p.811. [43] Rivadavia <not dated>. [44] Bradley 1992. [45] Larkin, Colin (1998) The encyclopedia of popular music: Louvin, Charlie Paul, Clarence, Volume 5 Page 3633. Macmillan, 1998 [46] Rees & Crampton 1999, p.810. [47] Queen's Greatest Hits 3 (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ dna/ h2g2/ A3818793) BBC [48] ukmusic.com 2006 [49] Teckman 2004, part 2. [50] Hauptfuhrer 1977.
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[51] "The Star AIDS Kills The King of Rock" (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-25-1991_-_The_Star_-_AIDS_Kills_The_King_of_Rock). Queenarchives.com. 25 November 1991. . Retrieved 9 January 2011. [52] Freddie's Loves (Channel 5) documentary [53] Hutton 1994. [54] Sweeney, Ken (4 January 2010). "Partner of Queen star Freddie buried" (http:/ / www. independent. ie/ national-news/ partner-of-queen-star-freddie-buried-1997689. html). Irish Independent (Dublin). . Retrieved 27 August 2010. [55] Das 2006. [56] Myers 1991. [57] Teeman 2006 [58] Bret 1996, p.138 [59] Tragic Face of Freddie Mercury (http:/ / www. cloudcuckooland. biz/ mercurysun1991. jpg) The Sun [60] Bret 1996, p.179. [61] 1991: Giant of rock dies (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ onthisday/ hi/ dates/ stories/ november/ 24/ newsid_2546000/ 2546945. stm) BBC [62] Biography Channel 2007. [63] CEEFAX: Singer Freddie Mercury dies, aged 45 (http:/ / teletext. mb21. co. uk/ gallery/ ceefax/ cx_merc2. gif) [64] Elton's Sad Farewell (http:/ / mr-mercury. co. uk/ sun_28_11_91. htm) The Sun (28 November 1991) [65] Freddie, I'll Love You Always (http:/ / mr-mercury. co. uk/ nov_28_91_mirror_freddie. htm) Daily Mirror (28 November 1991) [66] The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=bMBf3TYZigQC& pg=PA282& dq=freddie+ mercury+ ashes& hl=en& ei=dcROTcWCLpGYhQfKga3tDg& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=1& ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q=freddie mercury ashes& f=false) p.282 [67] Wigg 2000. [68] Robert Urban, Robert Urban. "Ragged Blade Reviews: Queen's Freddie Mercury and his Legacy" (http:/ / www. raggedblade. com/ reviews/ 000329. html). . Retrieved 1 August 2010. [69] Landesman 2006 [70] BBC News 2006 [71] Urban <not dated> [72] Urban &nt;not dated> [73] Ressner 1992. [74] Sky 1992, p.163 [75] RIAA 2007. [76] Brown 1992. [77] "Gold & Platinum 22November2009" (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php?table=tblTopArt). RIAA. . Retrieved 22 November 2009. [78] Cota 2006 [79] BBC 2005a. [80] Brown 2006. [81] Haines 2005 [82] CNN 2002 [83] BBC News 2007. [84] The Top 40 Greatest Voices in Rock (http:/ / www. thesun. co. uk/ sol/ homepage/ showbiz/ music/ article2090095. ece) The Sun [85] Bishton 2004. [86] BBC: Entertainment: Mercury and Moore head millennium stamps (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 351568. stm) BBC News [87] "Millennium Series. The Entertainers' Tale (1999)" (http:/ / www. collectgbstamps. co. uk/ displayset. asp?setid=239). Collect GB Stamps. . Retrieved 9 January 2011. [88] "Freddie Mercury memorial unveiled in Feltham (From Richmond and Twickenham Times" (http:/ / www. richmondandtwickenhamtimes. co. uk/ news/ 4757372. In_pictures__Freddie_Mercury_memorial_unveiled/ ). Richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk. 24 November 2009. . Retrieved 9 January 2011. [89] "Las Vegas...Queen tribute rocks tourists at Fremont St. experience!" (http:/ / julian1st. wordpress. com/ 2009/ 01/ 17/ las-vegasqueen-tribute-rocks-tourists-at-fremont-st-experience/ ). Julian1st.wordpress.com. 17 January 2009. . Retrieved 9 January 2011. [90] Queen News December 2009 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsdec09a. html) BrianMay.com [91] "''We Will Rock You'' Introduction & Credits" (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Misc/ wewillrockintrocredits. htm). Ultimatequeen.co.uk. . Retrieved 9 January 2011. [92] For the first time ever...Queen: Ten great hits from the sensational rock band (http:/ / www. dailymail. co. uk/ tvshowbiz/ article-1169307/ For-time--Queen-Ten-great-hits-sensational-rock-band-todays-The-Mail-Sunday. html) The Mail On Sunday'.' Retrieved 6 February 2011. [93] National AIDS Trust 2006 [94] Stothard 1992 [95] ABC Television 2007
35
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[96] "BBC 100 great British heroes" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ entertainment/ 2208671. stm). BBC News. 21 August 2002. . Retrieved 11 July 2010. [97] "James" 2007 [98] Russell 2002 [99] "Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ entertainment-arts-11340336). BBC News. 17 September 2010. . Retrieved 22 September 2010. [100] "'Is it because I has a mankini?' Ali G creator to take on Queen: Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury in a film about the star's colourful life" (http:/ / www. independent. co. uk/ arts-entertainment/ films/ news/ is-it-because-i-has-a-mankini-ali-g-creator-to-take-on-queen-2082687. html). The Independent. 18 September 2010. . Retrieved 22 September 2010.
36
Notation done in Scientific Pitch, and thus is written one octave lower than what is displayed here.
Bibliography
ABC Television (20 August 2007), Freddie Mercury: The Tribute Concert (http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/ abc2/200708/programs/ZY9027A001D20082007T210000.htm), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Aledort, And (29 November 2003), Guitar Tacet for Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (http://people.csail.mit.edu/ custo/FTP/Chitarra/Bohemian rhapsody -QUEEN.txt). "Linda B" (2000), Certificate of Birth (http://mr-mercury.co.uk/Images/Birthcertificatefreddie.jpg), Chorley: mr-mercury.co.uk. Barnes, Ken (20 June 1974), "Album Review: Queen II" (http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/queen/albums/ album/111006/review/5944771/queen_ii), Rolling Stone Magazine . BBC News (18 April 2001), Sinatra is voice of the century (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/entertainment/music/ 1281522.stm), London: BBC News . BBC News (22 August 2002), BBC reveals 100 great British heroes (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ entertainment/2208532.stm), London: BBC News, retrieved 4 January 2010. BBC News (4 July 2005), Queen top UK album charts league (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/ music/4648611.stm), London: BBC News, retrieved 4 January 2010. BBC News (9 November 2005), Queen win greatest live gig poll (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/ music/4420308.stm), London: BBC News, retrieved 4 January 2010. BBC News (1 September 2006), Zanzibar angry over Mercury bash (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/ 5306792.stm), London: BBC News, retrieved 4 January 2010. Biography Channel (2007), Freddie Mercury (http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/ 338:294/1/Freddie_Mercury.htm), London: thebiographychannel.co.uk. Boyce, Simon (1995), Freddie Mercury, Bristol: Parragon, ISBN1861050542. BBC News (8 October 2007), Queen's rhapsody voted best video (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/ 7033249.stm), BBC News Online, retrieved 4 January 2010. Middleton, Christopher (31 August 2004), Bishton, Derek, ed., "Freddie's rhapsody" (http://www.telegraph.co. uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2004/08/31/etmontreux2908.xml), The Daily Telegraph (London), retrieved 2 May 2010 . Blaikie, Thomas (7 December 1996), "Camping at High Altitude" (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/ mi_qa3724/is_199612/ai_n8756422), The Spectator. Bradley, J. (20 July 1992), "Mercury soars in opera CD: Bizarre album may be cult classic", The Denver Post (Denver: MNG). Bret, David (1996), Living On the Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story, London: Robson Books, ISBN1861052561. Brown, G. (19 April 1992), "Queen's popularity takes ironic turn", The Denver Post (Denver: MNG). Brown, Mark (16 November 2006), "Queen are the champions in all-time album sales chart" (http://music. guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1948792,00.html), The Guardian (London: Guardian News and Media). Cain, Matthew, dir. (2006), Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic (http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=AQ1cfoMWRpQ), London: British Film Institute..
Freddie Mercury Clarke, Ross (1991), Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic, Oxted: Kingsfleet Publications, ISBN1874130019. CNN (9 May 2002), Queen in Rhapsody over hit award (http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/ 08/uk.queen/index.html), Atlanta: CNN. Cohen, Scott (April 1975), "Queen's Freddie Mercury Shopping for an Image in London" (http://web.archive. org/web/20071011205552/www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=30), Circus Magazine, retrieved 24 September 2009. Coleman, Ray, ed. (2 May 1981), "The Man Who Would Be Queen" (http://web.archive.org/web/ 20071020050854/http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=26), Melody Maker, archived from the original (http://queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=26) on 20 October 2007, retrieved 24 September 2009. Cota, Erich Adolfo Moncada (25 January 2006), "Queen Proves There's Life After Freddie" (http://english. ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=6&no=270701&rel_no=1), Ohmynews.com (Seoul). D'Esti Miller, Sarah (19 July 2007), "EPAC's 'Rhapsody' Hits Too Many Wrong Notes" (http://www.queenzone. com/news/epacs-rhapsody-hits-too-many-wrong-notes.aspx), Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY), retrieved 24 September 2009. Das, Lina (2006), "The Great Pretender" (http://www.queenarchives.com/index. php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-26-2000_-_Mail_on_Sunday), The Mail on Sunday (London), 26 November 2000, retrieved 24 September 2009. Davis, Andy (1996), "Queen Before Queen" (http://www.freddie.ru/e/archives/qbq/1.html), Record Collector Magazine 3 (199). Evans, David; Minns, David (1992), Freddie Mercury: This is the Real Life, London: Britannia, ISBN0951993739. Fitzpatrick, Liam (13 November 2006), "Farookh Bulsara" (http://time.com/time/asia/2006/heroes/ at_bulsara.html), Time Magazine, Asia Edition, 60 Years of Asian Heroes (Hong Kong: Time Asia) 168 (21). Freestone, Peter (1998), Mister Mercury, London: Tusitala, ISBN0953334104. Freestone, Peter (1999), Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir By the Man Who Knew Him Best, London: Omnibus Press, ISBN0711986746. Guazzelli, Andrs E. (8 February 2007), The Voice: Freddy Mercury > Characteristics of his voice (http:// f-mercury.com.ar/eng_characteristics.htm), Buenos Aires: f-mercury.com.ar . Gunn, Jacky; Jenkins, Jim (1992), Queen: As It Began, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, ISBN 0330332597. Haines, Lester (29 September 2005), "We Are the Champions" voted world's fave song (http://www.theregister. co.uk/2005/09/29/world_music_poll/), London: www.theregister.co.uk. Harris, John (14 January 2005), "The Sins of St. Freddie" (http://arts.guardian.co.uk/harris/story/ 0,,1411006,00.html), Guardian on Friday (London: Guardian News and Media). Hauptfuhrer, Fred (5 December 1977), "For A Song: The Mercury that's rising in rock is Freddie the satiny seductor of Queen" (http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Group_-_12-05-1977_-_People), People Magazine, retrieved 24 September 2009. Highleyman, Liz (9 September 2005), "Who was Freddie Mercury?" (http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews36/page20. cfm), Seattle Gay News 33 (36). Hodkinson, Mark (2004), Queen: The Early Years, London: Omnibus Press, ISBN1844490122. Hutton, Jim; Waspshott, Tim (1994), Mercury and Me, London: Bloomsbury, ISBN0747519226. Hutton, Jim (22 October 1994), "Freddie and Jim" A Love Story" (http://queen.peoples.ru/html/archive/stati/ fred_jim3.htm), The Guardian, "Weekend magazine". Hyder, Rehan (2004), Brimful of Asia: Negotiating Ethnicity on the UK Music Scene (http://books.google.com/ ?id=54U93KEMlNwC&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=freddie+mercury+brim+of+asia), Ashgate, ISBN9780754640646, ISBN 0754640647.
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Freddie Mercury Independent (December 2006), Depp tipped for Freddie Mercury film role (http://www.independent.co.uk/ arts-entertainment/films/news/depp-tipped-for-freddie-mercury-film-role-429639.html), London: Independent, retrieved 25 February 2011. Jackson, Laura (1997), Mercury: The King of Queen, London: Smith Gryphon, ISBN185685132X. "James" (1 April 2007), NTV program review: History's 100 Most Influential People: Hero Edition (http://www. japanprobe.com/?p=1471), Saitama: japanprobe.com. Januszczak, Waldemar (17 November 1996), "Star of India" (http://queenarchives.com/index. php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-17-1996_-_Sunday_Times), The Sunday Times (London). Jones, Lesley-Ann (1998), Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography (http://books.google.com/ ?id=FN20GwAACAAJ&dq=lesley-ann+jones), London: Coronet, ISBN9780340672099, ISBN 0340672099. Jones, Tim (July 1999), "How Great Thou Art, King Freddie" (http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http:// www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stadium/5025/RC.html&date=2009-10-25+10:58:55), Record Collector, archived from the original (http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stadium/5025/RC.html) on 25 October 2009. Landesman, Cosmo (10 September 2006), "Freddie, a Very Private Rock Star" (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/ tol/news/article634052.ece), The Sunday Times (London), retrieved 2 May 2010. Longfellow, Matthew, dir. (21 March 2006), Classic Albums: Queen: The Making of "A Night at the Opera", Aldershot: Eagle Rock Entertainment. Hudson, Jeffrey (1995), Freddie Mercury & Queen, Chessington, Surrey: Castle Communications, ISBN1860740405. Mehar, Rakesh (18 September 2006), "God Should've Saved the Queen" (http://www.hinduonnet.com/ thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006091800730300.htm&date=2006/09/18/&prd=mp&), The Hindu (Kochi) (New Delhi: hinduonline.com). Mercury, Freddie; Brooks, Greg; Lupton, Simon (2006), Freddie Mercury: A life, In His Own Words, London: Mercury Songs, ISBN0955375800. Minchin, Ryan, dir. (2005), The World's Greatest Gigs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob5NpdkH5Dw), London: Initial Film & Television. Myers, Paul (25 November 1991), "Queen star dies after Aids statement" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/ fromthearchive/story/0,12269,1650611,00.html?=rss), The Guardian (London), retrieved 2 May 2010. National AIDS Trust (2006), 25 years of HIV a UK perspective (http://web.archive.org/web/ 20061222111814/http://www.worldaidsday.org/about3.asp), London: National AIDS Trust press office, archived from the original (http://www.worldaidsday.org/about3.asp) on 22 December 2006. O'Donnell, Lisa (7 July 2005), "Freddie Mercury, WSSU professor were boyhood friends in India, Zanzibar" (http://web.archive.org/web/20080218010236/http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/ Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_RelishArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783665319& path=!entertainment!music&s=1037645508978), RelishNow!, archived from the original (http://www. journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_RelishArticle&c=MGArticle& cid=1031783665319&path=!entertainment!music&s=1037645508978) on 18 February 2008, retrieved 24 September 2009. Queen (1992), "Bohemian Rhapsody", Queen: Greatest Hits: Off the Record, Eastbourne/Hastings: Barnes Music Engraving, ISBN0863599508. Prato, Greg (<not dated>), Freddie Mercury (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4899), Ann Arbor: allmusic.com. Zimmermann, M (Dec 2004), Pye, Ian, ed., "Hungarian Rhapsody" (http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic. php?t=626) ( Scholar search (http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=intitle:Hungarian+ Rhapsody&as_publication=Neuropeptides&as_ylo=2004&as_yhi=2004&btnG=Search)), Neuropeptides (London: IPC Media) 38 (6): 3756, 9 August 1986, ISSN0143-4179, PMID15651128 .
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Freddie Mercury Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1999), Summers, David, ed., The Rock Stars Encyclopedia, London: Dorling Kindersley. Ressner, Jeffry (9 January 1992), "Queen singer is rock's first major AIDS casualty" (http://queenzone.com/ queenzone/article_show.aspx?q=96), Rolling Stone Magazine 621. RIAA (2007), Gold and Platinum Record Database (http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata. php?table=SEARCH), Washington: Recording Industry Association of America. Rivadavia, Eduardo (<not dated>), Mr. Bad Guy (Overview) (http://www.allmusic.com/album/r12964), Ann Arbor: Allmusic. Rush, Don (1977a), "Queen's Freddie Mercury" (http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www. geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stadium/5025/CIRCUS.html&date=2009-10-25+10:58:44), Circus Magazine, 17 March 1977, archived from the original (http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stadium/5025/CIRCUS. html) on 25 October 2009. Rush, Don (1977b), "title unknown" (http://web.archive.org/web/20071020050442/http://www. queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=32), Circus Magazine, 5 December 1977, archived from the original (http:/ /www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=32) on 20 October 2007, retrieved 24 September 2009. Russell, Paul (2002), The Gay 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Gay Men and Lesbians, Past and Present, Seacaucus: Kensington/Citadel, ISBN0758201001. Skala, Martin (2006), Concertography > Freddie Mercury live > Early days (http://www.queenconcerts.com/ live/freddie-mercury/early.html), Plzen, Czech Republic: queenconcerts.com. Sky, Rick (1992), The Show Must Go On, London: Fontana, ISBN9780006378433. Stothard, Peter, ed. (26 April 1992), "Freddie Tribute" (http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=389) ( Scholar search (http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=intitle:Freddie+Tribute& as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search)), The Times (London: Times Newspapers) . Sutcliffe, Phil; Hince, Peter; Mack, Reinhold (2009), Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock (http://books.google.com/?id=adNONbUWLjgC&pg=PT25&dq=Bulsara, to Mercury#v=onepage& q=Bulsara, to Mercury&f=false), London: Voyageur Press, ISBN9780760337196 Taraporevala, Sooni (2004), Parsis: The Zoroastrians of India: A Photographic Journey (2nd ed.), Woodstock/New York: Overlook Press, ISBN1585675938. Teckman, Kate, dir. (2004), Freddie's Loves, London: North One Television *part 2* (http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=3VgL1oFexjY) *part 3* (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OF3hMTeJJ0). Teeman, Tim (7 September 2006), "I Couldn't Bear to See Freddie Wasting Away" (http://www.timesonline.co. uk/tol/life_and_style/article630033.ece), TheTimes (London), retrieved 2 May 2010. UKMusic.com (10 September 2006), UK Top 40 Albums Chart 10September2006 (http://www.ukmusic.com/ charts/album-chart/uk-top-40-albums-chart-10th-september-2006.html). Urban, Robert (<not dated>), Freddie Mercury & Queen: Past, Present & Future Impressions (http://www. raggedblade.com/reviews/000329.html), afterelton.com. Webb, Julie (4 April 1974), "Queen" (http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=28) ( Scholar search (http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=author:Webb+intitle:Queen&as_publication=& as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search)), NME (London: IPC Media) . WENN (9 April 2005), "Legend Freddie Mercury Honoured" (http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment/ Freddie+Mercury-3960.html), Femalefirst.co.uk (Wigan, Lancs). Wenner, Jann, et al. (2001), "Queen" (http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/queen), Hall of Fame Inductees, Cleveland: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Wigg, David (22 January 2000), "Mercury Left Me His Millions" (http://www.freddie.ru/e/archives/ daily_mail/), Daily Mail Weekend.
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External links
Freddie Mercury (http://www.myspace.com/freddiemercuryonline) on Myspace (official EMI Music) Freddie Mercury (http://www.discogs.com/artist/Freddie+Mercury) discography at Discogs Freddie Mercury (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4899) at Allmusic Freddie Mercury (http://www.last.fm/music/Freddie+Mercury) at Last.FM Freddie Mercury (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006198/) at the Internet Movie Database
Brian May
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Brian May
Brian May
May in 2010 Background information Birth name Born Brian Harold May 19 July 1947 Hampton, London, England, UK Rock Musician, songwriter, producer, astrophysicist, author, contributor (The Sky at Night) Guitar, vocals, piano 1965present Hollywood, Parlophone
Associated acts Smile, Queen, Phenomena, G3, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Kerry Ellis Website brianmay.com [1] Notable instruments Red Special
Brian Harold May, CBE (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen. As a guitarist he uses his home-built guitar, "Red Special", and has composed hits such as "Now I'm Here", "'39", "Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Hammer to Fall", "Save Me", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "I Want It All" and "Too Much Love Will Kill You". He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for "services to the music industry".[2] May earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College in 2007 and is currently the Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.[3] May lives in Surrey.[4] In 2005, a Planet Rock poll saw May voted the 7th greatest guitarist of all time.[5] He was ranked 39th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[6]
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Smile
Smile were formed in 1968 by Brian May. The group included Tim Staffell as singer and bassist, and later, drummer Roger Taylor, who also went on to play for Queen. The band lasted for only two years from 1968 to 1970, as Staffel left in 1970, leaving the band with a catalogue of only nine songs: "Earth" (Staffell) "Step On Me" (Staffell/May) originally from May and Staffell's band 1984. "Doin' Alright" (Staffell/May) "Blag" (Taylor) "Polar Bear" (May) "Silver Salmon" (Staffell) "See What A Fool I've Been" (May, based on the song "That's How I Feel" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee) "If I Were a Carpenter" (Tim Hardin) a cover regularly featuring in their live set. "April Lady" (Lucas) a song presented to the band by Mercury Records during their second studio session. Smile would reunite for several songs on 22 December 1992. Taylor's band The Cross were headliners and he brought May and Staffell on to play "Earth" and "If I Were a Carpenter".[15] May also performed several other songs that night.
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Queen
In Queen's three-part vocal harmonies, May's was generally the lower-range backing vocal. On some of his songs he sings the lead vocal, most notably the first verse of "Who Wants to Live Forever", the bridge on "I Want It All" and "Flash's Theme", and full lead vocals on "Some Day One Day", "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)", "'39", "Good Company", "Long Away", "All Dead, All Dead", "Sleeping on the Sidewalk", "Leaving Home Ain't Easy" and "Sail Away Sweet Sister". Throughout Queen's career May frequently wrote songs for the band and has composed many significant songs such as the worldwide hit "We Will Rock You", as well as "Tie Your Mother Down", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Hammer to Fall", "Save Me", "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "I Want It All". Typically, either Freddie Mercury or May wrote the most songs on every Queen album. After the famous Live Aid concert in summer 1985, Mercury rang his bandmates and proposed writing a song together. The result was "One Vision", which was basically May on music (the Magic Years documentary shows how he came up with the opening section and the basic guitar riff) and Roger Taylor on lyrics, with Freddie Mercury being more a producer and arranger than a proper co-writer, and John Deacon mostly absent. For their 1989 release album, The Miracle, the band had decided that all of the tracks would be credited to the entire band, no matter who had been the main writer. Still, interviews and musical analyses tend to help identify the input of each member on each track. May composed "I Want It All" for that album, as well as "Scandal" (based on his personal problems with the British press). For the rest of the album he did not contribute so much creatively, although he helped in building the basis of "Party" and "Was It All Worth It" (both being predominantly Mercury's pieces) and created the guitar riff of "Chinese Torture". Queen's subsequent album was Innuendo, on which May's contributions increased, although more in arrangements than actual writing in most cases; for the title track he did some of the arrangement for the heavy solo, then he added vocal harmonies to "I'm Going Slightly Mad" and composed the solo of "These Are the Days of Our Lives", a song for which the four of them decided the keyboard parts together. He changed the tempo and key of Mercury's song "The Hitman" and took it under his wing, even singing guide vocal in the demo. May also co-wrote some of the guitar lines in "Bijou". Two songs that May had composed for his first solo album, "Headlong" and "I Can't Live With You", eventually ended up in the Queen project. His other composition was "The Show Must Go On", a group effort in which he was the coordinator and primary composer, but in which they all had input, Deacon and Taylor with the famous chord sequence. In recent years, he has overseen the remastering of Queen albums and various DVD and greatest hits releases. In 2004, he announced that he and drummer Roger Taylor were going on tour for the first time in 18years as "Queen", along with Free/Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers. Billed as "Queen + Paul Rodgers", the band has played throughout 2005 and 2006 in South Africa, Europe, Aruba, Japan, and North America and released a new album with Paul Rodgers in 2008, entitled The Cosmos Rocks. This album was supported by a major tour. Brian May lead vocals in Queen
Queen in 1979.
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"Keep Yourself Alive" Vocal bridge with Taylor, rest sung by Mercury (1973) "Some Day, One Day" (1974) "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)" (1974) "'39" (1975) "Good Company" (1975) "Long Away" (1976) "All Dead, All Dead" (1977) "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" (1977) "Fat Bottomed Girls" Chorus lead vocals (1978) "Leaving Home Ain't Easy" (1978) "Sail Away Sweet Sister" Mercury sings the bridge (1980)
"Flash" with Freddie Mercury (1980) Put Out the Fire" - lead on falsetto lines. "Las Palabras de Amor" Lead harmony vocals on chorus (1982) "I Go Crazy" Lead Bridge Vocals (1984) "Who Wants to Live Forever" Intro verse, harmony and other lines throughout (1986) "I Want It All" with Mercury (1989) "Lost Opportunity" (1991) "Mother Love" Lead vocals on final verse (1995) "Let Me Live" Lead vocals on third verse (1995) "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" with Taylor (1997)
Brian May In 1995, May began working towards a new solo album of covers tentatively named Heroes, in addition to working on various film and television projects and other collaborations. May subsequently changed the approach of his second album from covers to focus on those collaborations and on new material. The songs recorded for that album, Another World, would feature mainly Spike Edney, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray and Jamie Moses, who had become his core support/collaborative team. On 5 April 1998, Cozy Powell was killed in a car accident on the M4 motorway near Bristol, England. This caused a huge, unexpected disruption to the upcoming tour for The Brian May Band, with the need for a new drummer on short notice. Steve Ferrone was brought on to help May finish recording drums for the title track "Another World" and to join the band for the early stage promotional tour of five dates in Europe before the world tour. The line up was then May (Lead Vocals & Lead Guitar), Edney (Keyboards), Murray (Bass), Moses (Guitar), Ferrone (Drums & Percussion), Susie Webb (Backing vocals) and Zoe Nicholas (Backing vocals). Following the early promo tour, Eric Singer replaced Steve Ferrone for the full 1998 world tour.
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Highlights
Brian May began composing in 1968/1969, and through the years he has collaborated with other songwriters, including Frank Musker, with whom he wrote "Too Much Love Will Kill You", and with Elizabeth Lamers, whose music won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically & Lyrically in 1996. A meticulous arranger, he focuses on multi-part harmonies, often more contrapuntal than parallela rarity for rock guitar. Examples are found in Queen's albums A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races, where he arranged a jazz band for guitar mini-orchestra ("Good Company"), a vocal canon ("The Prophet's Song") and guitar and vocal counterpoints ("Teo Torriatte"). May explored a wide variety of styles in guitar, including sweep picking ("Was It All Worth It", "Chinese Torture"), tremolo ("Brighton Rock", "Stone Cold Crazy", "Death on Two Legs", "Sweet Lady", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Get Down Make Love", "Dragon Attack"), tapping ("Bijou", "It's Late", "Resurrection", "Cyborg", "Rain Must Fall", "Business", "China Belle", "I Was Born To Love You"), slide Brian May 1975 guitar ("Drowse", "Tie Your Mother Down", "Radio Ga Ga"), Hendrix sounding licks ("Liar", "Brighton Rock"), tape-delay ("Brighton Rock", "White Man") and melodic parts ("Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "These Are the Days of Our Lives"). Some of his solos and orchestral parts were composed by Freddie Mercury, who then asked May to bring them to life ("Bicycle Race", "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon", "Killer Queen", "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy").
Brian May May also performed notable acoustic works, including the acoustic guitar live version of "Love of My Life" from 1975's A Night at the Opera, the finger-picked solo of "White Queen" and the skiffle-influenced "'39". In January 2007, the readers of Guitar World voted May's guitar solos "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Brighton Rock" into the top100 Greatest Guitar Solos of all time ("Bohemian Rhapsody" was voted #20 and "Brighton Rock" was voted #41). Aided by the uniqueness of his guitarthe Red SpecialMay was often able to create strange and unusual sound effects. For example, he was able to imitate an orchestra in the song "Procession"; in "Get Down, Make Love" he was able to create sound effects with his guitar that were so unusual that many thought a synthesiser was being used; in "Good Company" he used his guitar to mimic a trombone, a piccolo and several other instruments for the song's Dixieland jazz band feel. Queen used a "No synthesizers were used on this album" sleeve note on their early albums to make this clear to the listeners.
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Other instruments
The first instrument Brian May learnt to play was the banjolele, which he then played on Queen's song "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" (live and in the studio). For "Good Company", he used a regular baritone ukelele which he had bought in Hawaii on a holiday. Occasionally, May would also record on other string instruments such as harp (one chord per take, then copied and pasted by the engineer to make it sound like a continuous performance) and bass (on some demos and many songs in his solo career, and the Queen + Paul Rodgers album). As a child, he was also trained on classical piano. Although Freddie Mercury was the band's main pianist, Brian would occasionally step in (once per album, on average). From 1979 onwards, he also played synthesizers, organ ("Wedding March") and programmed drum-machines for both Queen and outside projects (such as producing other artists and his own solo records). May is also an accomplished singer. His wide vocal range went from notes around lowF (87Hz) to very high tenor Ds and Es (mostly in his solo career). Occasionally he contributed falsetto parts as well ("Ogre Battle", "Why Don't We Try Again"). From Queen's QueenII to TheGame, May contributed lead vocals to at least one song per album. May co-composed a mini-opera with Lee Holdridge, Il Colosso, for Steve Barron's 1996 film, The Adventures of Pinocchio. May performed the opera with Jerry Hadley, Sissel Kyrkjebo, and Just William. On-screen, it was performed entirely by puppets.
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As a musician
Brian May has been referred to as a virtuoso guitarist by many publications.[25] [26] [27] [28] He has used a range of guitars, most often the "Red Special", which he designed when he was only 16years old.[29] It was built with wood from an 18thcentury fireplace. His comments on this instrument, from Queen In Their Own Words (ed. Mick St.Michael, Omnibus Press, 1992, p.62) are: I like a big neck thick, flat and wide. I lacquered the fingerboard with Rustin's Plastic Coating. The tremolo is interesting in that the arm's made from an old bicycle saddle bag carrier, the knob at the end's off a knitting needle and the springs are valve springs from an old motorbike. Brian May In addition to using his home-made guitar he prefers to use coins (especially a sixpence from the farewell proof set of 1970), instead of a more traditional plastic plectrum, on the basis that their rigidity gives him more control in playing. He is known to carry coins in his pockets
May tapping.
specifically for this purpose. May's early heroes were Cliff Richard and The Shadows, who he says were "the most metallic thing out at the time." Many years later he gained his opportunity to play on separate occasions with both Cliff Richard and Shadows lead guitarist Hank Marvin. He has collaborated with Cliff Richard on a re-recording of the Cliff Richard and The Shadows (then known as The Drifters) 1958 hit "Move It" on the Cliff Richard duets album Two's Company which was released on 6 November 2006. On Queen For An Hour 1989 Interview on BBC Radio1 May listed Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton as his guitar heroes. May was proud upon hearing that Cliff Richard had mentioned in an interview that he would have Brian May in his personal fantasy band. As well as recording with Hank Marvin, May also contributed to the 1996 album Twang!: A Tribute to Hank Marvin & the Shadows, playing FBI. The album featured many other renowned guitarists. During the time in which Brian May and his father were building the Red Special, May also produced plans to build a second guitar. However, so successful was the Red Special, that May simply had no need to build another guitar. These plans were eventually given to guitar luthier Andrew Guyton in around 2004/05, some slight modifications were made and the guitar was built. It was named "The Spade", as the shape of the body resembled the form shown on playing cards. However the guitar also came to be known as "The Guitar That Time Forgot". As yet, this guitar has not been used in any recordings and remains in May's possession.
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Equipment
Most of May's electric guitar work live and in the studio was done on the Red Special, which he built with his father during his teenage years. From 1975 onwards, he's also had some replicas made, some of which were also used for live and recording purposes, others were mainly spares. The most famous replicas were made by John Birch (in 1975May actually smashed it during a concert in the States in 1982), Greco BM90 (featured in the promo video of "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" in 1977), Guild (back-up from 1984 to 1993) and Fryers (19971998, used both live and in the studio). On stage, Brian used to carry at least one back-up guitar (in case he broke a string) and occasionally would use others for certain songs or bits. Currently, May has his own company which makes guitars whose design is modeled after the original Red Special guitar. July 1973 May 1974: Fender Stratocaster Pre-CBS October 1974 May 1975: Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, and the Stratocaster from the previous tour. November 1975 May 1976: Same two guitars as before, plus a natural finish John Birch replica of the Red Special.
Brian May performing with the Greg Fryer Red Special replica in Warsaw, Poland, 1998.
September 1976: Same three as before, plus a Martin D-18 acoustic for "'39". January 1977 August 1979: Just the Birch replica plus an Ovation Pacemaker 12-string acoustic on some numbers ("'39", "Love of My Life", "Dreamer's Ball").
November 1979 June 1982: Birch replica (back-up), Fender Telecaster ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 2ndverse, middle-eight and solo), Ovation (acoustic numbers). July November 1982: Added a Gibson Flying V as second back-up. On 9 August 1982 Brian smashed the Birch guitar, so the FlyingV became the only spare. August to October 1984: The Flying V became a second back-up again as his main spare was the Guild replica. He'd also use Roger Taylor's Gibson Chet-Atkins Classical Electric. July 1985 August 1986: No more Flying V. The rest remained the same. Some of the non-RS electric guitars he used in the studio included: Burns Double Six on "Long Away" (1976) and "Under Pressure" (1981). Fender Broadcaster on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (1979). It was used for the video (but not the recordings) of "Back Chat" (1982). Gibson Firebird on "Hammer to Fall" and "Tear It Up" (album versions only, not on stage). Ibanez JS on "Nothing But Blue" (1991). Parker Fly on "Mother Love" (19931995). For acoustic, he favoured Ovation, Martin, Tkai Hummingbird, Godin and Guild. On a couple of videos he also used some different electric guitars: a Stratocaster copy on "Play the Game" (1980) and a Washburn RR2V on "Princes of the Universe" (1986). In 1984 Guild released the first official Red Special replica for mass production, and made some prototypes specifically for May. However the solid body construction (the original RS has hollow cavities in the body) and the pick-ups (DiMarzio) that were not an exact replica of the Burns TriSonic did not make May happy, so the production stopped after just 300guitars. In 1993 Guild made a second replica of the RS, made in just 1000copies, of which
Brian May May has some and used as a backup. At the moment, he uses the two guitars made by Greg Fryerthe luthier who restored the Old Lady in 1998as backup. They are almost identical to the original, except for the Fryer logo on the headstock (May's original one has a sixpence). In the studio, May used Yamaha DX7 synths for the opening sequence of "One Vision" and the backgrounds of "Who Wants to Live Forever" (also on stage), "Scandal" and "The Show Must Go On". He mostly used Freddie Mercury's 1972 Steinway piano and reportedly now owns the instrument in question. May was keen on using some toys as instruments as well. He used a Yamaha plastic piano in "Teo Torriatte", a "genuine George Formby Ukulele-Banjo" in "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" and in "Good Company", and a toy mini koto in "The Prophet's Song". May has used Vox AC30 amplifiers almost exclusively since a meeting with his long time hero Rory Gallagher at a gig in London during the late '60s/early '70s.[30] His choice is the model AC30TBX, the top-boost version with Blue Alnico speakers, and he runs the amp at full volume on the Normal channel. He also customises his amps by removing the circuitry for the Brilliant and Vib-trem channels (leaving only the circuitry for the Normal), and this alters the tone slightly, with a gain addition of 67dB. He always used a treble booster built by Queens former bass guitarist (John Deacon) which, along with the AC30, went a long way in helping to create many of his signature guitar tones. He used the Dallas Rangemaster for the first Queen albums, up to A Day at the Races. Then, effects guru Pete Cornish built for him the TB-83 (32dB of gain) that was used for all the remaining Queen albums. He switched in 2000 to the Fryer's booster, which actually gives less boost than the TB-83. Live, he uses banks of AC30 amplifiers keeping some amps with only guitar and others with all effects such as delay, flanger and chorus. He has a rack of 14AC30s, which are grouped as Normal, Chorus, Delay1, Delay2. On his pedal board, May has a custom switch unit made by Cornish and subsequently modified by Fryer that allows him to choose which amps are active. He uses a BOSS pedal from the '70s, the Chorus Ensemble CE-1, which can be heard in In The Lap of The Gods (Live at Wembley '86) or Hammer to Fall (slow version played live with P.Rodgers). Next in the chain, he uses a Foxx Foot Phaser (We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Keep Yourself Alive, etc.), and two delay machines to play his trademark Brighton Rock solo.
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As an astrophysicist
May studied physics and mathematics at Imperial College London, graduating with a BSc (Hons) degree and ARCS in physics with Upper Second-Class Honours. He then proceeded to study for a PhD degree, also at the Imperial College London departments of Physics and Mathematics, and was part way through this PhD programme, studying reflected light from interplanetary dust and the velocity of dust in the plane of the Solar System. When Queen became successful he abandoned his physics doctorate but did co-author two scientific research papers: MgI Emission in the Night-Sky Spectrum (1972)[31] and An Investigation of the Motion of Zodiacal Dust Particles (Part I) (1973),[32] which were based on his observations at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife. He is the co-author of Bang! The Complete History of the Universe with Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott, which was published in October 2006.[33] More than 30years after he started his research, in October 2007 he completed his PhD thesis in astrophysics,[34] entitled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud,[35] passed his viva voce, and performed the required corrections.[36] [37] [38] [39] He officially graduated at the postgraduate awards ceremony held in the Royal Albert Hall, on the afternoon of Wednesday 14May 2008. On 17 November 2007, May was appointed Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University,[18] taking over from Cherie Blair, and installed in 2008.[19] Asteroid 52665 Brianmay was named in his honour on 18 June 2008 on the suggestion of Sir Patrick Moore (probably influenced by the asteroid's provisional designation of 1998 BM30).[29] [40] May appeared on the 700th The Sky at Night, hosted by Patrick Moore along with, Dr. Chris Lintott, Jon Culshaw, Prof. Brian Cox, the Astronomer Royal Martin Rees who on leaving the panel said: "I don't know any scientist who
Brian May looks as much as like Isaac Newton as you do" to Brian May who was joining the panel, who responded to say "that could be my after dinner comment, thank you very much".
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As an activist
Brian May has formed a group to promote decent treatment for animals. Though a Conservative Party voter most of his life,[41] he has stated that their policy on fox hunting and the culling of badgers turned him off voting for them. His group, Save Me, is a campaign group for the protection of all animals against unnecessary, cruel and degrading treatment; with a particular emphasis on preventing hunting of foxes and the culling of badgers.[42] The group's primary concern is to ensure that the Hunting Act 2004 and other laws protecting animals are kept in place.[20] In a September 2010 interview with Stephen Sackur for the BBCs HARDtalk program, May said that he would rather be remembered for his animal rights work, than for his music or science.[43]
Stereophotography
May has had a lifelong interest in collecting Victorian stereophotography. In 2009, with co-author Elena Vidal, he published his second book, A Village Lost and Found, on the work of English stereophotography innovator TR Williams.[44]
Discography
Albums Studio albums
Year 1983 1992 1998 2000 Title Star Fleet Project Back to the Light Another World UK 35 6 23 [45] US [45]
[45]
125 159
Live albums
Year 1993 Title UK [45] US
Bibliography
May, Brian; Moore, Patrick; Lintott, Chris (2006). Bang! The Complete History of the Universe. Carlton. ISBN1-84442-552-5. May, Brian Harold (2008) (PhD thesis). A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud. New York: Springer. ISBN978-0-387-77705-4. May, Brian; Vidal, Elena (book with stereoscopic viewer). A Village Lost and Found [46]. Frances Lincoln. ISBN978-0-7112-3039-2.
Brian May
52
References
[1] http:/ / brianmay. com [2] Queen star May hails Muse album (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ 8304176. stm) BBC News Retrieved January 21, 2011 [3] "May installed as uni chancellor" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ uk_news/ england/ merseyside/ 7345958. stm). BBC. 14 April 2008. . Retrieved 23 October 2009. [4] Cooke, Rachel (5 September 2010). "Brian May: The Interview" (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ music/ 2010/ sep/ 05/ brian-may-interview-blogging). The Guardian (London). . Retrieved 8 October 2010. [5] "BBC News: Planet Rock Radio poll" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ music/ 4669597. stm). 10 July 2005. . Retrieved 28 January 2008. [6] "Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ news/ coverstory/ 5937559/ page/ 24). . [7] http:/ / www. funtrivia. com/ en/ Music/ Brian-May-14559. html [8] "The dude in the cardigan with the guitar" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queenbeforequeen/ rcnov95/ rcnov95. html). . Retrieved 27 July 2008. [9] May, Brian (6 February 2006). "SMOKING: WE DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT !!" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssbfeb06. html#07). Brian's Soapbox Feb06. . Retrieved 27 July 2008. [10] "QUEEN WANTS MOSCOW SPORTS COMPLEX TO BECOME NON-SMOKING AREA" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsjun08b. html#19). Queen News June2008 (REGNUM News Agency). 19 June 2008. . Retrieved 27 July 2008. [11] May, Brian. "News December2005" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ briannews/ briannewsdec05. html). . Retrieved 14 August 2007. [12] Brian May: The Legendary Rock Star at home in Surrey, 19 June 1998 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ magsandpress/ okjun98/ okjun98. html) [13] "ANITA DOBSON AND BRIAN MAY SURPRISE WEDDING". Hello!, 5 December 2000, republished at "Brian May and Anita Dobson Wedding Reports" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ anita/ marriage/ reports. html). BRIANMAY.com. Retrieved 22 May 2010. [14] Sunday Times - Rich List: Brian May (http:/ / www. timesonline. co. uk/ richlist/ person/ 0,,47864,00. html) Times Online Retrieved January 21, 2011 [15] Tim Staffell Biography (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ queenzone/ article_show. aspx?Q=11) [16] Queen Royal Legend: Interviews: Brian May: Talk Radio '98 (http:/ / queen. musichall. cz/ en/ interviews/ brian-may-talk-radio-98. html) [17] London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57665, p. 8 (http:/ / www. london-gazette. co. uk/ issues/ 57665/ supplements/ 8), 11 June 2005. [18] New Chancellor confirmed (http:/ / www. ljmu. ac. uk/ NewsUpdate/ index_92016. htm) [19] "May installed as uni chancellor" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ england/ merseyside/ 7345958. stm). BBC News. 14 April 2008. . Retrieved 14 April 2008. [20] http:/ / www. save-me. org. uk/ [21] "Queen News March2006" (http:/ / brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsmar06c. html). brianmay.com. . [22] May, Brian (15 August 2006). "USA Convention Story and Queen and Paul Rodgers Heading Towards a Studio Assignation" (http:/ / brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssbaug06a. html#06). . [23] "Paul Rodgers, Queen Split: It Was Never a Permanent Arrangement" (http:/ / www. idiomag. com/ peek/ 81670/ queen). idiomag. 13 May 2009. . Retrieved 14 May 2009. [24] "Queen and Paul Rodgers split" (http:/ / www. idiomag. com/ peek/ 81817/ queen). idiomag. 14 May 2009. . Retrieved 14 May 2009. [25] "Queen". Encyclopdia Britannica. 2007. [26] Sharpe-Young, Garry. Brian May (http:/ / rockdetector. com/ artist,1371. sm). Rockdetector. . [27] Coleman, Mark (9 October 1986). "A Kind of Magic" (http:/ / rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 210159/ review/ 5946266/ a_kind_of_magic). Rolling Stone (484). . [28] Donaghy, James (17 February 2007). "Not another axe to grind" (http:/ / guardian. co. uk/ theguide/ music/ story/ 0,,2013600,00. html). The Guardian (London). . Retrieved 26 April 2010. [29] May, Brian (2004). "the may-keeters homepage" (http:/ / www. brianmayworld. com/ Brian_May. htm). www.brianmayworld.com. . Retrieved 2 December 2008. [30] Rick Wakeman's Face To Face interview programme, available at www.rockondigital.com [31] T. R. Hicks, B. H. May, N. K. Reay (1972). "MgI Emission in the Night Sky Spectrum". Nature 240 (5381): 401402. doi:10.1038/240401a0. [32] T. R. Hicks, B. H. May, N. K. Reay (1975). "An investigation of the motion of zodiacal dust particles-1. Radial velocity measurements on Fraunhofer line profiles". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 166: 439448. Bibcode1974MNRAS.166..439H. [33] "Queen star hands in science PhD" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ entertainment/ 6929290. stm). BBC News. 9 March 2007. . Retrieved 2 January 2010. [34] Never Mind The Buzzcocks. No. 10, series 21. 25 minutes in. [35] "A survey of radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud" (http:/ / spiral. imperial. ac. uk/ handle/ 10044/ 1/ 1333). . [36] BRIAN MAY Official Biography (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ biog. html) [37] May, Brian. "News" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ briannews/ briannewsjul07. html). . [38] "Queen star hands in science PhD" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 6929290. stm). BBC News. 3 August 2007. . Retrieved 2 January 2010.
Brian May
[39] "Queen star celebrates doctorate" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 6961171. stm). BBC News. 23 August 2007. . Retrieved 25 August 2007. [40] NASA. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser" (http:/ / ssd. jpl. nasa. gov/ sbdb. cgi?sstr=52665). . Retrieved 19 July 2010. [41] "Brian May on saving the fox" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ programmes/ the_daily_politics/ 8730078. stm). BBC News. 9 June 2010. . [42] May, Brian (12 July 2010). "Kill the cull, not the badgers" (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ commentisfree/ 2010/ jul/ 12/ badger-cull-wales-brian-may?showallcomments=true#start-of-comments). The Guardian (London). . [43] HARDtalk "YouTube clip of May's interview" (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=MZ4eeS5D8dc), BBC, 22 September 2010. [44] Kennedy, Randy (25 July 2010). "A Village Preserved, Green and All: Brian Mays Photographic Recovery" (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2010/ 07/ 24/ arts/ design/ 24may. html?_r=1& src=me& ref=arts). The New York Times. . [45] QueenOnline Message Board :: View topic Queen / Solos UK & US (Y MORE) Chart History (http:/ / queenforum. parlophone. co. uk/ viewtopic. php?t=13285& postdays=0& postorder=asc& start=0) [46] http:/ / www. londonstereo. com/ book. html
53
External links
Brian May's official homepage (http://www.brianmay.com/) Brian May World (http://www.brianmayworld.com) Brian Interviews (http://queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Brian_May_Interviews) Queenpedia Brian May Complete Song List (http://www.queenpedia.com/index. php?title=Song_List#Brian_May_Studio_Songs)
Scientific paper with Brian May as co-author (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ nph-bib_query?bibcode=1974MNRAS.166..439H&db_key=AST&data_type=HTML& amp;format=&high=43e7d36b8207906) Brian May's astronomy book (http://www.banguniverse.com) Brian May (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006190/) at the Internet Movie Database Five interview clips with Brian May (http://www.classicrockcentral.com/classic_rock_gimme5-Display. cfm?week=17) Brian May's Ph.D thesis (http://www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-0-387-77705-4) Brian May interview with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air, 3 August 2010 (http://www.npr.org/templates/ story/story.php?storyId=128935865) Brian May: the interview, by Rachel Cooke, The Observer, Sunday 5 September 2010 (http://www.guardian. co.uk/music/2010/sep/05/brian-may-interview-blogging)
John Deacon
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John Deacon
John Deacon
Deacon in 1978 Background information Birth name Born John Richard Deacon 19 August 1951 Oadby, Leicestershire England Rock, hard rock, pop Musician, songwriter Bass, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums 19651997
Associated acts Queen Notable instruments Fender Precision Bass Music Man StingRay
John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is a retired English multi-instrumentalist, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. Of the four members of the band, he was the last to join and also the youngest, being only 19 years old when he was recruited by the other members of the band. Deacon wrote a number of Queen's hit singles, including "You're My Best Friend", "Spread Your Wings", "Back Chat", "I Want to Break Free", and the band's biggest selling single in the United States, "Another One Bites the Dust", as well as a number of album tracks. He also played rhythm and acoustic guitars on several albums as well as occasional keyboards, synthesiser and programming. He frequently provided backing vocals during live shows. Following The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, Deacon's sole performance with the remaining members of Queen was a one-off rendition of "The Show Must Go On" in 1997 with Mercury's friend Elton John (who had sung the track with the band at Mercury's tribute). He contributed to the final Queen song, "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" released that year on the Queen Rocks compilation after which he retired from the music industry. He chose not to participate with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor in the Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration, but did give them his support. Deacon was also absent from Queen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
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Biography
John Deacon grew up in Oadby, Leicestershire with father Arthur, mother Lilian and younger sister Julie. His father worked for the Norwich Union insurance company, but died of a heart attack in 1962, when John was eleven. Deacon was known to friends as 'Deaks' and attended Linden Junior School in Leicester, and Gartree High School and Beauchamp Grammar School in Oadby and achieved 8 GCE O level and 3 A level passes, all at grade A. It was in Leicester that he formed his first band, The Opposition, in 1965 at the age of fourteen. He played rhythm guitar, bought with money borrowed from one of the other band members. He became the bassist after the original bassist was fired for not being of the same quality as the rest of the band. As well as a dedicated musician, Deacon also was the band's archivist, taking clippings from newspapers of even the advertisements featuring The Opposition. After being in the band for four years, Deacon played his final concert with the band (then called The Art) in August 1969. He left as he had been accepted to study at Chelsea College. Although he left his bass and amplifier at home in Oadby, Leicestershire after less than a year in London where he went on to achieve a First Class Honours Degree in electronics at Chelsea College, now part of King's College London, he decided he wanted to join a band. By this time Queen had already been formed by Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, and Deacon even saw them in October 1970. In early 1971 he was introduced to Taylor and May by a friend at a disco who told him that they were in a band that had just lost its bassist. A couple of days later he auditioned in a lecture room at Imperial College London and became the last member of Queen to join the band. Since the band's last bassist drew attention away from Mercury, Deacon was selected for his musical talent, his quiet demeanour and his electrical skills. A persistent legend claims Deacon was the seventh bassist auditioned. According to various sources, prior bassists with the band included Mike Grose, Barry Mitchell and Doug Ewood. On Queen's first album he was credited as "Deacon John".[1] Not long after its release, he requested that he be referred to by his proper name. Deacon's first writing credit did not come until Queen's third album, Sheer Heart Attack. It was on the song "Stone Cold Crazy", but it was also credited to the other band members. The first song Deacon wrote on his own was "Misfire" from the same album, a Caribbean-themed song that garnered little attention. He would achieve much greater success with his second song, "You're My Best Friend", which went on to be an international hit. He was the 'quiet' member of the band, and the others said that he was in charge of most of the finances. His last public appearance with the band was at an AIDS charity event in 1997, and his last direct involvement with Queen was with the recording of "No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)". He lives in Putney in South West London with his wife Veronica Tetzlaff. Married since 18 January 1975, she was already two months pregnant with their first child when they got married.[2] The two have six children: Robert (18 July 1975), Michael (3 February 1978), Laura (25 June 1979), Joshua (13 December 1983), Luke (5 December 1992), and Cameron (7 November 1993). According to The Sunday Times Rich List, Deacon is worth 50 million as of 2009.[3] As a trained electronics engineer, he often used to build equipment for the band. His most famous creation is the "Deacy Amp", used by Deacon and May.
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As a performer
Let's just say that the product of drummer Roger Meddows-Taylor and bassist Deacon John [4] eruption make the earth tremble. Gordon Fletcher Rolling Stone 149
[1]
Deacon played guitar in addition to bass, taking over rhythm parts in many albums, as well as several acoustic performances. Some of the guitar work on Hot Space (the clean Fender Telecaster single-coil sound) is his work. He would occasionally play synthesizers on his own compositions and often composed at the piano, playing an electric one on his top ten hit "You're My Best Friend". He can also be seen playing the grand piano in the music video to "Spread Your Wings", although on the actual recording the piano was played by Mercury.
Highlights
Mostly, Deacon's compositions varied from pop rock to funk. He has been responsible for some of Queen's biggest hits such as "You're My Best Friend" (from A Night at the Opera), "Another One Bites the Dust" (from The Game) and "I Want to Break Free" (from The Works). He also co-wrote "Friends Will Be Friends" with Mercury and developed the chord arragement for "The Miracle" with Mercury. Both went on the Greatest Hits II album. He also wrote two other popular songs, ("Spread Your Wings" and "Back Chat"), and created the riff for "Under Pressure". As a bass guitarist, Deacon's notable works include "Another One Bites the Dust", "Father to Son", "Liar", "Dragon Attack", "Brighton Rock", "The March of the Black Queen", "You're My Best Friend", "The Millionaire Waltz", "We Are the Champions", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Body Language", and "Under Pressure". As a guitarist, he did some rhythm-playing in songs like "Staying Power" (both live and in the studio) and "Back Chat", as well as lead parts in "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Misfire" and Spanish acoustic fills in "Who Needs You". He also played double bass, notably on May's 1975 song "'39". May had asked him to play upright bass as a joke but a couple of days later he found Deacon in the studio with the instrument, and he had already learned to play it.[5] Deacon's contributions in keyboards were mostly just background chords; his most notable work is in his composition "You're My Best Friend", which was the first song he wrote on the electric piano. Deacon also played triangle in live versions of "Killer Queen" (it hung off his microphone) and some piano (notably on "Another One Bites the Dust"). He can also be seen playing the drums on the video for "One Vision". This is perhaps a visual trick, although he did play drums on certain tracks on "Hot Space".
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Style
Deacon's style was one that was rarely seen in rock bands during the 1970s. Rather than just serving a background role and playing root notes, he used the bass as a lead and rhythm instrument. Some of his basslines are very intricate and difficult to play, such as "The Millionaire Waltz", "I'm Going Slightly Mad" and "You're My Best Friend", granting his technique an affinity with Motown's lead style basslines. Some of Queen's songs, such as "Dragon Attack", "Another One Bites the Dust", "Body Language", and "A Kind of Magic", feature the bass as the main instrument. When performing with Queen, Deacon delivered a highly technical style, with numerous runs, walking basslines and tight quick note changes. Deacon mainly used his fingers, though sometimes he did use a pick. Two of his trademarks are licking his fingers when playing and sticking two picks under the pick guard. He generally did not play with a floating thumb and occasionally played with his thumb itself. His basslines are notable on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Liar", "Brighton Rock", "Under Pressure", "'39", "You're My Best Friend", "I Want to Break Free", and "One Year of Love", to name a few. Another trademark of Deacon's playing are his bass runs. In a 1975 review of Sheer Heart Attack, the reviewer wrote: "Only at the end would a new initiate to Queen recognise John Deacon's unmistakable trademark: the bass runs under the fade are a fast and facile as any to be heard. The least well known musician in Queen is one of his rock generation's most able."[6]
Singer
Deacon is the only member of Queen never to sing any lead vocals on any of their tracks. He even admitted in interviews that he was incapable of competing with the three strong vocalists in the group. Deacon is not credited as a vocalist on any Queen album. In live shows, Deacon did not receive his own microphone until the band's first headlining tour in support of their "Sheer Heart Attack" album. Despite this promising development, the main purpose of this was to play one note on the triangle in "Killer Queen". Before this, he had sung backing vocals during "Liar" into Mercury's microphone. There have been occasions where his microphone was turned up to a point where his voice can be heard, such as a 1977 Earls Court bootleg, where his voice was clearly heard on "Somebody to Love" and "In The Lap of the Gods...Revisited". He is also credited as backing vocalist on the closing credits of the band's first live video, "Queen at the Rainbow" (shot live in November 1974 and released on The Box of Tricks). Despite this, Deacon is almost always shown to be singing in Queen's music videos, such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "You're My Best Friend", "Somebody To Love", "Tie Your Mother Down", and "Don't Stop Me Now", among others.
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Gear
Deacon's first bass was an Eko, and he later acquired a Rickenbacker 4001, which was used for his audition for Queen, the very first concerts and the recording sessions at De Lane Lea in 1971. When the band began recording at Trident, he had problems with it and acquired a Fender Precision 1962 model with the silver 1964 transition logo and sunburst finish, which became his main instrument for the last concerts in 1972 and all 19731975 tours. As a backup he had another one of the same model, but with the black 1967 transition logo. Before the beginning of the 'Night at the Opera' sessions he stripped the paint off of both, left them with a natural finish and switched them; from then on the black logo one would be his main guitar for most tours and recordings. In early 1977, Deacon got two new basses: a Fender Precision Fretless, which he used for "'39" (emulating the double bass he used in the original recording) and "My Melancholy Blues" on stage, and a Music Man StingRay which he used as main for the "Day at the Races" tour and some videos. From the 'News of the World' tour up until 'The Works' tour in 1985, Deacon playing with Queen onstage: RDS Dublin, 22 the Music Man would remain for just specific numbers November 1979 ("Sheer Heart Attack", "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Back Chat"), and used sometimes in the studio as well. The fretless type kept being used for "'39" and "My Melancholy Blues" live until the end of the decade. During late 1977, at the beginnings of "News of the World" tour in the US, Deacon tried another Fender P-Bass, a sunburst 1954 model with the original single-coil pickup[7] , but eventually gave it up and returned to the black logo '67 model. The old Fender kept being used occasionally as a backup, in the recordings of "Coming Soon" (1979) and in the video of "Back Chat" (1982). In 1980, Kramer made him a custom bass, which he used as a backup for some tours and in videos (e.g. "Play the Game", "Las Palabras De Amor"). Next year, Fender gave him a special prototype model which he used for recording "Under Pressure" for "Hot Space" and performing it during the 19811985 period. A new Fender P-Bass came to his hands: a red Elite 1, which he used for mimed performances, some videos and recordings (e.g. "One Vision"), part of the Leiden 1986 gig, the entire Marbella and Knebworth 1986 gigs and "Radio Ga Ga" at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. In 1986, Deacon got a Warwick Buzzard, used for some videos and mimed performances, but not on recordings. Before the Magic Tour, he refurbished and spray-painted his Precision bass black and continued using it as his main instrument for several gigs (e.g. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"). For other instruments, Deacon mostly used Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars, his main was a custom Tele which he used on stage. In the recordings of "Misfire" he demonstrated he too could play guitar harmonies. For acoustic he mostly used Martin D-18 and Ovation. The piano he played in "Another One Bites the Dust" was a Bsendorfer, and in "You're My Best Friend", a Hohner Pianet N often confused with Wurlitzer (though May has stated that it was a Fender Rhodes). For synths, he used Oberheim OB-X, Roland Jupiter 8 and Yamaha DX7.
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Leaving Queen
After playing live with Queen twice more at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness on 20 April 1992, and at the opening of the Bejart Ballet in Paris on 17 January 1997, performing only "The Show Must Go On" with Elton John on lead vocals he made the decision to retire from music, re-appearing only briefly by joining his ex-band mates in October 1997 for the recording of the final Queen song "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)", included in the Queen Rocks album released a month later. Deacon has reportedly spoken out about the May/Taylor/Robbie Williams cover of "We Are the Champions", recorded for A Knight's Tale. In an interview with The Sun about the collaboration he said, "It is one of the greatest songs ever written but I think they've ruined it". "I don't want to be nasty but let's just say Robbie Williams is no Freddie Mercury. Freddie can never be replaced and certainly not by him".[8] He chose not to be present at Queen's induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, or join in the collaboration with Paul Rodgers. On the Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration album The Cosmos Rocks which featured new material from the trio, he was listed in the Thanks Notes on the CD.
Discography
Queen songs John Deacon wrote that were released as singles: "You're My Best Friend" from A Night at the Opera "Spread Your Wings" from News of the World "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Need Your Loving Tonight" from The Game "Back Chat" from Hot Space "I Want to Break Free" from The Works "Friends Will Be Friends", "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" (both cowritten with Freddie Mercury) and "One Year of Love" from A Kind of Magic
Selected Queen album tracks: "Misfire" from Sheer Heart Attack "You and I" from A Day at the Races "Who Needs You" from News of the World "If You Can't Beat Them" and "In Only Seven Days" from Jazz "Execution Of Flash" and "Arboria" from Flash Gordon "Cool Cat" from Hot Space (co-written with Freddie Mercury) "Rain Must Fall" from The Miracle "My Life Has Been Saved" (two versions, the first in 1989 as a non-album single B-side, then re-recorded between 1993 and 1995 for the 1995 album Made in Heaven)
Selected solo efforts: Jive Junior And Man Friday: "Picking Up Sounds" (7" single, 1983) The Immortals: "No Turning Back" (single from Biggles: Adventures in Time soundtrack) (1986)
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Collaborations
1975: All four members of Queen helped produce a session with the soul band Trax. Nothing was ever released. 1983: "Picking Up Sounds" by Man Friday and Jive Junior co-wrote, produced and played bass guitar on this single. 1984: "It's An Illusion" by Roger Taylor bass guitar on this track from the album Strange Frontier. 1984: "I Cry For You" by Roger Taylor bass guitar on the remixed version of this song, on the single Strange Frontier. 1985: "Too Young" by Elton John bass guitar on this song from the LP Ice On Fire. 1985: Strawberry Switchblade produced self-titled first album. 1986: "Angeline" by Elton John bass guitar on this song from the LP Leather Jackets. 1986: "This Is Your Time" by Errol Brown co-wrote and bass guitar on this track, which was never released. 1987: "I Dream Of Christmas" by Anita Dobson bass guitar on this track from the album Talkin' Of Love. 1988: "Roulette" by Minako Honda co-wrote this song (in fact "No Turning Back" remake with other lyrics) from the album Cancel. John did not participate in the Minako Honda recording, although his bandmate May wrote and produced two songs for this album. 1988: "How Can I Go On" by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe bass guitar on this single from the album Barcelona. 1988: Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime) by `Morris Minor and the Majors John makes an appearance, wearing a blue wig and playing guitar. 1989: "Who Wants to Live Forever" by Ian & Belinda bass on this charity record, produced by Brian May, also featuring May and Roger Taylor. 1992: "Nothin' But Blue" by Brian May plays bass on this track from Back To The Light. 1992: "Somewhere In Time" by Cozy Powell plays bass on this instrumental version of "Nothin' But Blue" from Cozy Powell's album The Drums Are Back. 1994: "Bushfire" by Steve Gregory plays bass on this track from the eponymous album. 1997: "That's The Way God Planned It" by SAS Band plays bass on this track from their dbut (and only studio) album. Roger Taylor sings a verse as well on this cover track, originally recorded by Billy Preston.
References
[1] Queen, 1973, sleeve notes [2] " Queen Biography 1975 (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ queenzone/ bio_view. aspx?q=7)." queenzone.com. [3] "Search the Sunday Times Rich List 2009" (http:/ / business. timesonline. co. uk/ tol/ business/ specials/ rich_list/ rich_list_search/ ?l=17& list_name=Rich+ List+ 2009& advsearch=1& t=1& x=33& y=3& i=Music). The Times (London). . [4] Rolling Stone Issue 149 12-06-1973 (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ viewtopic. php?t=84) [5] Brian May. "Queen Legends" (http:/ / queen. musichall. cz/ index_en. php?s=fc& d=facts). . [6] 1975-03-XX Circus (http:/ / queenarchives. com/ viewtopic. php?t=620) [7] http:/ / www. deaky. net/ bass/ oldE. html [8] Yahoo! Music, 24 April 2001. (http:/ / music. yahoo. com/ read/ news/ 12057561) [9] McIver, Joel. " Richie Edwards (http:/ / www. bassplayer. com/ story. asp?sectioncode=16& storycode=13208)." Bass Player, February 2006 [10] Chaney, Chris. " John Deacon's Complete Bass Line (http:/ / www. bassplayer. com/ story. asp?sectioncode=22& storycode=11366)." Bass Player, November 2005.
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Sources
Mark Hodkinson (2004). The Early Years: Queen. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-012-2 Mark Blake (Editor) (2005). MOJO Classic Queen Special Edition. EMAP Metro Limited.
External links
Queen Official Site (http://www.queenonline.com/history/38/) info on John Deacon and all about his history in Queen
Roger Taylor
Roger Taylor
Taylor in 2008 Background information Birth name Born Roger Meddows Taylor 26 July 1949 Dersingham, Norfolk, England Rock Musician, singer-songwriter, producer Drums, vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, Tympani, Stylophone, Piano 1968present
Associated acts Queen, Queen + Paul Rodgers, The Cross, Smile, Felix & Arty, Yoshiki
Roger Meddows Taylor (born 26 July 1949), known as Roger Taylor, is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound[1] and is considered one of the most influential rock drummers of the 1970s and '80s.[2] As a songwriter, Taylor contributed songs to the band's albums from the very beginning, composing at least one track on every album, and (in the early days) usually sang lead vocals on his own compositions. He also wrote four of the band's hits, "Radio Ga Ga", "A Kind of Magic", "The Invisible Man",[3] and "These Are the Days of Our Lives".[4] He plays multiple instruments, including guitar, bass and keyboards, as heard on his debut solo album in which he played all instruments and sang all vocals. He has played with such artists as Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Phil Collins, Genesis, Jimmy Nail, Elton John, Gary Numan, Shakin' Stevens, Foo Fighters, Al Stewart, Steve Vai, Yoshiki Hayashi, Cherie, and Bon Jovi. As a producer he has produced albums by Virginia Wolf, Jimmy Nail and Magnum. He currenty resides in Guildford, Surrey.
Roger Taylor In addition to his drum work, Taylor routinely played the guitars and bass on his own songs. During the 1980s, in addition to his work with Queen, he formed a parallel band known as The Cross, in which he was the singer and rhythm guitarist. In 2005 he was voted by UK fans as the 8th greatest drummer in classic rock music history in a poll conducted by Planet Rock Radio.[5] According to The Sunday Times Rich List he was worth 65 million as of 2009.[6]
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Biography
Born in East Anglia, Roger Taylor moved to Truro, Cornwall with mother Winifred, father Michael and younger sister Clare. When he was seven years old he and some friends formed his first band, the Bubblingover Boys, in which he played the ukulele. At the age of 15 Taylor became a member of The Reaction, a very busy semi-pro rock band formed mainly of boys from Truro School. In 1967, he went to go to London to study dentistry. He met Brian May and Tim Staffell in 1968 after seeing an advert on a noticeboard at Imperial College, and they decided to form the band Smile, which lasted from 19681970. In 1969, Taylor was working with Freddie Mercury at the Kensington Market (they were living in a flat together at the time) and they formed Queen in 1970 after the breakup of Smile. In 1971 they found bassist John Deacon and brought him into the group, before going on to release their first single and album in 1973. By the time News of the World came out, Taylor met his future girlfriend Dominique Beyrand. She was working for Richard Branson at the time, who was at the helm of Queen's free concert at Hyde Park. They lived together from 19801987, raising their two children, Felix Luther and Rory Eleanor. They decided to get married for reasons relating to his estate, to protect his children's interest in the future. At the time, Taylor was seeing another girl, Debbie Leng (also seen in the 'Breakthru' video); he moved in with her a month after his marriage of convenience to Dominique. Before Freddie Mercury's death, Roger and Debbie had their first child, Rufus Tiger, who was born in March 1991. He ended up having two more children with Debbie: Tiger Lily (1994), and Lola Daisy May (2000). In late 2002, they decided to break up. Taylor remarried on 3 October 2010, to Sarina Potgieter, his girlfriend of six years.[7]
Smile
Smile were formed in 1968 by Brian May, and included Tim Staffell as singer and bassist, and later Taylor on drums. The band only lasted for two years from 19681970 as Staffell left in 1970 to join Humpy Bong, leaving the band with only a catalogue of nine songs: "Earth" (Staffell) "Step On Me" (Staffell/May) originally from May and Staffell's band 1984. "Doin' Alright" (Staffell/May) (later remade for Queen's debut album) "Blag" (Taylor) "Polar Bear" (May) "Silver Salmon" (Staffell) "See What A Fool I've Been" (May, based on the song "That's How I Feel" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee) "If I Were a Carpenter" (Tim Hardin) a cover regularly featuring in their live set. "April Lady" (Lucas) a song presented to the band by Mercury Records during their second studio session. Smile would reunite for several songs on 22 December 1992. Taylor's band The Cross were headliners and he brought May and Staffell on to play "Earth" and "If I Were a Carpenter".[8]
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Queen
Taylor was a prominent songwriter for the band, usually contributing one or two tracks per record. His compositions for Queen include: "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" (Queen) "The Loser in the End" (Queen II) "Tenement Funster" (Sheer Heart Attack) "Stone Cold Crazy" (Co-written with Deacon, May and Mercury) (Sheer Heart Attack) "I'm in Love with My Car" (A Night at the Opera) "Drowse" (A Day at the Races)
Queen in 1979.
"Sheer Heart Attack" (News of the World) "Fight From the Inside" (News of the World) "Fun It" (Jazz) "More of That Jazz" (Jazz) "A Human Body" (non-album B-side of "Play the Game") (Single) "Rock It (Prime Jive)" (The Game) "Coming Soon" (The Game) "In the Space Capsule (The Love Theme)" (Flash Gordon) "In the Death Cell (Love Theme Reprise)" (Flash Gordon) "Escape From the Swamp" (Flash Gordon) "Marriage of Dale and Ming (And Flash Approaching)" (Co-written with May) (Flash Gordon) "Action This Day" (Hot Space) "Calling All Girls" (Hot Space) "Radio Ga Ga" (The Works) "Machines (or Back to Humans)" (Co-written with May) (The Works) "Thank God It's Christmas" (Co-written with Brian May) (Single) "A Kind of Magic" (A Kind of Magic) "Don't Lose Your Head" (A Kind of Magic) "Heaven for Everyone (Made in Heaven)
Songs written by Taylor, but credited the band collectively include: "The Invisible Man" (The Miracle) "Breakthru" (intro written by Mercury) (The Miracle) "Innuendo" (lyrics written by Taylor) (Innuendo) "Ride the Wild Wind" (Innuendo) "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (Innuendo)
Many of these feature Taylor on vocals. His voice was very recognisable, for both its high range (he would often reach a E5 in full voice during live performances) and raspiness. His extremely high falsetto, sometimes going above a A5, was characteristic of Queen's vocal harmonies, and was often thought to be a woman's voice, or a synthesizer effect (most notably his screams on "In the Lap of the Gods" written by Mercury however). His vocal range spans three-and-a-half octaves (A2-E6). Taylor's lead and partial vocal credits include: "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" Queen (1973) "Keep Yourself Alive" Queen (Vocal bridge sung with May, rest sung by Mercury) "Father to Son" - Queen II (1974) (This contains his highest range ever recorded, from G4 to A5). "The Loser in the End]]" Queen II
Roger Taylor "March of the Black Queen" Queen II (Lead vocals on one line: "My life is in your hands/I'll foe and I'll fie", rest sung by Mercury) "Tenement Funster" Sheer Heart Attack (1974) "In the Lap of the Gods" - Sheer Heart Attack - (Falsetto screams) "I'm In Love With My Car" A Night At The Opera (1975) "Bohemian Rhapsody" - A Night at the Opera (High-falsetto vocals, such as the scream-part "for me...", that blasts the song off to the heavier section) "Drowse" - A Day at the Races (1976) "Sheer Heart Attack" News of the World (1977) (Lead vocals on chorus and second verse) "Fight from the Inside" News of the World "Fun It" Jazz (1978) (lead vocals shared with Mercury) "More of That Jazz" Jazz "Rock It (Prime Jive)" The Game (1980) (Lead vocals, except for the intro, sung by Mercury) "Coming Soon" The Game (Lead chorus vocals) "A Human Body" - B-side of "Play the Game" (1980) "Action This Day" Hot Space (1982) (Octave-lead vocals on verses, normal on chorus) "Don't Lose Your Head" A Kind of Magic (1986) (Lead chorus vocals) "The Invisible Man" The Miracle (1989) (Lead chorus vocals) "Hijack My Heart" The Miracle (B-side to "The Invisible Man") "Ride the Wild Wind" - Innuendo (1991) (Additional vocals) Let Me Live Made In Heaven (1995) (Lead vocals on second verse and bridge) No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) (1997) (Lead vocals on second verse and outro)
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Solo career
Taylor has had a productive solo career, releasing four albums. His first single was his 1977 cover of The Parliaments' "I Wanna Testify". He recorded it during Queen's sessions for the News of the World album. The A-side, although a cover, was completely different from the original. The B-side was a self-penned song "Turn On The TV". His first solo album, Fun In Space, was released in 1981. Taylor performed all vocals and played all instruments aside of about 50% of the keyboards, which were done by engineer David Richards. With Queen still touring heavily and recording at the time of release, it was impossible for Taylor to promote the album to its fullest extent, so he appeared on some European TV shows to promote the single, "Future Management", including Top Of The Pops. The only other single to come from the album was "My Country". The only US single released from the album was "Let's Get Crazy". His next venture came in July 1984 when, after Mercury rejected a lot of his songs for the Queen album, The Works, Taylor realised he had more than enough for a full album, which would become Strange Frontier. The cover of the album is a 'pixelated' signing of his portrait photo that appeared in the liner notes of The Works. The three singles from the album were the title track, "Beautiful Dreams" (in Portugal only) and "Man On Fire", the latter becoming a live favourite for him in later years. No attempts to promote the singles were made since Queen toured to promote The Works, which made a Strange Frontier tour impossible, and Taylor did not perform on any TV shows. Strange Frontier included guest appearances by bandmates Freddie Mercury and John Deacon. Mercury sang backing vocals on "Killing Time", Deacon remixed the B-side "I Cry For You" and Rick Parfitt co-wrote and played on "It's An Illusion". David Richards, Queen's engineer and producer at the time, also co-wrote two of the tracks. The album includes covers of Bruce Springsteen's "Racing in the Street" and Bob Dylan's "Masters of War". After Queen finished their 1986 Magic Tour, Taylor started a new band, The Cross, which released three albums over their six years of existence. In 1993 the band split up, after performing one final gig at the Gosport Festival.
Roger Taylor In 1994 Taylor worked with Yoshiki Hayashi, drummer and pianist of X Japan and released the song "Foreign Sand" and a reworking of The Cross' "Final Destination". The album Happiness? was "Dedicated to the tasmanian tiger thylacinus cynocephalus, but most especially... for Freddie". "Nazis 1994" from this album became Taylor's first hit single in England and was followed by two other top 40 UK hits, "Happiness" and "Foreign Sand." In 1998 he released his fourth solo album Electric Fire. He supported it with a small tour in the spring of 1999, on which Brian May joined him at the gig in Wolverhampton. Taylor also performed one of the first Internet-gigs for which he got a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.[9] In 2010, after nearly twelve years between solo albums, Taylor is said to plan to release a new studio album entitled The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken). The first single, of the same name, was released on 23 November 2009 as a digital download, but due to popular demand it was released as a limited edition single.[10] Originally leaked to the official Queen fan club's website for members only, it still managed to be on YouTube within hours of the early bird release.
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The Cross
The Cross were a side project of Taylor's that existed from 1987 to 1993 and released three albums. While still the drummer for Queen, Taylor fronted The Cross as rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist. On its debut release, The Cross incorporated dance influences which they dropped on their remaining two albums. The band never enjoyed much commercial success, except in Germany.
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Breakup
The band broke up in 1993 after performing a final show. Taylor continued working with Queen and produced solo albums. Drummer Macrae accompanied Taylor on his solo tours and also played percussion at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Both Taylor and keyboardist Edney participated in the Queen + Paul Rodgers tours, while Macrae worked behind the scenes as co-producer, sound engineer and Pro Tools engineer for them. In the late 1990s, Edney formed the SAS Band ("Spike's All Stars"), a group with an ever-changing lineup of popular '80s musicians.
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Recent events
2000's
At Live Earth in 2007, Taylor opened the concert with Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Taylor has appeared along with May for various other events and promotions, including Queen's 2001 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[11] (sans John Deacon, but with Jer Bulsara, Mercury's mother, present) and the "Party at the Palace", celebrating the golden jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Taylor and May, performing as Queen, also appeared twice on the American singing contest television show American Idol, once on 11 April 2006, during which week contestants were required to sing a Queen song, (which included "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "The Show Must Go On", "Who Wants to Live Forever", and "Innuendo"), and the second time on the show's Season 8 finale in May 2009, performing "We Are the Champions" with finalists Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. In November 2009, Taylor appeared on the popular reality TV show The X Factor with May as Queen mentoring the contestants, then later performing Bohemian Rhapsody. Also in that month, Taylor confirmed he is planning to tour with Taylor Hawkins, which Taylor described as a "quick tour".[12]
Roger Taylor
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Discography
Albums
Fun in Space (1981) Strange Frontier (1984) Happiness? (1994) Electric Fire (1998) The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken) (2011)
Influences
Taylor has stated that his main influence as a rock drummer is the late John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. Speaking of Bonham, Taylor said, "The greatest Rock`n`Roll drummer of all time was John Bonham who did things that nobody had ever even thought possible before with the drum kit. And also the greatest sound out of his drums - they sounded enormous, and just one bass drum. So fast on it that he did more with one bass drum than most people could do with three, if they could manage them. And he had technique to burn and fantastic power and tremendous feel for rock`n`roll".[15] In a 2009 interview, Taylor also stated that Mitch Mitchell, the drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was also a major influence of his. To name a few, modern drummers who themselves cite Taylor as an influence include Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters, former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler and Tommy Lee of Mtley Cre.[16]
Tours
Happiness? Tour
Happiness? Tour Tour by Roger Taylor Start date End date July 28, 1994 January 29, 1995
Date
City
Country Europe
Venue
Gosport London
England
Asia September 26, 1994 September 28, 1994 September 30, 1994 Tokyo Kawasaki Nagoya Europe October 14, 1994 October 24, 1994 Cologne Milan Germany Italy Altes Presswerk City Square Japan Sun Plaza Hall Club Citta Club Quatro
Roger Taylor
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November 19, 1994 November 20, 1994 November 22, 1994 November 23, 1994 November 24, 1994 November 26, 1994 November 27, 1994 November 29, 1994 November 30, 1994 December 1, 1994 December 2, 1994 December 3, 1994 December 4, 1994 December 8, 1994 Two Shows January 16, 1995 January 17, 1995 January 18, 1995 January 20, 1995 January 21, 1995 January 22, 1995 January 24, 1995 January 25, 1995 January 26, 1995 January 29, 1995 London Cambridge Nottingham Newcastle Leeds Liverpool Sheffield Glasgow Bristol Milan Truro Manchester Wolverhampton Paris France Scotland England Italy England England Shepherds Bush Empire The Junction Rock City Riverside Leeds Irish Centre Royal Court Theatre The Leadmill The Garage Bierkeller Mediolanum Forum City Hall Manchester University Civic Hall Europe 1 Studios
Monfalcone Schio Genova Casea Firenze Rome Valletta Palermo Catania Napoli
Italy
Malta Italy
Havana Club
Roger Taylor
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Date
City
Country
Venue
United Kingdom September 24, 1998 October 14, 1998 March 15, 1999 March 16, 1999 March 18, 1999 March 19, 1999 March 20, 1999 March 21, 1999 March 23, 1999 March 23, 1999 March 25, 1999 March 27, 1999 March 28, 1999 March 29, 1999 March 30, 1999 March 31, 1999 April 2, 1999 April 3, 1999 Surrey London Glouster Cardiff Truro Stoke-on-Trent Manchester Sheffield Glasgow Edinburgh Newcastle Liverpool Cambridge Norwich Wolverhampton Nottingham Portsmouth London England Scotland Wales England England Cosford Mill Shepherds Bush Empire Guildhall Coal Exchange Hall For Cornwall The Stage Manchester University The Leadmill The Garage The Liquid Rooms Newcastle University Liverpool L2 The Junction The Waterfront Civic Hall Rock City Pyramid Centre Astoria
Drum kit
Until 2008, Taylor exclusively used Ludwig or Sleishman drums kits, or a combination of the two in the 2005 Return of the Champtions Tour. In the recent Queen + Paul Rodgers 2008 The Cosmos Rocks tour he opted for a DW kit. DW Natural satin Maple Kit Main kit on tour Toms - 10"x8", 12"x 10" & 14"x12" Floor Toms - 16"x 16" & 18"x16" Bass Drum - 26"x 18" Snare Drum - 14"x 8" (Ludwig Classic Maple) Roto-Toms - 12" & 14" Remo Cymbals (all Zildjian) Hi-Hats - 15" Avedis New Beat Crash: 17" K Dark Crash, 19" K Dark Crash & 20" K Dark Crash Ride: 22" Avedis Ping Ride China: 22" Oriental China Trash Drum Pedal DW 9002 (On all live performances with Queen, Taylor's pedal of choice was the Ludwig Speed King) DW Black Mirra with 24 carat gold hardware Front of stage kit Toms - 10"x8", 12"x10" & 14"x12" Floor Toms - 16"x16" & 18"x16" Bass Drum - 24"x18" Sub-Bass Drum - 24" x 8" Snare Drum - 14"x6.5" Roto-Toms - 12" & 14" Remo
Roger Taylor Vic Firth Drumsticks X5B American Classic Extreme 5B (lenght : 16 1/2" | Diameter : 0.595")
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Stamps
In 1999 Taylor appeared in the background of a Royal Mail stamp featuring Mercury as part of a "Great Britons" issue. This caused controversy as it was an understood rule that the only living people allowed to appear on British stamps could be members of the Royal Family.[17] [18] In 2002, Taylor appeared on the "Twelve Drummers Drumming" Christmas card in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" set sold at Woolworths to raise money for the NSPCC alongside the "other" Roger Taylor, the drummer for Duran Duran.[19]
References
[1] Rolling Stone Issue 149 12-06-1973 [2] Taylor Hawkins: Rhythm 2002 (http:/ / www. fooarchive. com/ hpb/ taylortaylor. htm). Fooarchive.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-05. [3] "The Invisible Man" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20071217144950/ http:/ / sebastian. queenconcerts. com/ s-im. htm). Bechstein Debauchery. Archived from the original (http:/ / sebastian. queenconcerts. com/ s-im. htm) on 17 December 2007. . Retrieved 28 January 2008. [4] "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20071217074920/ http:/ / sebastian. queenconcerts. com/ s-tatdool. htm). Bechstein Debauchery. Archived from the original (http:/ / sebastian. queenconcerts. com/ s-tatdool. htm) on 17 December 2007. . Retrieved 28 January 2008. [5] "Zeppelin voted 'ideal supergroup'" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ music/ 4669597. stm). BBC News. 10 July 2005. . Retrieved 28 January 2008. [6] "?" (http:/ / business. timesonline. co. uk/ tol/ business/ specials/ rich_list/ rich_list_search/ ?l=17& list_name=Rich+ List+ 2009& advsearch=1& t=1& x=33& y=3& i=Music). The Times (London). . [7] Roger Meadows International Business Advice (http:/ / www. rogermeadows. com/ Lovers. htm). Rogermeadows.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-05. [8] Tim Staffell Biography (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ queenzone/ article_show. aspx?Q=11) [9] The Top 20 Roger Taylor Solo Rarities, Queencollector.com (http:/ / www. queencollector. com/ Articles/ Solo10/ roger. html). Retrieved on 26 July 2009. [10] "QueenOnline News" (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ news/ 1517/ ). 17 November 2009. . Retrieved 1 December 2009. [11] Queen: inducted in 2001 | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (http:/ / www. rockhall. com/ inductee/ queen). Rockhall.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-05. [12] Queen And Foo Fighters Drummers To Team Up For 2010 Tour (http:/ / www. gigwise. com/ news/ 53482/ Queen-And-Foo-Fighters-Drummers-To-Team-Up-For-2010-Tour). Gigwise (2009-11-17). Retrieved on 2010-11-05. [13] "Queen News March 2006" (http:/ / brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsmar06c. html). brianmay.com. . [14] May, Brian (15 August 2006), USA Convention Story and Queen and Paul Rodgers Heading Towards a Studio Assignation (http:/ / brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssbaug06a. html#06), [15] Biography for Roger Taylor (I) (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ name/ nm0003547/ bio), IMDB.com [16] Roger Meddows-Taylor: Information from (http:/ / www. answers. com/ topic/ roger-taylor-tennis-player). Answers.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-05. [17] The politics of stamps (BBC News) (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ uk_news/ magazine/ 7669252. stm) [18] Royal Mail unveils Beatles album cover stamps (Times Online) (http:/ / www. timesonline. co. uk/ tol/ news/ uk/ article636773. ece) [19] Duran Duran's Roger Taylor Exclusive Interview: Modern Drummer Magazine (http:/ / www. moderndrummer. com/ web_exclusive?mdid=900001187). Moderndrummer.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-05.
Roger Taylor
72
External links
Roger-Taylor.Net UNofficial website (http://www.roger-taylor.net/) Rogersmeadows.com A Introspective Analysis of Roger Taylor and his Music (http://www.rogersmeadows. com/) Queen in Cornwall (http://www.queenincornwall.blogspot.com/) - includes an extensive description of Roger Taylor's early career
73
Discography
Queen discography
Queendiscography
Live in 1984
Releases Studio albums Live albums Compilation albums EPs Singles Soundtracks Other appearances 14 5 10 2 62 1 3
Queen are an English rock group, consisting of vocalist Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon, and drummer Roger Taylor. Their discography consists of fourteen studio albums, five live albums, one soundtrack album, ten compilation albums, 48 singles and a number of other appearances. Founded in 1970, Queen released their self-titled debut album in 1973. Despite not being an immediate success, Queen became a breakthrough in Britain with their second self-titled album in 1974.[1] In 1972, Queen signed with Trident Studios.[2] Later in their career, Queen signed a record contract with EMI and Elektra in the United States; the band would remain with EMI for the rest of their career. In 1983, the band terminated their contract with Elektra and signed with Capitol Records. In 1990, they once again terminated their U.S. record contract and signed with Hollywood Records. In 1991, Queen's entire catalogue was remastered and released on compact disc in the United States, and thirteen albums (all studio albums up to 'The Works' as well as 'Live Killers' and 'Greatest Hits') were remastered at Abbey Road Studios and released on CD and cassette in the United Kingdom between July 1993 and March 1994. Queen's album back catalogue will be remastered and re-released in the UK and rest of the world (excluding the US) on Universal's Island label through 2011. This is due to both leaving EMI and celebrating their 40th anniversary.
Queen discography
74
Albums
Studio albums
Year Album details
UK AUS AUT
[6]
[7]
[8]
1973
52
83
1974
79
26
19
49
UK: Gold
Sheer Heart Attack 1975 Released: 8 November 1974 Label: EMI (#EMC 3061)
19
23
12
[13]
A Night at the Opera Released: 21 November 1975 Label: EMI (#EMTC 103)
16
11
[13] UK: Platinum [14] US: 3 Platinum [13] UK: Platinum [14] US: 2xPlatinum [13] UK: Platinum [14] US: 4 Platinum [13] UK: Gold [14] US: Platinum [13] UK: Gold [14] US: 4 Platinum [13] UK: Gold [14] US: Gold [13]
1976
A Day at the Races Released: 10 December 1976 Label: EMI (#EMT 103)
10
15
1977
News of the World Released: 28 October 1977 Label: EMI (#EMA 784)
16
1978
15
36
1980
17
1982
15
22
1984
12
14
23
1986
12
25
46
[13]
1989
11
23
24
UK: Platinum
[13]
1991
17
30
[13]
Queen discography
[13]
75
1 3 1 2 1 1 10 1 2 1 58
1995
Soundtrack albums
Year Album details
UK AUS
Certifications
[3] 10
[4] 29
1980
15
12
13
25
29
23
UK: Gold
[13]
Live albums
Year Album details
UK AUS
Certifications
[3] 3
[4] 25
1979
10
10
15
16
1986
51
13
15
22
49
17
50
UK: Platinum
1989
Queen at the Beeb Recorded in 1973 Released: 4 December 1989 Label: Band of Joy (#BOJLP 001)
67
1992
Live at Wembley '86 Released: 26 May 1992 Label: Parlophone (#CDPCSP 725)
20
81
29
53
[13] UK: Gold [14] US: Platinum [13] UK: Gold [14] US: Platinum [14]
2004
Queen on Fire Live at the Bowl Released: 4 November 2004 Label: Parlophone (#8632112)
20
23
75
10
15
85
74
2007
20
25
111
17
13
54
US: Platinum
Queen discography
76
Compilation albums
Year Album details
UK AUS
Certifications
[3] [4] [5] 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 1 11 [13] UK: 11 Platinum [14] US: 8 Platinum [13]
1981
1991
65[A]
UK: 8 Platinum
1992
US: 3 Platinum
[14]
1997
16
12
22
19
51
UK: Platinum
[13]
1999
25
19
UK: Platinum
[13]
2009
18
10
23
21
23
37
195
UK: 2 Platinum
[13]
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 1 (1973-1976) Released: 14 March 2011 Label: Island Records
102
UK:
The Platinum Collection: Greatest Hits I, II, & III Notes A "Greatest Hits II" charted originally in 1991 in the position 65. With the new 2011 remastered version, it charted in the position 34.
Boxsets
Year Album details
UK AUS
Certifications
[3] 37
[5] 50
1994
Greatest Hits I & II Released: 2 November 1994 Label: Parlophone (#CDPCSD 161)
US: Platinum
[14]
1995
1998
Queen discography
[13] UK: 3 Platinum [14] US: Platinum
77
2 21 23 54 5 2 4 48
2000
The Platinum Collection: Greatest Hits I, II & III Released: 13 November 2000 Label: Parlophone (#5298832)
2008
2009
2010
2010
Extended plays
Year Album details
UK AUS
Certifications
[3] 17 1
[5]
1977 1993
Queen's First EP Five Live (with George Michael and Lisa Stansfield)
17
22
21
Singles
1970s
Year Single Peak chart positions
UK AUS AUT FRA GER IRE NL US
Album
Queen discography
78
10 2 11 1 23 1 10 8 15 12 25 7 2 14 1 3 32 1 12 9 UK: Platinum [14] US: Gold [13] A Night at the Opera UK: Silver [13] Queen II Sheer Heart Attack Queen
1973 1974
"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar" "Seven Seas of Rhye" "Killer Queen" / "Flick of the Wrist"
1975
1976
7 2 31
35 22 11
11
54 1
21 13
3 6 3
9 1 14 2
16 13 49 4 [13] News of the World UK: Gold [14] US: Platinum A Day at the Races
1977
"Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Long Away" "We Are the Champions" 2
1978
"Spread Your Wings" "It's Late" "Bicycle Race" / "Fat Bottomed Girls"
34 11 9 63 2
28 1
21 9
31 7 49 24
29 27 35 13
10 10 2
20 7 14 1
74 24 86 1 [13] UK: Gold [14] US: Gold The Game Live Killers UK: Silver UK: Silver [13] [13] Jazz
1979
"Don't Stop Me Now" "Jealousy" "Mustapha" "Love of My Life" (live) "We Will Rock You" (live) "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
1980s
Year Single
UK AUS
Certifications
Album
1980
"Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight" "Flash"
11 14 7 10
5 13
6 1
41 22 11
42 40 6 3
8 9 4 10
5 15 14 18
The Game
Queen discography
[13]
79
7 28 2 8 87 55 10 6 32 10 45 10 11 2 1 21 12 11 50 58 24 9 5 57 46 21 27 68 69 2 4 26 57 26 6 20 57 52 9 24 31 78 2 13 10 19 1 2 2 10 8 5 4 4 15 3 6 10 14 23 1 6 26 1 1 31 21 4 17 26 6 2 4 4 16 20 29 11 60 16 45 72 61 42 50 UK: Silver [13] The Miracle non-album single A Kind of Magic UK: Silver UK: Silver [13] [13] The Works Hot Space
1981 1982
"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) 1 "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat" 25 17 40 2 3 6 13 21 7 3 14 24 3 7 12 25 21
UK: Silver
1984
"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall" "Thank God It's Christmas"
1985 1986
"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"
1989
"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"
1990s
Year Single
UK AUS
Certifications
Album
1991
"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "The Show Must Go On" "Bohemian Rhapsody" / "These Are the Days of Our Lives"
1 22 14 16 1
28 75 5
12 8
83 2
5 42 7 18
4 19 25 17 1
4 13 7 1
UK: Silver
[13] Innuendo
US: Gold
1992
"We Will Rock You [Live]" / "We Are The Champions [Live]"
Queen discography
[13] Made In Heaven
80
2 6 15 9 17 13 15 71 4 23 23 7 7 15 62 67 26 75 7 23 23 23 2 16 36 21 26 Queen Rocks
1995
UK: Silver
1996
"I Was Born to Love You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me"
1997
"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" / "Tie Your Mother Down"
2000s
none
2010s
Year Single
UK AUS
Certifications
Album
2011
"Stormtroopers In Stilettos"
Non-album single
As featured artist
Year Single Peak chart positions
UK AUS AUT FRA GER IRE NL US
Album
1998
"Another One Bites the Dust" 5 (Queen + Wyclef Jean ft. Pras and Free) "Under Pressure (Rah Mix)" (with David Bowie) "We Will Rock You" (5ive + Queen) "Flash" (Queen + Vanguard) "Another One Bites the Dust" (Queen vs. The Miami Project) "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen + The Muppets) 14
23
62
11
21
1999
19
2000
20
Invincible
2003
15
17
2006
31
2009
Queen discography
81
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Erlewine, Steven Thomas. "Queen > Biography" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p5205/ biography). allmusic. . Retrieved 2009-08-01. "Queenzone" (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ queenzone/ bio_view. aspx?q=4). . Retrieved 2007-02-15. "UK Charts > Queen" (http:/ / www. theofficialcharts. com/ artist/ _/ queen/ ). Official Charts Company. . Retrieved 2010-05-15. Kent, David (1993) (doc). Australian Chart Book 19701992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN0-646-11917-6. "Australian Charts > Queen" (http:/ / australian-charts. com/ showinterpret. asp?interpret=queen). australian-charts.com Hung Medien. . Retrieved 2010-05-17. [6] http:/ / austriancharts. at/ search. asp?cat=a& search=queen [7] http:/ / www. charts-surfer. de/ [8] http:/ / www. oricon. co. jp/ prof/ artist/ 60447/ [9] http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ search. asp?search=queen& cat=a [10] http:/ / norwegiancharts. com/ search. asp?search=queen& cat=a [11] http:/ / www. swedishcharts. com/ search. asp?search=queen& cat=a [12] http:/ / www. billboard. com/ artist/ queen/ chart-history/ 5473#/ artist/ queen/ chart-history/ 5473?f=395& g=Singles [13] "BPI > Certified Awards Search" (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ certifiedawards/ search. aspx). British Phonographic Industry. . Retrieved 2009-09-18. [14] "RIAA Gold & Platinum" (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php?resultpage=2& table=SEARCH_RESULTS& action=& title=& artist=queen& format=& debutLP=& category=& sex=& releaseDate=& requestNo=& type=& level=& label=& company=& certificationDate=& awardDescription=& catalogNo=& aSex=& rec_id=& charField=& gold=& platinum=& multiPlat=& level2=& certDate=& album=& id=& after=& before=& startMonth=1& endMonth=1& startYear=1958& endYear=2010& sort=CertificationDate& perPage=50). Recording Industry Association of America. . Retrieved 2010-05-15.
External links
Queen Discography (http://www.jugi3.ch/homepage/queen.htm)
82
Studio albums
Queen
Queen
Recorded 1971 1972 at Trident Studios and De Lane Lea Studios Genre Length Label Rock 38:36 EMI Records (Europe) Parlophone (Europe) Elektra Records (US) Hollywood Records (US)
Queen (1973)
Queen II (1974)
Yourself Alive" Released: 6 July 1973 2. "Liar" Released: 14 February 1974 (US only)
Queen is the eponymous debut album by British rock group Queen, released in July 1973. It was recorded at Trident Studios and De Lane Lea Music Centre, London, with production by Roy Thomas Baker (as Roy Baker), John Anthony and Queen.
Queen The album was influenced by the seaside rock, hard rock, and heavy metal of the day and covers subjects such as folklore ("My Fairy King") and religion ("Jesus"). Lead singer Freddie Mercury composed five of the ten tracks. Guitarist Brian May contributed four songs, including "Doing All Right", which was co-written by Smile band-mate Tim Staffell. Drummer Roger Taylor composed and sang "Modern Times Rock and Roll." The final song on the album is a short instrumental version of "Seven Seas of Rhye". The band included the comment 'No synthesizers' on the album sleeve, as some listeners had mistaken their elaborate multi-tracking and effects processed by guitar and vocal sounds as synthesizers. Bassist John Deacon was credited on the sleeve notes of the original vinyl release as "Deacon John", as Mercury and Taylor thought this may make him sound more interesting.
83
History
Queen had been playing the club and college circuit in and around London for almost two years when the band had a chance opportunity to test out the new recording facilities of De Lane Lea Studios. Taking advantage of the opportunity, they put together a polished demo tape of five songs: "Keep Yourself Alive", "The Night Comes Down", "Great King Rat", "Jesus", and "Liar". Despite the demo tape's quality, the band received only one offer from a record company - a low bid from Chrysalis Records, which they used to try to entice other companies. They were finally taken aboard in 1972 by Norman and Barry Sheffield, who were setting up Trident Studios; however, Queen were allowed to record only during the studio's downtime,[1] after the paying artists had left, which was usually between 3 and 7am. One day, while waiting to use the studio, Mercury was asked to record vocals by producer Robin Cable, who was working on a version of "I Can Hear Music" and "Goin' Back." Mercury enlisted May and Taylor to record the tracks. These recordings were released on a single under the name Larry Lurex. The arrangement of recording only during downtime lasted from June to November 1972. The limitations this imposed on them led the band to focus on completing one track at a time, but problems arose almost immediately. The band had thought highly of their De Lane Lea demo tracks, but producer Roy Thomas Baker asked them to re-record the songs with better equipment. "Keep Yourself Alive" was the first song to be re-recorded, and Queen did not like the result. They recorded it once again, but during the mixing sessions, no mix met their standards until engineer Mike Stone stepped in. After seven or eight failed attempts, Stone's first try met with Queen's approval. Stone would stay on to engineer and eventually co-produce their next five albums. The first, rejected re-record of "Keep Yourself Alive" was later released by Hollywood Records in the US, titled "(Long Lost Re-take)," with May's approval. Another track that proved problematic was "Mad The Swine", which was recorded for the album but then derailed by Baker and Queen disagreeing on the quality of the percussion. With the issue unresolved, the track was left off the album. It re-surfaced in 1991 as both the B-side to the "Headlong" CD single in the UK, and on the Hollywood Records re-release of the album. The version of "The Night Comes Down" which appears on the album is, in fact, the De Lane Lea demo recording,[1] as the band were unsatisfied with any attempt at rerecording it. Other recordings from this period, such as two Smile tracks ("Silver Salmon" and "Polar Bear"), "Rock And Roll Medley" (a live encore staple from the era), and the infamous track "Hangman" (whose existence was long denied officially, beyond live concert recordings), have surfaced in the form of acetate pressings, now owned legitimately by private collectors. Though the album was completed and fully mixed by November 1972, Trident spent months trying to get a record company to release it. After eight months of failing that, they simply released it themselves in 1973. During this time, Queen had begun writing material for their next album, but they were disheartened by the current album's delay, feeling they had grown past that stage, even though the record-buying public was just getting wind of them. They recorded two BBC sessions during the interim. The first single, "Keep Yourself Alive" (the Mike Stone mix, now considered the standard album version) was released a week before the album[1] (UK dates, 6 July and 13th respectively). The track length was edited for release in the US, from 3:47 to 3:30. The US single was issued in October. All countries had the B-side "Son And Daughter". The album was released in the US on 4 September.
Queen Elektra Records released a single of "Liar" in a heavily edited form (without the band's knowledge) on 14 February 1974, with the B-side "Doing All Right". Elektra later re-issued the edited version of "Keep Yourself Alive" in July 1975, this time with the rare double B-side (rare for a 7" single) of "Lily Of The Valley" and "God Save the Queen". Both versions are unique compared to the album versions. Hollywood Records released a CD single featuring five versions of "Keep Yourself Alive" to promote the forthcoming "Crown Jewels" boxed set (1998). The versions on the CD are: "Long Lost Re-take", "BBC Session #1 Version", "Live Killers Version", "Album Version (Unremastered)", and "Album Version (1998 Remastered Version)".
84
Reception
Rolling Stone wrote, "There's no doubt that this funky, energetic English quartet has all the tools they'll need to lay claim to the Zep's abdicated heavy-metal throne, and beyond that to become a truly influential force in the rock world. Their debut album is superb."[2] The Winnipeg Free Press opined that Queen borrowed from other artists, but also compared it favourably to Led Zeppelin, writing, "the group manages to inject such a fresh, energetic touch to most of it that I don't mind a bit... With its first album, Queen has produced a driving, high energy set which in time may be looked upon with the same reverence Led Zep 1 now receives."[3] Illinois' Daily Herald also commended the record, writing "Good listening is guaranteed in songs like 'Keep Yourself Alive,' 'Great King Rat' and 'Doing All Right'."[4] In later years, Allmusic awarded the album 3/5 stars, calling it a "patchy but promising debut from a classic rock group,"[5] while Q awarded the album 5/5 stars, citing it as an "essential purchase."[6] In 1994, Guitarist magazine ranked Queen the 19th most influential guitar album of all time.[7] In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked "Keep Yourself Alive" 31st in the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time", describing it as "an entire album's worth of riffs crammed into a single song".[8]
Track listing
Side one No. Title Writer(s) Length 3:46 4:10 5:41 4:07
1. "Keep Yourself Alive" Brian May 2. "Doing All Right" 3. "Great King Rat" 4. "My Fairy King" May, Tim Staffell Freddie Mercury Mercury
Side two No. Title 1. "Liar" 2. "The Night Comes Down" 3. "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" 4. "Son and Daughter" 5. "Jesus" Writer(s) Mercury May Roger Taylor May Mercury Length 6:26 4:24 1:48 3:19 3:45 1:10
Queen
85
1991 Hollywood Records bonus tracks No. Title 11. "Mad the Swine (Previously Unreleased)" 12. "Keep Yourself Alive (Long Lost Re-Take)" Writer(s) Length Mercury May 3:24 4:04 6:28
13. "Liar (1991 Bonus Remix by John Luongo and Gary Hellman)" Mercury
2011 Universal Records reissue bonus disc No. Title 1. "Keep Yourself Alive (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)" 2. "The Night Comes Down (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)" 3. "Great King Rat (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)" 4. "Jesus (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)" 5. "Liar (De Lane Lea Demo, December 1971)" 6. "Mad the Swine (June 1972)" Length 3:50 4:22 6:07 5:04 7:52 3:22
2011 iTunes Deluxe Edition bonus videos No. Title 7. "Son And Daughter (Live at Hammersmith Odeon '75)" 8. "Liar (Live at The Rainbow '74)" 9. "Keep Yourself Alive (Rehearsal at St John's Wood Studios '73)" Length
2011 re-issue
On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in March 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums are to be remastered and reissued in 2011.
Song information
"Keep Yourself Alive"
Brian May wrote "Keep Yourself Alive" after the band had been formed, but before John Deacon joined, as confirmed by former bass player Barry Mitchell (on an unofficial Q&A session held on an online forum). According to what May said in a radio special about their 1977 album News of the World, he had penned the lyrics thinking of them as ironic and tongue-in-cheek, but their sense was completely changed when Freddie Mercury sang them. Taylor and May sing the vocal bridge of the song. Mercury might have helped on the musical arrangements based on the fact that (as it has been recalled by former bassists and the band themselves) they were in a more collaborative period in the pre-studio days and Mercury was usually the one getting his way with structural ideas. While it is highly possible that he contributed ideas to the song (the modulation types and the expanded form are closer to his style than to May's), the bottom line is that even in that case Mercury would be more a co-arranger than a co-writer per se (like George Martin on The Beatles' songs).[9]
Queen
86
"Liar"
"Liar" was written by Freddie Mercury in 1970 while he was still under the name Farrokh Bulsara, and before John Deacon joined the band the following year. It is one of the band's heavier songs. As confirmed by the transcription on EMI Music Publishing's Off The Record sheet music for the song, this is one of the few Queen tracks of the 1970s to feature a Hammond organ. Some Queen fans believe that John Deacon sang the "all day long" lines, since he did so in live versions and the video. However, on both, he was joined by Roger Taylor, Brian May and Freddie Mercury, therefore it is not known if it was merely a visual trick or if actually Deacon did some uncredited backing vocals. Both live and in the video, Deacon would sing into Mercury's microphone.
Queen
87
Queen
88
"Jesus"
The lyrics tell part of the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Mercury, credited with writing the song, was a Parsi Zoroastrian. The track features a two-chord rhythm section during the verses with a long instrumental break toward the end of the song. Because of the effects created by Brian May's Red Special guitar, among other things, many early followers of Queen viewed the band as something of a psychedelic rock band.
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano Brian May - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, vocal bridge on "Keep Yourself Alive", piano on "Doing All Right" Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll", vocal bridge on "Keep Yourself Alive", percussion Deacon John - bass guitar There's also an uncredited organ on the track "Liar", which is usually assumed to be played by Mercury. However, there has never been any official claim to confirm or deny such fact. However, the organ part also appears in the 1971 demo. John Anthony - producer, backing vocals on "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" Roy Thomas Baker - producer, sound engineer Mike Stone - sound engineer Ted Sharpe - sound engineer
Charts
Country Charts Sales Sales
Peak position Weeks Certification United Kingdom 24[1] United States Japan 83 52 [1] 18 9 [1] Platinum Gold
[1]
[12]
12
References
[1] "Queen Queen" (http:/ / queenonline. com/ q_history/ history. php?history=6& section=1). QueenOnline.com. . Retrieved 2006-11-23. [2] Rolling Stone review (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 199416/ review/ 5942941/ queen) [3] Winnipeg Free Press review (archived at queenarchives.com) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_01-05-1974_-_Queen_-_Winnipeg_Free_Press) [4] Chicago Herald review (archived at queenarchives.com) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_12-07-1973_-_Queen_-_The_Herald,_Chicago,_IL) [5] Allmusic review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687293) [6] Q, November 2004, p.102 [7] "The Top 50 Most Influential Guitar Albums Of All Time Ever!" (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ 50. html). Guitarist. December 1994. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [8] "100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time" (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ rstone. html). Rolling Stone. June 2008. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
Queen
[9] "Queen Keep Yourself Alive" (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ q_history/ Music/ Queen/ KeepYourselfAlive_video. php). QueenOnline.com. . Retrieved 2006-11-23. [10] Robert Browning. The Pied Piper of Hamelin (http:/ / www. indiana. edu/ ~librcsd/ etext/ piper/ text. html). London: Frederick Warne and Co., 1888, lines 246-248. (website of Indiana University) [11] BPI Certified Awards (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ stats). [12] RIAA. Gold & Platinum (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinum. php).
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External links
Queen at Queen's official website including history and lyrics (http://queenonline.com/q_history/history. php?history=6§ion=1) Early Queen recordings (http://qliverecordings.tripod.com/earlyrec.html)
Queen II
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Queen II
Queen II
Recorded August 1973 at Trident Studios, London Genre Length Label Rock 40:42 Parlophone (Europe), Elektra (US)
Producer Roy Thomas Baker, Robin Geoffrey Cable, Queen Queen chronology
Queen (1973)
Queen II (1974)
Queen II is the second album by British rock group Queen, released in March 1974. It was recorded at Trident Studios, London in August 1973 with co-producers Roy Thomas Baker and Robin Cable, and engineered by Mike Stone. The two sides of the original LP were labelled "Side White" and "Side Black" (instead of the conventional sides "1" and "2"), with corresponding photos of the band dressed in white or in black on either side of the record's label face. It is also a concept album, with the white side having songs with a more emotional theme and the black side almost entirely about fantasy, often with quite dark themes. Mick Rock's album cover photograph was frequently re-used by the band throughout its career, most notably in the music video for the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975). Released to an initially mixed critical reception, Queen II remains one of the band's lesser-known albums. Nonetheless, the album has retained a cult following since its release and has in recent years been cited by a number of music publications, fellow artists and fans as one of their finest works.
Queen II
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Packaging
The Queen II album cover features a photograph taken by Mick Rock of, according to VH1, "Queen standing in diamond formation, heads tilted back like Easter Island statues" against a black background.[1] The band had hired Rock because they wanted to, in Rock's words, "graft some of [the trademark] decadent 'glam' sensibility" of his work with artists such as David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. Subsequently, the brief the photographer received from Queen was to have a black and white theme for the Queen II artwork.[2] According to Rock, the group were looking to grab people's attention with the cover, especially since their first album had failed to do so; "They realized that if you could catch people's eyes you could get them interested in music."[1] Describing it as a "sort of a knockoff of an old Marlene Dietrich shot",[3] the photographer took inspiration for the cover from a still of the actress from the 1932 film Shanghai Express.[1] "And of course no one was ever more 'glam' than the divine Ms Dietrich", Rock quips.[2] Although the band almost rejected the photograph because they felt it too pretentious, Rock convinced them otherwise; "It made them look like much bigger a deal then they were at the time, but it was a true reflection of their music."[1] The image was reused by Queen for the promotional video of their 1975 single "Bohemian Rhapsody".
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Legacy
As 1974 drew to a close, public reaction to Queen II had been enthusiastic.[6] The album was also ranked by Disc as the 5th best of the year.[9] While the album remains one of the band's lesser-known works, it has since retained a cult following and has in recent years been cited by a number of music publications, fellow artists and fans as one of Queen's finest works. In 1987, the Post-Tribune ranked Queen II 9th in an article covering "albums that should be in everyone's record collection, but aren't."[10] In the 1994 edition of The Guinness All Time Top 1000 Albums, Queen II was voted #202 in the all-time greatest rock and pop albums.[11] In 2003, Q magazine included Queen II in a list of fifty little-known albums recommended by the magazine to supplement their "The 50 Best British Albums Ever" poll.[12] In 2005, Kerrang! readers voted Queen II the 72nd greatest British rock album ever.[13] In 2006, the album was featured in Classic Rock and Metal Hammer's "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70s," being listed alongside Sheer Heart Attack as one of the 20 greatest albums of 1974.[14] In 2008, IGN Music named Queen II as one of their "10 Classic Glam Rock Albums", writing, "Queen gave glam a bigger, more anthemic sound with this glittery opus. Combined with Freddie Mercury's underrated keyboard work, Brian May's ringing leads and pristine riffs created a backdrop for songs that were by turns ferocious and elegant."[15] In 2010, Mojo ranked Queen II as the 60th greatest album ever released on the Elektra Records label.[16] Along with the Queen albums Sheer Heart Attack and A Night
Queen II at the Opera, Queen II is featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, where it is described as "a distinctly dark album" which "displayed their diversity," and contrasted with their later "expansive, stadium-pleasing anthems."[17] Allmusic said of the record, "Queen is coiled, tense, and vicious here, delivering on their inherent sense of drama, and that gives Queen II real power as music, as well as a true cohesion... Queen II is one of the favorites of their hardcore fans."[18] In 2009, The Quietus published an article highlighting Queen's "lesser-known brilliance" to coincide with the release of that year's Absolute Greatest compilation, describing Queen II as "an absolute scorcher of an album" which features two of the band's best tracks: "Ogre Battle" and "Father to Son".[19] Endorsements from younger recording artists have introduced the album to a new generation of fans. In a 1989 Rolling Stone interview, Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose said of the record, "With Queen, I have my favorite: Queen II. Whenever their newest record would come out and have all these other kinds of music on it, at first I'd only like this song or that song. But after a period of time listening to it, it would open my mind up to so many different styles. I really appreciate them for that. That's something I've always wanted to be able to achieve".[20] Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan spoke to Melody Maker in August 1993 about "the records which changed his life," stating, "I worked at this record store where we had lots of old records, and I found Queen II, probably their least popular album. It's so over the top, so many vocal and guitar track overdubs - total Queen overload. I loved it. I loved the cool, weird, ambiguous songs about Freddies sexuality and the way it shifts from heavy to beautiful ballads."[21]
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Track listing
Side White All songs written by Brian May, unless noted otherwise. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. "Procession" 1:12 "Father to Son" 6:14 "White Queen (As It Began)" 4:34 "Some Day One Day" 4:23 "The Loser in the End" (Roger Taylor) 4:02
Side Black All songs written by Freddie Mercury. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. "Ogre Battle" 4:10 "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" 2:40 "Nevermore" 1:15 "The March of the Black Queen" 6:33 "Funny How Love Is" 2:50 "Seven Seas of Rhye" 2:50
1991 Hollywood Records CD Reissue Bonus Tracks 1. "See What A Fool I've Been" (May) 2. "Ogre Battle (1991 Bonus Remix)" 3. "Seven Seas Of Rhye (1991 Bonus Remix)"
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2011 Universal Records reissue bonus disc No. Title 1. "See What a Fool I've Been (BBC Session July 1973) [Remix 2011]" 2. ""White Queen (As It Began) [Live At Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975" 3. "Seven Seas of Rhye (Instrumental Mix)" 4. "Nevermore (BBC Session, April 1974)" 5. "See What a Fool I've Been (B-Side Version February 1974)" Length 4:22 5:32 3:09 1:27 4:31
2011 iTunes Deluxe Edition bonus videos No. Title 1. "White Queen (Live at The Rainbow '74)" 2. "Seven Seas Of Rhye (Live at Wembley '86)" 3. "Ogre Battle (Live at Hammersmith '75)" Length
Song information
Procession
"Procession" is a short instrumental piece performed by Brian May on multi-tracked guitar. He recorded it by playing overlapping parts on the Red Special through John Deacon's custom-made amplifier (the Deacy Amp). Roger Taylor also contributes to this instrumental, using only a bass pedal.
Father to Son
"Father to Son" was written by May and features heavy metal sections as well as a quiet piano part, which May played. Like the preceding number, "Father to Son" has parts with May on multi-tracked guitar, played through John Deacon's custom-made amplifier (the Deacy Amp). It is written in the father's perspective when talking or thinking about his son. Queen added "Father to Son" to their live setlists immediately and toured extensively, but the song was dropped from the setlists in 1975. The song covers a two-octave range: Freddie Mercury (G3-A4), Roger Taylor (G4-A5).
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Ogre Battle
Mercury wrote "Ogre Battle" on guitar (as confirmed by May in several interviews)[22] in 1972. The band did not want to record it for their first album, but rather waited until they could have more studio freedom to do it properly. The ogre-like screams in the middle are Mercury's, and the high harmonies at the end of the chorus hook are sung by Taylor. As the title suggests, it tells the story of a battle between ogres, and features a May guitar solo and sound effects to simulate the sound of a battle. The beginning of the song is the end of the song in reverse including the final gong, which when played backwards at the start of the song, creates the building wave sound. The song is one of Queen's heaviest works. The guitar riff along with Roger Taylor's drumming give it a very "thrash" sound. It was a longtime live favorite, although in this case, it was played slower than in the studio. They stopped playing the song somewhere around 1977-1978, playing it on almost every concert up until then. A different version of "Ogre Battle" exists, recorded in December 1973 for the BBC Radio 1 "Sound of the 70s" programme. This version starts right away with its riff (without any long intro), does not have any effects that the version on "Queen II" has and sounds much less polished. The BBC version of "Ogre Battle" did originally have a long intro featuring a grand guitar build up; it was not used for this release, allegedly because the original tape was damaged.
Nevermore
The previous track ends with a three-part vocal harmony from May, Mercury, and Taylor which flows into Mercury playing the piano on this track. All the vocal parts were by Mercury, who added some contemporary piano "ring" effects as well. These effects were widely suspected to be synthesizers; however, they were created by someone plucking the piano strings while Mercury played the notes. Nevermore is quite a short ballad about the feelings after a heartbreak.
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For some strange reason, we seemed to get a rather different feel on the album because of the way we were forced to record it, and even allowing for the problems we had, none of us were really displeased with the result. Led Zeppelin and The Who are probably in there somewhere, because they were among our favourite groups, but what we are trying to do differently from either of those groups [is] this sort of layered sound. The Who had the open chord guitar sound, and there's a bit of that in "Father To Son", but our sound is more based on the overdriven guitar sound, which is used for the main bulk of the song... but I also wanted to build up textures behind the main melody lines. To me, Queen II was the sort of emotional music we'd always wanted to be able to play, although we couldn't play most of it onstage because it was too complicated. We were trying to push studio techniques to a new limit for rock groups it was fulfilling all our dreams, because we didn't have much opportunity for that on the first album. It went through our minds to call the album Over the Top.
[23]
Brian May
Well... that was a concept that we develop in that time was... it doesn't have, any special meaning. But we were fascinated with this type of things... the wardrobe that we used at the time described it perfectly well...
Freddie Mercury
Queen II
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Personnel
Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano, harpsichord Brian May - guitars, bells on "The March of the Black Queen", lead vocals on "Some Day One Day", backing vocals, piano and organ on "Father to Son" Roger Taylor - drums, gong, marimba, backing vocals, additional vocals on one line of "The March of The Black Queen", lead vocals on "The Loser in the End" John Deacon - bass guitar, acoustic guitar Roy Thomas Baker - castanets on "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke", Stylophone on "Seven Seas Of Rhye". Robin Cable - Piano effects (with Freddie Mercury) on "Nevermore" All songs produced by Queen and Roy Thomas Baker excluding: "Nevermore" and "Funny How Love Is" - Robin Cable and Queen "The March of the Black Queen" - Roy Thomas Baker, Robin Cable and Queen
Charts
Chart Peak position 79 40 26 19 5 49
2011 re-issue
On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in March 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums are to be remastered and reissued in 2011.
References
[1] Hamrogue, Sasha; Bottomley, C. " Mick Rock: Shooting Up (http:/ / www. vh1. com/ artists/ news/ 1489621/ 07222004/ bowie_david. jhtml)". VH1. 22 July 2004. Retrieved on 8 February 2010. [2] IOANNIS " Classic Rock Art - Queen II (http:/ / www. dangerousage. com/ classiccovers/ index. php?page=queen-ii)". IOANNIS - More than meets the I. Dangerous Age Graphics. May 2008. Retrieved on 8 February 2010. [3] " Mick Rock still behind the lens (http:/ / photo. box. sk/ about. php3?id=64)". Photo Box. Box Network Ltd. Retrieved on 8 February 2010. [4] Queen Biography 1974 (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ queenzone/ bio_view. aspx?q=6) [5] Roger Taylor, Queen Street interview (archived at queenonline.com) (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ history/ 48/ ) [6] Gunn, Jacky; Jenkins, Jim. Queen. As It Began. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. 1992. pp. 7577. ISBN 0-283-06052-2. [7] Barnes, Ken. " Queen II review (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ reviews/ album/ 111006/ review/ 5944771?utm_source=Rhapsody& utm_medium=CDreview)". 20 June 1974. Retrieved on 16 January 2010. [8] Christgau, Robert. " Queen: Consumer Guide Reviews (http:/ / www. robertchristgau. com/ get_artist. php?id=3505& name=Queen)". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved on 16 January 2010. [9] Disc, end-of-year list, December 1974 [10] "Closet classics: Albums tuned out by the public". Post-Tribune. 3 July 1987. Retrieved 28 August 2010. Excerpt (http:/ / www. highbeam. com/ doc/ 1N1-10853B09CF536D18. html) at HighBeam Research (registration required for complete article). [11] Guinness: All-time top 1000 albums (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ larkin1000_94. htm). 1994. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
Queen II
[12] Q, "The 50 Best British Albums Ever", July 2003 ( list archived at www.muzieklijstjes.nl (http:/ / www. muzieklijstjes. nl/ Q50bestbritishalbumsever. htm)) [13] The 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever! (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ kerrang. html). Kerrang!. 19 Feb 2005. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [14] Classic Rock/Metal Hammer, "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70s", March 2006 [15] Hall, Russell. " 10 Classic Glam Rock Albums (http:/ / uk. music. ign. com/ articles/ 911/ 911720p2. html)". IGN. 20 September 2008. Retrieved on 16 January 2010. [16] The 60 Greatest Elektra Albums (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ mojo_p3. htm). Mojo. November 2010. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [17] 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ steveparker/ 1001albums. htm) [18] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. " Queen II overview (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687302)".Allmusic. Retrieved on 16 January 2010. [19] The Quietus: Queen: The Gems Beyond The Gilded Headgear Of The Greatest Hits (http:/ / thequietus. com/ articles/ 03315-queen-finding-the-gems-beyond-the-gilded-headgear-of-the-greatest-hits) [20] James, Del. "The Rolling Stone Interview: Axl Rose (Part I)". Rolling Stone. 10 August 1989. [21] "Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins talks about the records that changed his life". Melody Maker. 14 August 1993. [22] e.g., Guitar World, October 1998. [23] Conecte (http:/ / qliverecordings. tripod. com/ concertography/ article10. html)
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External links
Queen II (http://www.queenonline.com/history/65/) at Queen Online, the band's official website. Tate Gallery: Richard Dadd's "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" (http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=2979&searchid=7731&tabview=work) Queen II (http://www.queenpedia.com/index.php?title=Queen_II) at Queenpedia
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Recorded JulySeptember 1974 at AIR, Rockfield, Trident and Wessex Sound studios Genre Length Label Rock 39:09 EMI Records (Europe) Parlophone (Europe) Elektra Records (US) Hollywood Records (US)
Queen II (1974)
Queen/Flick of the Wrist" Released: 11 October 1974 2. "Now I'm Here/Lily of the Valley" Released: 17 January 1975 3. "Lily of the Valley/Keep Yourself Alive" Released: April 1975
Sheer Heart Attack is the third album by British rock group Queen, released November 1974. It was produced by Queen and Roy Thomas Baker and distributed by EMI in the United Kingdom, and Elektra in the United States. The album launched the band to mainstream popularity both in the UK and internationally: the first single, "Killer Queen" reached #2 in the British charts and provided Queen with their first US Top 20 hit, peaking at #12 on the Billboard singles chart. Sheer Heart Attack was also the first Queen album to hit the US Top 20, peaking at #12 in 1975. Digressing from the progressive themes featured on their first two albums, Sheer Heart Attack featured more
Sheer Heart Attack conventional rock tracks and marked a step towards the classic Queen sound.[1] In recent years, it has been listed by multiple publications as one of the band's best works.
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Song information
Brighton Rock
Brian May wrote "Brighton Rock" in 1973 before the completion of Queen II, but time restrictions meant that the song was not ready for inclusion on an album until Sheer Heart Attack. The title is something of a pun: Brighton rock is a long, cylindrical sugar candy traditional to that seaside resort. The term was also iconic in UK pop culture as the title of a dark Graham Greene thriller/noir novel later adapted into a successful film starring Richard Attenborough as a teenage sociopath. The song, the first track on the album tells the story of two young lovers meeting in Brighton on a public holiday. Jenny cannot linger because she is afraid her mother will find out "how I spent my holiday", but afterwards "writes a letter every day"; Jimmy, eager on the day, is not so happy with her "nothing can my love erase": now he is the one afraid of discovery by "my lady". The song was originally intended to be a duet but Freddie Mercury ended up doing both female and male parts of the vocals, and Brian May sings lead harmony vocals on the line "Oh rock of ages, do not crumble love is breathing still, oh lady moon shine down a little people magic if you will." The fairground sounds at the beginning of the track were contributed, uncredited, by Colin Macnab, a Glasgow-based sound recordist who was a friend of Rab Johnstone, a member of Queen's road crew. This sound recording was previously used at the beginning of the song "Young Miss Pflugg" which appears on the 1969 Capitol Records album "A Gift From Euphoria" by the band Euphoria. A brief whistled snatch of "I Do Like To be Beside the Seaside" appears at the start of Macnab's field recording which mirrors its previous appearance as the coda of Seven Seas of Rhye, the final track on Queen's previous album, thus linking Queen II and this album. One could even propose a three-album overlap, because of the instrumental version of Seven Seas of Rhye on the first album, the vocal version on the second album, which then 'segues' into Brighton Rock. The song is probably best-known for its lengthy guitar solo interlude. This featured May's technique of using multiple echoes used to build up guitar harmony and contrapuntal melodic lines. The studio version only contains one "main" guitar and one "echoed" guitar for a short section, but live, he would usually split his guitar signal into "main" and two "echoed", with each going to a separate bank of amplifiers. Variations of this solo often featured during live Queen concerts, either as part of a rendition of Brighton Rock, a medley of it with some other songs (as witnessed on the News of the World tour where it segued after Freddie Mercury's multiple echoed vocal solo at the end of White Man and Brian May's solo would segue into "The Prophet's Song" or "Now I'm Here"), or on its own as a guitar solo. Originally the solo was part of the song "Blag", from May and Roger Taylor's previous band Smile. May would then play it live in the Queen song "Son and Daughter", and this arrangement also appeared on a session for the BBC in late 1973. Also this solo appeared on earlier recordings of "Liar". Later, the first half of "Brighton Rock" segued, via the guitar solo, to the closing section of "Son and Daughter", and as of the 1977 A Day at the Races tour was eventually played as a track in its own right until 1979. However, during the News of the World tour of 1977 and 1978, a shortened version of the song was played without the lengthy guitar solo during the beginning of the concert - as heard on bootleg recordings from the tour. In the late seventies, the guitar solo was adapted to include some bass and drums, including a timpani solo by Taylor (from October, 1978 to November, 1981). In 1980 and 1981, the solo was included as a medley with Keep Yourself Alive, before becoming a performance in its own right. During the recent tour of Queen + Paul Rodgers, a modified version, incorporating bits of "Chinese Torture" (from the album The Miracle) and the introduction from "Now I'm
Sheer Heart Attack Here" was featured in the concerts. The live piece is often between nine to thirteen minutes long.
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Killer Queen
"Killer Queen" (Sample ) was written by Freddie Mercury and it was the band's first international hit. It is one of the few songs by Mercury for which he wrote the lyrics first. The band initially did the song without Brian May while he was in the hospital, leaving spaces for whenever he felt better. Mercury played an upright "jangle" piano as well as a grand piano.
Tenement Funster
"Tenement Funster" is Roger Taylor's song on the album. He sang the lead vocals. Backing track consisted of Taylor's drums, Mercury's piano, Deacon's bass and May's Red Special guitar. It's a typical Taylor track about youth and rebellion. It also includes echo effects with May's guitar, like in "Brighton Rock". The last couple of guitar notes overlap into "Flick Of The Wrist". The original working titles for the song were "Teen Dreams" and "Young And Crazy".[2]
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Dear Friends
"Dear Friends" was May's song featuring him on the piano and backing vocals, Mercury doing lead vocals. Def Leppard covered this song (and sung by bassist Rick Savage) for a Wal Mart bonus EP for their cover album, Yeah!
Misfire
"Misfire" was John Deacon's first composition, and has a light-hearted Caribbean/Reggae theme. Deacon played most of the guitars including the solo, and Mercury sang all the vocals. Neko Case performed a country version of the song on her 1997 solo dbut album, "The Virginian."
Sheer Heart Attack only to end up empty-eared and bawling."[8] As 1974 drew to a close, the album was ranked by Disc as the third best of the year,[9] and placed joint #24 of the 60 albums to appear in NME's end-of-year list.[10] Allmusic awarded the album 4.5/5 stars, writing, "the theatricality is now wielded on everyday affairs, which ironically makes them sound larger than life. And this sense of scale, combined with the heavy guitars, pop hooks, and theatrical style, marks the true unveiling of Queen, making Sheer Heart Attack as the moment where they truly came into their own."[1] Mojo awarded the album 4/5 stars, noting that it was "often overlooked in favour of A Night at the Opera," and calling it "equally stellar."[11] Q awarded the album 5/5 stars, calling it "indispensable," and "one of the great pop/rock admixtures of the '70s."[12] The BBC wrote, "they stretched contemporary production methods to their very limit with multi-layered vocals and guitars and Freddies vaudevillian streak finally emerged... this was the album that finally saw Queen find their true voice."[13]
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Accolades
Publication Country Accolade 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die The 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever [14] Year 2005 2006 [16] 2006 2005 2007 2002 2006 [21] 2007 2006 1977 1980 [25] 2000 Rank * 28 * 8 45 72 * 88 63 50 * 492
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die UK Classic Rock UK
[15]
The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70's (20 greatest of 1974) Kerrang! UK Poll: The 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever The 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever Mojo UK 100 Greatest Guitar Albums [19] [18] [17]
[20] 70 of the Greatest Albums of the 70's The 100 Records That Changed the World NME Radio Caroline Trouser Press Virgin UK UK US UK Poll: Greatest 100 Albums of All Time [23] Poll: Top 100 Albums [24] Best Albums of the 1970s Poll: All Time Album Top 1000 Albums
[22]
Track listing
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Side one No. Title 1. "Brighton Rock" 2. "Killer Queen" Writer(s) Brian May Freddie Mercury Length 5:08 3:01 2:48 3:19 1:43 4:10
3. "Tenement Funster" Roger Taylor 4. "Flick of the Wrist" Mercury 5. "Lily of the Valley" Mercury 6. "Now I'm Here" May
Side two No. Title 1. "In the Lap of the Gods" 2. "Stone Cold Crazy" 3. "Dear Friends" 4. "Misfire" 5. "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" Writer(s) Mercury Mercury/May/Taylor/John Deacon May Deacon Mercury Length 3:20 2:12 1:07 1:50 2:13 4:08 3:42
6. "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)" May 7. "In the Lap of the Gods Revisited" Mercury
Bonus track (1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue) No. Title 14. "Stone Cold Crazy (1991 remix by Michael Wagener)" Length 2:15
2011 Universal Records reissue bonus disc No. Title 1. "Now I'm Here (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)" 2. "Flick of the Wrist (BBC Session, October 1974)" 3. "Tenement Funster (BBC Session, October 1974)" 4. "Bring Back That Leroy Brown (A Cappella Mix 2011)" 5. "In the Lap of the Gods ... Revisited (Live at Wembley Stadium, July 1986)" Length 4:25 3:24 2:58 2:17 2:35
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2011 iTunes Deluxe Edition bonus videos No. Title 6. "Killer Queen (Top Of The Pops, Version 2)" 7. "Stone Cold Crazy (Live at The Rainbow '74)" 8. "Now I'm Here (Forum, Montreal '81)" Length
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, piano, jangle piano Brian May: guitars, backing vocals, piano, ukulele, banjo, lead vocals on "She Makes Me" Roger Taylor: drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Tenement Funster", screams on "In the Lap of the Gods" John Deacon: bass guitar, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, electric guitar, all guitars on "Misfire", double-bass on "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" During Queen's first North American Tour (as a support band for Mott the Hoople) Brian fell ill with hepatitis (he had been infected with an unclean needle during a vaccination before the Australian tour), but he continued to work from hospital. When he was fit, the work continued in studio, but then he fell ill again, this time with a stomach ulcer. When he was recovering after an operation, the next tour had been cancelled. He felt guilty, and was a bit nervous that someone would replace him in the band. Much to his relief, no one in the group had even considered it. All three members were continuing on recording without May at the time. Production planning had left a lot of spaces in the songs for May's solos. When he felt well enough, he returned and completed the tracks with guitar solos and backing vocals.
Charts
Country Charts Sales Sales 30.000 42 2x Platinum Platinum 22 32 Platinum Gold 700,000 100,000 175.000 1,350,000 300,000 250,000 150,000 250,000 6 200,000 60,000
United Kingdom 2 Netherlands Norway United States Japan Canada France Germany Italy Spain 6 9 12 23
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2011 re-issue
On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in March 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums are to be remastered and reissued in 2011.
Tour
From 10 October 1974 through to 1 May 1975 the album was promoted on tour. The tour consisted of 3 legs and 77 individual shows, and was the band's first world tour. The supporting bands consisted of Styx, Kansas, Hustler, and Mahogany Rush.
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Allmusic review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687294) Queenpedia article about Tenement Funster (http:/ / queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=Tenement_Funster) http:/ / queen. musichall. cz/ index_en. php?s=fc& a=sha& d=facts Quoted in Jacky Gunn, Jim Jenkins. Queen. As It Began. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1992, p. 84. ISBN 0-283-06052-2 Winnipeg Free Press, 5 July 1975 (Queen Archives) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ viewtopic. php?t=325)
[6] Circus review (archived at queenarchives.com) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_03-XX-1975_-_Sheer_Heart_Attack_-_Circus) [7] Rolling Stone review (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 115705/ review/ 5944434/ sheer_heart_attack) [8] John Mendelsohn review (archived at queenarchives.com) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_03-XX-1975_-_Sheer_Heart_Attack_-_Phonograph_Record) [9] Disc, end-of-year list, December 1974 [10] NME end of year list, 1974 (rocklistmusic) (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ 1974. html) [11] Mojo, August 1995, p.34: "...often overlooked in favour of A Night at the Opera"... "equally stellar... (4 stars)" [12] Q Magazine, August 2002, p.150: "Indispensable... Introduced the roaring chrome camp-rock of future Queen... This album was one of the great pop/rock admixtures of the '70s... (5 stars)." [13] BBC review (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ music/ reviews/ xxhj) [14] "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ steveparker/ 1001albums. htm) [15] Classic Rock "The 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever", (rocklistmusic) (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ steveparker/ classicrock2. htm) [16] Classic Rock/Metal Hammer, "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70s", March 2006 [17] The 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever! (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ kerrang. html). Kerrang!. Feb 19, 2005. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [18] "The 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever", Kerrang, November 8, 2006 [19] "100 Greatest Guitar Albums" (http:/ / www. muzieklijstjes. nl/ Mojo100greatestguitaralbums. htm). Mojo, 2002. Archived at muzieklijstjes.nl [20] Mojo, MOJO Classic: The Who & The Story Of 70s Rock, July 2006 [21] Mojo, "The 100 Records That Changed the World", June 2007 [22] "Oasis album voted greatest of all time" (http:/ / entertainment. timesonline. co. uk/ tol/ arts_and_entertainment/ music/ article670515. ece). The Times. 1 June 2006 [23] Top 100 Albums (http:/ / www. timepieces. nl/ Top100's/ 1977RadioCaroline. html). Radio Caroline. 1977. Archived at timepieces.nl [24] "Best Albums of the 1970s" (http:/ / www. stat. ualberta. ca/ people/ schmu/ trouserpress. html), Trouser Press, January 1980 (archived at stat.ualberta.ca) [25] All-Time Album Top 1000 Albums (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ virgin_1000_v3. htm). Virgin. 2000. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
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Studio album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Length Label 21 November 1975 August November 1975 at various studios Rock 43:10 EMI Records, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (US) Roy Thomas Baker and Queen Queen chronology
Producer
Rhapsody" Released: 31 October 1975 2. "You're My Best Friend" Released: 18 May 1976
A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by British rock group Queen, released in November 1975. Co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, A Night at the Opera was, at the time of its release, the most expensive album ever recorded.[1] A commercial success, A Night at the Opera has been voted by the public and cited by music publications as one of Queen's finest works. The album takes its name from the Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera, which the band watched one night at the studio complex when recording.[2] It was originally released by EMI in the UK where it topped the charts for four non-consecutive weeks, and Elektra Records in the US where it peaked at #4.
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Recording history
Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)
"Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" could only be referred to as Freddie Mercury's hate letter toward Queen's ex-manager, Norman Sheffield, who is reputed to have mistreated the band and abused his role as their manager from 1972-1975. Though it never made a direct reference to him, upon listening to the song, Sheffield attempted to sue the band for defamation, and this revealed to the public the subject of the song. Sheffield later admitted that it probably gave the band an incentive to dedicate the song to him after he decided to sue them. During live performances, Mercury would usually re-dedicate the song to "a real motherfucker of a gentleman", although this line was censored out on the version that appeared on their Live Killers album in 1979. Other than the version on Live Killers, he'd said it was dedicated to a "Mother fucker I used to know". In the Classic Albums documentary about the making of A Night at the Opera, Brian May stated that the band at first was somewhat taken aback by the incisiveness of Mercury's lyrics. After the song came together, it was agreed that the "author should have his way," and the song went on as penned.[3] As with "Bohemian Rhapsody", most of the guitar parts on this song were initially played on piano by Mercury, to demonstrate to Brian May how they needed to be played on guitar. "Death on Two Legs" remained on the setlist until, and well into, The Game Tour in 1980, then was dropped.
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'39
"'39" was Brian May's attempt to do sci-fi skiffle". The B-side of "You're My Best Friend" and one of the band's most popular songs, "'39" relates the tale of a group of space explorers who embark on what is, from their perspective, a year-long voyage. Upon their return, however, they realise that a hundred years have passed, due to the time dilation effect in Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity, and the loved ones they left behind are now all dead. Because the "year of '39" resembles 1939, some[4] have speculated that this is actually a song about the beginning of the Second World War but this is not the case. There are backing vocals by Mercury as well as very high and fairly low harmonies by Taylor, and some falsettos by Taylor. Following his performance of '39 at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, George Michael cited this song as his favourite Queen song, claiming he used to busk it on the London underground. Counting all of the original songs in album order, starting with Keep Yourself Alive (on the first Queen album) all the way through to '39, this song falls 39th in chronological order.
Sweet Lady
"Sweet Lady" is a distortion driven fast rock number written by May. Lyrically and musically, it's usually thought to precede 'Tie Your Mother Down' as a loud, riff-heavy expression of disdain for the author's romantic interest. However, 'Tie Your Mother Down' had already been written at the time. The song is an unusual rock style in 3/4 meter (which gives way to 4/4 at the bridge). Roger Taylor remembers it as the most difficult drumming part he ever recorded. The guitar line later evolved into the fast version of We Will Rock You only done at live performances.
Seaside Rendezvous
"Seaside Rendezvous", written by Mercury, is probably best known for the "musical" bridge section which begins at around 0:51 into the song. The section is performed entirely by Mercury and Taylor using their voices alone. Mercury imitates woodwind instruments including a clarinet and Taylor mostly brass instruments, including tubas and trumpets, and even a kazoo, during this section Taylor hits the highest note on the album C6. The tap dance segment is also "performed" by Mercury and Taylor on the mixing desk with thimbles on their fingers. Mercury plays both grand piano and jangle honky-tonk.
A Night at the Opera instrumental track on Made in Heaven). As detailed by Brian May in a documentary about this album, the speed-up effect that happens in the middle of the guitar solo was achieved by starting a reel-to-reel player with the tape on it, as the original tape player was stopped. The dream May had was about The Great Flood, and lyrics have references from the Bible and the Noah's Ark account.
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Love of My Life
"Love of My Life" was written for Freddie Mercury's girlfriend at the time, Mary Austin, and is one of Mercury's most covered songs (there have been versions by many acts like Extreme featuring Brian May, Scorpions and Elaine Paige). Mercury played piano (including a classical solo) and did all of the vocals with startling multi-tracking precision. Brian May played harp (doing it chord by chord and pasting the takes to form the entire part), Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar (which he'd bought in Japan) and his usual Red Special. "Love of My Life" was such a concert favourite that Mercury frequently stopped singing and allowed the audience to take over. It was especially well received during concerts in South America, and the band released the song as a single there. When Queen and Paul Rodgers performed the song (specifically Brian solo) he sang almost none of the words and let the audience sing it all, continuing the tradition.
Good Company
"Good Company" was written and sung by Brian May. All vocals are by May, who also plays a Genuine Aloha Ukelele.[5] The recording is remarkable for featuring an elaborate recreation of a Dixieland-style jazz band, produced by May using his Red Special guitar, along with various forms of effects processing. The song is a narrative tale, told by a man who in young age was advised by his father to "take care of those you call your own, and keep good company." In his younger years, the singer follows his father's advice, keeping his friends and marrying a girl named Sally. However, after their marriage, he begins to lose interest in his friends, who gradually disappear. As he grows older, he becomes increasingly skilled at and dedicated to his occupation, working long nights and neglecting his family. Eventually, the man's efforts are rewarded, he begins his own Limited company (which is also a pun, since throughout the rest of the song "company" is used in the sense of companions). Even more dedicated to his business, he hardly notices as his wife leaves him. The song finishes with the speaker as an elderly man, puffing his pipe and pondering the lessons of his life, which he has no one left to share with. In one of the more philosophical lines in the song the narrator muses, "all through the years in the end it appears, there was never really anyone but me".
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" was written by Mercury with the first guitar solo composed by May. All piano, bass and drum parts, as well as the vocal arrangements, were thought up by Mercury on a daily basis and written down "in blocks" (using note names instead of sheets) on a phonebook. The other members recorded their respective instruments with no concept of how their tracks would be utilised in the final mix. The now famous operatic section was originally intended to be only a short interlude of "Galileos" that connected the ballad and hard rock portions of the song. During the recording, the song became affectionately known as "Fred's Thing" to the band, and the title only emerged during the final sessions.
A Night at the Opera Despite being twice as long as the average single in 1975, the song became immensely popular, topping charts worldwide (where it remained for an unprecedented nine weeks in the UK) and is now widely regarded as one of the most significant rock songs in history.[6]
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Accolades
Publication Country Accolade 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die [20] Poll: Top 100 Albums [21] Poll: Top 100 Albums Poll: Greatest 100 Albums [22] [23] [24] [19] Year 2005 2007 2006 2005 2001 2006 [25] 2006 2005 2006 2004 2004 2002 [31] 2003 1998 Rank * 28 9 13 25 17 * 19 19 17 11 82 230 87
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die UK ABC BBC Channel 4 Classic Rock AUS UK UK UK
The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70's (20 greatest of 1975) Kerrang! NME Q Rolling Stone UK UK UK MX US US Virgin UK Poll: The 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever Poll: Greatest 100 Albums of All Time The 50 Best British Albums Ever [28] [27] [26]
[29] Poll: The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time Poll: Readers' Top 100 Albums [30]
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Poll: All Time Top 1000 Albums [32]
Re-releases
The album was first re-released in the US on Hollywood Records on 3 September 1991 with two bonus remixes, as part of a complete re-release of all Queen albums. On 30 April 2002 the album was again re-released on DVD-Audio with a 5.1-channel mix in Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound.[33] On 21 November 2005 it was once more re-released by Hollywood Records Catalogue Number 2061-62572-2 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album and its first single, "Bohemian Rhapsody". This release is accompanied by a DVD-Video disc with the same track listing featuring the original videos, old and new concert footage (including "'39" from the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour and Brian May on the roof of Buckingham Palace playing "God Save the Queen") and audio commentary by all four bandmembers. It was on this commentary (and on In the Studio with Redbeard, which devoted an episode to A Night at the Opera) that May stated that had the album not been a success, Queen certainly would have disbanded.
Track listing
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Side one No. Title Writer(s) Length 3:43 1:08 3:05 2:50 3:25 4:01 2:13
1. "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" Freddie Mercury 2. "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" 3. "I'm in Love with My Car" 4. "You're My Best Friend" 5. "'39" 6. "Sweet Lady" 7. "Seaside Rendezvous" Mercury Roger Taylor John Deacon Brian May May Mercury
Side two No. Title 1. "The Prophet's Song" 2. "Love of My Life" 3. "Good Company" Writer(s) May Mercury May Length 8:17 3:38 3:26 5:55 1:11
4. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Mercury 5. "God Save the Queen" Traditional, arr. May
1991 Hollywood Records bonus tracks No. Title 13. "I'm In Love With My Car" (1991 Bonus remix by Mike Shipley) 14. "You're My Best Friend" (1991 Bonus remix by Matt Wallace) Length 3:28 2:52
2011 Universal Records reissue bonus disc No. Title 1. "Keep Yourself Alive (Long-Lost Retake, June 1975)" 2. "Bohemian Rhapsody (Operatic Section A-cappella Mix)" 3. "You're My Best Friend (Backing Track Mix)" 4. "I'm in Love With My Car (Guitar & Vocal Mix)" 5. "'39 (Live at Earl's Court, June 1977)" Writer(s) Length May Mercury Deacon Taylor May 4:04 1:03 2:57 3:18 3:46 3:43
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2011 iTunes Deluxe Edition bonus videos No. Title 7. "Bohemian Rhapsody (No Flames Original Version)" 8. "Seaside Rendezvous (30th Anniversary 2005)" 9. "Love Of My Life (Live at Milton Keynes '82)" Length
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - vocals, vocals, Bechstein Debauchery and more vocals Brian May - guitars, harp, ukelele, backing vocals, lead vocals on "'39" and "Good Company", toy koto, twelve-string guitar and harp on "Love of My Life" Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, lead vocals on "I'm in Love with My Car", trumpet vocals on "Seaside Rendezvous", backing vocals John Deacon - bass guitar, double-bass, electric piano Mike Stone - executive engineer Gary Lyons - invaluable additional engineering John Harris - equipment supervision David Costa - art direction Rick Curtin & Brian Palmer - special thanks John Reid - management
2011 re-issue
On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in March 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums are to be remastered and reissued in 2011.
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Allmusic Queen (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p5205) "The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody", BBC Three, dir. Carl Johnston, First broadcast 2004-12-04 Classic Albums, "A Night at the Opera", VH1 http:/ / www. sputnikmusic. com/ album. php?albumid=458 Sputnik Music review http:/ / www. rockmusic. org/ queen/ discografia/ queen/ ANightAtTheOpera. htm Queen - The Web - A Night At The Opera Chiu, David (2005-12-27). "Unconventional Queen Hit Still Rocks After 30 Years" (http:/ / nytimes. com/ 2005/ 12/ 27/ arts/ music/ 27quee. html?ex=1293339600& en=5825caa9f4db1fb0& ei=5090). The New York Times. . Retrieved 2008-10-05. [7] "Fire at Palace doesn't stop pop party" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ cbbcnews/ hi/ uk/ newsid_2022000/ 2022802. stm). BBC News. 3 June 2002. . Retrieved 23 April 2010. [8] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687301 AMG review of A Night at the Opera. [9] A Night at the Opera 30th Anniversary DVD release (audio commentary) [10] "A Night at the Opera Review" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 316712/ review/ 19062358/ a_night_at_the_opera). Rolling Sone. . [11] Melody Maker review, archived at queenarchives.com (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_XX-XX-1975_-_A_Night_at_the_Opera_-_Melody_Maker) [12] Winnipeg Free Press review, archived at queenarchives.com (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_01-24-1976_-_A_Night_At_The_Opera_-_Winnipeg_Free_Press) [13] ">Christgau. "A Night at the Opera Review" (http:/ / www. robertchristgau. com/ get_artist. php?id=3505& name=Queen). . [14] Mojo, July 2002, p.27: "...An imperial extravaganza, a cornucopia; a band of hungrily competitive individualists on a big roll of friendship and delight (5 stars)."
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116
Studio album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Length Label 10 December 1976 July November 1976 at The Manor, Sarm East, Wessex Rock 44:24 EMI Records, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (US) Queen Queen chronology
Producer
to Love" Released: 12 November 1976 "Tie Your Mother Down" Released: 4 March 1977 "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" Released: 25 March 1977 (Japan only) "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (Queen's First Released: 20 May 1977 "Long Away" Released: 7 June 1977 (US, Canada, New Zealand only)
EP)"
A Day at the Races is the fifth album by British rock group Queen, released in December 1976. A Day at the Races was the band's first completely self-produced album, and the first not to feature producer Roy Thomas Baker. Recorded at Sarm East, The Manor and Wessex Studios in England, A Day at the Races was engineered by Mike Stone. The title of the album followed suit with its predecessor A Night at the Opera in taking its name from a film by the Marx Brothers.
A Day at the Races In recent years, a number of publications have cited A Day at the Races as one of the band's finest works. The album peaked at #1 in the UK, Japan and the Netherlands. It reached #5 on the US Billboard 200 and was Queen's fifth album to ship gold (500,000 units shipped) in the US. It subsequently reached platinum status (one million shipped) in the US.
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Track listing
Side one No. Title 1. "Tie Your Mother Down" Writer(s) Brian May Length 4:48 5:09 3:34 4:54 3:25
2. "You Take My Breath Away" Freddie Mercury 3. "Long Away" 4. "The Millionaire Waltz" 5. "You and I" May Mercury John Deacon
Side two No. Title 1. "Somebody to Love" 2. "White Man" 3. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" 4. "Drowse" Writer(s) Mercury May Mercury Roger Taylor Length 4:56 4:59 2:54 3:45 5:50
Bonus tracks (1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue) No. Title 11. "Tie Your Mother Down (1991 Bonus Remix By Matt Wallace)" 12. "Somebody to Love (1991 Bonus Remix By Randy Badazz)" Length 3:44 5:00
2011 Universal Records reissue bonus disc No. Title 1. "Tie Your Mother Down (Backing Track Mix 2011)" 2. "Somebody to Love (Live at Milton Keynes, June 1982)" 3. "You Take My Breath Away (Live in Hyde Park, September 1976)" 4. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (Top of the Pops, July 1977)" 5. "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (HD Mix)" Length 3:48 7:55 3:06 2:51 4:47
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2011 iTunes Deluxe Edition bonus videos No. Title 6. "You Take My Breath Away (Live at Earls Court '77)" 7. "Tie Your Mother Down (Live at Milton Keynes '82)" 8. "Somebody To Love" Length
Song information
Tie Your Mother Down
"Tie Your Mother Down" was written in Tenerife, when Brian May was earning his PhD in Astronomy in early 1975. He wrote it on Spanish guitar and thought he'd change the title and chorus later on, but Mercury liked it and they kept it that way. The song is preceded by a one-minute instrumental intro using a Shepard tone harmonium figure, which is actually a reprise of the ending of "Teo Torriatte": this was intended to create a "circle" in the album, typical, for example, of Pink Floyd's albums. The ascending scale was created by recording a descending scale on a harmonium and playing it backwards for the record. The main theme of the intro is the same as that of "White Man."
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Long Away
"Long Away" was composed and sung by May. He used a Burns Double Six 12-string electric guitar for the rhythm parts instead of his Red Special. He'd wanted to use a Rickenbacker because he admired John Lennon, but he did not get along well with the thin neck of the instrument.
You and I
"You And I" is John Deacon's song on the album. It features him on acoustic guitar and Mercury playing Elton John-esque piano parts. This song was never played live.
Somebody to Love
"Somebody to Love" is the hit single of the album. It was Freddie Mercury's own favourite song. Like "Bohemian Rhapsody", the major hit from Queen's previous album, this song has a complex layering of vocal tracks, this time based on a gospel choir arrangement. It was the first single off the album A Day at the Races. It is a rock ballad on which band members Mercury, May and Taylor multi-tracked their voices to create the impression of a 3-voices gospel choir. The lyrics, especially combined with the gospel influence, create a song about faith, desperation and soul-searching; the singer questions both the lack of love experienced in his life and the role and existence of God. Staying true to Queen's guitar-driven style, it was also filled with intricate harmony parts and a solo by May. Mercury recorded a huge range of notes, going from a G#2 (in the last choral verse) to a Ab5 (at the peak of his melisma on "ooh" over the choir break). It went to number 2 on the UK charts and number 13 on the U.S. singles chart.
White Man
"White Man" was written by May about the suffering of Native Americans at the hands of European immigrants. Its riff was used for the album intro, similarly to "Father To Son" and "Procession" some years before. This song would be the focal point for a Freddie Mercury vocal solo on the A Day at the Races tour and would serve as both a Mercury vocal solo spot and a Brian May guitar solo spot on the 1977-78 News of the World tour. The song is one of Queen's heaviest works, thematically and musically.
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Drowse
"Drowse" was Roger Taylor's song in 6/8 having him playing rhythm guitar and timpani and doing all of the vocals. May played slide guitar during this and "Tie Your Mother Down" (the second guitar solo in the middle of the song). Taylor's song on the previous album, "I'm In Love With My Car", was also in 6/8. "Drowse" is notable for being Roger Taylor's first "soft" song, his previous compositions being usually the heaviest rock pieces of the album. Taylor sings octave lead vocals during the verses (except for the third and final verse).
Singles
In the UK the first track to be released as a single was Somebody to Love on 12 November 1976 (EMI 2565). It reached number 2. Tie Your Mother Down followed on 4 March 1977 (EMI 2593), reaching number 31, and Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy on 20 May 1977, reaching number 17. In the US, Somebody to Love was released on 10 December 1976 ( Elektra E45362) and reached number 13. It was followed by Tie Your Mother Down (Elektra E45385) in March 1977, which reached number 49. Both of these were released in Japan: in addition, Teo Torriatte was also released exclusively in Japan.
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano Brian May - electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Long Away", piano, plastic piano, harmonium Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals and rhythm guitar on "Drowse" John Deacon - bass guitar, acoustic guitar Mike Stone - additional vocals on "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"
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Charts
Country Charts Sales
Peak position Weeks Certification Austria Germany Japan Netherlands Norway Sweden 8 10 1 1 3 8 17 8 24 2x Platinum Platinum 5 19 Platinum 12 Gold Gold 100.000 350.000 200.000 100.000 250.000 100.000 750.000 200.000 1.500.000
2011 re-issue
On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in March 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums are to be remastered and reissued in 2011.
References
[1] Washington Post review (archived at queenarchives.com) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_02-07-1977_-_A_Day_at_the_Races_-_Washington_Post) [2] Winnipeg Free Press review (archived at queenarchives.com) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_01-20-1977_-_A_Day_at_the_Races_-_Winnipeg_Free_Press) [3] Circus review (archived at queenarchives) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_XX-XX-1977_-_A_Day_at_the_Races_-_Circus) [4] Rolling Stone review (archived at queenarchives.com) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_02-24-1977_-_A_Day_at_the_Races-_Rolling_Stone_(Issue_223)) [5] Allmusic review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r589149) [6] Q, September 1993, p.118: "The breadth of its ambition remains ever impressive, as do tracks such as May's stomping 'Tie Your Mother Down' and Mercury's baroque one-two, 'Somebody To Love' and 'Gold Old-Fashioned Lover Boy'." [7] George Starostin review (http:/ / starling. rinet. ru/ music/ queen. htm#Races) [8] Top 100 Albums (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ uk_radio. htm). BBC Radio 2. Broadcast 28 August 2006. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [9] Guinness poll (http:/ / www. thisislondon. co. uk/ music/ article-22769595-oasis-album-is-greatest-ever. do;jsessionid=8A5092669F7D11EFB08D063D564E1F55) [10] Classic Rock/Metal Hammer, "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70s", March 2006 [11] Out: ""The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums" (http:/ / www. out. com/ detail. asp?id=24081) [12] The World Critics List (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ steveparker/ world_critics_lists. htm). 1987 [13] Jim DeRogatis: "The Great albums" (http:/ / www. jimdero. com/ greatalbums. htm)
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Recorded July September 1977 at Basing Street Studios and Wessex Studios, London Genre Length Label Rock 39:30 EMI Records, Parlophone (UK), Elektra, Hollywood (USA)
Jazz (1978)
Alternative cover
Korean cover
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Singles from News of the World 1. "We
Released: 7 October 1977 2. "Spread Your Wings" Released: 10 February 1978 3. "It's Late" Released: 1978 (US, Canada, New Zealand, Japan only)
News of the World is the sixth studio album by British rock group Queen, released in 1977. Containing hit songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Spread Your Wings", the album went four times platinum in the United States, two times platinum in the United Kingdom, and achieved high certifications elsewhere throughout the world as well. News of the World was the second album to be produced solely by the band (the first being A Day at the Races) and was recorded at Sarm West Studios and Wessex Studios, London and co-produced and engineered by Mike Stone.
Production
Having received some criticism that their first completely self-produced project, A Day at the Races, was a "boring" album,[1] Queen decided to shift their musical focus towards the mainstream but remain as the producers of the next album. After completing the A Day at the Races Tour, the quartet re-entered the studio to begin work on their sixth studio offering in July 1977, enlisting Mike Stone as assistant producer at the Basing Street and Wessex Studios in London. They scaled down their complex arrangements and focused on a "rootsier" sound, (as Brian May put it). However the staple of the Queen sound, multitracked harmonies and guitar orchestrations, still exist on this album, albeit a bit more subtly. News of the World shows Queen's songwriting less dominated by Brian May and Freddie Mercury, with Roger Taylor and John Deacon composing two songs each. The group completed recording and production of the album two months later in September and released the album on 28 October 1977.
Track listing
Side one No. Title 1. "We Will Rock You" Writer(s) Brian May Length 2:01 2:59 3:26 3:10 4:34 3:03
2. "We Are the Champions" Freddie Mercury 3. "Sheer Heart Attack" 4. "All Dead, All Dead" 5. "Spread Your Wings" 6. "Fight from the Inside" Roger Taylor May John Deacon Taylor
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Side two No. Title 1. "Get Down, Make Love" Writer(s) Length Mercury 3:51 3:06 3:05 6:26 3:29
2. "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" May 3. "Who Needs You" 4. "It's Late" 5. "My Melancholy Blues" Deacon May Mercury
1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue bonus tracks No. Title 1. "We Will Rock You (1991 Bonus Remix)" Length 5:00
2011 Bonus EP No. Title 1. "Feelings, Feelings (Take 10, July 1977)" 2. "Spread Your Wings (BBC Session, October 1977)" 3. "My Melancholy Blues (BBC Session, October 1977)" 4. "Sheer Heart Attack (Live in Paris, February 1979)" 5. "We Will Rock You (Fast) (Live in Tokyo, November 1982)" Length
Song information
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" (Sample ) was released as the B-side to "We Are the Champions", and became one of Queen's biggest songs worldwide as a staple of arena and stadium sports everywhere. It was a conscious decision by Brian May to make the song simple and anthemic ("stomp, stomp, clap, pause" in a 4/4 metre), so that their live audience could be more directly involved in the show. In the video for "We Will Rock You" and "Spread Your Wings", May used a copy of his guitar. He supposedly did not want to commit his Red Special to outside conditions, as the videos for these songs featured the band performing in the snow in Taylor's garden.
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News of the World The song was later covered by Nine Inch Nails, appearing on their "Sin" single and later on the 2010 re-issue of Pretty Hate Machine.
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It's Late
"It's Late", written by May, was the author's idea of treating a song as a three-act theatrical play. It makes use of the tapping technique before Eddie Van Halen of rock group Van Halen made the technique widely-known.
My Melancholy Blues
"My Melancholy Blues" was composed by Mercury. There are no backing vocals or guitars. Despite the title, the track is more related to jazz. Deacon played fretless bass on stage during this song but used a regular fretted bass on the record.
Cover
The album's cover was a painting by American sci-fi artist Frank Kelly Freas. Taylor had an issue of Astounding Science Fiction (October 1953) whose cover-art depicted a giant intelligent robot holding the dead body of a man. The caption read: "Please... fix it, Daddy?" to illustrate the story "The Gulf Between" by Tom Godwin. The painting inspired the band to contact Freas, who agreed to alter the painting for their album cover, by replacing the single dead man with the four "dead" band members (Taylor and Deacon falling to the ground). The original painting (also called The Gulf Between) features on the cover of Freas's collection of art As He Sees It (Paper Tiger, 2000). Brian May confirmed the cover was Roger Taylor's idea on an episode of the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard, which devoted an episode to the making of News of the World.
Singles
"We Are the Champions" released 7 October 1977 in the UK as the first single where it reached #2. In the US, it was released as a Double A-side with "We Will Rock You" where it reached #4.
News of the World "Spread Your Wings" followed as the second single from the album. Written by John Deacon and released in the UK on 10 February 1978, it reached #34. "It's Late" is the last single from the album and was only released as a single in the United States, Canada, Japan and New Zealand in 1978. Only reached #74 in the US, failing to chart everywhere else.
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Reception
Critical response
News of the World initially received mixed reviews, mostly reflecting on the differences to the previously predominantly progressive rock sound produced by Queen, and this album's vast shift towards a more pop-rock oriented sound.[6] Following the immense success of singles "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", the critical reception shifted towards a more positive stance, as it became evident that the band was displaying another field of their musical ability.[1] Creem readers voted News of the World the 19th best album of 1977.[7]
2011 Re-issue
On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in March 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums are to be remastered and reissued in 2011. According to some reports, this reissue will include a deluxe edition which will contain 5 additional tracks along with commentaries from the band about each song. The second batch of albums (the band's middle five albums) will be released in June.
Charts
Country Charts Peak position Belgium Brazil Canada France Israel Ireland Mexico Netherlands Portugal Japan United States Norway United Kingdom Germany Austria Sweden Switzerland 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 4 4 5 9 9 28 8 Platinum 36 21 20 2x Platinum Platinum 4x Platinum [8] 3xPlatinum Silver 3xPlatinum Gold Weeks Sales Certification Units sold 150,000 100,000 600,000 560,000 40,000 100,000 200,000 250,000 10,000 250,000 4,600,000 250,000 600,000 700,000 100,000 100,000 70.000
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Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead and backing vocals, piano, percussion, cowbell on "Who Needs You" Brian May: electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals, piano, lead vocals on "All Dead, All Dead" and "Sleeping on the Sidewalk", percussion Roger Taylor: drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Sheer Heart Attack" and "Fight from the Inside", electric guitar, bass guitar John Deacon: bass guitar, acoustic guitar, Spanish guitar
References
[1] "Queen: Less Flamboyance, More of the Beatles" (http:/ / queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_12-28-1977_-_News_of_the_World_-_Washington_Post). Originally published by Washington Post. Currently mirrored by Queen Archives. 1978-12-28. . Retrieved 2007-12-06. [2] A Night at the Opera DVD commentary. [3] http:/ / www. queenwords. com/ lyrics/ songs/ sng06_06. shtml [4] "News of the World" (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ history/ 70/ ). Queen Online. . Retrieved 2007-12-06. [5] "Brian May's Soapbox (January 28th, 2008)" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssb. html). . Retrieved 2009-01-25. [6] "News of the World" (http:/ / queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_11-11-1977_-_News_of_the_World_-_The_Valley_News). Originally published by The Valley News. Currently mirrored by Queen Archives. 1977-11-11. . Retrieved 2007-12-06. [7] http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ creem_lists. htm [8] RIAA - Gold and Platinum (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php?resultpage=2& table=SEARCH_RESULTS& action=& title=& artist=queen& format=& debutLP=& category=& sex=& releaseDate=& requestNo=& type=& level=& label=& company=& certificationDate=& awardDescription=& catalogNo=& aSex=& rec_id=& charField=& gold=& platinum=& multiPlat=& level2=& certDate=& album=& id=& after=& before=& startMonth=1& endMonth=1& startYear=1958& endYear=2010& sort=CertificationDate& perPage=50) Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 22 January 2011
Jazz
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Jazz
Jazz
Studio album by Queen Released Recorded 10 November 1978 JulyOctober 1978 at Mountain Studios, Montreux Super Bear, Nice Rock 44:44 EMI Records, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (USA) Queen and Roy Thomas Baker Professional reviews [1] Allmusic link [2] Creem (unfavourable) [3] Q [4] Robert Christgau (C+) link [5] Rolling Stone (unfavourable) link Queen chronology
Producer
Jazz (1978)
Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" Released: 13 October 1978 2. "Don't Stop Me Now" Released: 26 January 1979 3. "Mustapha" Released: 1979 (Bolivia, Germany, Spain, Yugoslavia only) 4. "Jealousy" Released: 1979 (US, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, USSR only)
Jazz
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Jazz is the seventh studio album by British rock band Queen, released in November 1978. The album's varying musical styles were alternately praised and criticised; it was subject to a viciously scathing Rolling Stone review by Dave Marsh which included the suggestion that "Queen may be the first truly fascist rock band." Nevertheless, the album made it to number six on the U.S. Billboard 200. Roy Thomas Baker temporarily reunited with Queen and became their producer for this album. It was 3 years since he co-produced Queen's 1975 album A Night at the Opera. But this album also was the last he co-produced for the band. Queen sold the album with a poster depicting the all-female nude bicycle race staged to promote "Fat Bottomed Girls". A small version of the poster comes with the Crown Jewels box set. This was the first Queen album recorded outside the UK, for tax purposes. Included in the liner notes is the attribution "Thunderbolt courtesy of God", referring to the crash of thunder heard at the end of the song "Dead On Time" which May recorded with a portable audio recorder during a thunderstorm. The album artwork was suggested by Roger Taylor, who previously saw a similar design painted on the Berlin Wall.
Track listing
Side one No. Title 1. "Mustapha" 2. "Fat Bottomed Girls" 3. "Jealousy" 4. "Bicycle Race" Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Brian May Mercury Mercury Length 3:01 4:16 3:14 3:01 4:15 3:01
5. "If You Can't Beat Them" John Deacon 6. "Let Me Entertain You" Mercury
Side two No. Title 1. "Dead on Time" 2. "In Only Seven Days" 3. "Dreamer's Ball" 4. "Fun It" Writer(s) May Deacon May Roger Taylor Length 3:23 2:30 3:30 3:29 3:15 3:29 4:16
5. "Leaving Home Ain't Easy" May 6. "Don't Stop Me Now" 7. "More of That Jazz" Mercury Taylor
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Bonus tracks (1991 Hollywood Records CD Reissue) No. Title 1. "Fat Bottomed Girls (1991 Remix)" 2. "Bicycle Race (1991 Remix)" Length 4:22 4:59
2011 Bonus EP No. Title 1. "Fat Bottomed Girls (Single Version)" 2. "Bicycle Race (Instrumental)" 3. "Don't Stop Me Now (With Long-Lost Guitars)" 4. "Let Me Entertain You (Live in Montreal, November 1981)" 5. "Dreamers Ball (Early Acoustic Take, August 1978)" Length
Reception
Critical reaction upon release was not particularly favourable, with scathing reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and Creem. In recent years, reviews have tended to be more favourable, with Allmusic, Q and George Starostin giving positive reviews. In 2004, Justin Hawkins, who was at the peak of his popularity as frontman of The Darkness, introduced Jazz to a new generation of fans by naming it his favourite album of all time in Observer Music Monthly.[6]
Song information
Mustapha
"Mustapha" (Sample) is a song written by Freddie Mercury. It was released as a single in 1979. The lyrics consist of English, an Arabic language, Persian and possibly a number of invented words. Some understandable words are "Mustapha", "Ibrahim" and the phrases "Allah, Allah, Allah will pray for you", "salaam aleikum" and "aleikum salaam". In live performances, such as the perfomance on Live Killers, Mercury would often sing the opening vocals of "Mustapha" in place of the complex introduction to "Bohemian Rhapsody", going from "Allah will pray for you" to "Mama, just killed a man...". However, sometimes the band performed an almost full version of the song, with Mercury at the piano.
Jealousy
"Jealousy" was penned by Mercury and features May playing his Hairfred acoustic guitar placing small pieces of piano wire under the frets to produce the "buzzing" effect of a sitar. This effect had already been used on "White Queen (As It Began)", from Queen II. All vocals were recorded by Mercury.
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Bicycle Race
"Bicycle Race" (Sample ) is a complex composition by Mercury. It features several modulations, unusual chord functions, a metre change (4/4 to 6/8 and back) and a programmatic section (a race of guitars emulating the bicycle race).
Dead on Time
"Dead on Time", written by May, features some of the fastest and most aggressive guitar work by its author, as well as some equally complicated yet ferocious drumming by Taylor. Performed at breakneck speed, it was considered by most fans to be an ideal live number, but was curiously never played in concert; May would only incorporate snippets of it in his guitar solos during the Jazz Tour. The song resembles "Keep Yourself Alive" from Queen's self-titled debut album. In the last chorus, the words "keep yourself alive" are sung, and in the lyrics attached to the album, those words are written in capitals. The song ends with the sound of a thunderbolt, followed by Mercury screaming "You're dead!" The thunderbolt was actually recorded by May on a portable recorder during a vicious thunderstorm. The album's liner notes credit the thunderbolt to God.
Dreamers Ball
"Dreamers Ball" is May's tribute to Elvis Presley, who had died one year before. The arrangement for the concert version was completely different, with May and Taylor doing vocal brasses.
Fun It
"Fun It" was a funk track with a disco vibe by Taylor, where both Mercury and himself shared the vocals. Taylor did the lead vocals, while Mercury was backup. Taylor used Syndrum pads and played most of the instruments. It can be seen a precursor (although it was not influenced by Queen track, but by a Chic song) to Another One Bites The Dust, especially with the intro of this track.
Jazz
133
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead and backing vocals, piano Brian May: electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Leaving Home Ain't Easy" Roger Taylor: drums, percussion, backing vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, lead vocals on "Fun It" and "More of That Jazz" John Deacon: bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitar Sound engineers: Geoff Workman John Etchells
2011 Re-issue
On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in March 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums are to be remastered and reissued in 2011. According to some reports, this reissue will include a deluxe edition which will contain 5 additional tracks along with commentaries from the band about each song. The second batch of albums (the band's middle five albums) will be released in June.
Singles
Four singles were released from the album: "Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls (edit)" Elektra E45541; released December, 1978 "Bicycle Race" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" were released in 1978 as a double A-side; the band staged a famous nude, all-female bicycle race to promote the single. The bicycle race took place on 17 September 1978 at Wimbledon Stadium in London. The picture sleeve showed a rear view of one of the ladies on her bicycle, but in the U.S. a pair of red panties were painted on to avoid public outcry. Legend has it that the band borrowed the bicycles from a store ("Halfords," according to the liner notes), but upon returning them were informed that they would have to purchase all the seats, as they had been used in an improper manner (i.e. without clothing). Fat Bottomed Girls also contains one of Roger Taylor's most memorable drum fills at about 2:52 on
Jazz the album Jazz, but at 2:16 on greatest hits. "Mustapha" was released in 1979 in only Bolivia, Spain, Yugoslavia and Germany. Its B-side was "Dead On Time" ("In Only Seven Days" in Yugoslavia). "Don't Stop Me Now"/"More Of That Jazz" Elektra E46008; released February, 1979 "Don't Stop Me Now" was released in 1979; its B-side was "In Only Seven Days" ("More Of That Jazz" in the USA and Canada). "Jealousy"/"Fun It" Elektra E46039; released April, 1979 "Jealousy" was released in 1979 in the United States, New Zealand, Brazil, Russia, and Canada; its B-side was "Fun It" ("Don't Stop Me Now" in Russia, on a blue flexi disc).
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Charts
Country Charts Sales
Peak position Weeks Certification Portugal France 1 2 27 Gold Platinum Platinum Platinum Gold Gold 11 7 17 28 Platinum Platinum Gold 10.000 220.000 500.000 200.000 100.000 450.000 200.000 150.000 80.000 1.500.000 35.000 100.000 Platinum 60.000
United Kingdom 2 Canada Netherlands Germany Japan Norway Sweden United States Austria Italy Swiss 3 4 5 5 6 6 6 8 36
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r15974 [2] Creem review (archived at queenarchives) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_03-XX-1979_-_Jazz_-_Creem) [3] Q, February 1994, p.119: "Jazz has aged surprisingly well....[With] a pair of genuinely great songs in the shape of 'Don't Stop Me Now' and 'Jealousy,' both with Mercury in grandstanding form..." [4] http:/ / www. robertchristgau. com/ get_artist. php?id=3505& name=Queen [5] http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ music/ albumreviews/ jazz-19790208 [6] "Greatest British Albums" (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ steveparker/ observer. htm). Observer Music Monthly. June 2004. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
The Game
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The Game
The Game
Recorded June July 1979 and February May 1980 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany Genre Length Label Rock 35:39 EMI (Europe) Parlophone (Europe) Elektra Records (US) Hollywood Records (US)
Jazz (1978)
Little Thing Called Love" Released: 5 October 1979 "Save Me" Released: 25 January 1980 "Play the Game" Released: 30 May 1980 "Another One Bites the Dust" Released: 22 August 1980 "Need Your Loving Tonight" Released: November, 1980 (US, Japan)
The Game is the eighth studio album by British rock band Queen released 30 June 1980. It was the only Queen album to reach the #1 position in the United States and became Queen's best selling studio album in the US with four million copies sold to date, tying News of the World's US sales tally. Notable songs on the album include the
The Game bass-driven "Another One Bites the Dust" and the rockabilly "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", both of which reached number 1 in the United States. The Game was the first Queen album to use a synthesiser[1] (an Oberheim OB-X). The album features a more pop/rock sound than its predecessor, Jazz. The album's style would be augmented on Queen's next release Hot Space, and future Queen albums. At approximately 35 minutes, The Game is the shortest of Queen's studio albums. Re-issued in May 2003 on DVD-Audio with Dolby 5.1 surround sound and DTS 5.1. The 5.1 mix of "Coming Soon" features an alternate backing track, because the final master tapes were not found when mixing the album to 5.1. The photo on the cover of the EMI CD is different from that originally used on the LP and cassette even though the Hollywood CD still has the original photo. The original photo (with Taylor having folded arms and May not having a hand resting upon his exposed hip) is shown in the article. This alternate photo was also used on cover of the DTS DVD-Audio edition of the album released in 2003. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Sail Away Sweet Sister," "Coming Soon," and "Save Me" were recorded from June to July 1979.[2] The rest of the songs were recorded between February and May 1980.[2]
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Track listing
Side one No. Title 1. "Play the Game" 2. "Dragon Attack" 3. "Another One Bites the Dust" 4. "Need Your Loving Tonight" Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Brian May John Deacon Deacon Length 3:30 4:18 3:35 2:50 2:44
Side two No. Title 1. "Rock It (Prime Jive)" 2. "Don't Try Suicide" Writer(s) Roger Taylor Mercury Length 4:33 3:52 3:33 2:51 3:50
3. "Sail Away Sweet Sister" May 4. "Coming Soon" 5. "Save Me" Taylor May
Reception
Record Mirror awarded The Game 4/5 stars, writing: "After Zeppelin and even before the Scorpions, Queen are the most exciting band I've ever seen or heard. And I'm sure all you lovers of quality music will agree."[3] Rolling Stone felt that it was "nice to hear a Queen album with songs, not 'anthems'," but opined that "these guys know how this music should sound and feel, but they can't bend enough to get with it."[4] The Washington Post gave a scathing review, writing: "After five years of unchallenging, dismal albums, this was supposed to be Queen's comeback. But no such luck."[5] Allmusic awarded the album 4.5/5 stars, opining that it "finds Queen turning decidedly, decisively pop, and it's a grand, state-of-the-art circa 1980 pop album that still stands as one of the band's most enjoyable records.[6] George Starostin was also appreciative, describing the album as "catchy, diverse, well-written and atmospheric."[7]
The Game Creem readers voted The Game the 7th greatest album of 1980.[8] In 2008, Out ranked the album #28 of 100 in a poll of "more than 100 actors, comedians, musicians, writers, critics, performance artists, label reps, and DJs, asking each to list the 10 albums that left the most indelible impressions on their lives."[9] Allmusic would go on to name The Game as Queen's best album of the 1980s.[10]
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Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead and backing vocals, intro vocals on "Rock It (Prime Jive)," bridge vocals on "Sail Away Sweet Sister," piano, rhythm guitar on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," synthesiser Brian May: electric, acoustic & twelve-string guitars, backing vocals, piano, lead vocals on "Sail Away Sweet Sister," synthesiser Roger Taylor: drums, electronic drums, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, lead vocals on "Rock It (Prime Jive)," synthesiser John Deacon: bass guitar, rhythm guitar, piano Additional synthesisers by Mack
Charts
Chart Argentina Australia Austria Canada France Germany Ireland Italy Japan Netherlands Norway Portugal Sweden United Kingdom United States Peak position Certifications 1 11 5 1 17 2 1 9 5 2 2 1 7 1 1 Platinum Platinum (4) Gold Gold Gold Platinum (5)
The Game
138
References
[1] Baker, Theodore; Nicolas Slonimsky (1965). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians: Centennial Edition (5th Edition ed.). Schirmer Books. ISBN0028655257. "The album yielded ... 'Play the Game,' which featured the group's first use of the synthesizer..." [2] http:/ / www. discogs. com/ Queen-The-Game/ release/ 369059 [3] Record Mirror review (archived at queenarchives.com) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_06-21-1980_-_The_Game_-_Record_Mirror) [4] Rolling Stone review (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 261147/ review/ 6068313/ the_game) [5] Washington Post review (archived at queenarchives) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_08-21-1980_-_The_Game_-_Washington_Post) [6] The Game (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r15977). Allmusic. Retrieved 19 November 2010. [7] George Starostin review (http:/ / starling. rinet. ru/ music/ queen. htm#Game) [8] http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ creem_lists. htm [9] "The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums" (http:/ / pub37. bravenet. com/ forum/ static/ show. php?usernum=3172289350& frmid=0& msgid=897399). Out. 2008. Archived at acclaimedmusic.net [10] The Miracle (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ the-miracle-r15983/ review). Allmusic. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
External links
'The Game' info on the official Queen page (http://www.queenonline.com/history/75/)
Hot Space
139
Hot Space
Hot Space
Studio album by Queen Released Recorded 21 May 1982 JuneJuly 1981 December 1981 March 1982 Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany Rock 43:29 EMI Records/Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (US) Queen, Arif Mardin, Mack and David Bowie Professional reviews [1] Allmusic link [2] Rolling Stone link [3] Stylus (favourable) link [4] The Washington Post (favourable) link (Queen Archives) Queen chronology
Producer
"Under Pressure" Released: 26 October 1981 "Body Language" Released: 19 April 1982 "Las Palabras de Amor" Released: 1 June 1982
Hot Space
"Calling All Girls" Released: 31 July 1982 (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand only) "Staying Power" Released: July, 1982 (Japan only) "Back Chat" Released: 9 August 1982
140
Hot Space is the ninth studio album by British rock band Queen, released in May 1982. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work, Queen employed many elements of disco, pop music, R&B and dance music on Hot Space, being partially influenced by the success of their 1980 hit "Another One Bites the Dust".[5] This made the album less popular with fans who preferred the traditional rock style they had come to associate with the band.[6] Queen's decision to record a dance-oriented album germinated with the massive U.S. success of "Another One Bites the Dust" (and to a lesser extent, the UK success of the song too).[5] The album's second single "Body Language" did peak at #11 on the U.S. charts. "Under Pressure", Queen's collaboration with David Bowie, was released in 1981, ahead of the album and the controversy over Queen's new sound (disco-influenced rock music). The single was well-received by fans in the U.K. and became the band's 2nd #1 hit, but only reached #29 in the U.S. In July 2004, Q magazine listed Hot Space as one of the top fifteen albums where great rock acts lost the plot.[7]
Song information
Staying Power
The horn arrangement for "Staying Power" was added by Arif Mardin (who also produced Chaka Khan and added horn sections to Bee Gees and Aretha Franklin records).[10] "Staying Power" would be performed on the band's accompanying "Hot Space Tour", albeit much faster and heavier, with real drums replacing the drum machine and guitars and keyboards replacing the horns (this arrangement contained no actual bass guitar, as John Deacon played guitar in addition to Brian May; the bass sound for this arrangement was played on a keyboard). It was also played on Queen's The Works Tour, albeit less frequently than on the Hot Space Tour. In Japan, the band released "Staying Power" as a single in July 1982. The song was also issued as a single in the US, in November 1982. It failed to chart in either countries. Mr Mardin's contributions were recorded in New York.
Dancer
The bassline of "Dancer" was played on a synthesiser (an Oberheim OB-Xa) by writer/guitarist Brian May. The song itself a fusion of rock and disco is something of a follow-up to "Dragon Attack" from the band's 1980 album The Game in that it fuses heavy elements of music with danceable ones, as Led Zeppelin did.[10] The phone message at the end of "Dancer" is in German, and was recorded in a hotel room in Munich; it roughly translates to "good morning, this is your wake-up call". The lyrics of "Dancer" are also notable for being the only ones on the album that make reference to the album title itself.[11]
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141
Back Chat
"Back Chat", written by bassist John Deacon, is the track most influenced by black music. In addition to normal bass duties, John also plays rhythm guitar and electric piano on the song. As a single, it stalled at 40 on the UK charts. On the video commentary on Greatest Video Hits 2, Roger Taylor makes it clear that he hates the music video for it. On the Hot Space Tour, Brian May plays the song using his Red Special (As opposed to a Fender Telecaster). The electronic drums are also replaced by acoustic drums (Saved during the drum solo).
Body Language
"Body Language" is atypical among Queen songs, being the sole single released by the band that does not include guitar (save for during the closing strains, which are made more prominent throughout the 1991 remix). Mercury, who composed "Body Language" on synth bass, had previously explored the instrument's potential with his contributions to the Flash Gordon soundtrack.[12] The "Body Language" video, featuring scantily-clad models writhing around each other, proved somewhat controversial and was banned in a few territories. The song also appeared in the 1984 documentary film "Stripper", being performed to by one of the dancers.
Hot Space
142
Cool Cat
"Cool Cat", written by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon, originally featured David Bowie on background vocals and even a few lines of rap during the middle eight. According to Mercury in a 1982 television interview, Bowie was unhappy with the results and requested them to be removed. All the instruments are played by Deacon. On the album version, Mercury sings the entire song in falsetto.[13] The alternate take with Bowie's vocals still intact is widely available on various bootleg recordings[14] and surfaces from an early 1982 vinyl "Hot Space" test pressing from the USA. This is also the only Queen studio track on which John Deacon uses the popping technique.
Under Pressure
A now famous duet with David Bowie, "Under Pressure" was the result of an impromptu jam session in the band's studio in Montreux. When it was released in 1981, the considerable numbers of Queen and Bowie fans ensured that "Under Pressure" reached #1 in the UK singles chart. Freddie Mercury was the primary director of this track, with he and Bowie as the main lyricists (each writing the lines they sang). Part of the chord progression is based on a rough demo of an unreleased song "Feel Like".[15] The songwriting is credited to all five participants.
Track listing
Hot Space
143
Side one No. Title 1. "Staying Power" 2. "Dancer" 3. "Back Chat" 4. "Body Language" Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Brian May John Deacon Mercury Length 4:10 3:46 4:31 4:29 3:33
Side two No. Title 1. "Put Out the Fire" 2. "Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)" 3. "Calling All Girls" Writer(s) May Mercury Taylor Length 3:15 3:39 3:53 4:26 3:26 4:02
4. "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" May 5. "Cool Cat" 6. "Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) Deacon, Mercury David Bowie, Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor
Charts
Country Charts Sales Sales 25.000 100.000 11 6 19 Gold 200.000 200.000 350.000 200.000 80.000 300.000 21 Gold 800.000
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144
Personnel
John Deacon bass guitar, synthesiser, rhythm guitar Brian May lead guitar, synthesiser, piano, backing vocals, synth bass on "Dancer," lead vocals (falsetto lines on "Put Out the Fire" and lead harmony on "Las Palabras de Amor") Freddie Mercury lead vocals, piano, synthesisers, synth bass on "Staying Power" Roger Taylor drums, drum computer, backing vocals, octave-lead vocals on "Action This Day," rhythm guitar, keyboards With: David Bowie lead vocals, percussion and keyboards on "Under Pressure" Arif Mardin "Hot and Spacey" horn arrangement and production on "Staying Power" Mack production, keyboard programming on "Action This Day"
Miscellaneous
The album title refers to the band's use of more spartan arrangements included on the songs, i.e. a conscious effort to create a "hot space" between the notes. Michael Jackson, who was close friends with the band during the time, later cited Hot Space as a building block for his own blockbuster album Thriller.[16] The cover art of U2's 1997 Pop album, Blur's 2000 Best Of compilation, "Weird Al" Yankovic's 1994 Greatest Hits Volume II, and The Black Eyed Peas's 2010 The Beginning bear some similarity to the Hot Space cover (which, in turn, drew its inspiration from the cover of The Beatles' album Let It Be). Pop, like Hot Space, was also an attempt to make a dance album, both of which received mixed results. The Hot Space Tour was Queen's last tour of America until the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour in 2006.
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687305/ review http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ reviews/ album/ 193117/ hot_space http:/ / www. stylusmagazine. com/ articles/ on_second_thought/ queen-hot-space. htm http:/ / queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_07-23-1982_-_Washington_Post_-_A_Glorious_Queen http:/ / www. stylusmagazine. com/ articles/ on_second_thought/ queen-hot-space. htm Prato, Greg. "Hot Space Review" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687305/ review). Allmusic. . Retrieved 2006-12-05. "15 Albums Where Great Rock Acts Lost the Plot" (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ q150lists. htm). Q magazine. July 2004. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [8] http:/ / www. soundonsound. com/ sos/ 1995_articles/ oct95/ queen. html# [9] http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 193117/ review/ 5946715/ hot_space [10] Miccio, Anthony. "On Second Thought" (http:/ / www. stylusmagazine. com/ articles/ on_second_thought/ queen-hot-space. htm). Stylus. . Retrieved 2006-12-05 'Staying Power' marked the band's first and only collaboration with Arif Mardin - whose previous credits include working with Chaka Khan, The Bee Gees and Aretha Franklin - and is the only song in Queen's catalogue to feature an authentic horn section. The original demo of the track featured a guitar instead of horns.. [11] "Queen - The Complete Words" (http:/ / www. queenwords. com/ lyrics/ songs/ sng12_02. shtml). . Retrieved 2006-12-05. [12] Obrecht, Jas. "Brian May Interview" (http:/ / www. pcpki. com/ queen/ articles/ bhm8301. html). Guitar Player (January 1983), archived at Andy's Queen page (http:/ / www. pcpki. com/ queen/ ). . Retrieved 2006-12-05. [13] Milward, John (1982-06-10). "Hot Space Review" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 193117/ review/ 5946715/ hot_space). Rolling Stone, issue 371. . Retrieved 2006-12-05. [14] "Queen Demos of Released Tracks (A-L)" (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Songs/ queendemos1. htm). . Retrieved 2006-12-05. [15] "Queen Demos of Released Tracks (M-Z)" (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Songs/ queendemos2. htm). . Retrieved 2006-12-05. [16] (http:/ / www. elperiodicoextremadura. com/ noticias/ noticia. asp?pkid=341044)
The Works
145
The Works
The Works
Recorded August 1983 January 1984 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California and Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany Genre Length Label Rock 37:11 EMI Records/Parlophone; Capitol, Hollywood Records (US)
Producer Queen and Mack Professional reviews [1] Allmusic link [2] People (favourable) link (Queen Archives) [3] Rolling Stone link [4] Sounds link Queen chronology
Ga Ga" Released: 23 January 1984 2. "I Want to Break Free" Released: 2 April 1984 3. "It's a Hard Life" Released: 16 July 1984 4. "Hammer to Fall" Released: 10 September 1984
The Works is the tenth studio album by British rock band Queen, released in February 1984. A partial return to their rock roots, although with a much lighter approach, the record has also the heaviest electronics amongst all group
The Works albums. In comparison, rock was mostly absent on their previous effort Hot Space giving room to dance and funk with the use of analogue synths and brass, while electronics were not that much present. Recorded at the Record Plant Studios and Musicland Studios from August 1983 to January 1984, the album's title comes from a comment drummer Roger Taylor made as recording began "Let's give them the works!" This was the first Queen album to be released on Compact Disc.
146
History
Following the release of and subsequent touring for their 1982 album Hot Space, the four members of Queen opted to take a break from the band the following year, indulging in solo projects and taking the chance to stretch in individual directions. While a spring tour of South America had been an early possibility, especially following the band's success there two years prior, equipment and promotional problems brought an end to these plans.[5] Brian May worked with Eddie Van Halen and others on the Star Fleet Project, while Freddie Mercury began work on his solo album. By August 1983, however, the band had reunited and began work on their eleventh studio album. It would be Queen's first album for EMI (and its United States affiliate Capitol Records) worldwide after the band nullified its recording deal with Elektra for the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan.[5] Recording commenced at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles Queen's first time recording in America and Musicland Studios in Munich. Also during this time, their manager Jim Beach offered them the opportunity to compose the soundtrack for the film The Hotel New Hampshire. The band agreed, but soon discovered much of their time was being spent on the soundtrack instead of the upcoming album, and the project fell through.[5] Only one song written for the soundtrack, "Keep Passing the Open Windows", made it onto The Works. By November 1983, Roger Taylor's "Radio Ga Ga" was chosen as the first single from the album. The Works was released on 27 February 1984.
Track listing
Side one No. Title 1. "Radio Ga Ga" 2. "Tear It Up" 3. "It's a Hard Life" Writer(s) Roger Taylor Brian May Freddie Mercury Length 5:44 3:28 4:08 3:28
Side two No. Title 1. "Machines (Or 'Back to Humans')" 2. "I Want to Break Free" Writer(s) May, Taylor John Deacon Length 5:10 3:20 5:21 4:28 2:13
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Bonus tracks (1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue) No. Title 10. "I Go Crazy" (original B-side) 11. "Radio Ga Ga" (extended version) Writer(s) Length May Taylor 3:42 6:50 7:19
Song information
Radio Ga Ga
"Radio Ga Ga" was composed on keyboards, after Roger Taylor heard his son Felix (3 years old at the time) saying "radio ca ca".[5] He wrote it in Los Angeles and locked himself in the studio with a Roland Jupiter 8 and a drum machine. Afterwards John Deacon came up with a suitable bass line. Mercury reconstructed the track, both musically and lyrically. It was still credited to Taylor since Mercury was an arranger rather than a co-writer. Fred Mandel, their session keyboardist, put together an additive track with piano, synth and a temporary bass part. May used a glass slide for his guitar solo. Taylor sang all the backing vocals, and used a Vocoder throughout the song. Most of the song is made out of electronics and synthesizers.
Tear It Up
"Tear It Up" is May's song, and the demo features him doing the vocals instead of Mercury. It was written as an attempt to revive Queen's old sound. It features stomping percussion similar to "We Will Rock You" that drives the song.
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Hammer to Fall
"Hammer to Fall" is May's other rock song in the album. Live versions were considerably faster and he sang it in his solo tours as well. Synths are played by Mandel and most of vocal harmonies were recorded by May himself, particularly in the bridge (save for "oh no" which is Taylor).
I Go Crazy
"I Go Crazy" is another May rocker from the Works time period, which ended up as the B-side to Roger Taylor's "Radio Ga Ga". The song is less produced than the others of the album, and more raw, and because of this, the other members of the group did not like this song. Nonetheless, it ended up as a B-side, and as a bonus track on the 1991 The Works CD release. Lead vocals are mostly sung by Mercury, with May singing lead on the bridge in the middle. The song ends with Taylor and Mercury alternating vocals on the word "crazy".
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead and backing vocals, piano, keyboards Brian May: electric guitar, twelve-string acoustic guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, lead vocals on bridge of "I Go Crazy" Roger Taylor: drums, electronic drums, backing vocals, keyboards, lead vocals (Vocoder) on "Machines" John Deacon: bass guitar, rhythm and acoustic guitars, keyboards With Fred Mandel: Piano on "Man on the Prowl," Keyboards, Programming Mack: Demolition Fairlight programming on "Machines," engineering Mike Beiriger: Additional engineering Stefan Wissnet: Additional engineering Ed Delena: Additional engineering
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149
Singles
For the first and only time in their career, all the songs (and one non-album track, "I Go Crazy") from a Queen album were used as either A-sides or B-sides on singles. Starting with this album, the group began issuing singles in the United Kingdom under their own catalogue numbers.
Number Format A-side B-side Released date (UK)
QUEEN 1
(7" Single) (12" Single) (7" Single) (12" Single) (7" Single) (12" Single) (7" Single) (12" Single) (7" Single) (12" Single)
"Radio Ga Ga"
"I Go Crazy"
12QUEEN 1 QUEEN 2
"Radio Ga Ga (Extended Version)" "I Want to Break Free (Single Mix)" "I Want to Break Free (Extended Mix)" "It's a Hard Life"
23 January 1984
12QUEEN 2 QUEEN 3
2 April 1984
12QUEEN 3 QUEEN 4
16 July 1984
"Hammer to Fall (Headbanger's Mix Edit)" "Hammer to Fall (Headbanger's Mix)" "Thank God It's Christmas" (non-album track) "Thank God It's Christmas"
"Tear It Up"
12QUEEN 4 QUEEN 5
"Tear It Up"
10 September 1984
12QUEEN 5
"Man on the Prowl (Extended Version)"/"Keep Passing the Open Windows (Extended Version)"
26 November 1984
Others
Format A-side "I Go Crazy" B-side
US 7" Single & Cassette Single "Radio Ga Ga (US Single Edit)" US Promo 7" Single
"I Want to Break Free (Single Mix)" "I Want to Break Free (Special 7" Single Edit)"
US 7" Single & Cassette Single "I Want to Break Free (Single Mix)" "Machines (or 'Back to Humans') (Instrumental Version)"
Charts
The Works
150
Country
Charts
Sales Sales 100.000 20.000 Platinum 25.000 60.000 20.000 150.000 100.000 3xPlatinum Platinum Gold 1,000,000+ 30.000 800.000 40.000 Platinum 125.000 50.000 2 x Platinum Gold 200.000 50.000 350.000
Peak position Weeks Certification Argentina Greece Ireland Netherlands Portugal Austria Norway 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 [6] [6] 40 10 93 [6] [6] [7] [6] 33 [6] Gold
United Kingdom 2[7] Denmark Germany Sweden Switzerland Belgium Italy Spain Japan New Zealand France United States Canada Brazil 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 7 9 [6] [6] [6]
[6] [6]
32
26
[6] 200.000
14 23 20 Gold [8]
Platinum
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687299 http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ viewtopic. php?t=479 http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ reviews/ album/ 192263/ the_works http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ archivesnew/ index. php?title=Queen_-_02-25-1984_-_The_Works_-_Sounds Queen Biography 1984 (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ queenzone/ bio_view. aspx?q=16) charts.org.nz: Queen The Works (http:/ / charts. org. nz/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=The+ Works& cat=a) chartstats.com: Queen The Works (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ release. php?release=41928) RIAA. Gold & Platinum (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php).
A Kind of Magic
151
A Kind of Magic
A Kind of Magic
Studio album by Queen Released Recorded 2 June 1986 September 1985April 1986 at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland and Townhouse Studios, London, England Rock 53:36 (EMI CD) 50:31 (Hollywood CD) 40:58 (LP & Cassette version) EMI Records Hollywood (1991 US re-release) Queen, Mack and David Richards Queen chronology
Genre Length
Label
Producer
"One Vision" Released: 4 November 1985 "A Kind of Magic" Released: 17 March 1986 "Princes of the Universe" Released: April, 1986 (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan only) "Friends Will Be Friends" Released: 9 June 1986 "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" Released: August, 1986 (US, Europe only) "Who Wants to Live Forever" Released: 15 September 1986
A Kind of Magic
"One Year of Love" Released: 1986 (France, Spain only)
152
A Kind of Magic is a 1986 album by British rock band Queen. It was the band's eleventh studio album and their first to be recorded digitally, and is based on the soundtrack to the film Highlander, the first in a series directed by Russell Mulcahy. Although Queen would release another three albums with Freddie Mercury (including one posthumous one), A Kind of Magic would turn out to be the band's last ever album promoted with a concert tour, due to Freddie Mercury's diagnosis with HIV the following year and his eventual death from AIDS in 1991. For the first time in their career, the band allowed filming of them while they were in the recording studio. The video for "One Vision" shows them in various stages of writing and recording the song. A Kind of Magic reached #46 in the United States, and #1 in the United Kingdom selling 100,000 copies in its first week, remaining in the UK charts for sixty-three weeks and spawning 3 hit singles. The album eventually went Gold (then platinum) in the US in 2002. It is Queen's first album with a title track, and every album released thereafter also contained one. Critical reaction to the album was not particularly favourable, but it has, in recent years, been cited by music publications and fans as one of Queen's best records of the 1980s. Estimates of the albums sales vary greatly with some citing sales as high as 13.5 million copies.
Track listing
Side one No. Title 1. "One Vision" 2. "A Kind of Magic" 3. "One Year of Love" Writer(s) Queen Roger Taylor John Deacon Length 5:10 4:24 4:26 4:21 4:07
4. "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" Deacon, Freddie Mercury 5. "Friends Will Be Friends" Deacon, Mercury
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153
Side two No. Title 1. "Who Wants to Live Forever" Writer(s) Brian May Length 5:15 4:34 4:38 3:32
2. "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" May 3. "Don't Lose Your Head" 4. "Princes of the Universe" Taylor Mercury
1986 EMI CD bonus tracks No. Title 10. "A Kind of 'A Kind of Magic'" 11. "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends..." 12. "Forever" May Writer(s) Length 3:38 5:58 3:20
1991 Hollywood Records CD bonus tracks No. Title 10. "Forever" Writer(s) Length May 3:20 6:23
Reception
Critical reaction to A Kind of Magic was not particularly favourable. Rolling Stone described the album as "heavy plastic", concluding, "This band might as well put some pomp back in its rock. Its members are never going to make it as dignified elder statesmen."[2] The Times described the album as one of "the most spectacularly successful releases this year", yet questioned its appeal, asking, "why does it not extend to those of us who are given the records to review?"[3] People Weekly wrote, "There's hardly a personal expression, let alone an intimate one, in this album... The group can be dazzling. In this case they're just overbearing."[4] In a retrospective review, Allmusic were more favourable, writing, "It may not have been as cohesive as some of their other albums, but A Kind of Magic was their best work in some time."[5] In the 1994 edition of The Guinness All Time Top 1000 Albums, A Kind of Magic was voted #171 in the all-time greatest rock and pop albums.[6] In 2006, a national BBC poll saw the album voted the 42nd greatest album of all time.[7] In 2007, Classic Rock ranked A Kind of Magic the 28th greatest soundtrack album of all time.[8]
Song information
One Vision
After Queen's contribution to Live Aid, Freddie Mercury was enthusiastic about the band and rang them up to go to the studio and write a song together, the finished product being "One Vision". All four band members were credited as songwriters, however Roger Taylor stated in an interview with Australian TV that originally it had been his song, with serious lyrics about men like Martin Luther King, but joked that "that rotter Freddie" had changed all his lyrics with additions like "one shrimp, one prawn, one clam, one chicken" and even name-checking bassist John Deacon. May played the opening synth section using a Yamaha DX-7. The sessions were filmed and later released on the 2003 DVD set Greatest Video Hits 2. The song does not appear in Highlander, but was used in the 1986 movie Iron Eagle.
A Kind of Magic
154
A Kind of Magic
"A Kind of Magic" was originally written by Taylor before Mercury took it over, added the bassline, some connectors and re-arranged the structure. Regardless, it was still credited to Taylor. The new version was featured on the album, released as a single and included their auxiliary live musician, Spike Edney, playing some keyboards. An alternate version plays during the credits of Highlander. Mercury changed the lyrics while Roger was over in LA for a week. The song was covered by Elaine Paige in 1988 on her album called The Queen Album.
A Kind of Magic
155
Singles
Queen recorded One Vision, released in the UK on 4 November 1985, the first after their much-lauded appearance at the Live Aid concert. It did well on the charts, reaching seventh in the UK and making top ten throughout Europe. The song appeared in the film Iron Eagle. A Kind of Magic, released in the UK on 17 March 1986, reached #3 on its home chart. While charting well everywhere else, it peaked at #42 in the USA and has been played on radios mostly in New England (Similar to their first single Keep Yourself Alive). Russell Mulcahy, director of Highlander, directed the song's accompanying video. Friends Will Be Friends, released on 9 June 1986, reached 14th in the UK and made the top forty throughout Europe. Who Wants to Live Forever, released on 15 September 1986, reached 24th in the UK. The National Philharmonic Orchestra featured in the song's video, along with forty choirboys and two thousand candles. Pain Is So Close to Pleasure, released in the US and parts of Europe only. One Year of Love, released in France and Spain only. Princes of the Universe, was never released as a single in the UK. While not a hit, it is a cult favourite due to the 1986 film Highlander in the USA. It was also used as the theme music for the Highlander television show which followed the movie in 1992-1998. The music video featured Christopher Lambert and the band on part of the film set, and is cleverly cut with scenes from the film. The song also appears on Greatest Hits III. It was released as a single in The Netherlands on 28 February 2000.
Personnel
Queen Freddie Mercury lead and backing vocals, piano, synthesisers, programming John Deacon bass, electric guitars, synthesisers, programming Roger Taylor drums, electronic drums, backing vocals, synthesisers, programming Brian May electric guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Who Wants to Live Forever" synthesisers, programming
Additional musicians Spike Edney additional keyboards Joan Armatrading incidental vocals on "Don't Lose Your Head" Steve Gregory alto saxophone on "One Year of Love" String Section on "One Year of Love" arranged and conducted by Lynton Naiff
A Kind of Magic National Philharmonic Orchestra on "Who Wants to Live Forever" arranged by Michael Kamen and Brian May and conducted by Michael Kamen Other Roger Chiasson - Album cover
156
Chart performance
Country Charts Peak position Weeks United Kingdom 1[10] Ireland 1 63 [11] Sales Certification Platinum (x4) Platinum Sales
The Netherlands 2 Spain Belgium Austria Portugal Germany Switzerland Norway France New Zealand Sweden Poland Italy Japan United States Canada 1 2 46 50 [20] [22] 12 12 91 2 3 3 4 4 5 1 9 9 [18] [19] 21 5 3xPlatinum Platinum Gold Platinum [21] [15] [16] [17] 19 12 Gold 2x Platinum [14] 20 Platinum Silver Platinum Platinum (x2) [13] 3 Platinum (x2)
130.000 75.000 800.000 120.000 2.000.000 200.000 70.000 1.350.000 1.000.000 1.100.000 900.000 1.200.000 2.200.000 1.500.000
References
[1] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0091203/ quotes [2] Coleman, Mark. A Kind of Magic review (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_10-09-1986_-_A_Kind_of_Magic_-_Rolling_Stone_(Issue_484)). Rolling Stone 9 October 1986. Archived at queenarchives.com [3] A Kind of Magic review (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_06-21-1986_-_A_Kind_of_Magic_-_The_Times). The Times. 21 June 1986. Archived at queenarchives.com [4] A Kind of Magic review (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_08-25-1986_-_A_Kind_of_Magic_-_People_Weekly). People Weekly. 25 August 1986. Archived at queenarchives.com [5] Prato, Greg. [ A Kind of Magic review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ a-kind-of-magic-r687303/ review)]. Allmusic. Retrieved 19 November 2010. [6] Guinness: All-time top 1000 albums (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ larkin1000_94. htm). 1994. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [7] Top 100 Albums (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ uk_radio. htm). BBC Radio 2. Broadcast 28 August 2006. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
A Kind of Magic
[8] 49 Best Soundtrack Albums (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ steveparker/ classicrock. htm). Classic Rock. October 2007. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [9] Brian May (30 July 2006). "Bri's Soapbox" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssb. html). brianmay.com. . Retrieved 29 December 2008. [10] http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ release. php?release=42961 [11] "A Kind of Magic" (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ history/ 80). queenonline.com. . Retrieved 29 December 2008. [12] "BPI Certified Awards" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20080320032704/ http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ stats). bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ stats) on 20 March 2008. . Retrieved 11 August 2008. [13] http:/ / spanishcharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=A+ Kind+ Of+ Magic& cat=a [14] http:/ / austriancharts. at/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=A+ Kind+ Of+ Magic& cat=a [15] http:/ / charts-surfer. de/ musiksuche. php [16] http:/ / hitparade. ch/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=A+ Kind+ Of+ Magic& cat=a [17] http:/ / norwegiancharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=A+ Kind+ Of+ Magic& cat=a [18] http:/ / charts. org. nz/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=A+ Kind+ Of+ Magic& cat=a [19] http:/ / swedishcharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=A+ Kind+ Of+ Magic& cat=a [20] http:/ / www. billboard. com/ artist/ queen/ chart-history/ 5473#/ album/ queen/ a-kind-of-magic/ 13857 [21] {{cite web | title = RIAA. Gold & Platinum | work=riaa.com | url = http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinum. php | accessdate = 11 August 2008 [22] http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ rpm/ 028020-110. 01-e. php?q1=queen+ kind+ of+ magic& q2=Top+ Albums%2FCDs& interval=50& brws_s=& PHPSESSID=53gtrvbfj0gk7r9b4sd40dtvu0
157
The Miracle
158
The Miracle
The Miracle
Studio album by Queen Released Recorded 22 May 1989 January 1988 February 1989 at Olympic Studios and Townhouse Studios, London, England, and Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland Rock 58:40 (1991 Hollywood CD) Parlophone (UK), Capitol Records (original 1989 US release), Hollywood Records (1991 US re-release) Queen and David Richards Queen chronology
Innuendo (1991)
Want It All" Released: 2 May 1989 "Breakthru" Released: 19 June 1989 "The Invisible Man" Released: 7 August 1989 "Scandal" Released: 9 October 1989 "The Miracle" Released: 27 November 1989
The Miracle is a 1989 album by British rock band Queen. It was the band's twelfth studio album, recorded as the band recovered from guitarist Brian May's marital problems and vocalist Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis (which was, though known to the band, not publicised at the time). Recording started in January 1988 and lasted 12 months.
The Miracle The album was originally going to be called "The Invisible Man", but three weeks before the release, according to Roger Taylor, they decided to change the name to The Miracle. The striking cover art utilised then cutting-edge image-manipulation technology to combine photographs of the familiar faces of the four band members into one morphed Gestalt image, in line with their decision to dispense with individual credits and simply present their music as the product of Queen; the back cover went a step further with a seamless regiment of the bands' eyes. The album reached #1 in the UK, in Austria, Germany, in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and 24 on the American Billboard 200 chart. The Miracle was the band's penultimate album before the death of Mercury in November 1991. Allmusic would name it as Queen's best album of the 1980s, along with The Game.[1]
159
Track listing
All tracks credited to Queen. Listed below are the respective writers.
Side one No. Title 1. "Party" 2. "Khashoggi's Ship" 3. "The Miracle" 4. "I Want It All" Writer(s) John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury Mercury Mercury, Deacon May Length 2:24 2:47 5:02 4:40 3:55
Side two No. Title 1. "Breakthru" 2. "Rain Must Fall" 3. "Scandal" Writer(s) Mercury (intro) , Taylor Deacon (Music), Mercury (Lyrics) May Length 4:07 4:20 4:42 3:22 5:45
4. "My Baby Does Me" Deacon, Mercury 5. "Was It All Worth It" Mercury
Extra tracks (CD versions only) No. Title 11. "Hang on in There" 12. "Chinese Torture" 13. "The Invisible Man (12" Version)" Writer(s) Queen Mercury, May Length 3:46 1:46 5:29
The Miracle
160
Bonus track (1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue) No. Title 14. "Scandal (12" Mix)" Length 6:34
Song information
Party
"Party" began as a jam session between Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon. Mercury was at the piano and he started off the "we had a good night" section. From then on the three of them worked together and completed it. This is the only track which can truly be seen as a 'Queen' track in the sense that all the rest were written by sole members - but nevertheless credited to Queen. Brian May sings lead on a small portion of the song near the beginning.
Khashoggi's Ship
"Khashoggi's Ship" was started by Mercury with all four of them contributing to the lyrics and music. The song is about famous billionaire Adnan Khashoggi and a ship (the Nabila, now Kingdom 5KR) that he owned at the time and was one of the largest private yachts in the world. On the album, this track flows seamlessly from 'Party', to which it has a very similar lyrical theme. The song served as the reference to the name of the Khashoggi character in the We Will Rock You musical.
The Miracle
"The Miracle" is one of the most complex songs from the band's last years. Mercury and bassist John Deacon co-wrote the chords together. It is one of Brian May's favorites. The entire band contributed with lyrical and some musical ideas and Mercury played piano as well as many synth-tracks, using a Korg M1.
I Want It All
"I Want It All" was composed by Brian May in 1987. On the Greatest Video Hits II DVD, Brian May commented that the song was inspired by his second wife, Anita Dobson's favourite motto, "I Want it All, and I Want It Now!" The idea of having intro, verses, choruses and solos over the same chord progression was reused on their next album with another May song, "The Show Must Go On", which was made in 1990. Mercury and May share the lead vocals. Mercury played keyboards, May played acoustic and electric guitars and Taylor used double-kick bass drum for the first time.
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Breakthru
"Breakthru" is the joint of two songs: "A New Life Is Born", by Mercury, and "Breakthru", written by Taylor with input by the others in the key change. Taylor's songs tended to be in flat keys, in the mid-80s, when he started writing at the piano instead of on a guitar. This song was released as a single and made the top 10 in the UK over the summer of 1989.
Scandal
"Scandal" was written by May about the British press, which had been controversial about his recent divorce, his relationship with actress Anita Dobson, and Freddie Mercury's rare public appearances due to his battle with AIDS. May played keyboards and did the guitar solo as a first take. Mercury's lead vocals were a first take too. Synth-bass is played by the producer, David Richards. Brian has since commented that the song is very close to his heart in spite of his life at the time going through a difficult phase.
My Baby Does Me
"My Baby Does Me" is another collaboration of Mercury and Deacon. Both of them had the idea of a simpler track in order to ease off the album. In a Radio 1 interview in 1989 both Mercury and Deacon claim each other came up with the bass line.
Hang on in There
The first of two tracks which only appeared on the CD version of the album. This song was written by all four band members, and features Brian May playing both acoustic and electric guitars, as well as keyboards - a job he shared with Mercury, who also plays piano. The song originally appeared as the b-side to the "I Want It All" single. In the song, Mercury hits an E5 twice. In the middle of the song just when the guitar riff comes and Mercury sings "hang on in there" twice, it is replied each time with a harmonised "hang on in there"; the first response are the multitracked vocals by May only, the second - a similar vocals purely by Taylor.
The Miracle
162
Chinese Torture
The second of the CD-only tracks did not even appear on a single release. It is a dark instrumental which conveys the horror and fear that Chinese Water Torture was known to evoke in victims. In recent years it has been worked into May's guitar solos, first in the 2005/06 Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour.
Non-album tracks
Stealin'
Principally composed by Mercury (though, as all other songs from these sessions, credited to the band as a whole), this song is a tongue-in-cheek representation of a man who spends his life committing robbery. The song is performed mainly through spoken words, but occasionally has lines sung. This song appeared as the b-side to the "Breakthru" single.
Hijack My Heart
Written by Taylor, this song also features him on lead vocals. It was credited to the band as an entity rather than just to its actual composer. It tells the story of a man who falls in love with a woman he meets, despite his original annoyance at her rudeness and mannerisms. It was the b-side to the single "The Invisible Man".
Critical reception
Sun-Sentinel wrote "With Freddie Mercury in vintage light-operatic form, here's an album (like so many of Queen's others) that should be used as a pop music how-to for aspirants. Combining the forces of rock, pop, metal, clever melodies and cunning stylizations, The Miracle never lets down. From one track to the next there is, as usual, no telling which way this band will go, affording even the most jaded ear a challenge." Newsday (Melville, NY) wrote "On "The Miracle," Mercury's voice is steady and solid, May's runs are as flashy and supple as ever. Most of the 10 songs, written collaboratively by the four members, stick pretty much to the band's formula of mini-suites: edgy pop with tempos that change half-way into the number and some delicious hooks." Rolling Stone stated "The band hasn't been so bogged down by synthesizers and pinging drum machines since Hot Space. The Miracle is a showcase for Freddie Mercury and his love of sweeping, quasi-operatic vocals. And indeed, Mercury especially on the title track has never sounded better. One of his strengths is his ability to take even the schlockiest material and make it his own, and that gift comes in handy on The Miracle. Brian May is still in fighting trim, too when you can hear him. May's role on The Miracle is, for the most part, limited to a quick, typically brilliant solo here and there. As a result, the album lacks the sense of dynamics that marked most of Queen's early work. Only on a few tracks ("Khashoggi's Ship" and "Was It All Worth It") does May really let it rip, and when he does, it's like the old Queen peeping out for just a moment and then turning tail. At least The Miracle offers little snippets of Queen's former majesty." Allmusic stated "The Miracle packs quite a sonic punch, recalling the rich sounds of their past classics (1976's A Day at the Races, etc.). Split 50/50 between pop and heavy rock, the album was another global smash, even re-establishing the band stateside (going Top 30 and attaining gold status). Along with The Game, The Miracle is Queen's strongest album of the '80s."
The Miracle
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Chart performance
Chart (1989) Peak Total Certification position weeks [2] 4 1 1 [4] 18 1 [5] 1 1 11 1 3 23 [6] 2 2 4 4 [8] 6 1 1 [11] 24 14 24 ? 18 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 25 17 ? ? 8 22 32 14 ? Gold platinum ? Platinum Platinum Platinum ? Platinum 3xPlatinum ? ? ? Gold Platinum ? Platinum 2x Platinum Gold Sales
Australian Albums Chart Austrian Albums Chart Belgian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart Dutch Albums Chart German Albums Chart Finnish Albums Chart French Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart Italian Albums Chart Japanese Albums Chart
100,000 25,000 50,00 100,000 100,000 700,000 45,000 200,000 50,000 350,000 100,000 ? ? 20,000 170,000 50,000 50,000 600,000 700,000
[3]
[7]
Portuguese Albums Chart Spanish Albums Chart Swedish Albums Chart Swiss Albums Chart UK Albums Chart
[9]
[10]
Singles
Five singles were released from the album, all in 1989: "I Want It All" was the lead single from the album, released in the UK on 2 May 1989; it hit #3 in British charts but made it to #1 hit in numerous other European countries. The song became an anti-apartheid anthem among youth in South Africa and also has been used to protest other causes. This well-known anthem has been heard as a rallying song for African youth. The song became Queen's first American rock radio hit since Under Pressure by peaking at #3 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Singles chart, but only reached #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. "Breakthru," the second single, was released in the UK on 19 June 1989; its video was filmed on a private steam train known as "The Miracle Express." The song peaked at #7 in the UK. The song was also released as a single in the US. Also appearing in the video was Debbie Leng, who was at the time Roger Taylor's girlfriend. "The Invisible Man," released in the UK on 7 August 1989, hit #12 in the UK and was a hit throughout Europe; the video featured scores of computer-duplicated band members moving in unison. This song was later covered by the late Scatman John. "Scandal" was the fourth single from The Miracle. It peaked at #25 in the UK. It's a protest song about the way the tabloids dealt with May's relationship with actress Anita Dobson.
The Miracle "The Miracle," the fifth and final single from the album of the same name, released on 27 November 1989 in the UK, reached #21 on British charts. Its video mimicked that of "The Invisible Man" in that it featured duplicate band members; however, these were actually young Queen lookalikes (including a then-unknown Ross McCall) who performed a Queen-style stage show. The real band appeared only at the end jamming with their younger counterparts.
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Personnel
Since the album does not feature credits, this personnel has been compiled from various interviews with the band and the producer. Queen: Freddie Mercury: lead and backing vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, programming Brian May: electric guitars, acoustic guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "I Want It All," synthesizers, programming Roger Taylor: drums, electronic drums, backing vocals, lead vocals on "The Invisible Man," synthesizers, programming John Deacon: bass guitar, electric guitars, synthesizers, programming Additional synths by David Richards Engineered by David Richards Assistant engineers: Andrew Bradfield, John Brough, Angelique Cooper, Claude Frider, Andy Mason, Justin Shirley-Smith Mastered by Kevin Metcalf and Gordon Vickary Computer programming by Brian Zellis Album sleeve design by Richard Gray Original photography by Simon Fowler
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ the-miracle-r15983 [2] http:/ / www. australian-charts. com/ [3] http:/ / www. austriancharts. at/ [4] www.collectionscanada.gc.ca [5] http:/ / charts-surfer. de/ [6] http:/ / www. charts. org. nz/ [7] http:/ / www. norwegiancharts. com/ [8] http:/ / www. swedishcharts. com/ [9] http:/ / www. swisscharts. com/ [10] http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ [11] http:/ / www. billboard. com/
Innuendo
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Innuendo
Innuendo
Recorded March 1989 November 1990 at Metropolis Studios, London, England and Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland Genre Length Label Rock 53:44 Parlophone Hollywood Records (US)
Innuendo (1991)
Going Slightly Mad" Released: 4 March 1991 3. "Headlong" Released: 13 May 1991 4. "The Show Must Go On" Released: 14 October 1991 5. "These Are the Days of Our Released: 9 December 1991
Lives"
Innuendo, released in 1991, is Queen's thirteenth studio album and the last to be composed entirely of new material. It is also the final studio album to be released while lead singer Freddie Mercury was still alive. It reached number one on the United Kingdom album charts (2 weeks) as well as in the Netherlands (4 weeks), in Switzerland (8 weeks), Germany (6 weeks), and Italy (3 weeks). The album was released in the United States one day after it was
Innuendo released in Britain. The album would be the first Queen album to go Gold in the US upon its release since The Works in 1984. The album was recorded from early 1989 to late 1990. In August 1990, Mercury's HIV was diagnosed as having developed into AIDS, although he was keeping his illness a secret and denied countless media reports that he was seriously ill. The band and producers were aiming for a November or December release date in order to catch the crucial Christmas market, but Mercury's declining health meant that the release of the album did not take place until January 1991. Stylistically, Innuendo is in some sense a return to Queen's roots,[1] with its harder rock sound and strong vocals from Mercury ranging over four octaves.[2] Mercury died ten months after its release. The album cover was designed by Queen and Richard Gray. The booklets and single covers from the album are by Grandville, or are inspired by his illustrations. Innuendo was voted the 94th greatest album of all time in a national 2006 BBC poll.[3]
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Track listing
CD
All songs written and composed by Queen, except where noted.
CD version No. Title 1. "Innuendo" 2. "I'm Going Slightly Mad" 3. "Headlong" 4. "I Can't Live with You" 5. "Don't Try So Hard" 6. "Ride the Wild Wind" 7. "All God's People" (Queen, Mike Moran) 8. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" 9. "Delilah" 10. "The Hitman" 11. "Bijou" 12. "The Show Must Go On" Length 6:29 4:22 4:39 4:35 3:39 4:41 4:19 4:12 3:32 4:52 3:37 4:24
LP
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Side one No. Title 1. "Innuendo" Primary song writer(s) Freddie Mercury (Music & Lyrics), Roger Taylor (lyrics) Length 6:29 4:04 4:31 4:04 4:41
2. "I'm Going Slightly Mad" (Queen, Peter Straker) Mercury (Music, Lyrics), Peter Straker (Lyrics) 3. "Headlong" 4. "I Can't Live with You" 5. "Ride the Wild Wind" Brian May May Taylor
Side two No. Title Primary song writer(s) Length 3:53 3:55 3:32 3:32 3:43 1:19 4:31
1. "All God's People" (Queen, Mike Moran) Mercury (Music & Lyrics), Mike Moran (Music) 2. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" 3. "Delilah" 4. "Don't Try So Hard" 5. "The Hitman" 6. "Bijou" 7. "The Show Must Go On" Taylor Mercury Mercury, May Mercury, May, John Deacon Mercury May, Taylor, Deacon (Music), May & Mercury (Lyrics)
Song information
Innuendo
"Innuendo" began as a jam session in Switzerland amongst May, Taylor and Deacon in spring 1989. Mercury was upstairs and heard them playing the beat, and turned it into a song, creating the melody and starting off the lyrics. From then on all four worked on polishing the track and Taylor took over the lyrics (which were written as a tribute to Led Zeppelin and their song "Kashmir"). The middle section, written by Mercury, was included later and it featured a synth-orchestra programmed by producer David Richards and a flamenco interlude played by Yes guitarist Steve Howe, who had come to visit them and was asked to play. "Innuendo" was released as a single in January 1991, debuting at number 1 in the UK.[4]
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Headlong
"Headlong" came from May at the studio they'd got in Switzerland. He recorded it for the solo album he was doing at the same time. May heard Mercury singing it and instantly decided that it worked better as a Queen track. Then the band took it over and they all made modifications.
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Delilah
"Delilah" is a song Mercury penned for his favourite housecat, a female tortoiseshell cat, named Delilah. May recorded his solo using a talk box. Reportedly, Taylor was not fond of the song and agreed to let it be included in the album only at Mercury's insistence.
The Hitman
The fly-away rocker "Hitman" was started by Mercury as well. The original version was apparently on keyboards and in a different key. May took Mercury's riff (not un-common), changed the key and recorded a demo of the heavy version. Deacon then re-arranged the structure and they all filled the gaps in lyrics and recorded it. All of the backing vocals were done by May. The demo version is sung by May, with Mercury making spoken comments (like "Bite the bullet baby!"). The finished product features Mercury's vocals peaking at an E5.
Bijou
"Bijou" was an idea Mercury and May had of making a song "inside-out" (having guitar doing the verses and the vocal doing the break). Mercury put the chords, title and lyrics, and the two of them worked on the guitar parts. Mercury sang the first line and then May transferred the melody to his Red Special. The song was finished without any input from Taylor or Deacon. The idea was not new and already used by Yes on their song "Soon". Brian later credited Jeff Beck's 1989 song "Where Were You" as the inspiration for 'Bijou'. In 2008, Queen + Paul Rodgers performed this song in their shows of the Rock the Cosmos Tour by May playing the verse live and then having Mercury's studio vocals play while a screen showed footage from the band's famous Wembley concert in 1986, with the visuals put in sync with the tape. Afterwards the Mercury part would fade out and May would lead into "Last Horizon"
Critical reception
The Orange County Register wrote "Innuendo" is a mixed bag, but it's precisely the weaker, least quirky songs that will ensure Queen gets radio airplay. Queen is a figurehead these days -- its brand of progressive rock is hardly progressive anymore -- but it looks as if it will clamber back on the album-rock radio throne." The Cincinnati Post stated "The boys are back with a lot less pomp this time. Freddie Mercury still has a taste for luridly melodramatic vocals, but rockers like "Headlong" and "Ride the Wild Wind" make up for it. For old fans, there are plenty of the group's trademark chorale vocals and headphone-mixed sounds, but Mercury's ballad, "These are the Days of Our Lives," actually sounds restrained."
Innuendo The Advocate wrote "Lead vocalist Freddie Mercury still wails and camps things up. Guitarist Brian May remains a highly creative player. Bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor are around, too, providing additional vocals and keyboards. All that's missing are the songs. Sure, they toss in some of the choir-like harmonies which graced one of Queen's most memorable albums. Despite some stabs at full-tilt rockers, like "Headlong," the lyrics are vacuous and the melodies don't exactly keep you humming, either." Rolling Stone stated "Innuendo is so lightweight you'll forget it as soon as it's over which, with this band, should go without saying anyway but there's nothing cynical about it. Unlike most fortyish rock relics, the boys in Queen are still too kooky and insincere to settle for any of that "well-earned wisdom of middle age" bunk. They just throw food at the wall, and if it sticks, fine. And if it doesn't stick, well, that's fine too." St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote "Innuendo isn't likely to turn around Queen's decade-long downward spiral of popularity, but the album has a few semiprecious gems: Freddie Mercury singing a love song to his cat on Delilah, lead guitarist Brian May kicking in with unrestrained axing on the hard-hitting The Hitman and serving a brisk metal set on Headlong, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon jolting a spirit of abandon into Ride the Wild Wind. But the remaining tracks are disappointing, and generally Innuendo is yet another misfire in the group's slumping output." VOX Magazine wrote "Lyrically and thematically, 'Innuendo' fails to live up to its title (that is, there was nothing here that struck me as particularly oblique or allusive). A few more hooks and harmonies as well wouldn't have gone amiss, 'cause seldom have such positive messages been delivered so drably." The San Francisco Chronicle stated "Suffice it to say the latest Queen opus is lavish and lush, thick with pomp and guitar, heroic strutting cadences and, in general, exactly what one might expect from a ballyhooed return to form by Freddy Mercury and the boys. Whether anybody cares or not remains to be seen, but either way, "Innuendo" hardly represents the distinguished initial splash Hollywood Records obviously hoped to make." People Weekly wrote "If this is cartoon rock and roll, at least it's good and brazenly cartoonish." Allmusic wrote "Innuendo was a fitting way to end one of rock's most successful careers."[6]
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Personnel
Queen: Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, piano Brian May: electric guitars Roger Taylor: drums and percussion John Deacon: bass All members also contributed backing vocals, synthesizers and programming. Guest Musicians: Steve Howe: classical guitar, shared with May on "Innuendo," (credited as the "Wandering Minstrel") Mike Moran: piano, synthesizers, Programming on "All God's People" David Richards: producing, engineering, synthesizers, programming Brian Zellis: programming Noel Harris: assistant engineer Justin Shirley-Smith: assistant engineer
Sleeve design: Richard Gray: Sleeve design Grandville (18031847): Illustrations Angela Lumley: Additional illustrations Simon Fowler: Photography
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Singles
Five singles were released from the album: "Innuendo" was the lead single from the album in most countries save the United States where "Headlong" was released as the first single. It was released on 14 January 1991 in Europe and March 1991 in the United States as a promo single, becoming Queen's twelfth number-one single. The song also achieved modest success in the US, charting at seventeen on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Still, the length and style of the track limited its appeal, and it only spent a week at number one in the UK and quickly slid down the chart, spending only six weeks in the top seventy-five. (B-side on 7inch release- "Bijou") "I'm Going Slightly Mad" was released on 4 March 1991. It reached number twenty-two in the UK charts. (B-side on 7inch release- "The Hitman" in some countries, in others it was "Lost Opportunity" which was a non album cut.) "Headlong" was released in January 1991 in the US and on 13 May 1991 in the UK. It was one of the most successful songs from the album, and actually served as the lead single in the United States. It entered the UK charts at number fourteen, and reached number three on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. (B-side on 12inch release- "All God's People" in some countries, in others, "Lost Opportunity" and in a few, "The Hitman". The 12" and CD also feature "Mad The Swine".) "The Show Must Go On" was released on 14 October 1991 in the UK. The single was taken from the album, although it had not been released as a single from Innuendo, and released as promotion for the Greatest Hits II album (Classic Queen in the US/Canada), and peaked at number sixteen in the UK charts. After Mercury's death in November, the song re-entered the British charts and spent longer in the top seventy-five than it had on its original release. This single was released just six weeks before Mercury died. In 1992, the song was released as a double A-side with "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the US and reached #2 in the US. (The original B-side in October 1991 was "Keep Yourself Alive".) "These Are the Days of Our Lives" was first released in the USA on Freddie Mercury's birthday, 5 September 1991. In the UK it was released in December 1991 following Mercury's death, as a double A-side with "Bohemian Rhapsody". The single was the UK's Christmas number one of 1991.
Promo single
"I Can't Live With You" was released as a promo single to radio stations in the USA. This 2-track promo single, completely remixed by Brian Malouf, uses slightly different lead vocal tracks by Freddie, louder and tighter harmony tracks, and re-programed synth drums, resulting in a much more punchy and "over the top" poppy version than included on the album. It reached #28 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Charts
Innuendo
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Country
Charts
Sales Sales 100.000 Platinum 100.000 1.000.000 100.000 500.000 200.000 20.000 50.000 200.000 700.000 100.000 150.000 100.000 100.000 50.000 200.000
Peak position Weeks Certification Belgium Finland Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Portugal Singapore Switzerland 1 1 22 1 1 1 1 1 1 [8] 36 37 20 2 7 5 5 [7] 16
Platinum Platinum 4xPlatinum Platinum Gold 3x Platinum 2x Platinum 2x Platinum Platinum Platinum
United Kingdom 1[9] Austria Spain Australia Norway Sweden Japan United States Canada France New Zealand 6 [18] 30 16 [15] [17] 2 [10] [11]
65 6 8 9
17 19
Gold Gold
[16]
Platinum 11 3xPlatinum
References
[1] 04-01-1991 People Weekly review of "Innuendo" retrieved from Queen archives at http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_04-01-1991_-_Innuendo_-_People_Weekly [2] http:/ / www. queensongs. info/ albums/ innuendo. html [3] Top 100 Albums (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ uk_radio. htm). BBC Radio 2. Broadcast 28 August 2006. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [4] http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ history/ 83/ [5] Stone Cold Crazy. Q Classic, March 2005. (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ tour05/ interviews/ bm_classicq_mar05pt5. html) (interview with Brian May) [6] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ innuendo-r15963 [7] http:/ / musicline. de/ de/ chartverfolgung_summary/ title/ Queen/ Innuendo/ longplay [8] http:/ / hitparade. ch/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Innuendo& cat=a [9] http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ release. php?release=42964 [10] http:/ / austriancharts. at/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Innuendo& cat=a [11] http:/ / spanishcharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Innuendo& cat=a [12] http:/ / australian-charts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Innuendo& cat=a [13] http:/ / norwegiancharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Innuendo& cat=a [14] http:/ / swedishcharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Innuendo& cat=a [15] http:/ / www. billboard. com/ artist/ queen/ chart-history/ 5473#/ album/ queen/ innuendo/ 13860
Innuendo
[16] RIAA. Gold & Platinum (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinum. php). [17] http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ rpm/ 028020-110. 01-e. php?PHPSESSID=53gtrvbfj0gk7r9b4sd40dtvu0& q1=queen+ innuendo& q2=Top+ Albums%2FCDs& interval=50 [18] http:/ / charts. org. nz/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Innuendo& cat=a
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Made in Heaven
Made in Heaven
Recorded January June 1991 Late 1993 Early 1995 at Mountain, Allerton Hill, Cosford Mill, and Metropolis Studios Genre Length Label Rock 70:21 (CD), 47:45 (LP & Cassette) Parlophone, Hollywood Records (US/Canada)
Innuendo (1991)
"Heaven for Everyone" Released: 23 October 1995 "A Winter's Tale" Released: 18 December 1995 "I Was Born to Love You" Released: 28 February 1996 (Japan only) "Too Much Love Will Released: 26 March 1996 "Let Me Live" Released: 17 June 1996
Kill You"
Made in Heaven
"You Don't Fool Me" Released: 18 November 1996
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Made in Heaven is the fourteenth studio album by British rock group Queen and the final one to feature lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released on 6 November 1995.[1] After Freddie Mercury's death in November 1991, remaining band members John Deacon, Roger Taylor and Brian May worked with vocals and piano parts that Mercury recorded before he died, along with newly recorded lyrics by the remaining band members. Both stages of recording, before and after Mercury's death, were completed at the band's studio in Montreux, Switzerland. The album debuted at #1 in the UK where it went four times platinum, and has sold 10 million copies worldwide.[2]
History
The album was recorded in a much different way from Queen's other studio albums. In early 1991, months before his AIDS-related death, vocalist Freddie Mercury recorded as many vocals as he could, with the instruction to the rest of the banddrummer Roger Taylor, bassist John Deacon and guitarist Brian Mayto complete the songs later. Put to tape during this time were primarily "A Winter's Tale", "Mother Love" and what would eventually become "You Don't Fool Me". After his death, the band returned to the studio in 1993 to begin work finishing the tracks. Brian May has described in interviews that Taylor and Deacon had begun some work in The statue of Freddie Mercury overlooking Lake Geneva in Montreux which featured on the cover of the album. 1992, while May was on tour promoting his Back to the Light album. Upon his return in 1993, May felt they were not on the right path with the music and that they more or less started from scratch with the three of them working together with producer David Richards. On the video Champions of the World, May described these sessions with Mercury as such: By the time we were recording these other tracks after Innuendo, we had had the discussions and we knew that we were totally on borrowed time because Freddie had been told that he would not make it to that point. I think our plan was to go in there whenever Freddie felt well enough, just to make as much use of him as much as possible, we basically lived in the studio for a while and when he would call and say "I can come in for a few hours", our plan was to just make as much use of him as we could, you know he told us "Get me to sing anything, write me anything and I will sing it and I will leave you as much as I possibly can." With less than an album's worth to work with, the band decided to revisit previously recorded material. Whether Mercury had any input before his death as to which songs might be considered for this purpose has not been discussed by the band. The idea was to take existing songs on which Mercury sang and rework them as Queen songs.
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175
Track listing
No. Title 1. "It's a Beautiful Day" 2. "Made in Heaven" 3. "Let Me Live" 4. "Mother Love" 5. "My Life Has Been Saved" 6. "I Was Born to Love You" 7. "Heaven for Everyone" Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Mercury Queen Mercury, Brian May John Deacon Mercury Roger Taylor Length 2:32 5:25 4:45 4:49 3:15 4:49 5:36 4:20 5:24 3:49 3:01 0:04 22:32
8. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" May, Frank Musker, Elizabeth Lamers 9. "You Don't Fool Me" 10. "A Winter's Tale" 11. "It's a Beautiful Day (Reprise)" 12. "Yeah" 13. Untitled Queen Mercury Mercury Queen
Song information
It's a Beautiful Day
Years before Freddie Mercury started recording solo material, he created a sound clip of himself messing around on the piano at Musicland Studios in Munich, 1980. It was later, for the use of this album, that the song was extended to two minutes and thirty-two seconds.
Made in Heaven
Originally from Mercury's Mr. Bad Guy, this song, along with the other Mercury solo track "I Was Born to Love You", was given special treatment by Queen for this posthumous album. The band merely re-worked the music to a 'Queen sound,' and placed Freddie's previous vocals over the new music.
Let Me Live
"Let Me Live" is a lively rock ballad which features a rare sharing of the vocals between Mercury, Taylor, and May. The song was completed in 1995 after Mercury's death. This track was originally recorded with Rod Stewart during sessions for the 1984 album The Works.[3] Once finished in 1995 for Made in Heaven, Queen made one 11th-hour change to the song to avoid legal action. Part of the backing vocals featured a lyric too closely resembling Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart". It is not known if Queen took it upon themselves to make the change preemptively or if their record company told them to do so. Ultimately, the potentially problematic bit was mixed out and the track was released. Promo cassettes from the USA feature the unaltered backing track. Early Mexican and Dutch CD pressings are reported to have this alternate version as well.
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Mother Love
"Mother Love" was the final song co-written by Mercury and May, and was also Mercury's last ever vocal performance.[4] On his website, May discussed the writing process he and Mercury had (writing both separately and together, and conscious of the nature of the song and the lyrics). May sang the last verse since Mercury was unable to do so any more, as he was suffering from the bronchial pneumonia which ultimately resulted in his death. The song features a sample from a live sing along session recorded at Queen's famous 1986 concert at Wembley Stadium and a sample from "One Vision", presumably recorded at the same concert. It also features a sample from a cover of "Goin' Back", a song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, for which Mercury had provided lead vocals in 1972. The cover was released as a B-Side to "I Can Hear Music", a Ronettes cover, by Larry Lurex, not long before the release of Queen's debut album. There is also a sample from the introduction of "One Vision," from the 1986 album, "A Kind of Magic". The sound bursts between the sing along and the "Goin' Back" sample are apparently a few seconds of every Queen track ever recorded, put together, and then rapidly sped through a tape machine.
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A Winter's Tale
"A Winter's Tale" is a ballad written and composed by Freddie Mercury at his apartment in Montreux, Switzerland. It is the last song Mercury solely composed entirely (The music for "Mother Love" is by Brian May). It is the only song in Queen's history to have been recorded and released with Freddie conducting the vocals prior to music being completed. It has since been branded as one of few Christmas songs from the band. Whether this was the intention is unknown.
Yeah
"Yeah" is the ending of "It's a Beautiful Day (Reprise)". It is sampled from the track "Action This Day" (Hot Space) and is timed at only 4 seconds. It consists of Mercury saying the word "Yeah".
Made in Heaven The LP (vinyl) edition of the album has only the first few seconds, which run into the run-off of the groove on the record, which actually means that if a listener has a record player which does not have an automatic stop activated at this point, it will play indefinitely, consisting only of the few seconds looped over constantly. Track 13 created a good deal of surprise and confusion among fans, given its ambient musical nature and its sheer length, neither of which have much precedent in Queen's catalogue. The album's last listed track (all formats) is track 11: "It's a Beautiful Day (Reprise)". After the crescendo at the end of this track, Freddie Mercury is heard loudly saying "Yeah!", which at four seconds long comprises the entire Track 12. Fans took to calling this track by that monosyllabic name. The ambient music underneath this track continues into the mysterious "Untitled" Track 13, which ebbs and flows for another twenty-two-plus minutes. Two schools of thought emerged amongst fans. One was that these were to be considered not only separate tracks, but separate "songs". The second was that tracks 11, 12 and 13 were all one song ("It's a Beautiful Day [Reprise]") and that the splitting of it was a deliberate tongue-in-cheek gesture by the band. Initially, the band were content to maintain the air of mystery around Track 13. Over time, May has discussed it and shed a bit more light on it, such as the aforementioned creation by David Richards and the subsequent involvement by himself and Taylor. Musically, the three tracks (11, 12 and 13) can be played without interruption as a single twenty-five minute piece. The 22 minute length of Track 13 echoes the 22 year gap between the release of 'Made in Heaven' and Queen, the band's first album, with key moments in the time-span (such as Freddie Mercury's death in 1991 (18:00)) being echoed with more dramatic and eerie notes than earlier minutes in the piece. At the end following a cymbal build-up, a sound resembling a cartoonish spaceship is heard, which could be signalling that Mercury has left the planet as all of his vocals have been used up. Finally, at the end of the "Untitled" Track 13, a voice is heard (likely Freddie's) saying 'Fab!'
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Critical reception
Q Magazine wrote "Ten new tracks (and one reprise). No filler. No shame. An essential purchase for Queen fans, certainly, but even without its special significance, 'Made In Heaven' is probably a better album than Innuendo and a fitting swan song by one of the most incandescent groups in rock. Made In Heaven is also the last musical will and testament of a star who was never going to be turned into a saint, but whose grandstanding performances were, right to the very end, always marked by reckless enthusiasm and a rare generosity of spirit." The Sunday Times described the album as "Essential listening". Entertainment Weekly wrote "It's the perfect theatrical epitaph for a life dedicated to gorgeous artifice." The Guardian stated "When a band have the controls permanently set at full-tilt, as Queen did, burn-out is inevitable, for the listener, if not for the band. When we eventually reach the drum-crashing finale, It's A Beautiful Day, which kicks in with Mercury's umpteenth randy-rottweiler howl, it feels as if far more than 70 minutes has passed. That's where the aforesaid lyrics save the day. Predominantly written by Mercury, they are effectively farewell notes. He poured out his heart, and his words have a throat-aching poignance. Even the record's opening verse assumes a painful significance." Jerusalem Post wrote "Somehow Mercury and Queen's ability to make a joyful noise in the face of pain and death makes this a very comforting album to have around in shaky times." The Times stated "Nor are there any obviously half-baked, or patched-up numbers. Most, however, are as good as anything that Queen came up with in their later years. How good that is, as always with Queen, is largely a matter of taste. Mother Love, the last recording that Mercury made, is a song of truly heartfelt pathos. Despite its overdue delivery, Made In Heaven stands up remarkably well as the closing chapter in a spectacular pop odyssey." Allmusic wrote "Made in Heaven harked back to Queen's 1970s heyday with its strong melodies and hard rock guitar playing, topped by Mercury's bravura singing and some of the massed choir effects familiar from "Bohemian Rhapsody." Even if one did not know that these songs were sung in the shadow of death, that subject would be obvious. The lyrics were imbued with life-and-death issues, from the titles. The odd thing about this was that
Made in Heaven Mercury's over-the-top singing had always contained a hint of camp humor, and it continued to here, even when the sentiments clearly were as heartfelt as they were theatrically overstated. Maybe Mercury was determined to go out the same way he had come in, as a diva. If so, he succeeded."
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Personnel
Freddie Mercury lead vocals, piano and keyboards John Deacon bass guitar, guitars, keyboards Roger Taylor drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Let Me Live" Brian May guitars, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Let Me Live" and the last verse on "Mother Love" Extra vocal on Let Me Live: Catherine Porter David Richards co-production, engineering and mixing supervision Justin Shirley-Smith co-production and engineering Joshua J. Macrae co-production and engineering Mack recording of additional material in the 80s Kevin Metcalfe mastering Richard Gray artwork, cover photograph of Irena Sedleck's Mercury sculpture in Montreux
Chart performance
Country Charts Peak position Argentina Austria Finland Germany Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands New Zealand Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 [14] [15] 13 31 28 [16] [12] [13] 20 47 13 Platinum (x4) Platinum (x3) Platinum (x6) Platinum (x3) Platinum Platinum (x7) Platinum (x4) Platinum [17] 1.600.000 [8] [9] [10] 21 15 65 Weeks Sales Certification Platinum (x6) Platinum (x5) Platinum 3x Platinum [11] 1.500.000 Sales
United Kingdom 1[16] Belgium Belgium Norway Australia 2 2 2 3 [18] [19] [20] [21]
33 (Vl.) 31 (Wa.) 17 13
Platinum
Made in Heaven
180
Japan France Canada United States Czech Republic Denmark Hong Kong Poland Singapore South Africa South Korea 10 17 18 58 [22] [23] [24] 8 19 11 Platinum (x2) Gold (x7) Platinum Gold [25]
References
[1] Chart Stats - Queen - Made in Heaven (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ release. php?release=45700) Retrieved 18-01-2011 [2] Michaels, Sean (20 March 2008) We will rock you - again (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ music/ 2008/ mar/ 20/ news1) The Guardian Retrieved January 16, 2011 [3] "Made In Heaven" (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Songs/ madein. htm#letme). Ultimatequeen.co.uk. . Retrieved 2010-12-13. [4] Queen Online - History - Discography: Made in Heaven (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ history/ 86/ ) Retrieved January 22, 2011 [5] Purvis, Georg (2007) Queen: Complete Works p.375. Reynolds & Hearn, 2007 [6] Billboard 21 Jun 1997 (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=KBAEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA48& dq=too+ much+ love+ will+ kill+ you& hl=en& ei=c0EzTfPUOdKKhQf56Mz7Cw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=3& ved=0CC4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage& q=too much love will kill you& f=false) Billboard Retrieved January 16, 2011 [7] Pavarotti and Friends 2003; Press and News (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ pavarotti2003/ press. html) Retrieved January 22, 2011 [8] http:/ / austriancharts. at/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [9] http:/ / finnishcharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [10] http:/ / musicline. de/ de/ product/ 724348355423 [11] BVMI (http:/ / www. musikindustrie. de/ gold_platin_datenbank/ ). [12] http:/ / dutchcharts. nl/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [13] http:/ / charts. org. nz/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [14] http:/ / swedishcharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [15] http:/ / hitparade. ch/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [16] chartstats.com: Queen Made in Heaven (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ release. php?release=45700). [17] BPI Certified Awards (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ stats). [18] http:/ / www. ultratop. be/ nl/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [19] http:/ / www. ultratop. be/ fr/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [20] http:/ / norwegiancharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [21] http:/ / australian-charts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [22] http:/ / lescharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Made+ In+ Heaven& cat=a [23] http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ rpm/ 028020-110. 01-e. php?PHPSESSID=53gtrvbfj0gk7r9b4sd40dtvu0& q1=queen+ made+ in+ heaven& q2=Top+ Albums%2FCDs& interval=20 [24] http:/ / www. billboard. com/ album/ queen/ made-in-heaven/ 177218 [25] RIAA. Gold & Platinum (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinum. php).
181
Soundtrack album
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Soundtrack album by Queen Released 8 December 1980 (UK) 25 January 1981 (Japan) February 1981 (US) October November 1980 Rock 35:01 EMI Records, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood Records (US) Brian May and Mack Professional reviews [1] Allmusic link [2] Entertainment Weekly (favourable) link [3] Record Mirror link (QueenCuttings) Queen chronology
Producer
Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is a 1980 album by British rock band Queen, and is one of the two movie soundtracks Queen produced, along with Highlander. It is the album to the science fiction movie Flash Gordon, and features lyrics on only two tracks. The track Flash's Theme was the only single to be released from the album, under the title Flash. The album reached number 10 in the UK charts and number 42 in the United States.
182
Background
There are two versions of the opening track. The album version (Flash's Theme) is the start to the movie, with all the dialogue from the first scene. The single version (Flash) features parts of the dialogue taken from various parts of the movie. This version was also included on the Greatest Hits compilation from 1981. The single reached number one in Austria. The track is noted for its pounding, repetitive bassline and the camp humour of the snippets of dialogue from the movie that it contains. All but two of the tracks on the album (Flash's Theme and The Hero) are instrumentals. The album makes extensive use of synthesisers, which Queen had employed for the first time on their previous album, The Game, although to a much lesser extent. Side A of the album, except for the opening track and Brian May's Football Fight (also chosen as a B-side for the Flash single), contains mostly synthesizer, vocal, guitar and drum soundscapes (accompanied by the movie dialogues), written and performed by Mercury, Taylor and Deacon. Side B, while starting with similar compositions by Deacon and Taylor, develops for the most part around the full-band rockier themes, mainly Flash's Theme and Battle Theme, composed and arranged by Brian May. The last track, "The Hero", while an individual song, reprises both motifs. Different takes of the song were used for the end credits in the film and for the album finale. The album contains mostly the score performed by Queen, and only two short fragments of Howard Blake's orchestral score (appearing in The Kiss and The Hero).
Track listing
Side one No. Title 1. "Flash's Theme" 2. "In the Space Capsule (The Love Theme)" Writer(s) Brian May Roger Taylor Length 3:30 2:21 2:53 0:58 1:29 2:26 0:43 1:47
3. "Ming's Theme (In the Court of Ming the Merciless)" Freddie Mercury 4. "The Ring (Hypnotic Seduction of Dale)" 5. "Football Fight" 6. "In the Death Cell (Love Theme Reprise)" 7. "Execution of Flash" 8. "The Kiss (Aura Resurrects Flash)" Mercury Mercury Taylor John Deacon Mercury
Flash Gordon
183
Side two No. Title Writer(s) Length 1:41 1:44 2:47 1:15 2:20 0:56 2:04 1:01 1:39 3:31
1. "Arboria (Planet of the Tree Men)" (listed as "Man" on the 1982 U.S. LP, 5E-518-B) Deacon 2. "Escape from the Swamp" 3. "Flash to the Rescue" 4. "Vultan's Theme (Attack of the Hawk Men)" 5. "Battle Theme" 6. "The Wedding March" ("Bridal Chorus") 7. "Marriage of Dale and Ming (And Flash Approaching)" 8. "Crash Dive on Mingo City" 9. "Flash's Theme Reprise (Victory Celebrations)" 10. "The Hero" Taylor May Mercury May Richard Wagner, May May, Taylor May May May
Personnel
John Deacon: bass guitar, rhythm guitar, synthesiser Brian May: lead guitar, backing vocals, synthesiser, piano on "Flash's Theme" and "The Hero," co-lead vocals on "Flash's Theme," guitar orchestration on "The Wedding March"[4] Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, synthesiser, piano, keyboards Roger Taylor: drums, timpani, backing vocals, synthesiser Additional orchestral arrangements by Howard Blake
Chart positions
Country Charts Sales Sales 100.000 300.000 15 Gold 250.000 100.000 60.000 50.000 13 8 2 Gold 600.000 50.000 50.000
Flash Gordon
184
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687298 http:/ / www. ew. com/ ew/ article/ 0,,275614,00. html?print http:/ / www. queencuttings. com/ dblog/ articolo. asp?articolo=76 May, Brian (22 April 2003). "Jena, Lady Mercy, Playing piano on early albums, Mr Pavarotti" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ letters/ lettersapr03. html). Letters. . Retrieved 26 July 2007. "Flash and The Hero (Flash Gordon) (plus organ on the WEDDING)"
185
Live albums
Live Killers
Live Killers
Live album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Length Label June 26, 1979 January March 1979 in Europe Rock 90:08 EMI Records, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood Records (US) Queen Professional reviews [1] Allmusic link [2] Record Mirror (favorable) link (QueenCuttings) [3] George Starostin link [4] Rolling Stone (unfavorable) link Queen chronology
Producer
of My Life (Live)" Released: June 29, 1979 2. "We Will Rock You (Live)" Released: August, 1979 (US, Japan)
Live Killers
186
Live Killers is a double vinyl and compact disc live album by English rock band Queen. It was released on June 26, 1979. It was recorded live during the European leg of Queen's Jazz world tour between January and March 1979. The album was self-produced by the band and was their first album to be mixed at their own studios, Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland. The Original Mastering was Done by George Marino Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor revealed on the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard (which spotlighted the making of 1980's The Game) that the band was not happy with the album's final mix as the band mixed the album themselves. Despite May and Taylor's unhappiness with the album, Live Killers hit #16 on the US Billboard Pop Albums charts and was certified Double Platinum in the US. In the territories outside of the United States, Europe and Canada, Elektra Records re-released a shorter, edited version of the album in 1985 titled "Queen Live". The 1994 issue that was released as part of the Digital Master Series by EMI was not improved as the quality was bad. It was later remastered and restored in better quality by Peter Mew in 2001
Track listing
Side one
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. "We Will Rock You" [fast version] (Brian May) 3:18 "Let Me Entertain You" (Freddie Mercury) 3:15 "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated To...)" (Mercury) 3:31 "Killer Queen" (Mercury) 1:59 "Bicycle Race" (Mercury) 1:28 "I'm in Love with My Car" (Roger Taylor) 2:08 "Get Down, Make Love" (Mercury) 4:31 "You're My Best Friend" (John Deacon) 2:08
Side two
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. "Now I'm Here" (May) 8:42 "Dreamer's Ball" (May) 3:44 "Love of My Life" (Mercury) 4:57 "'39" (May) 3:26 "Keep Yourself Alive" (May) 4:02
Side three
1. "Don't Stop Me Now" (Mercury) 4:28 2. "Spread Your Wings" (Deacon) 5:17 3. "Brighton Rock" (May) 12:13
Side four
1. 2. 3. 4. "Bohemian Rhapsody" [intro: "Mustapha"] (Mercury) 6:02 "Tie Your Mother Down" (May) 3:40 "Sheer Heart Attack" (Taylor) 3:35 "We Will Rock You" (May) 2:48
Live Killers 5. "We Are the Champions" (Mercury) 3:27 6. "God Save the Queen" (Trad.; arr. May) 1:31
187
Omitted Tracks
It's Late (May) If You Can't Beat Them (Deacon) Somebody to Love (Mercury) Fat Bottomed Girls (May)
Singles
"Love of My Life" (Live)/"Now I'm Here" (Live) "We Will Rock You (Fast Version) (Live)"/"Let Me Entertain You (Live)" Elektra E46532; released August, 1979
Charts
Country Charts Sales Sales 40.000 380,000 450.000 250.000 80.000 7 4 14 2 100.000 50.000 Platinum (2x) 2,500,000 Gold 10.000 150.000
United Kingdom 3 Germany Japan Netherlands Norway Sweden United States Switzerland Canada 4 9 10 10 15 16 34
External links
Queenlive.ca: "Live Killers" Analysis [5] an analysis of the edits and overdubs on the album
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r15976/ review http:/ / www. queencuttings. com/ dblog/ articolo. asp?articolo=66 http:/ / starling. rinet. ru/ music/ queen. htm#Killers http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 195404/ review/ 5942451/ live_killers http:/ / www. queenlive. ca/ livekillers. htm
Live Magic
188
Live Magic
Live Magic
Recorded 1112 July 1986 Wembley Stadium, London, UK 27 July 1986 Npstadion, Budapest, Hungary 9 August 1986 Knebworth Park, Stevenage, UK Genre Length Rock 47:10 (LP) 49:22 (CD) EMI Records, Hollywood Records (US)
Label
Producer Queen Trip Khalaf Professional reviews Allmusic Kerrang! [1] link December 1986
Queen chronology
Live Magic is a live compilation album by British rock band Queen. It was recorded at various 1986 live shows during the European Magic Tour and released on December 1, 1986. However, it was not released in the United States until August 1996. It received strong criticism by fans, due to the heavy editing of many songs. For example, the opera section was removed from "Bohemian Rhapsody", the second verse was removed from "Tie Your Mother Down", and both "Is This the World We Created...?" and "We Are the Champions" were reduced to one verse and chorus. Queen fans generally consider the Live at Wembley '86 recording to be a more complete concert experience. In July 2004, Q magazine listed Live Magic as one of the top five disappointing live albums from usually great
Live Magic acts.[2] Most of the performances were recorded at Knebworth Park on the 9th August 1986 (the band's last ever concert with its original line-up).
189
Track listing
Side one
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. "One Vision" (Queen) 5:09 "Tie Your Mother Down" (May) 2:59 "Seven Seas of Rhye" (Mercury) 1:21 "A Kind of Magic" (Taylor) 4:47 | (CD Version - 5:29) "Under Pressure" (Queen, Bowie) 3:49 "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon) 5:16 | (CD Version - 5:50)
Side two
1. "I Want to Break Free" (Deacon) 2:40 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. "Is This the World We Created...?" (Mercury/May) 1:30 "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Mercury) 4:42 "Hammer to Fall" (May) 4:22 | (CD Version - 5:20) "Radio Ga Ga" (Taylor) 4:27 "We Will Rock You" (May) 1:33 "Friends Will Be Friends" (Mercury/Deacon) 1:09 "We Are the Champions" (Mercury) 2:01 "God Save the Queen" (Trad. arr. May) 1:19
Release history
Country Worldwide Release Date December 1, 1986
Peak position Weeks Certification United Kingdom Austria Germany Netherlands Italy Switzerland Japan Sweden 3 [3] 44 6 [3] Platinum Gold Gold [4]
13 15 17 22 26 49 50
Live Magic
190
Argentina United States Platinum 100.000 500.000
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r75756 [2] "5 Disappointing Live Albums from Usually Great Acts" (http:/ / www. rocklistmusic. co. uk/ q150lists. htm). Q magazine. July 2004. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk [3] Queenonline.com. Live Magic (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ q_history/ history. php?history=6& section=15). [4] BPI Certified Awards (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ stats).
At the Beeb
191
At the Beeb
Queen at the Beeb
Recorded 5 February and 3 December 1973 at Langham 1 Genre Length Label Rock 37:33 Band of Joy ("by arrangement with BBC Records and Tapes and EMI Records Ltd") (UK), Hollywood Records (US)
Producer Bernie Andrews Professional reviews [1] Allmusic link [2] The Times link (Queen Archives) Queen chronology
At the Beeb
192
At the Beeb is a live album by the English rock band Queen, released on vinyl, cassette tape, and compact disc in 1989. Subsequently, it was released in 1995 in the United States under the title Queen at the BBC on compact disc and as limited edition picture disc vinyl. The album comprises tracks recorded in two sessions for the BBC Radio 1 Sound of the 70s programme. The first four tracks were recorded on 5 February 1973; the rest were recorded on 3 December 1973. All but one track appeared on the album Queen; the exception is "Ogre Battle", which appeared on Queen II. However, the versions featured on At the Beeb are different from the original versions, being closer to the songs as performed live. This is most notable on "Ogre Battle", as it starts right away with its riff (without any long intro), does not have any effects that the version on Queen II has and sounds much less polished. The BBC version of "Ogre Battle" did originally have a long intro featuring a grand guitar build up. It was not used for this release, allegedly because the original tape was damaged.
Track listing
Side one No. Title 1. "My Fairy King" Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Length 4:06 3:48 4:11 6:28
2. "Keep Yourself Alive" Brian May 3. "Doing Alright" 4. "Liar" May, Tim Staffell Mercury
At the Beeb
193
Side two No. Title 1. "Ogre Battle" 2. "Great King Rat" Writer(s) Mercury Mercury Length 3:57 5:59 2:00 7:08
3. "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" Roger Taylor 4. "Son and Daughter" May
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r212569 [2] http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_12-19-1989_-_Queen_At_The_BBC_-_The_Times
194
Live album by Queen Released May 26, 1992 (See release history)
Recorded 12 July 1986, Wembley Stadium - London, England Genre Length Label Rock, Hard rock 110:00 Parlophone, Hollywood Records (US)
Producer Queen Professional reviews Allmusic VideoVista Queen chronology link [1] link [2]
Live at Wembley '86 is a double compact disc live album by English rock band Queen. It was recorded live on Saturday July 12, 1986 during the Magic Tour at Wembley Stadium in London, England and released on May 26, 1992. A companion DVD was released in June 2003. The album was re-released in a remastered CD with bonus tracks in August 2003 in the US as Live at Wembley Stadium after the companion DVD. During the introduction to "Who Wants to Live Forever," Freddie addressed the rumours at the time of a Queen breakup by pointing to his posterior and saying, "They're talking from here!," which got quite a response from the audience. During the speech, Freddie making what was, prior to the Queen+ collaborations, a prophetic comment: "So forget those rumours, we're gonna stay together until we fucking well die, I'm sure of it."
195
Track listing
Disc one
1. "One Vision" (Queen) 5:50 2. "Tie Your Mother Down" (Brian May) 3:52 3. "In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited"[3] (Freddie Mercury) 2:44 4. "Seven Seas of Rhye" (Mercury) 1:19 5. "Tear It Up" (May) 2:12 6. "A Kind of Magic" (Roger Taylor) 8:41 7. "Under Pressure" (Queen, David Bowie) 3:41 8. "Another One Bites the Dust" (John Deacon) 4:54 9. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (May) 5:16 10. "I Want to Break Free" (Deacon) 3:34 11. "Impromptu" (Queen) 2:55 12. "Brighton Rock Solo" (May) 9:11 13. "Now I'm Here" (May) 6:19
Disc two
1. "Love of My Life" (Mercury) 4:47 2. "Is This the World We Created...?" (Mercury, May) 2:59 3. "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) 1:34 4. "Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)" (Gene Pitney) 1:24 5. "Tutti Frutti" (Little Richard) 3:23[4] 6. "Gimme Some Lovin'" (Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis, Muff Winwood) 0:55 7. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Mercury) 5:50 8. "Hammer to Fall" (May) 5:36 9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Mercury) 6:27 10. "Big Spender" (Dorothy Fields, Cy Coleman) 1:07 11. "Radio Ga Ga" (Taylor) 5:57 12. "We Will Rock You" (May) 2:46 13. "Friends Will Be Friends" (Mercury, Deacon) 2:08 14. "We Are the Champions" (Mercury) 4:05 15. "God Save the Queen" (arr. May) 1:27
196
Release history
Country Worldwide Release Date May 26, 1992
Peak position Weeks Certification Belgium Italy France United Kingdom Austria Switzerland Netherlands Germany Sweden United States Japan Mexico Brazil Canada Spain 2 1 1 2 [5] 6 6 9 20 29 53 [5]
81
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - lead vocals, piano, guitar Brian May - guitars, keyboards, backing vocals John Deacon - bass guitars, backing vocals Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, backing vocals
197
Live album by Queen Released October 25, 2004 (Europe) November 9, 2004 (US) June 5, 1982 in Milton Keynes Rock ~100:00 (DVD ~170:00) Parlophone (Europe) Hollywood Records (US) Brian May, Roger Taylor, Justin Shirley-Smith Professional reviews [1] BBC (Positive) link [2] Allmusic link Queen chronology
Producer
198
Starring
Queen on Fire Live at the Bowl is a double compact disc live album by English band Queen released on October 25, 2004 in Europe and on November 9, 2004 in the US. It was recorded live at the National Bowl, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, on June 5, 1982 during the Hot Space Tour. A DVD was also released with the concert and bonus material, such as band interviews and tour highlights. In 2005, the album was also released as an LP, like every Queen album. In the UK the CD made #20 and DVD #1 in the album and DVD chart respectively. In the US, neither the album nor the DVD charted.
Notes
During the show, guitarist Brian May had problems with his homemade Red Special guitar. During both the fast version of "We Will Rock You" and "Dragon Attack", a couple of guitar strings snapped and he had to switch over to his Birch Red Special backup for almost all of "Action This Day" and for the entire second half of "Dragon Attack" and all of "Now I'm Here (Reprise)". Before "Love of My Life", May played a snippet of the intro to "Las Palabras de Amor" calling it "a little fiddle around". During "Back Chat", Freddie Mercury flubbed one line, singing "'Cos you're walking in your sleep" instead of "'Cos you're talking in your sleep". During May's guitar solo, the lead on his guitar became disconnected and the guitar solo stopped for 20 seconds (as seen on the DVD but the 20 seconds was reduced to 3 seconds on the album version of the performance). A roadie had to help him get his guitar working again. Also, drummer Roger Taylor did an impromptu 30-second drum solo before "Under Pressure" whilst May got his guitar fixed. Taylor had stopped doing drum solos (he last performed one in November 1981) so this was the only time he did a drum solo post-1981 with the original lineup of Queen. The next did not occur until the Queen + Paul Rodgers Return of the Champions Tour in 2005.
Queen on Fire Live at the Bowl On "Fat Bottomed Girls", Freddie Mercury's voice briefly slipped into an off-key falsetto during the lyric "in this locality" (which was noticed on the original BBC TV, Channel 4, MTV, and radio broadcasts of the Milton Keynes show) but the error was repaired for release on the CD and DVD. Mercury performed without his trademark bottomless microphone stand for "The Hero" (on the Live in Japan bonus footage on DVD), "We Will Rock You (Fast)" and "Now I'm Here". Apparently this allowed Mercury to more freely scale and walk along the raised wings on either side of the stage. Although it is noticeable that he is using a cordless microphone which were becoming available around the time and appears to be relatively larger than a standard microphone. During the song "Fat Bottomed Girls", Mercury sang "Oh but I still got my treasure, Still got my greatest pleasure" instead of "Oh but I still get my pleasure, Still got my greatest treasure" In addition, the line, "Hey big woman, you made a bad boy out of me," was improvised as, "Hey big woman, you made an asshole out of me." The Hong Kong & China version of the CD release does not contain either "Get Down, Make Love" or "Fat Bottomed Girls" due to censorship laws. On Somebody To Love, during the line "I work hard- Every day of my life" Mercury sings "I work hard- Every day of my bloody life"
199
Track listing
Disc 1
1. "Flash" (May) 1:54 2. "The Hero" (May) 1:44 3. "We Will Rock You" (Fast) (May) 3:17 4. "Action This Day" (Taylor) 4:52 5. "Play the Game" (Mercury) 4:30 6. "Staying Power" (Mercury) 4:03 7. "Somebody to Love" (Mercury) 7:53 8. "Now I'm Here" (May) 6:18 9. "Dragon Attack" (May) 4:16 10. "Now I'm Here" (Reprise) (May) 2:20 11. "Love of My Life" (Mercury) 4:22 12. "Save Me" (May) 4:00 13. "Back Chat" (Deacon) 5:00
Disc 2
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. "Get Down, Make Love" (Mercury) 3:39 "Guitar Solo " (May) 6:22 "Under Pressure" (Queen/Bowie) 3:47 "Fat Bottomed Girls" (May) 5:25 "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Mercury) 4:15 "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Mercury) 5:38 "Tie Your Mother Down" (May) 4:09 "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon) 3:49 "Sheer Heart Attack" (Taylor) 3:25
10. "We Will Rock You" (May) 2:08 11. "We Are the Champions" (Mercury) 3:28 12. "God Save the Queen" (Trad. arr. May) 1:24
200
1. Another One Bites the Dust 2. We Will Rock You 3. We Are the Champions 4. God Save the Queen Songs from concert at Seibu Lions Stadium, Tokyo, Japan on November 3, 1982 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Flash / The Hero Now I'm Here Impromptu Put Out the Fire Dragon Attack Now I'm Here (Reprise)
7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 8. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) Photo gallery (Calling All Girls)
Personnel
Freddie Mercury vocals, piano, acoustic guitar on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Brian May guitars, vocals, piano on "Save Me" Roger Taylor drums, percussion, vocals John Deacon bass guitar, rhythm guitar on "Staying Power", additional backing vocals on "Somebody to Love" Morgan Fisher keyboards Justin Shirley-Smith mix producer Kris Fredriksson pro tools hd Mack recording engineer Mick McKenna second recording engineer Kevin Metcalfe mastering Richard Gray artwork Denis O'Regan photography
Charts
Album
201
Chart positions 20 23 52 74 75 85
Countries UK (Gold) Austria (Gold) Switzerland Netherlands France Japan Germany (Platinum)250.000
DVD
Chart positions Countries
Austria (gold); Belgium; Germany (4 weeks, 2x platinum); Italy; Japan (on international charts); Sweden; UK (2 weeks, 3x platinum) New Zealand; Portugal (2x platinum) Norway France
2 4 5
External links
Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl [3] at the Internet Movie Database Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl [4] at Allmovie
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ music/ release/ 6wn8 http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ queen-on-fire-live-at-the-bowl-r714768/ review http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0451175/ http:/ / www. allmovie. com/ work/ 315996
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Live album by Queen Released 26 October 2007 28 October 2007 29 October 2007 30 October 2007 24 November and 25 November 1981 in Montreal Rock 47:15 (CD 1), 50:35 (CD 2) Parlophone (UK) Hollywood Records (US) Justin Shirley-Smith Kris Fredriksson Joshua J. Macrae Professional reviews Allmusic Queen chronology link [1]
Producer
Queen Rock Montreal is a live album by English band Queen. It was released in 2007 as a double CD / triple vinyl on 28 October in Australia, 29 October in Europe, and 30 October in the US. It was recorded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the Montreal Forum on 24 November and 25 November 1981, ten years to the date before lead singer Freddie Mercury died of complications related to AIDS. This marks the first official release of the film soundtrack to the concert film We Will Rock You on an audio-only format. Unlike the original video release of We Will Rock You, which has been re-released as Queen Rock Montreal, the album and CD features the full show (including "Flash" and "The Hero" not on the film) fully remixed.
Queen Rock Montreal Before "Killer Queen", Freddie remarked to the unusually docile crowd, "If you guys want to move around and shift your asses a little it's OK by us... you can take all your clothes off if you like too, doesn't matter,". While addressing the crowd, John Deacon and Roger Taylor played the opening riff to "Under Pressure", to which Freddie jokingly told them to "Fuck off" while laughing. Freddie gets notably frustrated with the crowd's lack of enthusiasm and orders them to "Move it, you fuckers, come on!" during "Jailhouse Rock". Freddie and Brian also chatter during "Jailhouse Rock", with Freddie quietly saying "Huh?...Do you wanna end it?" to which Brian shakes his head. During "Love of my Life", guitarist Brian May tells the crowd "You remember this!" However, after the passage where European crowds sing in the first verse was not sung by the crowd, Freddie remarked "You don't know it." (maybe referring to the part of the song he just sang "... you don't know what it means to me") to which Brian replied "It's all right." Freddie states on the album, "We must tell you that we are filming this as you know and it's the last show in this series, it sounds like a television game, but forget the cameras, it's just you and us, alright?".
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Track listing
Disc one
1. "Intro" (Roger Taylor) 1:59 2. "We Will Rock You (Fast)" (Brian May) 3:06 3. "Let Me Entertain You" (Freddie Mercury) 2:48 4. "Play the Game" (Mercury) 3:57 5. "Somebody to Love" (Mercury) 7:53 6. "Killer Queen" (Mercury) 1:59 7. "I'm in Love with My Car" (Taylor) 2:03 8. "Get Down, Make Love" (Mercury) 4:45 9. "Save Me" (May) 4:14 10. "Now I'm Here" (May) 5:31 11. "Dragon Attack" (May) 3:11 12. "Now I'm Here (Reprise)" (May) 1:53 13. "Love of My Life" (Mercury) 3:56
Disc two
1. "Under Pressure" (Queen, David Bowie) 3:49 2. "Keep Yourself Alive" (May) 3:29 3. "Drum and Tympani Solo" (Taylor) 3:00 4. "Guitar Solo" (May) 5:11 5. "Flash" (May) * 2:11 6. "The Hero" (May) * 1:51 7. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Mercury) 4:15 8. "Jailhouse Rock" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) 2:32 9. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Mercury) 5:28 10. "Tie Your Mother Down" (May) 3:52 11. "Another One Bites the Dust" (John Deacon) 4:00 12. "Sheer Heart Attack" (Taylor) 3:53 13. "We Will Rock You" (May) 2:09 14. "We Are the Champions" (Mercury) 3:27 15. "God Save the Queen" (tape) (arr. May) 1:27 * previously unreleased
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Personnel
Freddie Mercury vocals, piano, acoustic guitar on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Brian May guitars, vocals, piano on "Save Me" and "Flash", synthesizer on "Flash" Roger Taylor drums, percussion, vocals, lead vocal on "I'm In Love With My Car" and "Another One Bites The Dust"(chorus), synthesizer on "Intro" John Deacon bass guitar, vocals Joshua J. Macrae - mix producer Justin Shirley-Smith mix producer Kris Fredriksson pro tools hd Mack recording engineer Kevin Metcalfe mastering Richard Gray artwork
External links
Official Site [2]
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r1239496 [2] http:/ / www. queenrockmontreal. com
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Compilation albums
Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits
Original 1981 edition Greatest hits album by Queen Released November 8, 1981 January 3, 2011 (Reissue) Rock 57:20 (UK edition) Parlophone, Island (UK) Elektra (US, Canada, Japan) Hollywood (US) Queen, various Professional reviews Allmusic Queen chronology link [1]
Producer
Alternative covers
Greatest Hits
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Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British rock group Queen. When released in November 1981, the record consisted of Queen's best-selling singles since their first chart appearance in 1974 with "Seven Seas of Rhye," until their most recent album at the time, The Game. There was no universal track listing or cover art for the album, and each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles had been released there and which were successful. In some cases, despite the band's popularity, not enough songs were issued as singles to fill a compilation album, so album tracks were used as filler. In some countries "Under Pressure" was included, which had been released as a single earlier in the year. Queen's Greatest Hits was an instant success, peaking at number one on the UK Album Chart for four weeks. It has spent over 450 weeks in the UK Charts, and is the best-selling album of all time in the UK.[2] [3] [4] It is certified eight times platinum in the United States, and is Queen's most commercially successful album ever having sold more than 25 million copies, rendering it one of the best-selling albums worldwide.[5] [6] Combined with Greatest Hits II, it became the definitive Queen compilation.
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History
There was no universal track listing or cover art for the Greatest Hits album, and each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles were released there and what tracks charted. In some cases, despite the band's popularity, not enough songs were issued as singles to fill a compilation album, and a few album tracks were used as filler. Some examples of these were "Sweet Lady" and "Love of My Life", neither was released as a single in any country, but appear on some regions' 1981 Hits release. In the UK and the U.S., where solid numbers could be collected, the standard was raised again by only including top 20 hits. The U.S. ended up with its original edit of Queen's first single release, "Keep Yourself Alive", which had been re-released in the U.S. in 1975 (original release was 1973) after the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody". Also, because of the delay in release dates between the UK (out first) and the U.S. (almost a month later), the U.S. was able to add "Under Pressure" (Queen's duet with David Bowie) to its Hits collection, as it was released during that interim. In Argentina and Brazil, the LP edition included the same list of UK Greatest Hits minus "Seven Seas of Rhye", and including "Love of My Life" (Live Killers version). CD version is the same as the British. In 1991, Queen sought to issue a second Greatest Hits collection worldwide, this time with a standard track listing. However, the band had just changed record labels in the US, from Capitol to Hollywood Records, who were keen on a massive promotion of the band's back catalog. The problem was that Elektra still held the US rights to that first 1981 collection (despite being Hollywood's US licence). Hollywood Records decided to not release Greatest Hits II to the U.S. market, but instead created their own collection, Classic Queen (1992), peaking at no.2. This compilation was made up of tracks such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Under Pressure" (which had already appeared on the Elektra 1981 Hits collection) as well as newer tracks ("A Kind of Magic" and "Radio Ga Ga"). Some tracks were not even singles in the U.S. ("One Year of Love") or anywhere ("Stone Cold Crazy"). Though well received, this collection would eventually pose the problem of overlapping track lists in the future. Hollywood Records, later that year, re-released a companion collection Greatest Hits with similar artwork (on a red background, where Classic Queen was on royal blue). Commonly referred to as the Red Greatest Hits, it features most of the '70s tracks absent from "Classic Queen" (including "Another One Bites the Dust" [1980], "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Killer Queen"). In 2004, to promote the Las Vegas production of the musical We Will Rock You, Hollywood Records released Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You Edition which was the UK Greatest Hits with three bonus tracks.
Track listing
This section includes the track listings for the original Greatest Hits and closely-related albums only. For other compilations, including the second and third Greatest Hits albums, see the relevant articles. On this album Mercury has ten songs, Brian May has five and John Deacon has two. Roger Taylor had not released any singles with the group at that time.
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1981 UK edition (Parlophone) & 2011 UK edition (Island) Has a photograph of the band as its cover. No. Title 1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (from A Night at the Opera, 1975) 2. "Another One Bites the Dust" (from The Game, 1980) 3. "Killer Queen" (from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974) 4. "Fat Bottomed Girls" (single version, from Jazz, 1978) 5. "Bicycle Race" (from Jazz, 1978) 6. "You're My Best Friend" (from A Night at the Opera, 1975) 7. "Don't Stop Me Now" (from Jazz, 1978) 8. "Save Me" (from The Game, 1980) 9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (from The Game, 1980) 10. "Somebody to Love" (from A Day at the Races, 1976) 11. "Now I'm Here" (from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974) Writer(s) Freddie Mercury John Deacon Mercury Brian May Mercury Deacon Mercury May Mercury Mercury May Length 5:56 3:36 2:57 3:16 3:01 2:52 3:29 3:52 2:42 4:56 4:10 2:54 3:33 2:48 2:47 2:01 2:59 57:20
12. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" (from A Day at the Races, 1976) Mercury 13. "Play the Game" (from The Game, 1980) 14. "Flash" (single version, from Flash Gordon, 1980) 15. "Seven Seas of Rhye" (from Queen II, 1974) 16. "We Will Rock You" (from News of the World, 1977) 17. "We Are the Champions" (from News of the World, 1977) Total length: Mercury May Mercury May Mercury
1981 U.S. and Canada edition No. Title 1. "Another One Bites the Dust" 2. "Bohemian Rhapsody" 3. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 4. "Killer Queen" 5. "Fat Bottomed Girls" 6. "Bicycle Race" 7. "Under Pressure" (later included on Hot Space, 1982) 8. "We Will Rock You" 9. "We Are the Champions" 10. "Flash" 11. "Somebody to Love" 12. "You're My Best Friend" 13. "Keep Yourself Alive" (single version in mono, from Queen, 1973) May 14. "Play the Game" Total length: Queen, David Bowie Writer(s) Length 3:37 5:58 2:44 3:02 3:23 3:01 4:05 2:02 3:01 2:49 4:58 2:52 3:32 3:30 47:58
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1981 Japan edition No. Title 1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" 2. "Another One Bites the Dust" 3. "Killer Queen" 4. "Fat Bottomed Girls" 5. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" 6. "Don't Stop Me Now" 7. "Save Me" 8. "Under Pressure" 9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 10. "Somebody to Love" 11. "Now I'm Here" 12. "Teo Torriatte" (single version, from A Day At The Races, 1976) May 13. "You're My Best Friend" 14. "Play the Game" 15. "Flash's Theme A.K.A. Flash" 16. "We Will Rock You" 17. "We Are the Champions" Total length: Writer(s) Length 5:55 3:33 3:00 3:22 2:32 3:28 3:48 4:05 2:42 4:55 4:15 5:00 2:50 3:28 2:47 2:00 2:58 60:37
1992 U.S. edition Has a red cover with the Queen crest design. No. Title 1. "We Will Rock You" 2. "We Are the Champions" 3. "Another One Bites the Dust" 4. "Killer Queen" 5. "Somebody to Love" 6. "Fat Bottomed Girls (LP version)" 7. "Bicycle Race" 8. "You're My Best Friend" 9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 10. "Now I'm Here" 11. "Play the Game" 12. "Seven Seas of Rhye" 13. "Body Language" (from Hot Space, 1982) 14. "Save Me" 15. "Don't Stop Me Now" Mercury Writer(s) Length 2:02 3:01 3:37 3:01 4:56 4:16 3:02 2:51 2:43 4:14 3:31 2:48 4:33 3:48 3:30
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16. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" 17. "I Want to Break Free" (from The Works, 1984) Deacon Total length: 2:55 4:22 58:43
2004 U.S. edition (Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You) Same track listing as UK 1981 edition, followed by three additional tracks. No. Title 18. "I'm in Love with My Car" (From A Night at the Opera, 1975) 19. "Under Pressure" (from Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl, 2004) 20. "Tie Your Mother Down" (from Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl, 2004) May Total length: Writer(s) Roger Taylor Length 3:12 3:39 6:22 69:17
In addition to the variations above, the official biography Queen: As It Began by Jacky Gunn and Jim Jenkins states the following variations on the original UK tracklisting: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela had Love Of My Life (live) instead of Seven Seas Of Rhye. Belgium and Spain had Spread Your Wings as an extra track. Australia had Tie Your Mother Down and Keep Yourself Alive but not Don't Stop Me Now, Save Me, Now I'm Here, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy or Seven Seas Of Rhye. Bulgaria had Death On Two Legs and Sweet Lady as extra tracks. Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel and Netherlands had Under Pressure as an extra track.
Charts
Country Peak position Certification 19x (formally 11x) Platinum* 8x Platinum 7x Gold 14x Platinum 3x Platinum 4x Platinum 7x Platinum 2xPlatinum [9] [3] Sales 5,600,000 8,500,000 1,750,000 1,500,000 500,000 250.000 500.000 750,000 600,000 1 6x Platinum Gold 5 1 1 1 9 1 Gold 9x Platinum [10] 5x Platinum Platinum Platinum 1,000,000 20,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 500,000 200,000 200,000 [2]
United Kingdom 1[7] United States Germany Australia Canada Austria Argentina France South Korea Italy Israel Switzerland Brazil Netherlands Spain Japan New Zealand 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 [8]
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Denmark Finland Portugal Greece Singapore Sweden Czech Republic Hong Kong 1 3 1 [11] 2x Platinum 2x Platinum Gold Gold Platinum 2x Platinum Gold Gold 100,000 55,000 20,000 25,000 200,000 150.000 100,000 15,000
UK certification. The album has not been formally certified by the BPI since 1992, when it was awarded 11x Platinum (for 3.3 million copies). However, the album has now earned at least 19x Platinum status for officially recorded sales of over 5.4 million copies.[2]
Release history
Date November 2, 1981 November 3, 1981 Region Label Catalog number
September 15, 1992 United States August 17, 2004 January 3, 2011 United States
Notes
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r413002 [2] Queen head all-time sales chart (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 6151050. stm) BBC Retrieved January 23, 2011 [3] "BPI Highest Retail Sales" (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ assets/ files/ top 40 albums. pdf). British Phonographic Industry. . Retrieved 2011-01-17. [4] Queen becomes longest reigning chart act (http:/ / www. dailymail. co. uk/ tvshowbiz/ article-354650/ Queen-longest-reigning-chart-act. html) Daily Mail Retrieved January 23, 2011 [5] In Pictures: 50 years of pop (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ hi/ english/ static/ in_depth/ entertainment/ 2002/ jubilee/ popup/ 5. stm) BBC News Retrieved January 17, 2011 [6] RIAA - Gold and Platinum (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php?resultpage=2& table=SEARCH_RESULTS& action=& title=& artist=queen& format=& debutLP=& category=& sex=& releaseDate=& requestNo=& type=& level=& label=& company=& certificationDate=& awardDescription=& catalogNo=& aSex=& rec_id=& charField=& gold=& platinum=& multiPlat=& level2=& certDate=& album=& id=& after=& before=& startMonth=1& endMonth=1& startYear=1958& endYear=2010& sort=CertificationDate& perPage=50) Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved January 23, 2011 [7] Roberts, David (2006), British Hit Singles & Albums, London: Guinness World Records Limited [8] Whitburn, Joel, The Billboard Albums, Record Research [9] &ndash Certified Awards (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php?resultpage=1& table=SEARCH_RESULTS& action=& title=greatest hits& artist=queen& format=& sort=Artist& perPage=25), Recording Industry Association of America, &ndash [10] Queen (http:/ / swisscharts. com/ showinterpret. asp?interpret=Queen), Swiss Charts, [11] Queen (http:/ / finnishcharts. com/ showinterpret. asp?interpret=Queen), Finnish Charts,
Greatest Hits II
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Greatest Hits II
Greatest Hits II
Greatest hits album by Queen Released 28 October 1991 January 3, 2011 (Reissue) 19811990 Rock 75:57 Parlophone, Island (UK) Professional reviews Allmusic Queen chronology link [1]
Greatest Hits II is a compilation by British rock group Queen, released in 1991.[2] It was #1 on the UK Album Chart, and is the seventh best selling album in UK Chart history.[3] The disc contains most of Queen's European hits from 1981 to 1991. Accumulated sales (Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen for the U.S. and Canada combined) are in excess of 16 million worldwide. It was released less than a month before the death of vocalist Freddie Mercury and the last Queen release of any kind while he was still alive, it was later made available in the United States in two box sets: Greatest Hits I & II and The Platinum Collection: Greatest Hits I, II & III. On April 19 2011, Hollywood Records released the newly-remastered 2011 version of Greatest Hits II in the USA & Japan. A related video release entitled Greatest Flix II was released at the same time, but is now out of print. Most of the videos are now available on the DVD Greatest Video Hits 2 with the exception of the videos from the Innuendo album.
Greatest Hits II
213
Track listing
No. Title 1. "A Kind of Magic" (from A Kind Of Magic, 1986) 2. "Under Pressure" (edit, from Hot Space, 1982) 3. "Radio Ga Ga" (from The Works, 1984) 4. "I Want It All" (single version, from The Miracle, 1989) 5. "I Want to Break Free" (single mix, from The Works, 1984) 6. "Innuendo" (from Innuendo, 1991) 7. "It's a Hard Life" (from The Works, 1984) 8. "Breakthru" (from The Miracle, 1989) Writer(s) Roger Taylor Queen, David Bowie Taylor Queen (Brian May) John Deacon Queen Freddie Mercury Queen (Mercury/Taylor) Length 4:22 3:56 5:43 4:01 4:18 6:27 4:09 4:09 4:57 4:33 4:54 4:07 3:58 3:40 4:08 4:23 4:02
9. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (edit, from A Kind Of Magic, 1986) Brian May 10. "Headlong" (Single Version, from Innuendo, 1991) 11. "The Miracle" (early faded, from The Miracle, 1989) 12. "I'm Going Slightly Mad" (Original Innuendo LP edit) 13. "The Invisible Man" (from The Miracle, 1989) 14. "Hammer to Fall" (single version, from The Works, 1984) 15. "Friends Will Be Friends" (from A Kind Of Magic, 1986) 16. "The Show Must Go On" (early faded, from Innuendo, 1991) 17. "One Vision" (single version, from A Kind Of Magic, 1986) Queen (May) Queen (Mercury) Queen (Mercury) Queen (Taylor) May Mercury, Deacon Queen (May) Queen
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r299806 [2] Queen; Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ greatest-hits-vol-2-r299806) All Music Retrieved January 16, 2011 [3] Queen head all-time sales chart (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 6151050. stm) BBC News Retrieved January 16, 2011
Classic Queen
214
Classic Queen
Classic Queen
Recorded 1972-1990 Genre Length Label Rock 75:10 Hollywood Records EMI Parlophone
Producer Roy Thomas Baker, David Bowie, David Richards, Mack and Queen Professional reviews Allmusic Queen chronology link [1]
Classic Queen is a 1992 compilation of songs by the English rock band Queen. It was issued in order to capitalise on the sudden Queen fever generated in the United States following the release of the movie Wayne's World, and consequently, though it was critically acclaimed as an excellent compilation, it did not fit in with the previous Queen compilations. It overlapped both the 1981 Greatest Hits and the 1991 Greatest Hits II, and contained a few tracks not found in either of the previous releases; to remedy this situation, Hollywood Records re-released Greatest Hits in the U.S. only, containing two different tracks from the 1981 release but designed specifically to complement Classic Queen. Accumulated sales (Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen for the US and Canada combined) are in excess of 17 million worldwide. All proceeds from this CD release went to the Magic Johnson Foundation. Many of Queen's biggest hits, such as "Another One Bites the Dust", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions", are missing from this compilation.
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Track listing
No. Title 1. "A Kind of Magic" (from A Kind Of Magic, 1986) 2. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (from A Night At The Opera, 1975) 3. "Under Pressure" (from Hot Space, 1982) 4. "Hammer to Fall" (from The Works, 1984) 5. "Stone Cold Crazy" (from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974) 6. "One Year of Love" (from A Kind Of Magic, 1986) 7. "Radio Ga Ga" (from The Works, 1984) 8. "I'm Going Slightly Mad" (from Innuendo, 1991) 9. "I Want It All" (from The Miracle, 1989) 10. "Tie Your Mother Down" (from A Day At The Races, 1976) 11. "The Miracle" (from The Miracle, 1989) 12. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (from Innuendo, 1991) 13. "One Vision" (from A Kind Of Magic, 1986) 14. "Keep Yourself Alive" (from Queen, 1973) 15. "Headlong" (from Innuendo, 1991) Writer(s) Roger Taylor Freddie Mercury David Bowie, John Deacon, Brian May, Mercury, Taylor May Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor Deacon Taylor Deacon, May, Mercury, Peter Straker, Taylor Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor May Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor May Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor Length 4:23 5:59 4:02 3:38 2:14 4:26 5:49 4:21 4:01 3:44 4:24 4:14 4:38 3:47 4:38 5:15 4:31 75:10
16. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (from A Kind Of Magic, 1986) May 17. "The Show Must Go On" (from Innuendo, 1991) Total length: Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor
(The songs "Under Pressure", "The Miracle" and "One Vision" have been edited or remixed for this compilation.)
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r58558
216
Compilation album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Length Label 1992 1975 1991 Rock 70:04 Queen Productions Ltd. Parlophone Various Queen chronology
Producer
The 12" Collection is a compilation album by British rock band Queen. It features various 12-inch single format recordings and remixes. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was never released on a 12-inch single and the sleeve notes state that it is included due to its length. "The Show Must Go On" did appear on a 12-inch single however it was not extended and appears on this album in the same format as before. The sleeve notes do not mention why it was included.
217
Track listing
1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Mercury - 5:58 2. "Radio Ga-Ga" (Extended Version) - Taylor - 6:53 3. "Machines (Or 'Back to Humans')" (12" Instrumental) - Taylor/May - 5:08 4. "I Want to Break Free" (Extended Mix) - Deacon - 7:19 5. "It's a Hard Life" (12" Extended) - Mercury - 5:05 6. "Hammer to Fall" (The Headbanger's Mix) - May - 5:23 7. "Man on the Prowl" (Extended Version) - Mercury - 6:04 8. "A Kind of Magic" (Extended Version) - Taylor - 6:25 9. "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" (12" Version) - Mercury/Deacon - 6:01 10. "Breakthru" (Extended Version) - Queen - 5:44 11. "The Invisible Man" (12" Version) - Queen - 5:30 12. "The Show Must Go On" - Queen - 4:34
References
1. "Queen - The 12" Collection (1992)" [1]. http://paulmcgarry.com/cdcatalogue/.
References
[1] http:/ / paulmcgarry. com/ cdcatalogue/ details/ 3351. html
Queen Rocks
218
Queen Rocks
Queen Rocks
Compilation album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Length Label November 3, 1997 1973 1997 hard rock, heavy metal 70:21 Parlophone / Hollywood Professional reviews Allmusic Queen chronology link [1]
Young)"
Released: January 5, 1998 (UK)
Queen Rocks is a compilation album by the English rock band Queen, released in 1997. The album is a selection of songs from Queen's heavier side. It also contained one new track, "No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)", which is a gentle ballad. This song began life as a track for Brian May's solo album Another World (1998); the remaining members chose to record it as a bookend for their career as Queen. It was the last original studio recording from the 1990s featuring Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon (and the first Queen recording without Freddie Mercury). The album is unique to the Queen catalogue, as it deliberately does not follow the standard "greatest hits" collection format. Some hits are present ("Hammer to Fall", "Seven Seas of Rhye"), while other tracks included were never released as singles anywhere ("Put Out the Fire" and "Sheer Heart Attack"). The album also contains a remake of the
Queen Rocks pop rocker "I Can't Live With You", with a much louder and heavier guitar and more aggressive drumming.
219
Track listing
1. "We Will Rock You" (Brian May) 2. "Tie Your Mother Down" (single version) (May) 3. "I Want It All" (hybrid album/single version) (Queen (May)) 4. "Seven Seas of Rhye" (Freddie Mercury) 5. "I Can't Live with You" (1997 Rocks retake) (Queen (May)) 6. "Hammer to Fall" (album version) (May) 7. "Stone Cold Crazy" (John Deacon, May, Mercury, Roger Taylor) 8. "Now I'm Here" (May) 9. "Fat Bottomed Girls" (album version) (May) 10. "Keep Yourself Alive" (May) 11. "Tear It Up" (May) 12. "One Vision" (album version) (Queen) 13. "Sheer Heart Attack" (Taylor) 14. "I'm in Love with My Car" (hybrid album/single version) (Taylor) 15. 16. 17. 18. "Put Out the Fire" (May) "Headlong" (Queen (May)) "It's Late" (May) "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" (May)
Video version
A video version of the album was made. It included slightly different videos for all these songs. 1. I Want It All (The original video, except for the fact that it uses clips from the 1986 Wembley concert.) 2. We Will Rock You (Uses clips of Queen singing that at Wembley 86, Budapest 86, Montreal 81, Live Aid 85, Japan 79, Hammersmith 79, Houston 77, Buenos Aires 81, Rio 85, Milton Keynes 82, and the original video. Also uses outtakes from the original video.) 3. Keep Yourself Alive (Uses clips from two original 1973 videos, and BBC version with footage from black/white movies.) 4. Fat Bottomed Girls (Lengthened version of original video including never-before-seen footage.) 5. Sheer Heart Attack (Rare video. Video includes clips of Queen performance at the Rainbow 74, Hammersmith 75, Earls Court 76, Houston 77, Hammersmith 79, Buenos Aires 81, Wembley 86, and clips from other Queen videos like Under Pressure and Keep Yourself Alive.) 6. Im In Love With My Car (Rare video. Video includes clips of Queen performing the song at Hammersmith 79, along with shots of zooming cars.) 7. Its Late (Rare video. Video includes clips of Queen performance at the Rainbow 74, Wembley 86, Milton Keynes 82, Hammersmith 75, Buenos Aires 81, Houston 77, Earls Court 76, Japan 79, Rio 85, and clips from other Queen videos like Keep Yourself Alive, Princes of the Universe, Killer Queen, These Are the Days Of Our Lives, and The Miracle.) 8. Tie Your Mother Down: Through the Years (Clips from Japan 85, Wembley 86, Houston 77, Hammersmith 79, Earls Court 77, Budapest 86, Japan 79, and the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.) 9. Seven Seas of Rhye (Slightly modified 1992 DoRo video with footage from Tokyo '75 and Tokyo '85) 10. Put Out the Fire (Performance at Osaka '82 with clips from old black/white movies.) 11. One Vision (extended) (Original video with some never-before-seen footage.) 12. Makings of No-One But You
Queen Rocks
220
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r325812
Greatest hits album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Length Label 8 November 1999 1980 1997 Rock 73:41 Parlophone; Hollywood Records (US) Professional reviews [1] Allmusic link [2] Chester Chronicle (Positive) link (Queen Archives) [3] Classic Rock (Positive) link (Queen Archives) Queen chronology
Remix)"
Released: November, 1998
2. "Under
Released: December, 1999 3. "Princes of the Universe" Released: 2000 (Holland only)
Greatest Hits III Greatest Hits III is a compilation album by English rock band Queen. It is a compilation of latter-day songs, the band members' solo hits and the band's collaborations with other artists (hence the album's credit to "Queen+"). It was released on November 8, 1999. Despite being a greatest hits compilation, the first two tracks actually made a debut on this album (a number of such albums have typically included at least one new track to help drive sales).
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Track listing
No. Title 1. "The Show Must Go On" Writer(s) Queen Note(s) Performed by Queen + Elton John Live from the premiere of Ballet for Life in Paris 1997 Originally from Innuendo Performed by Queen + David Bowie Originally from Hot Space Performed by Freddie Mercury + Montserrat Caball From Barcelona From Made in Heaven Length 4:26
4:08
4:25
4. "Too Much Love Will Kill You (Album Version)" 5. "Somebody to Love"
4:18
Performed by George Michael + Queen Live at Wembley Stadium 1992, from the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert From Five Live Originally from A Day at the Races From Made in Heaven From Made in Heaven
5:07
6. "You Don't Fool Me" 7. "Heaven for Everyone (Single Version)" 8. "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" 9. "Driven by You"
5:22 4:37
May
4:29
May
Performed by Brian May From Back to the Light Performed by Freddie Mercury This version erroneously included, as the 1993 No More Brothers Radio Mix is listed on the compilation's sleeve notes From The Freddie Mercury Album Originally from Mr. Bad Guy From Made in Heaven Performed by Freddie Mercury From The Freddie Mercury Album From A Kind of Magic Featuring Wyclef Jean, Pras & Free Originally from The Game From Queen Rocks
4:09
Mercury
3:37
4:45 3:26
13. "Princes of the Universe" 14. ""Another One Bites The Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)"" 15. "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" 16. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" 17. "Thank God It's Christmas"
3:31 4:20
May
4:11
Queen
From Innuendo
4:22
May, Taylor
4:19
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Peak position Weeks Certification Austria Italy Switzerland Germany Norway 2 2 4 5 5 16 15 28 12 5 5 3 2xPlatinum [4] [4] Platinum Platinum [5] 14 Gold Gold 15 Gold
200.000
300.000
United Kingdom 5[4] Netherlands Sweden New Zealand Japan Finland Argentina United States 8 19 24 25 35 1
600.000 100.000
150.000
223
Compilation album by Queen Released Genre Label April 11, 2006 Rock Hollywood Records Queen chronology
Stone Cold Classics is a compilation album by English rock band Queen released on 11 April 2006, in conjunction with the broadcast of an episode of the U.S. television series American Idol, in which contestants performed songs from the Queen catalogue.
Track listing
1. "Stone Cold Crazy" (Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor) 2. "Tie Your Mother Down" (May) 3. "Fat Bottomed Girls" (May) 4. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon) 5. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Mercury) 6. "We Will Rock You" (May) 7. "We Are the Champions" (Mercury) 8. "Radio Ga Ga" (Taylor) 9. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Mercury) 10. "The Show Must Go On" (Queen (May)) 11. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (Queen (Taylor)) 12. "I Want It All" (Queen (May)) 13. "All Right Now" - performed live by Queen + Paul Rodgers 14. "Feel Like Makin' Love" - performed live by Queen + Paul Rodgers
224
Greatest hits album by Queen Released Genre Length Label July 10, 2007 Rock 42:55 Hollywood Records Queen chronology
The AZ of Queen, Volume 1 is a compilation album by the English rock band Queen, released in 2007. The album is a 2-disc set available only from Wal-Mart and Amazon.com that features an audio CD and video DVD with music videos and live performances. Some of the video performances feature Paul Rodgers playing with Brian May and Roger Taylor as Queen + Paul Rodgers in 2005. To date no further volumes have been released.
CD track listing
1. "A Kind of Magic" (Roger Taylor) 2. "Another One Bites the Dust" (John Deacon) 3. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Freddie Mercury) 4. "Bicycle Race" (Mercury) 5. "I Want It All" (Single Version) (Queen(Brian May)) 6. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Mercury) 7. "Don't Stop Me Now" (Mercury) 8. "Fat Bottomed Girls" (Single Version) (May) 9. "Flash" (Single Version) (May) 10. "Innuendo" (Queen) 11. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" (Mercury)
225
Absolute Greatest
226
Absolute Greatest
Absolute Greatest
Greatest hits album by Queen Released 11 November 2009 (Japan) 13 November 2009 (Germany, Austria) 16 November 2009 (Europe) 17 November 2009 (US) 19731995 Rock 79:29 Parlophone (UK) Hollywood Records (US) various Professional reviews Allmusic Classic Rock Q [1] link [2] link (brianmay.com) [3] link (queenonline.com)
Producer
Queen chronology
Absolute Greatest is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen. The album features 20 of their most famous hits throughout their career on one CD for the very first time and is available in several formats, including the single CD edition, a 2 CD special edition featuring audio commentaries by Brian May and Roger Taylor, a 52 page hardback book with the 2 CDs, digital download, and an LP edition box set. Each track has been remastered from the original tapes.[4] A promotion running on the band's official website, Queen Online, gave fans the opportunity to guess the placings of the tracks on the album and win a prize if their answer was correct (a new track was revealed daily). The prize
227
Track listing
No. Title 1. "We Will Rock You" 2. "We Are the Champions" 3. "Radio Ga Ga" 4. "Another One Bites the Dust" 5. "I Want It All" (Single Version) 6. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 7. "A Kind of Magic" 8. "Under Pressure" 9. "One Vision" (Single Version) 10. "You're My Best Friend" 11. "Don't Stop Me Now" 12. "Killer Queen" 13. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" Writer(s) Brian May Freddie Mercury Roger Taylor John Deacon Queen (May) Mercury Taylor Queen, David Bowie Queen Deacon Mercury Mercury Queen (Taylor) Length 2:02 3:01 5:48 3:34 4:00 2:44 4:22 4:06 3:58 2:52 3:31 2:58 4:16 4:55 2:44 4:37 4:48 4:22 4:27 5:56
14. "Who Wants to Live Forever" ('Greatest Hits II' Edit) May 15. "Seven Seas of Rhye" 16. "Heaven for Everyone" (Single Version) 17. "Somebody to Love" 18. "I Want to Break Free" (Single Version) 19. "The Show Must Go On" 20. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Mercury Taylor Mercury Deacon Queen Mercury
Freddie Mercury London / Earls Court Mercury Mercury Mercury May May Mercury Roger Taylor May May London / Earls Court Houston / The Summit Houston / The Summit Paris / Pavillon de Paris Tokyo / Nippon Budokan Tokyo / Nippon Budokan
London / Hammersmith Odeon 1979 London / Hammersmith Odeon 1979 Montreal / Montreal Forum 1981
Absolute Greatest
228
12. "Somebody to Love" 13. "Tie Your Mother Down" 14. "Love of My Life" 15. "One Vision" Mercury May Mercury Queen Milton Keynes / National Bowl 1982 Rio de Janeiro (Rock in Rio) Rio de Janeiro (Rock in Rio) London / Wembley Stadium London / Wembley Stadium London / Wembley Stadium Budapest / Npstadion 1985 1985 1986 1986 1986 1986
16. "In the Lap of the Gods" (revisited) Mercury 17. "We Are the Champions" 18. "We Will Rock You" Mercury May
Charts
Chart (2009) Peak position 3 (Platinum x 2) 4 5 (Platinum) 5 6 6 (Platinum) [8] 6 6 9 [8] 10 14 15 15 15 18 20 21 22 22 23 23 27 33 37
New Zealand Album Charts Norway Album Charts Ireland Album Charts Austria Album Charts [8]
Canada Hard Rock Album Charts [8] Belgium (Flanders) Album Charts Croatia Album Charts [8] Switzerland Album Charts Australia Album Charts [8] Spain Album Charts Italy Album Charts [8] Belgium (Wallonia) Album Charts Mexico Album Charts [8] [8]
Czech Republic Album Charts Germany Album Charts Finland Albums Chart [10] .
[11]
Absolute Greatest
229
USA Album Charts 195
Personnel
John Deacon bass, piano, guitar, keyboard Brian May guitar, backing vocals, keyboard, lead vocals on "I Want It All" and "Who Wants to Live Forever" Freddie Mercury lead vocals, backing vocals, piano, guitar, keyboard Roger Taylor drums, percussion, keyboard,electronic drums, backing vocals
Guest musicians: David Bowie on "Under Pressure" Fred Mandel on "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free" National Philharmonic Orchestra and Michael Kamen on "Who Wants to Live Forever"
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ absolute-greatest-r1660992 http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ newspix/ 09/ Classic_Rock-Absolute_Greatest_review_0110. jpg http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ news/ 1547 Press Release: Absolute Greatest (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ news/ 1439). Queen online, 3 September 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010. Tracklisting Competition (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ tracklistcomp). Queen online. Retrieved 1 January 2010. everyhit.com UK Top 40 Hit Database (http:/ / www. everyhit. com). Retrieved 1 January 2010. British Phonographic Industry (BPI): Certified Awards Search (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ certifiedawards/ search. aspx). Retrieved 27 April 2011. [8] portuguesecharts.com. Queen Absolute Greatest (http:/ / portuguesecharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Absolute+ Greatest& cat=a). Retrieved 9 January 2010. [9] Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan (http:/ / www. sverigetopplistan. se/ ) [10] musicline.de: Absolute Greatest (http:/ / www. musicline. de/ de/ chartverfolgung_summary/ title/ Queen/ Absolute+ Greatest-LTD/ longplay). Retrieved 8 January 2010. [11] Suomen virallinen lista (http:/ / ylex. yle. fi/ lista/ tuote?id=9747) [12] OLIS Oficjalna lista sprzedazy (Official Retail Sales Chart), 28 December 2009 (http:/ / olis. onyx. pl/ listy/ index. asp?lang=pl). Retrieved 1 January 2010.
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Greatest hits album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Label Producer 14 March 2011 19731976 Rock Universal Music various Queen chronology
Deep Cuts, Volume I (19731976) is a compilation of Queen tracks between 1973 and 1976. Unlike many other compilations released by Queen, Deep Cuts contains songs which are largely not as well known as Queen's Hits. The album was released on March 14, 2011 as part of Queen's 40th Anniversary. Deep Cuts Volume 1 was released at the same time Queen's first five albums (Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races) were re-released. The songs picked were all personal favourite songs that weren't hits selected by Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Taylor Hawkins (the drummer for The Foo Fighters)
231
Track listing
1. Ogre Battle 2. Stone Cold Crazy 3. My Fairy King 4. I'm in Love with my Car 5. Keep Yourself Alive 6. Long Away 7. The Millionaire Waltz 8. '39 9. Tenement Funster 10. Flick of the Wrist 11. Lily of the Valley 12. Good Company 13. The March of the Black Queen 14. In the Lap of the Gods.....Revisited
232
Box sets
The Complete Works
The Complete Works
Box set by Queen Released Genre 1985 (UK) Hard rock Progressive rock Glam rock Pop rock Heavy metal EMI Records (UK) Queen chronology
Label
The Complete Works is a boxed set issued by the rock band Queen in 1985. It contained all of the band's original studio albums, live album and non-album tracks to that point. It was available in vinyl and cassette formats.
History
Following the 1985 Live Aid concert, Queen found themselves in a creative period. While spending only 20+ minutes onstage before the whole world, some felt that Queen had stolen the show. In the wake of this unexpected turn, Mercury called on the other band members, to go into the studio and record a song together. Until this point, all but a handful of songs were written by the individual members (and occasional duo-songwriting credits): "Stone Cold Crazy", "Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) and "Soul Brother". The result of this enthusiastic session was "One Vision" and its remixed B-side "Blurred Vision" being released as a single worldwide.
The Complete Works On December 2, Parlophone Records released what was then the definitive Queen boxed set: all of Queen's 11 original studio albums, their live album "Live Killers", and an extra disc titled "Complete Vision", which contained all the non-album A-sides and B-sides to that point. The band signed only 600 copies (on the "Complete Vision" sleeve), which have now become collectors' items. This was a 14 LP box; and in addition, the box featured two books, the first with all the albums' artwork, lyrics and pictures; the other had a color world map showing where Queen played and charted, and a world tour itinerary up to that time, showing a list of equipment they carried with them. Each album was digitally remastered and resleeved in white with an embossed Crest and gold Roman numerals. As far as boxed sets go, this one was quite comprehensive. Missing from the box (if "missing" is the right word to use), would be their 1981 "Greatest Hits" album, and the few versions and edits released as singles worldwide. Queen has released four studio albums after The Complete Works; A Kind of Magic (1986), The Miracle (1989), Innuendo (1991) and Made in Heaven (1995).
233
Album listing
1. "Queen" (1973) 2. "Queen II" (1974) 3. "Sheer Heart Attack" (1974) 4. "A Night at the Opera" (1975) 5. "A Day at the Races" (1976) 6. "News of the World" (1977) 7. "Jazz" (1978) 8. "Live Killers Vol. 1" (1979) 9. "Live Killers Vol. 2" 10. "The Game" (1980) 11. "Flash Gordon" (1980) 12. "Hot Space" (1982) 13. "The Works" (1984) 14. "Complete Vision" (additional LP)
Complete Vision
Bonus LP that came with the "Complete Works" boxed set in 1985 and tidied up the non-album A-sides and B-sides at the time. Oddly, both 33rpm and 45rpm versions of the album exist.
Box of Tricks
234
Box of Tricks
The 12" Collection
Box set by Queen Released Recorded Genre Label Producer 1992 Various locations, various years Rock Parlophone Queen, David Richards, Reinhold Mack
Box Of Tricks is a compilation box set by Queen which was sold in England in 1992 for 50.
Contents
The 12" Collection PAL video tape of Queen - Live at the Rainbow Album and single covers poster A sew-on cloth Queen patch A metal Queen pin A soft cover photo book, 32 pages A Queen T-Shirt
Ultimate Queen
235
Ultimate Queen
Ultimate Queen
Box set by Queen Released Genre 1995 (UK) Hard rock Progressive rock Glam rock Pop rock Heavy metal EMI (UK) Queen Queen chronology
Label Producer
Ultimate Queen is a boxed collection by the English rock band Queen. It contains all of their albums, in litho-printed disc form, from 1973 to 1995 (excluding Greatest Hits, Greatest Hits II and Queen at the Beeb).
Box contents
Queen Queen II Sheer Heart Attack A Night at the Opera A Day at the Races News of the World Jazz Live Killers The Game Flash Gordon Hot Space The Works A Kind of Magic Live Magic The Miracle Innuendo Live at Wembley '86 Made in Heaven
236
Box set by Queen Released Recorded Genre Label November 24, 1998 1973 - 1980 Rock Hollywood Queen chronology
The Crown Jewels is a box set by Queen which comprises their first eight studio albums; Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, News of the World, Jazz and The Game; in sleeves replicating the original vinyl packaging. The last three albums in the set, (News of the World, Jazz and The Game) all have modified packaging with alternative covers. A lyric booklet is also included. All the albums have been remastered. The box set marks the 25th anniversary of the group's existence dated to the release of their first album.
237
Box set by Queen Released November 13, 2000 (UK) September 24, 2002 (US) 1973 - 1999 Rock, progressive rock, hard rock, Heavy metal, pop rock 208:12 Parlophone (UK) Hollywood Records (US) Professional reviews Allmusic Queen chronology link [1]
The Platinum Collection is a box set by Queen which comprises their three greatest hits albums, Greatest Hits, Greatest Hits II and Greatest Hits III. A booklet with song facts and images is also included with the three CD set. The album's US release was delayed until September 2002 and featured the 2001 Japanese release remastered versions of Greatest Hits Volumes 1 and 2 on the US and Canadian versions of The Platinum Collection. The album peaked at #2 in the UK charts, being blocked off the top spot by Moby's album 18. It is the highest charting box set in U.S. history.[2]
Track listing
238
Disc one: Greatest Hits (1981 UK version) No. Title 1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" 2. "Another One Bites the Dust" 3. "Killer Queen" 4. "Fat Bottomed Girls" 5. "Bicycle Race" 6. "You're My Best Friend" 7. "Don't Stop Me Now" 8. "Save Me" 9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 10. "Somebody to Love" 11. "Now I'm Here" Writer(s) Original album Length 5:55 3:36 2:57 3:15 3:01 2:52 3:29 3:48 2:42 4:56 4:10 2:54 3:33 2:48 2:47 2:01 2:59
Freddie Mercury A Night at the Opera John Deacon Mercury Brian May Mercury Deacon Mercury May Mercury Mercury May The Game Sheer Heart Attack Jazz Jazz A Night at the Opera Jazz The Game The Game A Day at the Races Sheer Heart Attack A Day at the Races The Game Flash Gordon Queen II News of the World News of the World
12. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" Mercury 13. "Play the Game" 14. "Flash" 15. "Seven Seas of Rhye" 16. "We Will Rock You" 17. "We Are the Champions" Mercury May Mercury May Mercury
Disc two: Greatest Hits II (1991) No. Title 1. "A Kind of Magic" Writer(s) Roger Taylor Original album Length A Kind of Magic 4:22 3:56 5:43 4:01 4:18 6:27 4:09 4:09 4:57 4:33 4:54 4:07 3:58 3:40 4:07 4:23 4:02
2. "Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) Queen, David Bowie Hot Space 3. "Radio Ga Ga" 4. "I Want It All" 5. "I Want to Break Free" 6. "Innuendo" 7. "It's a Hard Life" 8. "Breakthru" 9. "Who Wants to Live Forever" 10. "Headlong" 11. "The Miracle" 12. "I'm Going Slightly Mad" 13. "The Invisible Man" 14. "Hammer to Fall" 15. "Friends Will Be Friends" 16. "The Show Must Go On" 17. "One Vision" Taylor Queen Deacon Queen Mercury Queen May Queen Queen Queen Queen May Mercury, Deacon Queen Queen The Works The Miracle The Works Innuendo The Works The Miracle A Kind of Magic Innuendo The Miracle Innuendo The Miracle The Works A Kind of Magic Innuendo A Kind of Magic
239
Disc three: Greatest Hits III (1999) No. Title 1. "The Show Must Go On" (live at Thtre National de Chaillot in Paris with Elton John) 2. "Under Pressure" (with David Bowie; rah mix) 3. "Barcelona" (performed by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caball) 4. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" Writer(s) Queen Original album Length 4:35
Queen, Bowie Mercury, Mike Moran May, Frank Musker, Elizabeth Lamers Mercury Queen Taylor May May Mercury Queen Buck Ram Barcelona Made in Heaven
5. "Somebody to Love" (live at Wembley Stadium with George Michael) 6. "You Don't Fool Me" 7. "Heaven for Everyone" 8. "Las Palabras de Amor" 9. "Driven by You" (performed by Brian May) 10. "Living on My Own" (performed by Freddie Mercury) 11. "Let Me Live" 12. "The Great Pretender" (The Platters cover)
Five Live (EP) Made in Heaven Made in Heaven Hot Space Back to the Light Mr. Bad Guy Made in Heaven The Freddie Mercury Album A Kind of Magic Small Soldiers
13. "Princes of the Universe" 14. "Another One Bites the Dust" (with additional vocals from Wyclef Jean) 15. "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" 16. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" 17. "Thank God It's Christmas"
Mercury Deacon
3:31 4:20
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r553148/ review [2] Queen honoured with Hollywood star (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ entertainment/ 2339131. stm), BBC, 2002-10-18,
240
Compilation album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Label Producer December 1, 2008 1971-1978 Rock Parlophone/EMI John Anthony Roy Thomas Baker Queen Robin Geoffrey Cable Mike Stone Queen chronology
The Singles Collection, Volume 1 is a limited edition CD series compilation box set by the English rock band Queen, released in 2008. The box set contains remastered versions of the first 13 worldwide top-40 charting singles released by Queen, including b-sides.
241
Track listing
Disc 1 1. "Keep Yourself Alive" 2. "Son and Daughter" Disc 2 1. "Seven Seas of Rhye" 2. "See What A Fool I've Been" Disc 3 1. "Killer Queen" 2. "Flick of the Wrist" Disc 4 1. "Now I'm Here" 2. "Lily of the Valley" Disc 5 1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" 2. "I'm in Love with My Car" Disc 6 1. "You're My Best Friend" 2. "'39" Disc 7 1. "Somebody to Love" 2. "White Man" Disc 8 1. "Tie Your Mother Down" 2. "You and I" Disc 9 1. 2. 3. 4. "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated To...)" "Tenement Funster" "White Queen (As It Began)"
Disc 10 1. "We Are the Champions" 2. "We Will Rock You" Disc 11 1. "Spread Your Wings" 2. "Sheer Heart Attack" Disc 12 1. "Bicycle Race" 2. "Fat Bottomed Girls" Disc 13 1. "Don't Stop Me Now" 2. "In Only Seven Days"
242
External links
Album Website [1]
References
[1] http:/ / www. queensinglesbox. com
243
Compilation album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Label Producer June 15, 2009 1979-1984 Rock Parlophone/EMI Queen Mack Arif Mardin David Bowie Queen chronology
The Singles Collection, Volume 2 is a limited edition CD series compilation box set by the English rock band Queen, released in 2009. The box set contains remastered versions of the next thirteen top-40 charting singles released by Queen that appear subsequent to those in the first volume. The collection is notable for containing tracks that have never before been officially released on CD, namely A Human Body (previously only available as a 7" vinyl b-side) and Back Chat (which was remixed for single release, and has only ever been available on the original 7"). The live tracks are taken from Queen's Live Killers album.
244
Track listing
Disc 1 1. "Love of My Life" (Live) 2. "Now I'm Here" (Live) Disc 2 1. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 2. "We Will Rock You" (Live) Disc 3 1. "Save Me" 2. "Let Me Entertain You" (Live) Disc 4 1. "Play the Game" 2. "A Human Body" Disc 5 1. "Another One Bites the Dust" 2. "Dragon Attack" Disc 6 1. "Flash Theme" 2. "Football Fight" Disc 7 1. "Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) 2. "Soul Brother" Disc 8 1. "Body Language" 2. "Life Is Real" Disc 9 1. "Las Palabras de Amor" 2. "Cool Cat" Disc 10 1. "Calling All Girls" 2. "Put Out the Fire" Disc 11 1. "Back Chat" (single remix) 2. "Staying Power" Disc 12 1. "Radio Ga Ga" 2. "I Go Crazy" Disc 13 1. "I Want to Break Free" 2. "Machines (or Back To Humans)"
245
External links
Album Website [1]
Compilation album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Label Producer May 31, 2010 1984-1989 Rock Parlophone/EMI Queen Mack David Richards Queen chronology
The Singles Collection, Volume 3 is a limited edition CD series compilation box set by the English rock band Queen, the third of four sets. The box set contains remastered versions of the next thirteen top-40 charting singles released by Queen that appear subsequent to those in Queen: The Singles Collection Volume 2.[1] The set marks the first time that Blurred Vision and the single mix of Pain Is So Close To Pleasure have been made available on CD.
246
Track listing
Disc 1 1. "It's A Hard Life" 2. "Is This The World We Created...?" Disc 2 1. "Hammer To Fall" (Single Version) 2. "Tear It Up" Disc 3 1. "Thank God It's Christmas" 2. "Man On The Prowl" 3. "Keep Passing The Open Windows" Disc 4 1. "One Vision" (Single Version) 2. "Blurred Vision" Disc 5 1. "A Kind Of Magic" 2. "A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling" Disc 6 1. "Friends Will Be Friends" 2. "Princes Of The Universe" Disc 7 1. "Pain Is So Close To Pleasure" (Single Remix) 2. "Don't Lose Your Head" Disc 8 1. "Who Wants To Live Forever" (Single Version) 2. "Forever" Disc 9 1. "One Year Of Love" 2. "Gimme The Prize" Disc 10 1. "I Want It All" (Single Version) 2. "Hang On In There" Disc 11 1. "Breakthru" 2. "Stealin'" Disc 12 1. "The Invisible Man" 2. "Hijack My Heart" Disc 13 1. "Scandal" 2. "My Life Has Been Saved"
247
References
[1] http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ news/ 1651
Compilation album by Queen Released Recorded Genre Label Producer October 18, 2010 1989-1999 Rock Parlophone/EMI Queen David Richards Queen chronology
The Singles Collection, Volume 4 is a limited edition CD series compilation box set by the English rock band Queen, the fourth and last set in the collection. The box set contains remastered versions of the next thirteen top-40 charting singles released by Queen that appear subsequent to those in The Singles Collection Volume 3,[1] excluding the Five Live EP and the Small Soldiers Remix of "Another One Bites The Dust", the latter of which was not released by EMI/Parlophone. It contains the material released from the years 1989 - 1999, and covers the albums The Miracle, Innuendo, Made In Heaven, Queen Rocks and Greatest Hits III. This was the band's final release on EMI/Parlophone before their back catalogue was re-issued on Universal's Island label in 2011.
248
Track listing
Disc 1 1. "The Miracle" 2. "Stone Cold Crazy" (Live At The Rainbow '74) Disc 2 1. "Innuendo" 2. "Bijou" Disc 3 1. "I'm Going Slightly Mad" 2. "The Hitman" Disc 4 1. "Headlong" (Single Version) 2. "All God's People" Disc 5 1. "The Show Must Go On" 2. "Queen Talks" Disc 6 1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" 2. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" Disc 7 1. "Heaven for Everyone" (Single Version) 2. "It's A Beautiful Day" (Single Version) Disc 8 1. "A Winter's Tale" 2. "Rock In Rio Blues" (UK Single Version) Disc 9 1. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" 2. "I Was Born to Love You" Disc 10 1. "Let Me Live" 2. "We Will Rock You" (Live At Wembley '86) 3. "We Are the Champions" (Live At Wembley '86) Disc 11 1. "You Don't Fool Me" (Edit) 2. "You Don't Fool Me" (Album Version) Disc 12 1. "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" 2. "We Will Rock You (The Rick Rubin 'Ruined' Remix)" 3. "Gimme The Prize (Instrumental Remix for 'The eYe')" Disc 13 1. "Under Pressure" (Rah Mix) (Radio Edit) 2. "Under Pressure" (Mike Spencer Remix)
249
References
[1] http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ news/ 1817/
250
Singles
"Keep Yourself Alive"
"Keep Yourself Alive"
Singleby Queen from the album Queen B-side Released Format "Son and Daughter" 6 July 1973 7"
Recorded 19721973 at Trident and De Lane Lea Studios in London Genre Length Label Rock 3:45 EMI, Elektra
Writer(s) Brian May Producer John Anthony, Roy Thomas Baker, Queen Queen singles chronology
"Liar" (1974)
"Keep Yourself Alive" is a song by English rock group Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, it is the opening track on the band's debut album Queen (1973). It was released as Queen's first single along with "Son and Daughter" as the B-side. "Keep Yourself Alive" was largely ignored upon its release; it failed to chart on either side of the Atlantic.
251
Live performances
The newly-formed Queen quickly added "Keep Yourself Alive" to their live set. Mercury commented that the song "was a very good way of telling people what Queen was about in those days" (RAM, 21 May 1976, p 17). Indeed, the number included a drum solo by Roger Taylor and one line sung/spoken by him. "Keep Yourself Alive" was part of the band's live set until the early 1980s. On the 1980 and 1981 tours, the band would play an improvisational jam before the start of the song then after the drum solo, it would morph into Taylor's tympani drum solo followed by May's echo-plexed guitar solo spot before either segueing into the "Brighton Rock" finale or a drum and guitar climax or segued into a Flash Gordon medley (which consisted of "Battle Theme"/"Flash's Theme"/"The Hero"). The band would not play it again until 1984 on The Works tour as part of a medley of old songs (with "Somebody to Love", "Killer Queen", "Seven Seas of Rhye", and "Liar").
In live performances, Mercury would often sing the line "all you people keep yourself alive" (which is sung only two times in the studio version) in place of the more-repeated line "it'll take you all your time and a money honey you'll survive".
Brian May, writer of "Keep Yourself Alive", performing live with his Red Special guitar in 1978
252
Track listing
7" (1973 UK release) 1. "Keep Yourself Alive" (Brian May) 3:47 2. "Son and Daughter" (May) 3:21 7" (1975 US reissue) 1. "Keep Yourself Alive" (May) 3:47 2. "Lily Of The Valley" (Freddie Mercury) 1:43 3. "God Save The Queen" (trad., arr. by May) 1:11
253
References
Hodkinson, Mark. Queen: The Early Years. Omnibus Press (2004). 3rd edition. ISBN 1844490122.
Notes
[1] Hodkinson, p. 122. [2] " QOL HistoryQueen (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ history/ 13/ )". QueenOnline. Retrieved on 29 June 2009. [3] Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Keep Yourself Alive" song review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ song/ t2372330). Allmusic. Retrieved on 29 June 2009. [4] Hodkinson, p. 158 [5] "Queen: 'Keep Yourself Alive' (EMI)". New Musical Express. 14 July 1973. [6] "Queen: 'Keep Yourself Alive' (EMI)". Melody Maker. 21 July 1973. [7] "Queen: 'Keep Yourself Alive' (EMI 2036)". Disc. 21 July 1973. [8] "'Keep Yourself Alive'/'Son and Daughter'Queen (EMI)". South Yorkshire Times. 27 July 1973. [9] Fletcher, Gordon. " Queen review (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ albums/ album/ 199416/ review/ 5942941/ queen)". Rolling Stone. 6 December 1973. Retrieved on 2 August 2009. [10] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. " Queen review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r687293)". Allmusic. Retrieved on 2 August 2009. [11] " The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time: 31. 'Keep Yourself Alive' (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ news/ coverstory/ 20947527/ page/ 15)". Rolling Stone. 12 June 2008. Retrieved on 3 October 2009.
External links
Official music video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JofwEB9g1zg) at YouTube "Keep Yourself Alive" (http://www.queenpedia.com/index.php?title=Keep_Yourself_Alive) at Queenpedia
"Liar"
254
"Liar"
"Liar"
Singleby Queen from the album Queen B-side Released Format "Doing All Right" 14 February 1974 7"
Recorded 1971 1972 at Trident and De Lane Lea Studios Genre Length Heavy metal 6:26 (album version) 3:01 (single edit) Elektra
Label
Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Producer John Anthony, Roy Thomas Baker, Queen Queen singles chronology
"Liar" (1974)
"Liar" is a song by British rock group Queen. Written by singer Freddie Mercury in 1970, originally titled "Lover". The song featured on the band's 1973 debut album Queen. An edited version of "Liar" was released as a singlebacked with "Doing All Right"in the United States by Elektra Records in February 1974. In the earlier years of Queen, this song was regarded as one of their most impressive live performances, often going over eight minutes long. However, over time the song eventually fell off the setlist, with the exception of The Works Tour (though the song was cut down to three minutes or less). At Wembley, right before "Tear It Up," the beginning of the "Liar" guitar riff is played by Brian May. During live performances, it was one of the few songs where bass player John Deacon sang backing vocals at all. This was done during the part where the band sings "all day long." He mimics the promotional video for the song, where he stands behind Freddie and sings into his microphone. Also, this song contains a bass solo performed by
"Liar" John Deacon. As confirmed by the transcription on EMI Music Publishing's Off The Record sheet music for the song, this is one of three Queen tracks, the others being "Now I'm Here" and "Under Pressure" (their collaboration with David Bowie), to feature a Hammond organ. Interestingly, this song brought up the issue of song writing credits within the band. Brian May queried which band members would be credited for developing the music for each song, to which Freddie Mercury concluded the discussion, stating that the lyricist has basically written the song.
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Track listing
7" single (Royal Sound TKR 157) 1. "Liar" (single edit) (Freddie Mercury) 3:01 2. "Doing All Right" (Brian May, Tim Staffell) 4:09 7" single (Elektra E-45884)[1] 1. "Liar" (Freddie Mercury) 2. "Liar"
Notes
[1] "QUEEN - LIAR (SONG)" (http:/ / australian-charts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Liar& cat=s). australian-charts.com. . Retrieved 2010-03-13.
External links
"Liar" (http://www.queenpedia.com/index.php?title=Liar_(Queen_song)) at Queenpedia "Liar" song review (http://www.allmusic.com/song/t3181257) at Allmusic
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Singleby Queen from the album Queen II B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length See What A Fool I've Been 23 February 1974 7" August 1973 at Trident Studios Hard rock Label Writer(s) Producer 2:47 (Queen II) 1:15 (Queen - instrumental)
EMI (UK), Elektra (US) Freddie Mercury Roy Thomas Baker, Queen Queen singles chronology
"Liar" (1974)
"Seven Seas of Rhye" is a song by British rock group Queen. Written by Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, it is the final track on both the group's debut album Queen (1973) and its follow-up Queen II (1974). However, only a less-developed instrumental version was featured on the former. The completed version served as the band's second single, the earliest-released song to appear on their Greatest Hits album, with the exception of some versions where their first single, "Keep Yourself Alive", is included. After the band performed it on Top of the Pops it became their first hit, peaking at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The song became a live favourite throughout Queen's existence. It features a distinctive arpeggiated piano introduction. The piano runs are sampled in "It's a Beautiful Day (reprise)", on the album Made In Heaven.[1]
"Seven Seas of Rye" The version on Queen II ends with a cross fade, instruments blending into several people singing "I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside". Its inclusion here on the final track of Queen II is briefly mirrored in the first few seconds of "Brighton Rock", which opens their next album, Sheer Heart Attack. In a 1977 radio interview, Freddie Mercury described the subject of the song as a "figment of his imagination." In the Queen musical We Will Rock You, the Seven Seas of Rhye is a place where the Bohemians are taken after they are brainstormed by Khashoggi.
257
References
[1] M. Felsani, M. Primi, M. Saita, Queen. Tutti i testi con traduzione a fronte edited (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=80i-yJVN2TwC& pg=PA61),
External links
Queenpedia (http://queenpedia.com/index.php?title=Seven_Seas_Of_Rhye_(single)) - detailed worldwide release information "Seven Seas of Rhye" Song Review (http://www.allmusic.com/song/t1181344) at Allmusic "Queen II videos, detailed description" (http://www.btinternet.com/~darren.robins/queen_thevideos/ videos_queen2.htm)
"Killer Queen"
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"Killer Queen"
"Killer Queen"
Singleby Queen from the album Sheer Heart Attack A-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Flick of the Wrist" 21 October 1974 Vinyl (7") 1974 Rock 2:59 EMI (UK), Elektra (US) Freddie Mercury Roy Thomas Baker, Queen Queen singles chronology
"Killer Queen" is a song by British rock band Queen. Written by pianist and lead singer Freddie Mercury, it featured on their 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. When released as a single, "Killer Queen" was Queen's breakthrough hit, reaching number two in the UK and number 12 in the United States. It was released as an AA-side in the UK, the US and Canada, with the song "Flick of the Wrist", which failed to chart. In 1986, it was featured as the B-side to "Who Wants to Live Forever". Mercury commented that he wrote the lyrics first before adding the musical arrangements. The recording features elaborate four-part harmonies (particularly in the choruses, and also providing backing parts in the verses), and also an elaborate multitracked guitar solo by Brian May, including use of the "bell effect". The song, in the first line, mentions the phrase "Let them eat cake", a phrase said to be quoted by Marie Antoinette:
"Killer Queen"
259
Recording sessions
Let them eat cake, she said; Just like Marie Antoinette
Besides using a grand piano as usual, Mercury overdubbed the song with an upright (credited as "jangle piano"), to give the track a vaudeville sound. At one point there are two bass guitars, one of which does a descending run. Contrary to songs for the first two Queen albums, this one was partly recorded outside England, at Rockfield Studios in Wales.
People are used to hard rock, energy music from Queen, yet with this single you almost expect Noel Coward to sing it. It's one of those bowler hat, black suspender belt numbers not that Coward would wear that. (...) It's about a high class call girl. I'm trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. That's what the song is about, though I'd prefer people to put their interpretation upon it to read into it what they like.
Brian May:
'Killer Queen' was the turning point. It was the song that best summed up our kind of music, and a big hit, and we desperately needed it as a mark of something successful happening for us... I was always very happy with this song. The whole record was made in a very craftsman-like manner. I still enjoy listening to it because there's a lot to listen to, but it never gets cluttered. There's always space for all the little ideas to come through. And of course I like the solo, with that three-part section, where each part has its own voice. What can I say? It's vintage Queen. The first time I heard Freddie playing that song, I was lying in my room in Rockfield [a residential recording studio in Wales], feeling very sick. After Queen's first American tour I had hepatitis, and then I had very bad stomach problems and I had to be operated on. So I remember just lying there, hearing Freddie play this really great song and feeling sad, because I thought, 'I can't even get out of bed to participate in this. Maybe the group will have to go on without me.' No one could figure out what was wrong with me. But then I did go into the hospital and I got fixed up, thank God. And when I came out again, we were able to finish off 'Killer Queen.' They left some space for me and I did the solo. I had strong feelings about one of the harmony bits in the chorus, so we had another go at that too.
Live performances
The song was played from 197478 live in a medley. In 1974, the song was played following "In the Lap of the Gods", and in 197576, the song was played after "Bohemian Rhapsody". In 1977, the song was played as the introduction to a medley, followed by "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy", and in 1978, preceded "Bicycle Race". In 1979, the band played most of the song, and after the guitar solo ended, the opening bars of "I'm in Love With My Car" were played. This form was kept until 1982, when it was removed from the setlist. In 1984 and 1985, during The Works Tour, it was reintroduced in a medley following a truncated version of "Somebody to Love". The song would not make it past the Magic Tour cutting room floor.
"Killer Queen"
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In popular culture
Killer Queen [2] is the name of the longest running Queen tribute band.[3] They considered the song title to be the perfect choice for a band celebrating Queen's legacy. Cover version is featured in the 2005 music video game Guitar Hero. Master recording is featured in the 2009 music video game Guitar Hero Smash Hits. Master recording is downloadable content for 2009 music video game Guitar Hero 5. Master recording is downloadable content for some installments of Rock Band series. In the manga Jojo's Bizarre Adventure the main antagonist of part 4 Yoshikage Kira's stand is named Killer Queen.
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead vocal, piano, jangle piano, backing vocals Brian May: electric guitar, backing vocals John Deacon: bass guitar, backing vocals (on stage only), triangle (on stage only) Roger Taylor: drums, backing vocals, triangle, chimes, and Falsetto
References
[1] NME, 2 November 1974 (Queen Archives) (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-02-1974_-_NME) [2] http:/ / www. killerqueen. com [3] (http:/ / www. iomtoday. co. im/ Register. aspx?ReturnURL=http:/ / www. iomtoday. co. im/ what-where-when/ Killer-Queen-to-play-at. 4367925. jp)
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Singleby Queen from the album Sheer Heart Attack A-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Killer Queen" 21 October 1974 Vinyl record (7") 1974 Rock 3:17 EMI (UK), Elektra (US) Freddie Mercury Roy Thomas Baker, Queen Queen singles chronology
"Flick of the Wrist" is a song by English rock band Queen, released as a Double A-side with "Killer Queen" in the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, the US and most other territories. It was written by frontman Freddie Mercury for the album Sheer Heart Attack.
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Background
Freddie Mercury never went on record as to whether the unpleasant character in the song is based on anyone in particular, though then-current manager Norman Sheffield may be one inspiration. The song includes Freddie Mercury singing octave vocals. When Brian May returned to work having recovered from his hepatitis, he had not heard the song before he recorded his guitar and backing vocals.
Album version
As it appears on the album, "Flick Of The Wrist" is the middle song of a three-track series of songs which seamlessly overlap, segueing from one to the other: "Tenement Funster" to "Flick Of The Wrist" to "Lily Of The Valley". Each song was recorded separately and later mixed together to form the unbroken stretch of music. Because of this structure, the record company had to select points to separate each track on CD re-issues of the album. "Flick Of The Wrist," in this way, starts with the crescendo ending of "Tenement Funster" and ends abruptly before the last line of the song "...baby, you've been had." This last lyric appears at the beginning of the next CD track, "Lily Of The Valley". The original, non-segued master recordings of "Tenement Funster," "Flick Of The Wrist" and "Lily Of the Valley" were used for some singles' flip-sides, such the Japanese 3-inch CD single re-issue of Queen's first EP ("Tenement Funster"), the Dutch AA-side version of "Flick Of The Wrist" (see below) and the 1975 US-only re-issue of "Keep Yourself Alive" ("Lily Of The Valley").
Single versions
All the single versions and edits are from the original album recording. The Dutch AA-side version features the complete song without the seguing, overlapping sections from "Tenement Funster" and "Lily Of The Valley".[1] The UK AA-side version features almost the same complete version as the Dutch version, but with a few notes edited at the beginning. This version also features on the 1991 Japanese 3-inch CD single of "Killer Queen"/"Flick Of The Wrist." The US AA-side version (the same as issued in Canada) has a much more pronounced edit at the beginning, with the first 18 seconds of the song absent. It ends with a fade-out over the segue into "Lily Of The Valley," where the latter's opening piano is heard.[1] The UK's 1987 3-inch CD single re-issue starts with the crescendo segue which ends "Tenement Funster." It ends with a fade-out before the song is properly over, missing the last line "Baby, you've been had."
BBC Version
On October 16, 1974, Queen recorded a BBC session at Maida Vale 4 Studios in London, England. One of the songs recorded was "Flick Of The Wrist". This performance features parts of the original album backing track with new vocals by Freddie Mercury and a new guitar solo by Brian May.
Cover versions
Dream Theater covered the entire three-song arc ("Tenement Funster," "Flick Of The Wrist" and "Lily Of The Valley") for their album Black Clouds & Silver Linings and it appears on the Special Edition.
263
References
[1] "Queen Vault: Sheer Heart Attack page" (http:/ / www. queenvault. com/ sheerheartattack. html). .
Singleby Queen from the album Sheer Heart Attack B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Lily of the Valley (Single Edit)" 17 January 1975 Vinyl record (7") 1974 Rock 4:12 EMI, Elektra Brian May Roy Thomas Baker and Queen Queen singles chronology
"Now I'm Here" is a song by the English rock band Queen. The sixth song on their third album, Sheer Heart Attack, it was written by lead guitarist Brian May while he was in hospital with hepatitis. The song is noted for its hard riff and vocal harmonies. In the UK, the song hit #11 on the charts when released as a single in 1975. The song was a live favourite, performed at virtually every concert from late 1974 through 1986. It is one of few songs that was not revived for the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour in 2005 (Mercury had died 14 years earlier and Rodgers was singing in his place).
"Now I'm Here" It was featured on the 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits and also on 1997 compilation album Queen Rocks. In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Now I'm Here" at number 29 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
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Trivia
The lyric "Down in the city just Hoople and me" is a reference to when Queen was touring with the band Mott the Hoople earlier in their career. The "city" is "New york". "Hoople" is "Mott The Hoople". Near the end, the lyrics "Go, go, go, little queenie" can be heard, a reference to the Chuck Berry's 1959 B-side "Little Queenie." In concert, a double was used with lighting cues to create the illusion that Mercury was disappearing from one side of the stage and reappearing on another. The double was actually their road manager, dressed with Mercury's outfit and a wig.
Personnel
John Deacon: Bass guitar. Brian May: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals and piano. Roger Taylor: Drums, backing vocals. Freddie Mercury: Vocals.
Live recordings
Live Killers (1979) Concerts for the People of Kampuchea (1979) (recorded at their Christmas concert in Hammersmith Odeon, London) Queen Rock Montreal (1981) Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl (1982) Live at Wembley '86 / Live at Wembley Stadium (1986) The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (1992) (played by Def Leppard and Brian May) Live at the Brixton Academy (Brian May album) (1993)
Review
Melody Maker, 25 January 1975 (QueenCuttings) [1]
References
[1] http:/ / www. queencuttings. com/ dblog/ articolo. asp?articolo=36
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
265
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
Original cover of the UK single release. Singleby Queen from the album A Night at the Opera B-side Released Format Recorded "I'm in Love with My Car" 10 October 1975 7" vinyl 1975: Rockfield Studio 1 Roundhouse SARM (East) Scorpio Sound Rock 5:55 EMI, Elektra, Parlophone, Hollywood Freddie Mercury Roy Thomas Baker, Queen Queen singles chronology
"Bohemian Rhapsody" "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera. The song has no chorus, instead consisting of three main parts: a ballad segment ending with a guitar solo, an operatic passage, and a heavy rock section. When it was released as a single, "Bohemian Rhapsody" became a huge commercial success, staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and selling more than a million copies by the end of January 1976.[1] It reached number one again in 1991 for five weeks following Mercury's death, eventually becoming the UK's third best selling single of all time.[2] It topped the charts in several other markets as well, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and The Netherlands. In the United States the song originally peaked at number nine in 1976; however, it returned to the chart at number two in 1992 following its appearance in the film Wayne's World revived its American popularity. The single was accompanied by a promotional video, considered ground-breaking.[3] Although critical reaction was initially mixed, particularly in the United States, "Bohemian Rhapsody" remains one of Queen's most popular songs. Rolling Stone ranked it as the number 163 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
266
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
267
Intro (0:000:48)
The song begins with a close four-part harmony a cappella introduction in Bentirely multi track recordings of Mercury although the video has all four members lip-syncing this part. The lyrics question whether life is "real" or "just fantasy" before concluding that there can be "no escape from reality." After 15 seconds, the grand piano enters, and Mercury's voice alternates with the other vocal parts. The narrator introduces himself as "just a poor boy" but declares that he "needs no sympathy" because he is "easy come, easy go"; chromatic side-slipping on "easy come, easy go" highlight the dream-like atmosphere. The end of this section is marked by the bass entrance and the familiar cross-handed piano vamp in B.
Ballad (0:482:37)
The piano begins the vamp in B, going through two iterations before Mercury's vocals come in. The key stays in B for the first line of vocals, before moving on to G minor, and so on. Deacon's bass guitar enters this section of the piece along with the piano vamp on the first beat, and the vocals change from harmony to an impassioned solo performance by Mercury. The narrator explains to his mother that he has "just killed a man", with "a gun against his head" and with that act thrown his life away. This "confessional" section, Whiteley comments, is "affirmative of the nurturant and life-giving force of the feminine and the need for absolution."[6] The chromatic bass line brings about a modulation to E, underpinning the mood of desperation.[6] Taylor's drums enter (1:19), (this features the 1-1-2 rhythm of "We Will Rock You" in ballad form) and the narrator makes the second of several invocations to his "mama" in the new key, reusing the original theme. The narrator explains his regret over "making you cry" and urging mama to "carry on as if nothing really matters" to him. A truncated phrase connects a two repeat of the vamp in B. As the ballad proceeds into its second verse, the narrator shows how tired and beaten down he is by his actions (as May enters on guitar and mimics the upper range of the piano at 1:50). May imitates a bell tree during the line "sends shivers down my spine", by playing the strings of his guitar on the other side of the bridge. The narrator bids the world goodbye announcing he has got to go and prepares to "face the truth" admitting "I don't want to die / I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all." Another chromatic bass descent brings a modulation to the key of A, and the "Opera" section. Highlighting the phallic nature of guns, Judith Peraino also suggests that the song is a "melodrama of homoeroticism", although, unlike Whiteley, she does not draw upon biographical details.[11] Peraino gives an Oedipal reading, quoting some lyrics with sexual connotations ("Too late, my time has come/Sends shivers down my spine/Body's aching all the time").
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
268
Opera (3:034:08)
A rapid series of rhythmic and harmonic changes introduces a pseudo-operatic midsection, which contains the bulk of the elaborate vocal multi-tracking, depicting the narrator's descent into hell. While the underlying pulse of the song is maintained, the dynamics vary greatly from bar to bar, from only Mercury's voice accompanied by a piano, to a multi-voice choir supported by drums, bass, piano and timpani. The choir effect was created by having May, Mercury, and Taylor sing their vocal parts continually for ten to twelve hours a day, resulting in 180 separate overdubs. These overdubs were then combined into successive submixes. According to Roger Taylor, the voices of May, Mercury and himself combined created a wide vocal range: "Brian could get down quite low, Freddie had a powerful voice through the middle, and I was good at the high stuff." The band wanted to create "a wall of sound, that starts down and goes all the way up."[4] The band used the bell effect for lyrics "Magnifico" and "Let me go". Also, on "Let me go", Taylor singing the top section carries his note on further after the rest of the "choir" have stopped singing. Lyrical references in this passage include Scaramouche, the fandango, Galileo Galilei, Figaro and Bismillah, as rival factions fight over the narrator's soul. Peraino calls the sequence both a "comic courtroom trial and a rite of passage ... one chorus prosecutes, another defends, while the hero presents himself as meek though wily."[11] The song's introduction is recalled with the chromatic inflection on "I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me." The section concludes with a full choral treatment of the lyric "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me!", on a block B major chord. Roger Taylor tops the final chord with a falsetto B in the fifth octave (B5). Using the 24-track technology available at the time, the "opera" section took about three weeks to finish.[5] Producer Roy Thomas Baker said "Every time Freddie came up with another 'Galileo', I would add another piece of tape to the reel.[8] Baker recalls that they kept wearing out the tape, which meant having to do transfers.[5]
For many adolescents listening to the song, these phrases could describe the physical sensations of sexual awakening and the conflicting emotions that accompany them. If that sexual awakening is queer, then the greater the guilt and the need for confession. Judith Peraino
[11]
Relating the theme of entrapment to Mercury wanting to express his sexuality, Whiteley points out the "heavy timbres of the lower voices ... traditionally connote the masculine ("We will not let you go") while the shrill higher voices in the first inversion chords imply the feminine 'other' ("Let me go"). They signal entrapment and a plea for release."[12]
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
269
Outro (4:555:55)
After May plays ascending octaves of notes from the B mixolydian mode, the song then returns to the tempo and form of the introduction. A guitar accompanies the chorus "ooh, ooh yeah, ooh yeah." A double-tracked twin guitar melody is played through an amplifier designed by John Deacon, affectionately nicknamed the "Deacy Amp." Mercury's line "Nothing really matters..." appears again, "cradled by light piano arpeggios suggesting both resignation (minor tonalities) and a new sense of freedom in the wide vocal span."[12] The last lyric, "Any way the wind blows" is followed by the striking of a gong which marks the ending of the song. According to music scholar Judith Peraino, this final section adds "a level of complex resistance to the song's already charming subversion of macho rock and roll." This resistance is achieved through the "bohemian stance toward identity, which involves a necessarily changeable self-definition ("Any way the wind blows")."[13] The final line, "Any way the wind blows", is followed by the quiet sound of a large tam-tam that finally expels the tension built up throughout the song.
Context
The New York Times commented that "the song's most distinct feature is the fatalistic lyrics". Mercury refused to explain his composition other than saying it was about relationships; the band is still protective of the song's secret.[5] Brian May supports suggestions that the song contained veiled references to Mercury's personal traumas. He recalls "Freddie was a very complex person: flippant and funny on the surface, but he concealed insecurities and problems in squaring up his life with his childhood. He never explained the lyrics, but I think he put a lot of himself into that song."[14] May, though, says the band had agreed that the core of a lyric was a private issue for the composer.[5] In a BBC Three documentary about the making of "Bohemian Rhapsody", Roger Taylor maintains that the true meaning of the song is "fairly self-explanatory with just a bit of nonsense in the middle."[4]
It's one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them... "Bohemian Rhapsody" didn't just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research although it was tongue-in-cheek and mock opera. Why not? Freddie Mercury
[15]
However, when the band released a Greatest Hits cassette in Iran, a leaflet in Persian was included with translation and explanations (refers to a book published in Iran called "The March of the Black Queen" by Sarah Sefati & Farhad Arkani, which included the whole biography of the band & complete lyrics with Persian translation [2000]). In the explanation, Queen states that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil. On the night before his execution, he calls for God in Arabic, "Bismillah", and with the help of angels, regains his soul from Shaitan.[16]
"Bohemian Rhapsody" Despite this, critics, both journalistic and academic, have speculated over the meaning behind the song's lyrics. Some believe the lyrics describe a suicidal murderer hunted by demons or depict events just preceding an execution. The latter explanation points to Albert Camus's novel The Stranger, in which a young man confesses to an impulsive murder and has an epiphany before he is executed, as probable inspiration. Others believe the lyrics were only written to fit with the music, and have no meaning; Kenny Everett quoted Mercury as claiming the lyrics were simply "random rhyming nonsense".[14] Still others interpreted them as Mercury's way of dealing with personal issues.[5] Music scholar Sheila Whiteley observes that Mercury reached a turning point in his personal life in the year he wrote "Bohemian Rhapsody."[6] He had been living with Mary Austin for seven years but had just embarked on his first gay love affair. She suggests that the song provides an insight into Mercury's emotional state at the time, "living with Mary ('Mamma', as in Mother Mary) and wanting to break away ('Mamma Mia let me go')."[12]
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Release
When the band wanted to release the single in 1975, various executives suggested to them that, at 5 minutes and 55 seconds, it was too long and would never be a hit. According to producer Roy Thomas Baker, he and the band bypassed this corporate decision by playing the song for Capital Radio DJ Kenny Everett: "we had a reel-to-reel copy but we told him he could only have it if he promised not to play it. 'I won't play it,' he said, winking..."[8] Their plan worked Everett teased his listeners by playing only parts of the song. Audience demand intensified when Everett played the full song on his show 14 times in two days.[5] Hordes of fans attempted to buy the single the following Monday, only to be told by record stores that it had not yet been released.[8] The same weekend, Paul Drew, who ran the RKO stations in the States, heard the track on Everett's show in London. Drew managed to get a copy of the tape and started to play it in the States, which forced the hand of Queen's USA label, Elektra. In an interview with Sound on Sound, Baker reflects that "it was a strange situation where radio on both sides of the Atlantic was breaking a record that the record companies said would never get airplay!"[8] Eventually the unedited single was released, with "I'm in Love with My Car" as the B-side. The song became the 1975 UK Christmas number one, holding the top position for nine weeks.[12] "Bohemian Rhapsody" was the first song ever to get to number one twice with the same version,[17] and is also the only single to have been UK Christmas number one twice with the same version. The second was upon its re-release (as a double A-side single with "These Are the Days of Our Lives") in 1991 following Mercury's death, staying at number one for five weeks. Across the ocean, the song also went to the high reaches of the charts. In the United States, the single was a success (although on a smaller scale from that of the UK release). The original single, released in early 1976, reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, while a re-release in 1992 (timed to tie in with the song's appearance in the hit film Wayne's World) hit number two. In a retrospective interview, Anthony DeCurtis from Rolling Stone magazine explains the song's relatively poor performance in the US charts by saying that it's "the quintessential example of the kind of thing that doesn't exactly go over well in America".[4] With the Canadian record-buying public, the single fared better, reaching number one in the RPM national singles chart on 1 May 1976.[18]
Promotional video
Though some artists had made video clips to accompany songs (including Queen themselves; for example, "Keep Yourself Alive," "Seven Seas Of Rhye," "Killer Queen" and "Liar" already had "pop promos", as they were known at the time), it was only after the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" that it became regular practice for record companies to produce promotional videos for artists' single releases.[19] These videos could then be shown on television shows, such as the BBC's Top of the Pops, without the need for the artist to appear in person. A promo video also allowed the artist to have their music broadcast and accompanied by their own choice of visuals, rather than dancers such as Pan's People. According to May, the video was produced so that the band could avoid miming on Top of the Pops,
"Bohemian Rhapsody" since they would have looked off miming to such a complex song.[14] He also said that the band knew they would be touring and unable to appear on the programme anyway.[4] The video has been hailed as launching the MTV age.[4] The band was signed to a company called Trillian, who supplied sports coverage for ITV. They hired one of their trucks and got it to Elstree Studios, where the band were rehearsing for their tour. The video was directed by Bruce Gowers, who had directed a video of the band's 1974 performance at the Rainbow Theatre in London, and was recorded by cameraman Barry Dodd and assistant director/floor manager Jim McCutcheon. The video was recorded in just four hours on 10 November 1975, at a cost of 4,500.[9] The director said that the band was involved in the discussion of the video and the end result, and "was a co-operative to that extent, but there was only one leader."[4] The video opens with a shot of the four band members in near darkness as they sing the a cappella part. The lights fade up, and the shots cross-fade into close-ups of Freddie. The composition of the shot is the same as Mick Rock's cover photograph for their second album Queen II. The photo, inspired by a photograph of actress Marlene Dietrich, was the band's favourite image of themselves.[4] The video then fades into them playing their instruments. In the opera section of the video, the scene reverts back to the "Queen II" standing positions, after which they perform once again on stage during the hard rock segment. In the closing seconds of the video Roger Taylor is depicted stripped to the waist, striking the tam tam in the manner of the trademark of the Rank Organisation's Gongman, familiar in the UK as the opening of all Rank film productions. All of the special effects were achieved during the recording, rather than editing. The visual effect of Mercury's face cascading away (during the echoed line "go") was accomplished by pointing the camera at a monitor, giving visual feedback, a glare analogous to audio feedback. The honeycomb illusion was created using a shaped lens. The video was edited within five hours because it was due to be broadcast the same week in which it was taped. The film was shipped to the BBC as soon as it was completed and aired for the first time on Top of the Pops in November 1975.[4] After a few weeks at number one, an alternative edit [20] of the video was created. The most obvious difference is the flames superimposed over the introduction as well as several alternate camera angles.
271
"Bohemian Rhapsody" the programme charted the history of the song, discussed its credentials, and took Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen back to one of the studios in which it was recorded.
272
Wayne's World
The song enjoyed renewed popularity in 1992 as part of the soundtrack to the film Wayne's World. The film's director, Penelope Spheeris, was hesitant to use the song, as it did not entirely fit with the lead characters, who were fans of less flamboyant hard rock and heavy metal. However, Mike Myers insisted that the song fit the scene.[27] According to music scholar Theodore Gracyk, by 1992, when the film was released, even "classic rock" stations had stopped playing the six-minute song. Gracyk suggests that beginning the tape in the middle of the song after "the lyrics which provide the song's narrative ... forces the film's audience to respond to its presence in the scene without the 'commentary' of the lyrics."[21] Helped by the song, the soundtrack album of the film was a major hit.[28] In connection with this, a new video was released, intercutting excerpts from the film with footage from the original Queen video, along with some live footage of the band. Myers was horrified that the record company had mixed clips from Wayne's World with Queen's original video, fearing that this would upset the band. He said, "they've just whizzed on a Picasso." He asked the record company to tell Queen that the video was not his idea, and that he apologised to them. The band, though, sent a reply simply saying, "Thank you for using our song." This shocked Myers, who said it should be more like him telling Queen, "Thank you for even letting me touch the hem of your garments!"[29] The Wayne's World video version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" won Queen its only MTV Video Music Award for "Best Video from a Film."[30] When remaining members Brian May and Roger Taylor took the stage to accept the award, Brian May was overcome with emotion and said that "Freddie would be tickled." In the final scene of said video, a pose of the band from the video from the original "Bohemian Rhapsody" clip morphs into an identically-posed 1985 photo, first featured in the "One Vision" video. This re-release (with "The Show Must Go On" as a double-A side) hit #2 in the US in 1992, 16 years after the original 1976 US release peaked at #9.[7]
Live performances
The a cappella opening was too complex to perform live, so Mercury tried various ways of introducing the song. When the song "Mustapha" became a live favourite, Mercury would often sub in that song's a cappella opening, which was easier to reproduce live as it was only one voice. During the Hot Space Tour, and occasionally at other times, Mercury would do a piano improvisation (generally the introduction to "Death on Two Legs") that ended with the first notes of the song. Often, the preceding song would end, and Mercury would sit at the piano, say a quick word and start playing the ballad section.
Initially following the song's release, the operatic, middle section proved a problem for the band. Because of extensive multi-tracking, it could not be performed on stage. The band did not have enough of a break between the Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera tours to find a way to make it work live, so they split the song into three sections that were played throughout the night. The opening and closing ballads were played as part of a medley, with "Killer Queen" and "March of the Black Queen" taking the place of the operatic and hard rock sections. Starting with the A Day at the Races Tour in 1977, the band adopted their lasting way of playing the song live. The opening ballad would be played on stage, and after Brian May's guitar solo, the lights would go down, the band would leave the stage, and the operatic section would be played from tape. A blast of pyrotechnics after Roger
From left to right: John Deacon, Roger Taylor and Brian May in concert in Hanover in 1979. Behind the drum kit is the tam-tam used at the end of "Bohemian Rhapsody".
"Bohemian Rhapsody" Taylor's high note on the final "for me" would announce the band's return for the hard rock section and closing ballad. Queen played the song in this form all through the Magic Tour of 1986. This style was also used for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, with Elton John singing the opening ballad and then after the taped operatic section, Axl Rose singing the hard rock section. John and Rose sang the closing ballad part together in a duet. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was performed by Queen + Paul Rodgers throughout their tours, accompanied by a video of Mercury.[31] Footage from the Live at Wembley '86 was used for the 2005/6 tour, and the 1981 Montreal performance used for the Rock the Cosmos Tour. As with the Queen tours, the band went backstage for the operatic section, which was accompanied by a video tribute to Freddie Mercury. When the hard rock section began, the lights came back up to the full band on stage, including Rodgers, who took over lead vocals. Rodgers duetted with the recording of Mercury for the "outro" section, allowing the audience to sing the final "Nothing really matters to me", while the taped Mercury took a bow for the crowd. Rodgers would then repeat the line, and the final line ("Any way the wind blows") was delivered with one last shot of Mercury smiling at the audience. Commenting upon this staging, Brian May says that they "had to rise to the challenge of getting Freddie in there in a way which gave him his rightful place, but without demeaning Paul in any way. It also kept us live and 'present', although conscious and proud of our past, as we logically should be."[5]
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Chart performance
Peak positions
Chart (1992) Peak position 1 [33] 1 1 [35] 1 2
[32]
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead vocal, piano, backing vocals Brian May: lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals John Deacon: bass guitar, backing vocals Roger Taylor: drums, backing vocals, timpani, gong
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Hodkinson 2004, p.194. Corn 2005, p.24. Heatley 2008, p.109. BBC 2004b. Chiu 2005.
[6] Whiteley 2006, p.252. [7] Peraino 2005, p.230. [8] Cunningham 1995.
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
[9] Hodkinson 2004, p.192. [10] Classic Albums 2006. [11] Peraino 2005, p.231. [12] Whiteley 2006, p.253. [13] Peraino 2005, p.232. [14] Black 2002. [15] Davis 1993, p.20. [16] BBC 2004a. [17] BBC 2005. [18] Top Singles - Volume 25, No. 5, May 1, 1976 (http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ rpm/ 028020-119. 01-e. php?brws_s=1& file_num=nlc008388. 4125a& type=1& interval=24& PHPSESSID=kjerdnvbvl3a8p4jfufutrc7u6) [19] On the role and tasks of a record producer.J Muikku Popular Music and Society, 1990 [20] http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=2VXc2eZtPN0 [21] Gracyk 2007, p.63. [22] Rolling Stone 2004. [23] BBC 2002. [24] Radio Veronica. [25] The Recording Academy 2004. [26] ClashMusic.com 2009. [27] Gracyk 2007, p.64. [28] Gracyk 2007, p.65. [29] Made in Heaven video documentary "Champions of the World." [30] Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [31] Daily Telegraph 2008. [32] "RPM Top Singles" (http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ rpm/ 028020-119. 01-e. php?& file_num=nlc008388. 4125a& type=1& interval=20& PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3). RPM 25 (5). 1 May 1976. . Retrieved 23 June 2010. [33] " Dutchcharts.nl Queen Bohemian Rhapsody" (http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Bohemian+ Rhapsody& cat=s) (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. [34] " Charts.org.nz Queen Bohemian Rhapsody" (http:/ / www. charts. org. nz/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Bohemian+ Rhapsody& cat=s). Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien. [35] " December 1975 Archive Chart" (http:/ / www. theofficialcharts. com/ archive-chart/ _/ 1/ 20) UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company. [36] " Queen Album & Song Chart History" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ #/ artist/ Queen/ chart-history/ 5473?f=379& g=Singles) Billboard Hot 100 for Queen. Prometheus Global Media. [37] "Billboard Top 100 - 1992" (http:/ / longboredsurfer. com/ charts. php?year=1992). . Retrieved 2010-07-30.
274
References
Hodkinson, Mark (2004). Queen: the early years. Music Sales Ltd. ISBN1844490122. Pope, Rob (2002). The English studies book: an introduction to language, literature and culture. Routledge. ISBN0-415-25709-3. Corn, John (2005). Britain Since 1948. Folens Publishers. ISBN1-843-03985-0. Heatley, Michael (2008). Massive Music Moments. Collins & Brown. ISBN1-843-40493-1. Directed by Carl Johnston. (4 December 2004). The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody (http://www.imdb.com/title/ tt0438465/). [Television production]. BBC. Peraino, Judith (2005). Listening to the Sirens: Musical Technologies of Queer Identity from Homer to Hedwig. University of California Press. ISBN0-520-21587-7. Chiu, David (27 December 2005). "Unconventional Queen Hit Still Rocks After 30 Years" (http://nytimes.com/ 2005/12/27/arts/music/27quee.html?ex=1293339600&en=5825caa9f4db1fb0&ei=5090). The New York Times. Retrieved 12 April 2010. Allen, Nick (3 December 2009). "Muppets' Bohemian Rhapsody takes YouTube by storm" (http://www. telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/6714562/ Muppets-Bohemian-Rhapsody-takes-YouTube-by-storm.html). The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 10 April 2010. Davis, Andy (1993). "Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody". Record Collector (167): 20.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" Black, Johnny (2002). "The Greatest Songs Ever! Bohemian Rhapsody" (http://www.blender.com/guide/ 66831/greatest-songs-ever-bohemian-rhapsody.html). Blender. Retrieved 12 April 2010. "Queen album brings rock to Iran" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3593532.stm). BBC News. 24 August 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2010. Gracyk, Theodore (2007). Listening to Popular Music: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Led Zeppelin. University of Michigan Press. ISBN0-472-06983-7. "Grammy Hall of Fame Award" (http://www2.grammy.com/Recording_Academy/Awards/Hall_Of_Fame/). Grammy.com. 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2010. "Most Played Song On British Radio" (http://www.clashmusic.com/news/most-played-song-on-british-radio). ClashMusic.com. 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2010. Cunningham, Mark (October 1995). "An Invitation to the Opera" (http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/ 1995_articles/oct95/queen.html). Sound on Sound. Retrieved 12 April 2010. Directed by Matthew Longfellow. (21 March 2006). A Making of 'A Night at the Opera' (http://www.imdb. com/title/tt0833880/). [DVD]. Classic Albums. "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" (http://www.metrolyrics.com/rs/). Rolling Stone. 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2010. "Irish song voted world's favourite" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2591357.stm). BBC News. 20 December 2002. Retrieved 12 April 2010. "Top 100 Aller Tijden" (http://www.top100-allertijden.nl/html/diverse/thatarti.htm#Q). Radio Veronica. Retrieved 12 April 2010. Buckley, Peter (2003). The rough guide to rock. Rough Guides. ISBN1-85828-457-0. Whiteley, Sheila (2006). Queering the Popular Pitch. Routledge. ISBN0-415-97805-X. "Press Release: Queen + The Muppets Single" (http://brianmay.com/queen/queennews/queennewsdec09a. html#07). BrianMay.com. 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2010. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/bohemianrhapsody.shtml). BBC Radio 2. April 2005. Retrieved 21 April 2010. "Queen: inducted in 2001" (http://rockhall.com/inductees/queen). Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 23 April 2010. Chael, David (13 October 2008). "Review: Queen & Paul Rodgers on tour" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3562079/Review-Queen-and-Paul-Rodgers-on-tour.html). Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 23 April 2010. "Bohemian Rhapsody Chart Entries" (http://tsort.info/music/7qb05m.htm). Tsort.info. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
275
276
Singleby Queen from the album A Night at the Opera B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer '39 18 May 1976 7" 1975 Pop, Rock 2:52 EMI (UK), Elektra (US) John Deacon Roy Thomas Baker and Queen Queen singles chronology [1]
"You're My Best Friend" is a song penned by John Deacon and performed by British rock band Queen. It was originally included on the A Night at the Opera album in 1975, and later released as a single. The song also appeared on the Live Killers (1979) live album and on the compilation album Greatest Hits (1981).
277
History
Deacon wrote the song for his wife, Veronica, to whom he remains married to this day. In this song, he plays a Wurlitzer electric piano in addition to bass guitar.[2] The characteristic "bark" of the Wurlitzer's bass notes plays a prominent role in the song. During live performances, the band used a grand piano rather than an electric, and it would be played by Freddie Mercury, while Deacon played the bass guitar. The music video shows the band in a huge ballroom surrounded by over one thousand candles, including a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. The video was filmed in the summer of 1976. (May later mentioned that the video was shot in the middle of a very unpleasant heatwave and the ballroom in which they were filming did not have air conditioning.) Also, Deacon is seen playing a grand piano, even though he plays a regular electric on the recording. The Supernaturals covered the song in 1998 as the B-side to their single "Everest". Straight No Chaser, a US a capella group, also covered the song for their 2010 album With a Twist, a collection of cover songs.
Composition
The song was composed by John Deacon, with a meter of 4/4 (12/8), with one bar in 6/4 during the chorus, and a key of C-major, (a-minor). The album A Night at the Opera features songs of numerous styles including this three-minute ballad rock/pop song. Very unusually for the genre there is no section appearing more than twice. On the other hand, in terms of phrases and measures, we find numerous repetitions or variants. The form is cyclic and very similar to that of "Spread Your Wings" (1977). Another similarity between the two songs is the lack of (real) modulation. The arrangement features 3- and 4-part vocal and guitar harmonies (no rhythm guitar), bass (melodic approach), drums, and electric piano. This is Deacon's second recorded song and the first one released on single (some six months after the album-release). Mercury's lead vocal features lot of "special effects" (voice, rubato-ized rhythms, ornaments, slided notes) resulting in a really passionate performance.
Well, Freddie didn't like the electric piano, so I took it home and I started to learn on the electric piano and basically thats the song that came out you know when I was learning to play piano. It was written on that instrument and it sounds best on that. You know, often on the instrument that you wrote the song on.
[3]
John Deacon
I refused to play the damn thing (the Wurlitzer). It's tiny and horrible and I don't like them. Why play those things when youve got a lovely superb grand piano? No, I think, basically what he [John] is trying to say is it was the desired effect.
[2]
Freddie Mercury
278
Personnel
John Deacon Wurlitzer electric piano, bass guitar Brian May guitar, backing vocals Freddie Mercury vocals Roger Taylor drums, backing vocals
Notes
[1] Prato, Greg. "allmusic" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ song/ t5425556). Allmusic. . Retrieved 15 April 2010. [2] "You're My Best Friend by Queen" (http:/ / www. songfacts. com/ detail. php?id=1507). songfacts.com. . Retrieved 2010-03-10. [3] "You're My Best Friend" (http:/ / www. queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=You're_My_Best_Friend). queenpedia.com. . Retrieved 2010-03-10.
"Somebody to Love"
279
"Somebody to Love"
"Somebody to Love"
Singleby Queen from the album A Day at the Races B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "White Man" 12 November 1976 7" 1976 Progressive rock 4:56 EMI, Elektra Freddie Mercury Queen Queen singles chronology
"Somebody to Love" is a song by British rock band Queen. Written by singer Freddie Mercury, the track featured on their 1976 album A Day at the Races, from which it was also released as the lead single.
Song
Like "Bohemian Rhapsody", the major hit from Queen's previous album A Night at the Opera (1975), "Somebody to Love" has a complex melody and deep layering of vocal tracks, this time based on a gospel choir arrangement. It was the first single off the album A Day at the Races. It is a rock ballad on which band members Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor multitracked their voices to create the impression of a 100-voice gospel choir. The lyrics, especially combined with the gospel influence, create a song about faith, desperation and soul-searching; the singer questions both the lack of love experienced in his life, and the role and existence of God. Staying true to Queen's
"Somebody to Love" guitar-driven style, it was also filled with intricate harmonies and a notable guitar solo by Brian May, and it went to number 2 on the UK charts and number 13 on the U.S. singles chart. The song possesses a great variety of notes, ranging from F2 in the harmonies on the line "Can anybody find me?", and G#2 to a C5 in full voice up to an A5 in falsetto in the lead vocals, all sung by Mercury.[1] The band have spoken of sections of the song which were recorded but never made it onto the final mix of the song, some of which have been leaked online.
280
"'Somebody To Love' is Aretha Franklin-influenced. Freddie's very much into that. We tried to keep the track in a loose, gospel-type feel. I think it's the loosest track we've ever done."
[2]
Roger Taylor
A promotional video was made combining a staged recording session at Sarm East Studios (where the A Day at the Races album was recorded) and film footage of the band's performance at Hyde Park that September. Peter Hince, the head of Queen's road crew, recalled to Mojo magazine: "Aesthetically, you had to have all four around the microphone, but John (Deacon) didn't sing on the records. By his own admission he didn't have the voice. He did sing on-stage but the crew always knew to keep the fader very low." [3] The song was included on their first Greatest Hits, released in 1981.
Live performances
This was also one of few tracks where John Deacon sang backing vocals when performed live. His voice was clearly heard on bootlegs from the band's performance at Earls Court in June, 1977 and at the Houston Summit in December, 1977. From 1977 to 1978, it was played about every show. For the Jazz and Live Killer tours, it was also played consistently. In The Game Tour, it was only played early in the tour. It was also played for South America Bites The Dust, Live at the BowlK and Queen Rock Montreal. Later in The Works Tour, a shortened version was played as a medley preceding "Killer Queen". When performed live, Mercury would often alter the melodies of the song, but would generally hit the sustained A4 notes throughout the song. The A4 at the peak of the building line "can anybody find me" on the studio version was not part of Mercury's original melody, but the other band members felt that it worked better than his. Mercury sings his original take on this line when live. At the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert held at Wembley Stadium, the song was performed by George Michael. Michael's performances of "Somebody to Love" hailed as "one of best performances of the tribute concert".[4] [5] It was even given serious consideration as to having George Michael take over as full-time lead singer in the Queen.[6] The song was later rereleased in 1993 as the lead track of an EP called Five Live which went to #1 in the UK. This version is also available on Greatest Hits III, released in 1999.
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - lead vocals, piano, gospel choir Brian May - guitar, backing vocals, gospel choir John Deacon - bass guitar, backing vocals Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals, gospel choir
Notable covers
George Michael performed the song with Queen's surviving members at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992. It was released as a single on April 20, 1993. G4 sang this on 27 November during The X Factor 2004. Anne Hathaway sang this song in her role as Ella in the movie Ella Enchanted
"Somebody to Love" Elliott Yamin, who placed third in season five of American Idol, sang this song on Week 8 of live performances Brittany Murphy sang this song in the movie Happy Feet as her penguin character Gloria. Ben Mills sang this on 2 December during Barry Manilow and contestant's choice week of The X Factor 2006. Rhydian Roberts sang it on 1 December during Best of British week of The X Factor 2007. The cast of Glee covered it in the episode "The Rhodes Not Taken" (2009); it hit #26 on the UK Singles Chart. Joe McElderry sang this on 14 November during Queen week of The X Factor 2009. Ednita Nazario, the Puerto Rican diva singer, made a cover of this song in Spanish called "Un Hombre Para M" in her 1992 album Metamorfsis. In the film Late Last Night, Steven Weber's character sings the song during a drug-infused dreamy scene. Todrick Hall performed this song on the ninth season of American Idol during the top 16. In 2009, the singers at BBC's Children in Need Wales, the song was sung as the finale of the concert at Wales Millenium Centre in Cardiff. Notable singers included Bonnie Tyler, Only Men Aloud, Kerry Ellis and John Owen-Jones. In 2010, a group of 60 students from The Hebrew University have performed a Lip dub version of the song[7] , which received critical acclaim, especially after Queen guitarist Brian May published his positive opinion, writing: "I ... got quite a lump in the throat. It's very well done, with great heart and joy, and I'm sure Freddie (-Mercury, the late Queen soloist) would love it."[8]
281
UK-based car insurance price comparison site Confused.com covered the song for an advert November 2010. The vocals were sung by west end star Louise Dearman.[9]
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Freddie Mercury's highest notes (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=BWIaoj4dGq8). YouTube. . Retrieved 2011-01-05 "Somebody To Love" (http:/ / www. queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=Somebody_To_Love). queenpedia.com. . Retrieved 2010-03-13. Somebody To Love Songfacts (http:/ / www. songfacts. com/ detail. php?id=6669) h2g2 Queen's Greatest Hits 3 (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ dna/ h2g2/ A3818793). BBC (1997-01-17). Retrieved on 2011-04-21. Queen Greatest Vol 3 (http:/ / www. albumlinernotes. com/ Queen_Greatest_Vol_3. html). Albumlinernotes.com (1997-01-17). Retrieved on 2011-04-21. Queen Television Tropes & Idioms (http:/ / tvtropes. org/ pmwiki/ pmwiki. php/ Main/ Queen). Tvtropes.org (2010-01-01). Retrieved on 2011-04-21. [ "Lipdub -somebody to love - GLEE - the Hebrew University of Jerusalem" (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=IPo-6kxgiDk) (Video). Hebrew University of Jerusalem campus, Jerusalem, Israel. 2010-10-10. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPo-6kxgiDk. Retrieved 2011-02-11. May, Brian (2010-02). "Letters" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ letters/ lettersoct10. html). . Retrieved 2011-02-05. (http:/ / www. confused. com/ cara)
[8] [9]
External links
The Sunday Freeman (http://queenarchives.com/index. php?title=Queen_-_12-05-1976_-_Somebody_to_Love_-_The_Sunday_Freeman,_NY) - review Queenpedia (http://queenpedia.com/index.php?title=Somebody_To_Love_(single)) - detailed worldwide release information
282
Singleby Queen from the album A Day at the Races B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length "You and I" 4 March 1977 7" 1976 Hard rock Label Writer(s) Producer 3:45 (single) 4:48 (album version)
EMI (UK), Elektra (US) Brian May Queen Queen singles chronology
"Tie Your Mother Down" is a song by English rock group Queen, written by guitarist Brian May. It is the lead track and the second single from A Day at the Races. On the album, the song is preceded by a one-minute instrumental intro featuring a Shepard tone melody, which is actually a reprise of the ending of "Teo Torriatte": this was intended to create a "circle" in the album, typical, for example, of Pink Floyd's albums.
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History
May started writing the song in Tenerife, while he was working for his Ph.D. as an astronomer. He composed the riff on a Spanish guitar, and woke up early one morning and played it while singing "tie your mother down," a line he considered a joke. Later on, Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury encouraged him to keep the line, similar to what happened between John Lennon and Paul McCartney with the line "the movement you need is on your shoulder" from The Beatles' song "Hey Jude". When performing the song during his solo shows, May has often omitted the line, "take your little brother swimming with a brick, that's all right," or at the very least mumbled through it. A promotional film was made for it directed by Bruce Gowers and was a performance clip shot at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York in February, 1977 during the band's first US arena headlining tour. Though it was a long-time live favorite and a US FM rock radio favorite, the song had limited chart success, making #31 in the UK and #49 in the US. Therefore it was included on the band's first Greatest Hits compilation in certain markets only; however, the song is featured on the Queen Rocks compilation album, together with some of the band's heaviest songs. In a BBC Radio 4 tribute program to Rory Gallagher, May stated that a key inspiration for the riff of this song came from Taste's 'Morning Sun' from their On The Boards (1970) album. The riff is also quite close in sound to the verse riff from T.Rex's song "Funky London Childhood", from their January 1976 album, Futuristic Dragon. In a 1976 interview on Capital Radio, Mercury was asked why tie your mother down? He replied: "Well this one in fact is a track written by Brian (May) actually, I dunno why. Maybe he was in one of his vicious moods. I think he's trying to out do me after 'Death on Two Legs' actually." [1]
Personnel
John Deacon: Bass. Brian May: Guitar, Backing vocals. Freddie Mercury: Vocals. Roger Taylor: Drums, Backing vocals.
Live performances
After its release in 1976, it was played by Queen on every subsequent tour. At the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, the song was co-performed by Queen and guests Joe Elliot and Slash. May sang the first verse and chorus before handing over the vocal part to the Def Leppard singer Joe Elliot. On several occasions in the recent years, Brian and Roger have played this song live with the Foo Fighters, including performances at Queen's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2001, VH-1's Rock Honors 2006 and most recently in Foo Fighters London Hyde Park concert for the encore of the show.
284
Live recordings
Live Killers (1979) We Will Rock You / Queen Rock Montreal (1981) Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl (1982) Live at Wembley '86 / Live at Wembley Stadium (1986) Live Magic (1986) Seville Expo 92 concert (1992) The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (1992) Live at the Brixton Academy (Brian May album) (1993) Return of the Champions (2005) Super Live in Japan (2005) Skin and Bones (Foo Fighters album/DVD, on the Hyde Park DVD) (2006)
Covers
W.A.S.P. - Still Not Black Enough L.A. Guns - Rips the Covers Off Shinedown - Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen
References
[1] Tie Your Mother Down Songfacts (http:/ / www. songfacts. com/ detail. php?id=1378)
285
Singleby Queen from the album A Day At The Races B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy March 25, 1977 (Japan only) 7" July to November 1976 Rock 5:57 (album version) * 4:55 (single edit)
"Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" ( Te o Toriatte) is a song from the 1976 Queen album A Day at the Races and is written by guitarist Brian May. It is the tenth and final track on the album. The song is notable for having two choruses sung entirely in Japanese, and it was released as a single exclusively in Japan, reaching #49 on the charts.[1] (The B-side was "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy".) This song features a piano, a plastic piano, and a harmonium, all of which are played by Brian May. It is the only point in the album in which Freddie Mercury does not play piano. "Teo Torriatte" was covered by Japanese singer Kokia on her 2008 Christmas album Christmas Gift, and by Mle in 2010 and can be found on the Japanese version of their album The Masquerade released in Japan on August 18, 2010. It is also one of 38 songs included on the benefit album, Songs for Japan (compiled in response to the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Thoku), released on March 25, 2011.
286
Live recordings
Super Live in Japan (2005)
Chorus Translation
The chorus part sung in Japanese goes as follows: "Te o toriatte konomama ik Aisuruhito yo Shizuka na yoi ni Hikari o tomoshi Itoshiki oshie o idaki"[2] The chorus part sung in English is the rough equivalent: "Let us cling together as the years go by, Oh my love, my love, In the quiet of the night Let our candles always burn, Let us never lose the lessons we have learned."[2]
Notes
[1] A Day at the Races album info (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Songs/ adayat. htm) [2] http:/ / www. songmeanings. net/ lyric. php?lid=3530822107858525304
"Long Away"
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"Long Away"
"Long Away"
Singleby Queen from the album A Day at the Races B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer You and I 7 June 1977 (US, Canada, New Zealand) Gramophone record (7") 1976 Rock 3:33 Elektra Brian May Queen Queen singles chronology
"Long Away" is a single by the band Queen; it is the third track on the first side of the 1976 album A Day at the Races. Brian May wrote the song and sings the lead vocals. It is one of the few songs where May uses a guitar other than his Red Special, for the rhythm guitar parts he used an electric Burns twelve string guitar (although he used the Red Special for the second guitar solo in the middle section of the track). The song has a sad tone, describing that "for every star in heaven / there's a sad soul here today", and an overall sense of melancholic nostalgia lies over the song. It is similar in feel to the song '39 from A Night at the Opera, although without the folk influence. Roger Taylor sings the highest parts of the song. Freddie Mercury only did the backing vocals.
"Long Away"
288
Personnel
Brian May: Vocals and guitars. Roger Taylor: Drums and backing vocals. John Deacon: Bass guitar. Freddie Mercury: Backing vocals.
289
Singleby Queen from the album A Day at the Races A-side B-side Death on Two Legs Tenement Funster White Queen (As It Began) 20 May 1977 Vinyl record (7") 1976 Rock 2:54 EMI Records Freddie Mercury Queen Queen singles chronology
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" is the third single ("Queen's First EP"), and is the eighth track, from the British rock group Queen's 1976 album A Day at the Races, written by Freddie Mercury. It was one of several British music hall-inspired songs written by both Mercury and Brian May that appeared on other Queen albums from the 1970s. The song starts with a piano and vocal introduction by Mercury, then continues, with the bass and drums adding on, at the start of the chorus. The second verse is sung, followed by another chorus. At this point, the drums, bass and guitar drop out, which then leads into the bridge, sung by Freddie Mercury and Mike Stone. Following the Brian May guitar solo, another verse is sung, and then the chorus ends the track.
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" The song describes how "a good old-fashioned lover boy" will romance with an unnamed love interest, especially at night. The BBC version also has drummer Roger Taylor singing Mike Stone's line. It was partially mimed by the band for BBC and aired on Top of the Pops. The song was also performed live from A Day at the Races Tour until the end of the News of the World Tour. It was performed in a medley after "Killer Queen", and was the first two verses, followed by the final chorus.
290
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead vocals and piano. John Deacon: bass guitar. Brian May: guitar and backing vocals. Roger Taylor: drums and backing vocals. Mike Stone: additional vocals
Tracks
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" 2:53 "Death on Two Legs" 3:44 "Tenement Funster" 3:00 "White Queen (As It Began)" 4:18
Chart position
#17 (UK)
External links
Queenpedia [1] - detailed worldwide release information
References
[1] http:/ / queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=Queen%27s_First_EP
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Singleby Queen from the album News of the World B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label "We Will Rock You" 7 October 1977 7", CD single 1977 Rock 2:59 EMI (UK) Elektra (US) Freddie Mercury Queen, assisted by Mike Stone Queen singles chronology
Writer(s) Producer
"We Are the Champions" is a power ballad written by Freddie Mercury, recorded and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album News of the World.[1] One of their most famous and popular songs, it remains among rock's most recognizable anthems.[2] The song was a worldwide success, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart, and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.[3] [4] In 2009, "We Are the Champions" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame,[5] and was voted the world's favourite song in a 2005 Sony Ericsson world music poll.[6] "We Are the Champions" has become an anthem for sporting victories,[2] including as official theme song for 1994 FIFA World Cup, and has been often used or referenced in popular culture (see below). The song has been covered by many artists.
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Chart performances
In 1977-1978, "We Are the Champions" was released as a single in many countries, reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] number 4 on Billboard in the U.S.,[4] the top 10 in Ireland, Netherlands, and Norway, and top 15 in Germany, Austria and Sweden.[9] [10] In 1992, 1993 and 1998, the single was re-released in France, totalling 45 weeks on the chart and peaking respectively at #19, #14, and #10 during the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[10]
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, piano, backing vocals Brian May: electric guitar, backing vocals John Deacon: bass guitar, backing vocals Roger Taylor: drums, backing vocals
Track listings
7" single (1977 release) CD single (1992 release)
1. "We Are the Champions" 3:00 1. "We Are the Champions" 2:59 2. "We Will Rock You" 2:00 2. "We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions" 5:00 3" CD single (1988 release) 1. "We Are the Champions" 3:02 2. "We Will Rock You" 2:02 3. "Fat Bottomed Girls" 3:23
Certifications
293
Country France
Platinum
Charts
Chart (1977/78) Peak position 12 2 [10] 13 3 [10] 6 14 2 [4] 4 Peak position 27 14 Peak position 10 Peak position [4] 61
Austrian Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 German Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart [9]
[10]
[10]
[10]
[10]
Chart (1998)
[10]
Chart (2006)
Position 25 Position 72
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"We Are the Champions" The song was covered by Katie Waissel during the first live show of the 2010 UK The X Factor. The song was also performed as part of the Closing Ceremony of the Delhi Commonwealth Games. The song was featured in the novel The Million Dollar Kick when Whisper makes the million-dollar goal.
295
References
[1] BRITs 25 Song Award: We Are The Champions - Queen (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ radio2/ soldonsong/ whatson/ wearethechampions. shtml) BBC Retrieved January 21, 2011 [2] We Are the Champions: Song Review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ song/ we-are-the-champions-t2415717) All Music Retrieved January 21, 2011 [3] UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ songinfo. php?id=7550) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [4] Billboard allmusic.com (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p5205/ charts-awards/ billboard-singles) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [5] Grammy Hall of Fame Award (http:/ / www. grammy. org/ recording-academy/ awards/ hall-of-fame#w) Grammy.org Retrieved April 21, 2011 [6] Haines, Lester (29 September 2005) 'We Are The Champions' voted world's fave song (http:/ / www. theregister. co. uk/ 2005/ 09/ 29/ world_music_poll/ ) (Sony Ericsson world music poll) Retrieved April 21, 2011 [7] For the first time ever...Queen: Ten great hits from the sensational rock band (http:/ / www. dailymail. co. uk/ tvshowbiz/ article-1169307/ For-time--Queen-Ten-great-hits-sensational-rock-band-todays-The-Mail-Sunday. html) Mail Online Retrieved January 21, 2011 [8] Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ entertainment-arts-11340336) BBC News Retrieved January 22, 2011 [9] Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ search/ placement) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [10] "We Are the Champions", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (http:/ / lescharts. com/ showitem. asp?key=8012& cat=s) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [11] French certifications Chartsinfrance.net (http:/ / www. chartsinfrance. net/ certifications/ artiste-176. htm) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [12] Queen's certifications and sales in France See: "Les Ventes" => "Toutes les certifications depuis 1973" => "QUEEN" Infodisc.fr (http:/ / www. infodisc. fr/ S_Certif. php) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [13] French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (http:/ / www. disqueenfrance. com/ fr/ monopage. xml?id=259165& year=1998& type=6) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [14] U.S. certifications riaa.com (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinumdata. php?table=SEARCH) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [15] 1978 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (http:/ / www. austriancharts. at/ 1978_single. asp) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [16] 1998 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (http:/ / www. disqueenfrance. com/ classements/ singles/ classement_annuel. asp?date=13) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [17] "We Are the Champions" by Jean-Sbastien Lavoie, French and Swiss singles charts Lescharts.com (http:/ / lescharts. com/ showitem. asp?key=5934& cat=s) (Retrieved July 29, 2008) [18] http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=ZV0QaO1Fpmk& feature=related [19] "We Are the Champions (Ding a Dang Dong)", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (http:/ / lescharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Crazy+ Frog& titel=We+ Are+ The+ Champions+ (Ding+ A+ Dang+ Dong)& cat=s) (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
296
Singleby Queen from the album News of the World Released Format Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer 7 October 1977 12" Rock 2:02 Elektra Records (US) Brian May Queen, assisted by Mike Stone Queen singles chronology
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World.[1] Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004,[2] and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century. In 2009, "We Will Rock You" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[3] [4] Other than the last 30 seconds containing a guitar solo by May, the song is generally set in a cappella form, using only stamping and clapping as a rhythmic beat. In 1977, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" were issued together as a worldwide Top Ten single.[5]
297
History
This song and its well known partner "We Are the Champions" were written in response to an event occurring in the 1977 British Tour. The band had played a gig at Stafford's Bingley Hall, and, says Brian May[6] 'We did an encore and then went off, and instead of just keeping clapping, they sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" to us, and we were just completely knocked out and taken aback - it was quite an emotional experience really, and I think these chant things are in some way connected with that.' One version was used as the opening track on their 1977 album News of the World. This version consists of a stomp-stomp-clap-pause beat, and a power chorus, being somewhat of an anthem. The stamping effects were created by the band overdubbing the sounds of themselves stomping and clapping many times and adding delay effects to create a sound like many people were participating. The durations of the delays were in the ratios of prime numbers, a technique now known as non-harmonic reverberation.[7] A tape loop is used to repeat the last phrase of the guitar solo three times as opposed to Brian May playing it three separate times on the recording.[8] When performed live, this version is usually followed by "We Are the Champions", another of the album's hits, as they were designed to run together.[5] The songs are often paired on the radio and at sporting events, where they are frequently played.[5] The songs are also paired back to back on the album, and they are still played together to this day on American classic rock radio stations. Queen also performed the song in another arrangement (known as the "fast version"), which featured a faster tempo and a full guitar, bass and drums backing track throughout. The band would often open their live sets in the late 1970s and early 1980s with this version, as captured on their 1979 Live Killers double album, on Queen Rock Montreal (2007), and on the Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl album released in 2004. The "fast version" is available in a studio performance. In 1977, it was recorded for John Peel's show on BBC Radio 1. This version is on the 1992 Italian bootleg CD "Queen - We Will Rock You" (On Stage CD 12018). It is part of a longer cut that starts out with the slow version. In 2002, the fast version was officially released on a promo single distributed by the tabloid The Sun. The "fast" BBC studio version can also be found on The Best of King Biscuit Live Volume 4 and online at Wolfgang's Vault. Between the two versions, there is a brief cut of a female voice discussing Brahmanism, used in a BBC Radio documentary. The "stomp, stomp, clap" sounds were later reused in the Queen + Paul Rodgers song "Still Burnin'".
298
B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer Certification Megamix July 17, 2000 CD Single 1999 Pop 3:08 Sony BMG Brian May Richard Stannard, Julian Gallagher Silver (UK) Gold (Australia) Five singles chronology
"We Will Rock You" is the fifth and final single from British boyband Five's second studio album, Invincible. Released on July 17, 2000, the song features the members of Queen on guitar and drums, however, they do not sing any vocals on the track. The song charted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Five's second number-one single, and their ninth consecutive top-ten hit.
Track listing
UK CD Single #1 1. "We Will Rock You" [Radio Edit] - 3:08 2. "Keep on Movin'" [Five-A-Side Mix] - 3:32 3. "We Will Rock You" [Video] - 3:08 UK CD Single #2 1. "We Will Rock You" [Radio Edit] - 3:08 2. "Megamix" - 4:19 3. "Megamix" [Video] - 4:19 European Single 1. "We Will Rock You" [Radio Edit] - 3:08 2. "Megamix" [Radio Edit] - 3:43 3. "We Will Rock You" [Video] - 3:08
299
Cover versions
1991: Italian band Kirlian Camera covered the song. 1992: Warrant covered the song for the film Gladiator. 1992: Brazilian band Viper covered the fast version of the song in their third album Evolution, and later in a 1993 live album Maniacs in Japan. 1996: Carol Jiani, for her album Superstar. 1996: Linda Ronstadt performed a soft lullaby version for her album Dedicated to the One I Love. 1997: El General remade the song in Spanish as "Nosotros Te Conmoveremos" for the compilation Tributo a Queen: Los Grandes del Rock en Espanol. 1997: German Hard Rock Band Pink Cream 69 recorded a cover on their 1997 album Food for Thought. A recording can be heard here. [9] 2000: DJ Hurricane and Scott Weiland collaborated on a cover of the song for the album Don't Sleep. 2000: Queen members May and Taylor recorded a rap-style version of the song with boy band 5ive. 2000: Actress Kimberly Williams performs an alternate version of the song for the television miniseries The 10th Kingdom. 2003: John Farnham performed a rendition for his Greatest Hits CD, featuring samples from the original recording. According to the liner notes for One Voice: The Greatest Hits, Brian May contributed an extended guitar solo. 2003: a remix by KCPK, sung by a chorus of children, was released in a series of animated Evian adverts which aired in France, Germany and Belgium. The remix was later released as a single and entered the local charts.[10] 2004: Houseboyz performed a cover version for the video game Dance Dance Revolution Extreme.[11] 2004: Britney Spears, Beyonc Knowles and P!nk used this song in an international commercial Pepsi campaign and the song was released on Pepsi Music 2004 CD.[12] 2005: German band Pink Cream 69 covered the song in their album Food for Thought.[13] 2005: Nickelback covered the song as a bonus track, through a promotion with Wal-Mart, for their album All the Right Reasons. 2008: Japanese singer Kosaka Riyu recorded a trance music version of the song. 2009: Joe Perry and Katy Perry covered the song at the MTV's VMA 2009.[14] 2009: In 2009, Australian Idol winner Stan Walker did a cover on the show and recorded a version on his album. 2010: The cast of the Off-Broadway musical Avenue Q performed covers of both this song and We Are The Champions in a video spoof of the Muppets' Bohemian Rhapsody.
"We Will Rock You" 2008: Finnish band Sonata Arctica played "We Will Rock You" in concerts of their 2008 tour, using the crowd as a human drum kit. 2008: KoRn plays "We Will Rock You" as medley with their Coming Undone at their live concerts. The drum beat for Coming Undone was inspired by the beat from We Will Rock You. 2008: Canadian singer Celine Dion performed a cover of this song as The Show Must Go On for her world tour concerts. 2008: Stone Temple Pilots who recently reunited have played the song at many of their shows. 2008: New Kids on the Block interpolated this song with "Hangin' Tough in Live performances on their tour in support of their comeback album. 2008: German band Der Popolski Show (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Popolski_Show) played it for their Live Album Live in Zabrze. 2009: American singer Katy Perry covered this opening the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. 2009: Irish duo John & Edward performed Five's version of "We Will Rock You" on week four of the sixth series of The X Factor 2009/2010: Polish singers Dorota Rabczewska and Maryla Rodowicz both covered the song during New Year's Eve in d (TVP2).
300
Remixes
1991: Rick Rubin did some remixes of "We Will Rock You", released by Hollywood Records. The "Ruined Remix" also contains contributions by Flea and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 2003: Japanese techno artist Killingscum remixed 5ive's cover of the song in the track Morning Knifreak. Norman Cook performed a Fatboy Slim remix on "We Will Rock You". DJ Speedo has performed a gabber style remix for various compilation CDs. Daft Punk mixed this song along with their own song "Robot Rock" for the game DJ Hero to create "We Will (Robot) Rock You". Geddy (A.k.a Armageddon) mashed up "I Want It All" and "We Will Rock You" in the Sucker Punch Original Soundtrack.
Sampling
1992: Ice Cube sampled the "stomp-clap" on his album "The Predator" for the song "When Will They Shoot?". 1999: The "stomp-clap" is sampled as Juvenile is introduced on the track "You Dig" from The Hot Boys album Guerrilla Warfare. 2002: Eminem sampled the "stomp-clap" on his album The Eminem Show for the song "Till I Collapse". 2005: Edson & Hudson sampled the "stomp-clap" on their hit "Galera Corao". 2003: Kid Rock samples the song on "Hillbilly Stomp" from his self titled album. The song uses banjos, dobros and slide guitar to make it sound unique. 2006: American Industrial Metal band Revolting Cocks used the sampled "stomp-clap" for the song "Revolting Cock au Lait" and its shorter version "RevColution Medley", both of them from the album Cocked and Loaded. 2007: Bon Jovi used the song as intro of their song "Summertime" in all the Lost Highway Tour. 2007: Japanese J-Rock band LM.C used the "stomp-clap" for the intro "NO.9" from their album "Glitter Loud Box". 2008: Detroit rapper Pick Up used this song as a sample for the track, "Like Me Or Not," off his debut album 8 Milez North. 2009: Japanese Rock band Garnet Crow sampled the "stomp-clap" in their song "Doing All Right." 2010: Rapper Charles Hamilton sampled the beat and chorus for the song "Gameday" from his mixtape "Well This Isn't Awkward".
"We Will Rock You" 2010: Southern Gospel Group Ernie Haase & Signature Sound Sampled the song in their version of The Cathedrals song Boundless Love 2010: Katy Perry sampled the "stomp-clap" in the song E.T.
301
"We Will Rock You" Domino's Pizza used a modified version (changing the lyrics to "Gotta Be, Gotta Be Domino's") for a series of commercials between 1994 and 1996. At Wrestlemania 27, Chris Masters and Yoshi Tatsu performed a brief humorous version of the chorus with Masters' pectorial muscles moving up and down to the beat in a parody of American Idol.
302
References
[1] News of the World - Queen (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ news-of-the-world-r15973) Allmusic Retrieved January 22, 2011 [2] "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ news/ story/ 6596175/ we_will_rock_you). RollingStone.com. . Retrieved 2009-06-16. [3] Grammy Hall of Fame Award (http:/ / www. grammy. org/ recording-academy/ awards/ hall-of-fame#w) Grammy.org Retrieved April 21, 2011 [4] Queen enter Grammy Hall of Fame (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ 7758704. stm) BBC News Retrieved April 21, 2011 [5] We Are the Champions: Song Review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ song/ we-are-the-champions-t2415717) All Music Retrieved January 21, 2011 [6] Interview with Tom Browne for BBC Radio One, broadcast Christmas Eve and Boxing Day 1977 [7] May, Brian (22 September 2007). "STAMPING ON PIANO'S?" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssbsep07. html). Bri's Soapbox. . Retrieved 4 August 2010. [8] "Queen's Brian May Rocks Out To Physics, Photography" (http:/ / www. npr. org/ templates/ transcript/ transcript. php?storyId=128935865). Fresh Air. NPR. 3 August 2010. . Retrieved 6 August 2010. [9] http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=4eYCkzqueBI [10] WWRY Singles (http:/ / www. queencollector. com/ Monthly/ WWRY/ wwry. htm) [11] Dance Dance Revolution Extreme (http:/ / www. amazon. com/ dp/ B0002RQ37U/ ) @ amazon.com [12] Britney Spears Beyonce Pink-We will rock you (http:/ / au. video. yahoo. com/ watch/ 288736/ 2024315) Yahoo! Retrieved January 22, 2011 [13] Food For Thought by Pink Cream 69 (http:/ / www. cduniverse. com/ search/ xx/ music/ pid/ 6939970/ a/ Food+ For+ Thought. htm) @ CD Universe [14] Katy Perry Performs "We Will Rock You" to Intro Russell Brand (http:/ / www. mtv. com/ videos/ shows/ vma-09/ 435992/ katy-perry-performs-we-will-rock-you-to-intro-russell-brand. jhtml) MTV Retrieved January 22, 2011 [15] Video (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=iR6ICOyOnEY) on YouTube
303
Singleby Queen from the album News of the World B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer Sheer Heart Attack 10 February 1978 7" 1977 at Sarm West and Wessex Studios Rock 4:26 EMI, Elektra (US) John Deacon Queen, assisted by Mike Stone Queen singles chronology
"Spread Your Wings" is a song by Queen, from their 1977 album News of the World. It was released as the A side of the single Spread Your Wings/Sheer Heart Attack in 1978. It is a rock ballad, written by bassist John Deacon. It features Deacon on bass and acoustic guitar, Freddie Mercury on piano and vocals, Brian May on guitar and Roger Taylor on drums. The song is in 4/4 meter, and starts with a simple piano motif in D. It is written in D Major, then modulating up to D's relative minor, B minor in the bridge, coming down to D in the chorus. The lyrics of the song describe a troubled young man named Sammy who works at The Emerald Bar, sweeping the floor. The narrator (Mercury) of the song encourages Sammy to pursue his dreams, telling him to "spread your wings and fly away".
304
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - vocals and piano. John Deacon - acoustic and bass guitar. Brian May - lead guitar. Roger Meddows-Taylor - drums.
Cover versions
This song was covered by German power metal band Blind Guardian on both their 1992 album Somewhere Far Beyond, and their 1996 album The Forgotten Tales.
"It's Late"
305
"It's Late"
"It's Late"
Singleby Queen from the album News of the World B-side Released Format Sheer Heart Attack (commercial single) / It's late (long ver)/ (US promo single) 1978 (Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Japan only) 7"
Recorded 1977 Genre Length Rock 6:22 (long ver aka single ver) 4:28 (short ver promo single version) EMI, Elektra
Label
Writer(s) Brian May Producer Queen and Mike Stone Queen singles chronology
"It's Late" is a song written by Queen guitarist Brian May and performed by the band for their 1977 album News of the World. The song was May's idea of treating a song as a three-act theatrical play, and the verses are called "acts" in the lyrics sheet. It makes use of the tapping technique one year before Eddie Van Halen's use of the tapping technique on the Van Halen album. May told Guitar Player Magazine [1] that his use of the tapping technique was inspired by an unnamed bar-band guitarist from Texas. The song is notable for its length and heavy, wide vocal range (E3-E6), bluesy guitar riff, using the previously mentioned technique. The song was released as a single in the US in 1978, albeit in heavily edited form, and peaked at #72 on the Billboard charts. The song was later included on the Queen Rocks compilation in 1997, and a new video was produced using footage of Las Vegas and prostitutes, intercut with live performances of the song.
"It's Late" The song appears in the 2006 documentary film Kurt Cobain: About a Son. The song also plays over the credits in the Seth Rogen film Observe and Report.
306
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - vocals. John Deacon - bass guitar. Brian May - guitar and backing vocals. Roger Taylor - Drums .
References
[1] http:/ / www. guitarplayer. com/ article/ queens-brian-may/ jan-08/ 32483 Brian May Guitar Player Interview
"Bicycle Race"
307
"Bicycle Race"
"Bicycle Race"
Singleby Queen from the album Jazz A-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer Fat Bottomed Girls October 13, 1978 7" 1978 Rock 3:01 EMI, Elektra Freddie Mercury Queen and Roy Thomas Baker Queen singles chronology
"Bicycle Race" is a single by the English rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album Jazz and written by Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song "Fat Bottomed Girls". The song is notable for its video featuring a bicycle race with nude women at Wimbledon Stadium, which was edited or even banned in several countries. The song has a very unusual chord progression with numerous modulations, a change of meter (from 4/4 to 3/4) in the bridge, and the multitracked vocal and guitar harmonies.
"Bicycle Race"
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Distribution
The song was released as a single and also included in the following albums and box sets: Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, 15 Of The Best, Queen Live In Concert, Greatest Hits and Jewels II.[6] The single was mostly distributed in 1978, on 7-inch vinyl records, with "Fat Bottomed Girls" on the B-side and EMI record label. In Argentine, the titles were translated as "Carrera de Bicicletas" and "Chicas Gordas", respectively. The labels were changed to Pepita in Hungary and to Elektra in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The Polish issue had the label of Tonpress[7] and either "Spread Your Wing" or nothing on the B-side. Both 7-inch and 12-inch records were issued in the US; there the song also appeared in 1979, on the B-side of the single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". In nearly all countries, the covers featured a backside photo of a naked woman on a racing bike, with red bikini painted over the original photo.[1] [8] A bra was added to the US covers.[9]
Personnel
Country Peak position 28 21 27 10 20 5 [10] [11] [12] [13] [11] 25 Nov 2 Dec 1978 Jan 1979 1118 Dec 1978 Held during Charted for (weeks) 9 4 12 7 8 11 9 12
11 24
Freddie Mercury lead and backing vocals, piano, bicycle bells[17] Brian May guitars, backing vocals, bicycle bells John Deacon bass guitar, bicycle bells
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Gallery
A bicycle race with nude women was held to promote the single and "Fat Bottomed Girls".
Back cover
References
[1] Phil Sutcliffe; Peter Hince; Reinhold Mack (15 November 2009). Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=adNONbUWLjgC& pg=PT122). MBI Publishing Company. pp.122. ISBN9780760337196. . Retrieved 23 February 2011.. Sutcliffe counters a popular belief that Mercury was inspired by seeing the Tour through a hotel window in Nice by that the Tour did not pass through Nice that year. [2] M. Felsani; M. Primi; M. Saita (1997). Queen. Tutti i testi con traduzione a fronte (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=80i-yJVN2TwC& pg=PA16). Taylor & Francis. pp.16. ISBN9788809024182. . Retrieved 23 February 2011. [3] Queen Songs The Book: Bicycle Race (http:/ / www. queensongs. info/ the-book/ songwriting-analyses/ modern-era-queen/ the-works/ Bicycle-race. html). Queensongs.info. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [4] The great rock and roll tour | Mail Online (http:/ / www. dailymail. co. uk/ travel/ holidaytypeshub/ article-588680/ The-great-rock-roll-tour. html). Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-02-24. [5] Peter Buckley (28 October 2003). The rough guide to rock (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=haEfq-nKqjgC& pg=PR7-IA782). Rough Guides. pp.7. ISBN9781843531050. . Retrieved 23 February 2011. [6] Queen Non-UK Albums Discography (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ discography/ queenalbumsnonuk. htm). Ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [7] Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (1 September 1979). Billboard (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=DyQEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PT97). Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. pp.97. ISSN00062510. . Retrieved 24 February 2011. [8] BICYCLE RACE as an a-side (http:/ / www. pcpki. com/ cgi-bin/ discography. cgi?qs:BICYCLE+ RACE), pcpki.com [9] Bicycle Race () Queen (http:/ / music-facts. ru/ song/ Queen/ Bicycle_Race/ ), Music-facts.ru [10] Queen International Singles Chart Positions (http:/ / www. pcpki. com/ queen/ singles. html). Pcpki.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [11] Queen Bicycle Race (http:/ / austriancharts. at/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=BICYCLE+ RACE& cat=s). austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2011-02-20.
"Bicycle Race"
[12] Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Knstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche (http:/ / www. musicline. de/ de/ chartverfolgung_summary/ title/ QUEEN/ Bicycle+ Race/ single). musicline.de. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [13] The Irish Charts (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ search/ placement) [14] Queen Bicycle Race (http:/ / dutchcharts. nl/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=BICYCLE+ RACE& cat=s). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [15] Queen Bicycle Race (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ release. php?release=7798). Chart Stats. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [16] Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (26 June 1982). Billboard (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=jyQEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PT95). Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. pp.95. ISSN00062510. . Retrieved 23 February 2011. [17] Bicycle Race (http:/ / queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=Bicycle_Race), queenpedia
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Singleby Queen from the album Jazz A-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Bicycle Race 13 October 1978 7" 1978 Rock Label Writer(s) Producer 4:16 (Album version) 3:22 (Single edit)
EMI, Elektra Brian May Queen and Roy Thomas Baker Queen singles chronology
"Fat Bottomed Girls" is a hit single by the English rock band Queen. It was released in 1978 on the album Jazz. The song was written by Queen guitarist Brian May. It was one of the few Queen songs played in an alternative guitar tuning, being played in drop D tuning.
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Versions
Vocal arrangements are quite different between the studio version and the live version. In live performances, the lead vocals during the chorus were sung by Freddie Mercury and harmonised with an upper voice (Roger Taylor) and a lower voice (Brian May). In the studio version, there is no higher harmony. The lead vocals on the verses are sung by Freddie Mercury, while Brian May sings lead on the chorus. The single version (which can be found on Greatest Hits) omits the extended guitar interludes between the verses as well as fading out before the ending. "Fat Bottomed Girls" was released as a double A-side with the song "Bicycle Race." This cut includes the line "Get on your bikes and ride". Bicycle Race also contains the line "Fat bottomed girls, they'll be riding today, so look out for those beauties, oh yeah", completing a double cross-reference between the two songs.
Personnel
Brian May: guitar, lead[1] and backing vocals. Freddie Mercury: lead and backing vocals. Roger Taylor: Drums and backing vocals. John Deacon: Bass guitar.
Live recordings
Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl Return of the Champions Super Live in Japan Live in Ukraine Main St Mullingar
Cover versions
Mark Salling, as his character Puck, covered the song on the TV series Glee in the second season episode "Silly Love Songs". Alternative rock band, House of Heroes, used to cover the song during Live Shows. The band Antigone Rising covered the song on the 2005 tribute album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen. Hayseed Dixie covered it in bluegrass style on their 2002 album A Hillbilly Tribute to Mountain Love, where it's back to back with Spinal Tap's parody Big Bottom. The Feeling performed this song on their 2007 UK tour. Kevin Fowler covered the song on his 2002 album High on the Hog. On the Ozzfest 2006 tour, Atreyu used the intro to open their set. As well as using it during their European tour in November 2007. Eric Church uses this song now as his intro to "I Pledge Allegiance To The Hag" in his live performances. Stephen Cochran closes his live performances with a remake of FBG's. The song was covered by American Idol season five contestant Bucky Covington during Queen week This song was also covered by The Rockers in their CD, "We are the Champions. A tribute to Queen" A song set to the same tune "Triple D's" was featured in an episode of Rick & Steve sung by lipstick lesbian Kirsten to her wife Dana who had been insecure about the weight she's put on since giving birth. Kid Rock did a southern rock version of the song on 2004's CMT Outlaws concert special. Amos Lee occasionally covers the song as an encore while touring. A Japanese pop duo, Kirinji covers the song in folk style on their 2002 album Omnibus. Lebanese rock band Meen parodied this song, translating it and releasing it as "Soeur Marie-Celestine".
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Featured appearances
The song was used in the second season of the series My Name is Earl in episode seventeen. The song was used as the opening theme for Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary Super Size Me. The song was also played during surgery on episode 40 of Nip/Tuck (2005). The song was mentioned in the song "Mix Tape" from the Broadway musical Avenue Q. Part of the song is sung at the end of the Father Ted episode, "The Mainland", by Fr. Noel Furlong, when he is trapped in a cave under a large pile of rocks, with only his hand showing. The song was released for Guitar Hero: World Tour as downloadable content on March 26, 2009.[2] The song was released as downloadable content for Rock Band on October 20, 2009.[3] The song was the opening salvo in a karaoke war that resulted in Sven and Faye finally going to bed in Questionable Content.[4] Actors Vik Sahay and Scott Krinsky of Chuck performed this song to open a panel discussion about the show during San Diego Comic-Con 2009. Actor Mark Salling (Noah Puckerman) of the hit TV show Glee sang this song as a love song in the show's second season.
Chart performance
Chart (1978) Peak position 21 11 7 7 27 10 7 24
Austrian Singles Chart British Singles Chart Dutch Singles Chart French Singles Chart German Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart Norwegian Singles Chart U.S. Billboard Hot 100
References
[1] Fat Bottomed Girls Queenpedia.com Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Discography, Bibliography, Charts (http:/ / queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=Fat_Bottomed_Girls). Queenpedia.com (2009-03-25). Retrieved on 2011-02-23. [2] Home (http:/ / community. guitarhero. com/ news_posts/ 154). Community.guitarhero.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-23. [3] Killer Queen! British Rock Royalty Hit Rock Band with a Mighty Ten-Pack // Blog // Rock Band (http:/ / www. rockband. com/ zine/ queen-dlc). Rockband.com (2009-10-13). Retrieved on 2011-02-23. [4] New comics every Monday through Friday (http:/ / questionablecontent. net/ view. php?comic=1072). Questionable Content. Retrieved on 2011-02-23.
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Singleby Queen from the album Jazz B-side "In Only Seven Days" "More of That Jazz" 26 January 1979 7", Cassette tape August September 1978 Rock 3:29 EMI, Elektra Freddie Mercury Queen and Roy Thomas Baker Queen singles chronology
"Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by English rock group Queen, featured on their 1978 album Jazz. Written by vocalist Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August/September 1978 in Nice, France. Musically, the song is based around Mercury's piano playing, with John Deacon and Roger Taylor providing a bass guitar and drums backing track. The song also provides an example of Queen's trademark style of multitrack harmony vocals for the chorus lines. Several recordings were laid over each other to achieve the final sound. On the studio version, Brian May's only guitar playing is in his guitar solo, but on live versions performed on the band's 1979 Jazz and Crazy tours, May would also play rhythm guitar throughout the rest of the song to give more of a rock feeling to it. In June 2011, As part of Queen's 40th anniversary celebrations, an old take of the song containing more guitar parts was included on the bonus EP of the re-released and remastered Jazz album. It was the
"Don't Stop Me Now" first time ever this material had been released. The single reached number 9 in the UK charts but only number 86 in the US. Viewed at the time of release as one of the lesser songs in the Queen canon, it was only performed live during 1979, with the last performance in the Crazy Tour. Despite this the song has grown in stature with time and has been popularised not only by consistent airplay, but by its use in advertisements, television programmes and films, and through cover versions. It has subsequently become one of Queen's most popular songs. It was the first single by Queen to be released on a cassette tape. Previously, each single was released on a Vinyl Record or 7".
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In popular culture
Popular darts player Ronnie Baxter uses the song as his walk-on song as well as BDO player Brian Woods In 2005, this song was voted as "The Greatest Driving Song Ever" by viewers of the BBC television program Top Gear, but the trophy given to Roger Taylor (initially to be given to Brian May, but the producers reconsidered when they heard May hates the song) was mis-engraved, reading Stop Me Now The 2004 horror/comedy Shaun of the Dead featured the song near the end of the movie. The song is played on a jukebox in the Winchester pub as three of the main characters circle around the zombie pub landlord while hitting him over the head with pool cues in rhythm with the song, leading Shaun to utter the line; "David, kill the Queen!" Also, during the song, various things happen to the beat of the music, such as lights flashing. Thematically, the song is ironic, as its upbeat feel completely contradicts the protagonists' no-win scenario when it accidentally is played on jukebox. On the DVD Scene Selection the scene is called Killer Queen, another one of Queen's songs. "You're My Best Friend" was also featured in the film during the closing credits. The song is featured in a Panasonic commercial in Australia during coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics, featuring Australian Olympians in their childhood on home videos The song was also featured in FOX's cartoon series American Dad! during the first season episode "Roger 'n' Me" The song also featured in the credits of a British television show on the history of the Concorde aircraft The song was featured in a series of Gatorade Propel advertisements The song was used in a commercial for Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, showing airport trucks having a race along the runway to a background of the song playing. This was later changed to Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" This song was used in the Australian Queensland Motorways Ad for their new tolling system It was used by M-Net in an advertising campaign in the early 1990s The song is featured in the graffiti film Grovt Skadeverk 2 The song is the un-official club song for the Grand Valley State University Men's Rugby Football Club This song was used for the opening of the Youth Olympic Games. In 2011, Top Gear attempted to do a stunt driving show during the Four-Seater Convertibles Challenge in synchronisation with the song. In 2011, replacing Henry Rollins' "Do It", the song became a favorite, being played weekly in the opening set of WFMU's The Best Show with Tom Scharpling.
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Cover versions
Notable cover versions include: McFly, the cover is the official song for Sport Relief 2006. It reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 29 July 2006 The Vandals, on their 2004 album Hollywood Potato Chip. A music video filmed for the song features guitarist and producer Warren Fitzgerald busking in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre while in costume as Freddie Mercury.[1] Fobia (in Spanish) In the European release of the drumming game Donkey Konga (2004) The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [2] Katy Perry performed the song twice on her Hello Katy Tour[3] Unibet in Scandinavia featured a cover by Fibes, Oh Fibes! in autumn 2009 [4] Olly Murs sang this on 14 November during "Queen Week" of The X Factor 2009 Parts of the "Weird Al" song, "Ringtone" resemble this song's melody, along with several other Queen songs. Sally Chatfield covered this song in the Australian version of the "X-Factor"
Chart positions
Number 9(UK) Number 10 (Ireland) Number 14 (Netherlands) Number 35 (Germany) Number 37 (Sweden) Number 86 (US)
References
[1] "The Vandals - 'Don't Stop Me Now' Kung Fu Records" (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=bUXyBAsVr6o& feature=related). Youtube. Kung Fu Records. . Retrieved 2010-04-29. [2] http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=FUjsdglgNp8& feature=related [3] Katy Perry - Don't stop me now, seattle showbox (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=XKTuDQzE-Hw& fmt=18) YouTube [4] Katy Perry - Don't stop me now, seattle showbox Unibet Love The Game TVC 30 Sec Swe (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=AsY5XOB4Z1Y) YouTube
"Mustapha"
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"Mustapha"
"Mustapha"
Singleby Queen from the album Jazz B-side Dead on Time In Only Seven Days (Yugoslavia) 1979 (Bolivia, Germany, Spain and Yugoslavia only) vinyl record (7")
Released Format
Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Producer Queen and Roy Thomas Baker Queen singles chronology
"Mustapha" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and recorded by English rock band Queen. It is the first track of their 1978 album Jazz. "Mustapha" was released as a single in Germany, Spain, Yugoslavia and Bolivia in 1979. In live performances, Mercury would often sing the opening vocals of "Mustapha" in place of the complex introduction to "Bohemian Rhapsody", going from "Allah will pray for you" to "Mama, I just killed a man...". However, sometimes the band performed an almost full version of the song from the Crazy Tour in late 1979 to The Game Tour in 1980, with Mercury at the piano. They dropped the second verse and went from the first chorus to the third. Also notable is that the song was often requested by the audience, as can be heard on Live Killers.
"Love of My Life"
318
"Love of My Life"
"Love of My Life"
Song by Queen from the album A Night at the Opera Released Recorded Genre Length Label 21 November 1975 1975 at various studios Rock 3:39 EMI, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (US) Freddie Mercury Queen Roy Thomas Baker A Night at the Opera track listing
Writer Producer
Singleby Queen from the album Live Killers B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Now I'm Here (live) 29 June 1979 Vinyl record (7") 1979 Rock, folk rock 4:59 EMI Queen singles chronology
"Love of My Life"
319
"Mustapha" (1979)
"Love of My Life" is a ballad from the album A Night at the Opera by English rock band Queen. This song was written about Mary Austin with whom Freddie had a long term relationship in the early 1970s. A live release of the single reached number 1 in Argentina and Brazil, in 1979. The preceding track on the album, "The Prophet's Song", flows seamlessly into this song, although the two were never performed back to back live. Freddie Mercury wrote it on the piano and guitar first, Brian May rearranged the song for acoustic 12-string guitar to facilitate live performances. May contributed occasional guitar phrases to the original recording and played the swooping harp glissandos by pasting together multiple takes of single chords. The song is a good example of Mercury's familiarity with rubato phrasing, showcasing his classical piano influences, notably by Chopin and Beethoven. With its similar lyrical theme, later single "These Are the Days of Our Lives" would hark back to "Love of My Life", twice using the line "I still love you". At the end of "These Are the Days of Our Lives", Mercury simply speaks the words, as he would often do in live versions of "Love of My Life."[1]
Live performances
Introduced during the "News of the World Tour" in 1977, "Love of My Life" was such a concert favourite that Mercury frequently stopped singing and allowed the audience to take over. It was especially well received during concerts in South America, and the band released the song as a single there. The 1979 album Live Killers features a live version of the song. After Mercury's death, Brian May usually dedicated the song to him. A notable exception is the Sheffield show which yielded the Return of the Champions CD and DVD. At that show, May announced that Mercury's mother was at the show and he dedicated the song to her. In the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour, May would sing a few lines of the song, then let the audience take over for every verse, as Freddie used to. When played at the Glasgow SECC in the 2008 Cosmos Rocks Tour Brian dedicated the song to his recently deceased mother a very beautiful moment with the crowd again joining in. As it was already mentioned, the song was played on the guitar by Brian May on concerts, unlike on the album A Night at the Opera.
Cover versions
Other versions
Numerous other artists have released a cover of "Love of My Life" commercially, including Scorpions, Michael Burgess, Extreme (which featured Brian May), Rose Marie, Declan Galbraith, Elaine Paige, Mark Slaughter, Antonio Vega, Norma Waterson, Iris and the ladies gold medal winning quartet NoteOrious.
References
[1] Queen's Greatest Videos. Channel 4. 1999. No. 1/1. 50 minutes in. (Roger Taylor)
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Singleby Queen from the album The Game B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer We Will Rock You (live) 5 October 1979 Vinyl record (7" / 12") 1979 Rockabilly 2:42 EMI, Elektra (US) Freddie Mercury Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology [1]
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the English rock band Queen, written by Freddie Mercury in 1979. While it peaked at number two in the UK, it hit number one on the U.S. charts on 23 February 1980, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. It topped the charts in Australia for seven weeks. In Brazil, the song was included in the international soundtrack of Tempos Modernos.[2]
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Composition
As reported by Mercury in Melody Maker, 2 May 1981, Mercury composed "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" on the guitar in just five to ten minutes. Other accounts say that he wrote it while lounging in a bubble bath in the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich during one of Queen's extensive Munich recording sessions. He took it to the studio shortly after writing it and presented it to bandmates Roger Taylor and John Deacon. The three of them, with their new producer Mack, recorded it at Musicland Studios in Munich. The entire song was reportedly recorded in less than half an hour (although Mack says it was six hours).[3]
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead vocal, rhythm guitar, backing vocals, handclaps Brian May: lead guitar, backing vocals, handclaps John Deacon: bass guitar, handclaps Roger Taylor: drums, backing vocals, handclaps
Although Mercury would play an electrified twelve-string on stage (and later a six-string electric), in the studio he recorded it with a six-string acoustic with external mics. Freddie Mercury also played the original guitar solo on a version which has been lost.[4]
Single release
The "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" single hit number two in the UK and became the first U.S. number-one hit for the band. some copies contain an alternate b-side; Spread Your Wings (live)
Charts
Country Australia Canada Mexico Netherlands New Zealand U.S. Ireland UK Switzerland Norway Austria Germany Japan Peak position Certification 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 5 8 9 2 64 gold [6] gold [5] gold
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Singleby Dwight Yoakam from the album Last Chance for a Thousand Years: Dwight Yoakam's Greatest Hits from the 90's B-side Released Format Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Let's Work Tegether"/"Doin' What I Did" 19 May 1999 CD single Country 2:22 Reprise Freddie Mercury Pete Anderson Dwight Yoakam singles chronology
American country music singer Dwight Yoakam included a cover of the song on his 1999 album Last Chance for a Thousand Years: Dwight Yoakam's Greatest Hits from the 90's.[7] Yoakam's version was released as a single, peaking at #12 on the U.S. country singles charts in 1999. It was also used in a television commercial for clothing retailer Gap at the time of the album's release. The music video was directed by Yoakam.
323
Charts
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" debuted at #65 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of 1 May 1999.
Chart (1999) Peak position 12 64 1 19 43
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Canadian RPM Country Tracks Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks UK Singles Chart
Other versions
In 1980 by The Chipmunks on their comeback album, Chipmunk Punk. In 1980 it was covered by Pink Lady on their variety show Pink Lady and Jeff. Canadian pop/big band singer Michael Bubl covered the song for his self-titled 2003 debut album. American singer Josh Kelley recorded a cover for the 2005 album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen. British pop rock/pop punk band McFly covered the song, which it was featured on their "Room on the Third Floor" single. American band The 88 did a cover for the movie Failure to Launch. Diana Ross covered the song on her 2007 album I Love You. Brian May plays guitar on this version. Brian Setzer covered the song on his 2000 Brian Setzer Orchestra album Vavoom!, as a Japanese-only bonus track. Kingtinued, a sound-alike album featuring an Elvis Presley impersonator singing songs written after Presley's death, includes the song. The X Factor contestant Lloyd Daniels sang the song in the live shows of week 6. The theme of the night was Queen songs. Showaddywaddy have done a cover of this song. In the Showtime series Californication, the movie based on Hank Moody's book, God Hates Us All, is named after this song. Performed on American Idol by Fantasia Barrino, David Radford, Taylor Hicks, and Tim Urban. The pop-rock band Maroon 5 coverred the song and it came out as a bonus track in some versions of the album Hands All Over.
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References
[1] Coryat, Karl (1999). The Bass Player Book. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p.59. [2] "Teledramaturgia" (http:/ / www. teledramaturgia. com. br/ tele/ temposmodernost. asp). teledramaturgia.com.br. . Retrieved 20 October 2010. [3] Interview with Reinhold Mack, Esq. (http:/ / www. izotope. com/ artists/ reinhold_mack. asp). iZotope. [4] May confirms Mercury played solo (http:/ / www. queencuttings. com/ images/ solo/ Guitar& Bass_jan2008_p05. jpg). Guitar & Bass. [5] RIAA. Gold & Platinum (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinum. php). [6] BPI Certified Awards (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ stats). [7] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Last Chance for a Thousand Years review" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r420881). Allmusic. . Retrieved 4 June 2009.
External links
Song analysis (www.queensongs.info) (http://www.queensongs.info/the-book/songwriting-analyses/ modern-era-queen/the-game/crazy-little-thing-called-love.html)
"Save Me"
325
"Save Me"
"Save Me"
Singleby Queen from the album The Game B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Let Me Entertain You" (live) 25 January 1980 Vinyl record (7") 1979 Rock 3:52 EMI, Elektra Brian May Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Save Me" is a song by English rock band Queen. This rock ballad was written by guitarist Brian May. It was recorded in 1979 and released in the U.K. on January 25, 1980, nearly six months prior to the release of the album The Game. It spent six weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number eleven. The song was played live from 1979-1982. Brian May wrote "Save Me" about a friend whose relationship had ended, and played piano, synths and guitars (electric and twelve-string acoustic) on it. Played live, the song would typically feature a short piano introduction absent from the studio version. This introduction can be found in a Brian May solo composition "My Boy" which can only be found much later on the 1998 compilation album "Lullabies With A Difference". The general melody could have been conceived by May as early as 1980 as the intro to the live version of "Save Me" exhibits.
"Save Me" In addition, the lyrics "I'm naked and I'm far from home" were uttered near the end of the pilot episode of the television series "Highlander" (whose theme was another Queen song, "Princes of the Universe") by Christopher Lambert's character. A version of the song is performed by stage actress and singer, Kerry Ellis, on her debut album Anthems.
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Personnel
Brian May: rhythm and acoustic twelve-string guitars, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals. Roger Taylor: Drums, backing vocals. Freddie Mercury: Lead and backing Vocals. John Deacon: bass.
Charts
Country Netherlands Norway Ireland Italy UK Germany Japan Peak position 5 7 8 10 11 42 96
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Singleby Queen from the album The Game B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "A Human Body" May 30, 1980 Vinyl record (7") 1980 Rock 3:30 EMI, Elektra Freddie Mercury Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Play the Game" is a song by Queen, written by Freddie Mercury. It is the first track on the first side of their 1980 album The Game. It commences with a series of overlapping rushing noises on an Oberheim OB-X synthesizer, heralding the band's acceptance of electronic instruments into their once explicitly "no synths" sonic repertoire. They played it in their live shows from 1980 to 1982. The single was a hit in Queen's home country reaching #14 in the charts. In America, however, it gained small response at reaching only #42. The song features a considerably soft vocal by Freddie complimented by a strong G4 rising in pitch all the way to a C5 in chest voice, contrary to the other C5s being hit in falsetto. He also played piano on the track. The B-side, "A Human Body", has never appeared on any Queen album, but was finally released on CD format in the 2009 box set Queen Singles Collection Volume 2. The cover of the single, as well as its promotional video, marked the first time Freddie Mercury appeared in either format with what later became his trademark moustache. The video is also notable in that Brian May did not use his
"Play the Game" trademark Red Special guitar, instead using a Fender Stratocaster replica made by Satellite. This was likely due to the risk of damage involved in the shot in which Mercury snatches the guitar away from May, then appears to throw it back to him. Later single "It's a Hard Life" revisits the theme presented in "Play the Game", with Mercury writing from the same lover's perspective years later. Both songs are of a similar structure, revolving around Mercury's piano playing and the band's multi-layered harmonies.[1]
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Personnel
Freddie Mercury: lead and backing vocals,piano and synthesiser. John Deacon: Bass guitar. Brian May: Lead guitar and backing vocals. Roger Taylor: Drums and backing vocals.
Charts
Country Norway Switzerland UK Netherlands Germany U.S. Peak position 6 8 14 15 40 42
References
[1] Queen's Greatest Videos. Channel 4. 1999. No. 1/1. 30 minutes in.
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Singleby Queen from the album The Game B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Don't Try Suicide" in US 22 August 1980 7" vinyl 1980 Funk rock 3:36 EMI, Elektra (US) John Deacon Queen, Mack Queen singles chronology [1]
"Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the English rock band Queen. Written by bass guitarist John Deacon, the song featured on the group's eighth studio album The Game (1980). The song was a worldwide hit, charting one on the United States Billboard Hot 100, number two on the R&B charts and the Disco Top 100, and number seven in the United Kingdom Singles Chart. The song is credited as Queen's best selling single, with sales of over 7 million copies. This version was ranked at number 34 on Billboard's All Time Top 100.[2]
330
History
The bass line was inspired by the song "Good Times" by the Disco group Chic.[3] [4] In an interview with New Musical Express, Chic co-founder Bernard Edwards stated, "...that Queen record came about because that Queen bass player... spent some time hanging out with us at our studio".[5] Recording sessions were produced by Reinhold Mack at Musicland Studios in Munich (West Germany) and consisted of Deacon playing almost all the instruments: bass, piano, rhythm and lead guitars and handclap percussion. Roger Taylor added a drum loop and Brian May contributed some noises with his guitar and an Eventide Harmonizer. There are no synthesisers used in the song: all effects are created with pianos, guitars, and drums, with subsequent tape playback performed in reverse at various speeds. Finally, some sound effects were run through the harmonizer for further processing. The effect of the harmoniser can be heard clearly in the "swirling" nature of the sound immediately before the first lyric. During the mix the road crew suggested it as a single but the band did not like the idea until Michael Jackson recommended it after a concert (this anecdote was confirmed by Roger Taylor and Brian May on the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard that spotlighted the album The Game on one episode). Freddie Mercury loved this track. Brian May recalled to Mojo magazine: "Freddie sung until his throat bled on Another One Bites The Dust. He was so into it. He wanted to make that song something special." The earlier live performances of this song had drummer Roger Taylor on lead vocals during the chorus, as opposed to the album version which was sung by Mercury in its entirety. In later performances, parts of the chorus was sometimes not sung by any member of the band, letting the audience sing it instead. The song garnered Queen a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The band lost to Bob Seger's album Against the Wind. The "Another One Bites the Dust" music video was filmed at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.
Personnel
John Deacon bass, guitar, handclaps and piano (with backward effects) Roger Taylor drums, lead vocals (chorus, live only) Freddie Mercury lead vocals Brian May guitar
Charts
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Country Argentina Canada Guatemala Spain US New Zealand US R&B Ireland Australia Austria Germany UK Switzerland Italy Netherlands France Finland
Singleby Queen with additional vocals by Wyclef Jean featuring Pras and Free from the album Greatest Hits III and Small Soldiers Released Format Recorded 1 November 1998 CD single, 12" single, cassette 1998
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Hip-hop 4:20 Dreamworks John Deacon Queen, Mack, Wyclef Jean, Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis Queen singles chronology
In 1998, Wyclef Jean remixed the song for the film Small Soldiers. This version also featured rap verses from Pras Michel and Free, and appeared on Queen's compilation Greatest Hits III released in 1999. It enjoyed the most success in the UK, where it entered the chart at #5, its highest chart position, going on to spend six weeks on the chart. It also reached the top ten in Finland. It charted #18, #23, #50 and #62 in New Zealand, Austria, Sweden and France, respectively. The music video for this version was directed by Michel Gondry. It was ex-Fugees member Pras' third UK Top 10 hit from his debut solo album Ghetto Supastar following the title track and Blue Angels. However, Pras was not available for the filming of the video and the rapper Canibus recorded a new verse to take his place. This version was used only for the promotional video. Tracklists and formats US 5-inch single 1. 2. 3. 4. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Radio edit) (4:00) "Another One Bites the Dust" (LP version) (4:20) "Another One Bites the Dust" (Instrumental) (4:17) "Another One Bites the Dust" (A cappella) (4:45)
UK 5-inch single 1. "Another One Bites the Dust" (New LP version) (4:20) 2. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Main Pass Mix) (4:46) 3. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Radio Edit) (4:17) Italy 12-inch single A-side 1. 2. 3. 4. "Another One Bites the Dust" (LP version) (4:20) "Another One Bites the Dust" (Small Soldiers Video Mix) (4:00) "Another One Bites the Dust" (Instrumental) (4:17) "Another One Bites the Dust" (A cappella) (4:45)
B-side 1. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Main Pass) (4:48) 2. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Radio Edit) (4:17) 3. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Remix Instrumental) (4:46)
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Cover Versions
In 1997, the original track was sampled by Foxy Brown and Jay-Z on the Trackmasters Remix of her single "I'll Be". In 2002, the song was covered by Queen Factory, a French project of Stphane Durand who was inspired by Mad'House (house covers of Madonna) and King of House (house covers of Michael Jackson). In 2004, the song was covered by Greek-American singer Kalomoira for her debut self titled album released in Greece and Cyprus in September 2004. The album reached number 1 in both countries and was certified gold. In 2010, the song was covered by the cast of Glee. The episode "Funk" aired June 1. Parodist, "Weird Al" Yankovic wrote a parody of the song titled, Another One Rides the Bus. This version was recorded live on the Dr. Demento Show and was released on his debut album.
References
[1] Schaffner, Nicholas (19822). The British Invasion: From the First Wave to the New Wave. New York: McGraw-Hill. p.254. [2] "The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (40-31)" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ specials/ hot100/ charts/ top100-titles-40. shtml). Billboard. . Retrieved 2010-04-11. [3] "Queen Biography" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ artists/ queen/ biography). Rolling Stone. . Retrieved 2010-04-11. [4] "Biography - Chic". Billboard. Archive copy (http:/ / web. archive. org/ */ http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20070929124127/ http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ bio/ index. jsp?pid=4281) at the Wayback Machine. [5] "Good Times" (http:/ / www. superseventies. com/ sw_goodtimes. html). www.superseventies.com. . Retrieved 2010-04-11. Excerpt from Bronson, Fred (1988). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard. [6] Luman, Betty. (UPI) " Subliminal smut hidden in rock-record lyrics (http:/ / news. google. com/ newspapers?id=KstFAAAAIBAJ& sjid=DPgMAAAAIBAJ& pg=5706,4343580& dq=queen+ subliminal+ smut& hl=en)" Telegraph Herald October 30, 1981: E11 [7] Searcey, Dionne (January 9, 2006). "Behind the Music: Sleuths Seek Messages In Lyrical Backspin" (http:/ / online. wsj. com/ article_email/ SB113677367081541303-lMyQjAxMDE2MzA2OTcwNzkzWj. html). The Wall Street Journal. . Retrieved 2010-04-11. [8] "RIAA - Gold & Platinum" (http:/ / www. riaa. com/ goldandplatinum. php). Recording Industry Association of America. . Retrieved 2010-04-11.
External links
polyhex.com UK Singles Chart runs (http://www.polyhex.com/music/chartruns/chartruns.php)
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"Flash" (1980)
"Need Your Loving Tonight" is a song by the band Queen and written by bassist John Deacon. It is the fourth track on the first side of their 1980 album The Game and the second song on the album by Deacon (the other being Another One Bites the Dust). The melody is very Beatles-influenced, although it has more of a rocking guitar riff, thus giving the song a power pop sound. "Need Your Loving Tonight" was released as a single in November 1980 and peaked at #44 in the United States.
Live performances
It was played only scarcely during The Game Tour during the early 1980s; it only lasted this one tour. Also during live performances of the song, Brian May and Roger taylor sang backing vocals and Freddie Mercury played piano during Brian's guitar solo (both of which were absent in the studio version).
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - Lead vocals, piano (live). Brian May - Lead guitar, backing vocals (live). John Deacon - Bass ,acoustic and electric guitars. Roger Taylor - Drums
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External links
Lyrics [1]
References
[1] http:/ / www. queenwords. com/ lyrics/ songs/ sng09_04. shtml
"Flash"
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"Flash"
"Flash"
Singleby Queen from the album Flash Gordon B-side Released "Football Fight" 24 November 1980 (UK) January 1981 (US) 7" vinyl 1980 Rock 2:46 (single version) 3:29 (album version) EMI, Elektra Brian May Brian May, Mack Queen singles chronology
"Flash" (1980)
"Flash" is a song by British rock group Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, "Flash" is the theme song of the 1980 film Flash Gordon. The soundtrack released to coincide with the film contained only the music composed and performed by Queen. There are two versions of the song. The album version ("Flash's Theme") is in fact the start to the movie, with all the dialog from the first scene. The single version features dialogue cut from various parts of the movie, most memorably, Brian Blessed's character exclaiming "Gordon's alive!" This version was also included on the Greatest Hits compilation from 1981. Flash is sung as a duet between Freddie Mercury and Brian May, with Roger Taylor adding the high harmonies. May plays all of the instruments except for the rhythm section. He used a Bsendorfer Imperial Grand Piano (with 97 keys instead of 88, having an extra octave on the low range), Oberheim OBX synth (which he plays in the video) and
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"Flash"
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Live recording
Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl Queen Rock Montreal
"Under Pressure"
"Under Pressure"
Singleby Queen & David Bowie from the album Hot Space B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer Soul Brother 26 October 1981 7" vinyl / 12" / CD single Mountain Studios, Montreux, July 1981 Rock 4:02 EMI, Elektra Queen and David Bowie Queen and David Bowie Queen singles chronology
"Flash" (1980)
"Under Pressure" "Under Pressure" is a 1981 song recorded by Queen and David Bowie. It marked Bowie's first released collaboration with another recording artist as a performer, and is featured on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space. The song reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also number 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.[1] It would be Queen's last number one single in the United Kingdom until the success of "Innuendo" almost ten years later.
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Creation
Queen had been working on the song under the title "Feel Like" but were not yet satisfied with the result.[2] Bowie had originally come to Mountain Studios in order to sing backing vocals on another Queen song, "Cool Cat", which would end up being edited out since he was not satisfied with it. Once he got there, they worked together for a while and wrote the song.[3] The final version that became "Under Pressure" evolved from a jam session the band had with Bowie at his studio in Montreux, Switzerland; therefore it was credited as co-written by the five musicians. The scat singing that dominates much of the song is evidence of the jam-beginnings as improvisation. According to Queen bassist John Deacon (as quoted in a French magazine in 1984), however, the song's primary musical songwriter was Freddie Mercury though all contributed to the arrangement. The earlier, embryonic version of the song without Bowie, "Feel Like", is widely available in bootleg form, and was written by Queen drummer Roger Taylor. There has been some confusion about who created the song's bassline. John Deacon said (in Japanese magazine Musiclife in 1982, and in the previously mentioned French magazine) that David Bowie had created it. In more recent interviews, Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor have credited the bass riff to Deacon. Bowie, on his website, said that the bassline was already written before he became involved.[4] It would later be sampled by Vanilla Ice in his 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby". Queen and Bowie did not receive songwriting credit or royalties until after the single had become a hit.[5] [6]
Track listing
1981 single 1. "Under Pressure" (Mercury, Taylor, Deacon, May, Bowie) 4:02 2. "Soul Brother" (Mercury, Taylor, Deacon, May) 3:38 EMI released a 3-inch CD version of the single in 1988 with "Body Language" as an additional B-side.
Production credits
Producers: Queen David Bowie Musicians: Freddie Mercury: Vocals, piano Brian May: Guitar John Deacon: Bass Roger Taylor: Drums David Bowie: Vocals, percussion, keyboards
"Under Pressure"
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Reception
The September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bassline as the best in popular music history.[7] In November 2004, Stylus music critic Anthony Miccio commented that 'Under Pressure' "is the best song of all time" and described it as Queen's 'opus'.[8]
Live performances
Although very much a joint project, only Queen incorporated the song into their live shows at the time. Bowie chose not to perform the song before an audience until the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, when he and Annie Lennox sang it as a duet (backed by the surviving Queen members). However, since Mercury's death and the Outside tour in 1995, Bowie has performed the song at virtually every one of his live shows, with bassist Gail Ann Dorsey taking Mercury's vocal part. The song also appeared in setlists from A Reality Tour mounted by Bowie in 2004, when he frequently would dedicate it to Freddie Mercury. Queen + Paul Rodgers have recently performed the song as well. While Bowie was never present for a live performance of the song with Mercury, Roger Taylor instead filled for back-up vocals usually in unison with Mercury, as Mercury would take over most of Bowie's parts.
Live recordings
Queen first recorded a live version of the song at The Montreal Forum in Canada on November 24, 1981. This was included in the concert film We Will Rock You. Incidentally it is one of the few times in concert where Mercury used falsetto in the song on the line "these are the days it never rains but it pours". A second live version of the song was recorded at Milton Keynes, England, in 1982. This was released in 2004 on the live album/DVD Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl. Prior to the concert, rumours circulated that Bowie would appear with Queen to sing his parts onstage, but it is probable that he did not even attend the concert. Later, Queen recorded a third live version of the song at Wembley Stadium, London, in 1986. This was released on the live album/DVD Live at Wembley Stadium. Again, rumours circulated that Bowie would arrive onstage for the one song, but it is even debatable if there were even rumours, let alone a promise from Bowie. Another rendition from this same tour (from Queen's concert in Budapest) appeared in edited form on the album Live Magic in 1986. During the Freddie Mercury Tribe Concert in 1992, the survving members of queen alog with Bowie and Annie Lennox (filling in for Mercury) performed the song. The concert was later released on dvd in 2002 for the 10th anniversary. A version recorded by David Bowie's live band in 1995 was released on the bonus disc included with some versions of Outside - Version 2. This live version was also released on the single "Hallo Spaceboy" in 1996. David Bowie's DVD A Reality Tour (2003) includes a live version with Bowie's bassist Gail Ann Dorsey singing Mercury's parts. VH1 Rock honours featured Queen + Paul Rodgers performing Under pressure along with The Show Must Go On, We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions as a live broadcast.
Other releases
"Under Pressure"
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Singleby Queen and David Bowie from the album Greatest Hits III B-side Released Format Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer The Song Of The Millennium/Bohemian Rhapsody Thank God It's Christmas
December 6, 1999 CD single, Digital download Rock 4:08 EMI, Parlophone Queen and David Bowie Queen and David Bowie Queen singles chronology
Rah Mix
A remixed version (called "Rah Mix") was issued in December 1999 to promote Queen's Greatest Hits III compilation, reaching #14 on the UK Singles Chart. This remix includes new recording work by Brian May and Roger Taylor. Track listing Two CD singles (one multimedia enhanced) released 6 December 1999 and 7" picture disk released 13 December 1999. As Bohemian Rhapsody wins The Song of The Millennium award, this released as b-side under the title "The Song of The Millenium/Bohemian Rhapsody"[9] CDS #1 1. Under Pressure (Rah Mix) 2. The Song Of The Millennium / Bohemian Rhapsody 3. Thank God It's Christmas
"Under Pressure" CDS #2 1. 2. 3. 4. Under Pressure (Rah Mix - Radio Edit) Under Pressure (Mike Spencer Mix) Under Pressure (Knebworth Mix) Enhanced section
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Was initially released in US on the Elektra Records US and Canadian versions of Queen's Greatest Hits as a new track. The song was released as a bonus track on the Virgin Records reissue of Bowie's Let's Dance in 1995. Hollywood Records remixed the song for their 1992 release, Classic Queen. This version features improved sound quality, but removes Mercury's interjection "that's okay!" at about 0:53. It also appeared on some Bowie compilations, most of which used the Hollywood Records remix: Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993) The Singles Collection (1993) Best of Bowie (2002) The original single version appears on disc three of Bowie's The Platinum Collection (2005), marking the first appearance of this version on a Bowie compilation.[10] This disc was later released separately as The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 (2007). An instrumental version appears in the DVD menu for the Hot Space section of Greatest Video Hits 2, and on the Greatest Karaoke Hits release. Was released in UK on Queen's Greatest Hits II (which would later be included in The Platinum Collection (2000 and 2002)) removing the second time David Bowie sings, "This is our last dance." Has also been performed, but without the lyrics, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[11] Was featured nearly in its entirety in the 2010 film It's Kind of a Funny Story, initially as a 'cover' by the patients in a music therapy class at a New York City pscyh ward, which the film transformed into the authentic song 'performed' by the patients, dressed in glam, in a near music-video style imaginary sequence(with David Bowie and Queen's original vocals and instrumentation).
Chart positions
Under Pressure (1981):
Country Argentina Netherlands UK Ireland Canada South Africa Norway New Zealand Australia Austria Sweden Switzerland Germany Peak position Certification 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 10 10 21 Silver
"Under Pressure"
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U.S. Japan 29 88
Cover versions
My Chemical Romance and The Used version
"Under Pressure"
Singleby My Chemical Romance and The Used from the album In Love and Death Released Format April 12, 2005 Digital download
Recorded 2005 Genre Length Label Alternative rock 3:32 Reprise [12]
Writer(s) David Bowie, John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor Producer Howard Benson
"Under Pressure"
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"Helena" (2005)
The song was covered in 2005 by American Alternative rock band's The Used and My Chemical Romance for tsunami relief. The cover was originally released as an Internet download track but has subsequently been featured as a bonus track on the 2005 re-release of The Used's second studio album In Love and Death, and received wide airplay in 2005. On the Billboard charts, the single reached number 28 on Modern Rock and Pop 100 charts and number 41 on the Hot 100.[13]
Chart (2005) Country Chart Peak 28 28 41
Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks United States Billboard Pop 100 Billboard Hot 100 United States United States
"Under Pressure" Notes from the Edge performed an acoustic version of this song on their self titled CD (2008) Ben Harper and Relentless7 performed this song on several occasions including a performance with Eddie Vedder at David Lynch's benefit concert, Change Begins Within, at the Radio City Music Hall on April 4, 2009 and with Jack Black on The Jay Leno Show October 8, 2009 Jedward covered the song featuring Vanilla Ice's lyrics from Ice Ice Baby in 2009, in the 6th series of The X Factor (UK). Later in 2010 they released it as a single and it topped the Irish Singles Chart for 4 non-consecutive weeks. It peaked #2 on the UK Singles Charts.
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References
[1] Rock On The Net: VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's" (http:/ / www. rockonthenet. com/ archive/ 2006/ vh180s. htm) [2] Queen - Feel Like demo (pre-Under Pressure) (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=ttfslaPrlDI) Retrieved January 15, 2011 [3] Peter Freestone (2001) Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=AH8zZsbmB98C& pg=PA78& dq=queen+ and+ bowie+ under+ pressure+ montreux& hl=en& ei=RfAxTZ23IYPJhAfP2PHvCw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=4& ved=0CDkQ6AEwAw#v=onepage& q=queen and bowie under pressure montreux& f=false) p.78. Omnibus Press. Retrieved January 15, 2011 [4] Bowie Talks About Under Pressure (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ news/ bowie-talks-about-under-pressure. aspx) Retrieved January 15, 2011 [5] Westfahl, Gary (2000). "Legends of the Fall: Behind the Music". Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 100. ISBN 0313308470. [6] Feature: Has Vanilla Ice been stealing other people's songs?". Smash Hits (EMAP Metro) (1225 December 1990): 59. [7] "Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Basslines of all Time" (http:/ / www. stylusmagazine. com/ feature. php?ID=1843). Stylus. September 12, 2005. . Retrieved July 23, 2010. [8] http:/ / www. stylusmagazine. com/ articles/ on_second_thought/ queen-hot-space. htm [9] Queenpedia.com (http:/ / www. queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=Under_Pressure_(rah_mix)_(single)) [10] David Bowie - Illustrated db Discography > Compilations: CDs (2004-2007) (http:/ / www. illustrated-db-discography. nl/ Compi6. htm#bob3) [11] YouTube.com (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=6BDSikB6Bh8& feature=related) [12] "((( Under Pressure > Overview )))" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r1036627). allmusic. 2005-04-12. . Retrieved 2010-04-26. [13] Artist Chart History - The Used - Singles (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ retrieve_chart_history. do?model. chartFormatGroupName=Singles& model. vnuArtistId=488046& model. vnuAlbumId=825364), Billboard.com [14] http:/ / www. rajaton. net/ main. site?action=siteupdate/ view& id=58
"Body Language"
346
"Body Language"
"Body Language"
Singleby Queen from the album Hot Space B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Life is Real (Song for Lennon)" 19 April 1982 Vinyl record (7" / 12") 1982 Funk Rock 4:29 EMI, Elektra Freddie Mercury Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Body Language" is a 1982 dance/funk hit from the English rock band Queen. It was written by lead singer Freddie Mercury and was a fairly big hit in North America, where it received extensive radio-play. However, the single only received a luke-warm response in the United Kingdom. The track was the second single released from their 1982 album Hot Space.
"Body Language"
347
History
The massive success of "Another One Bites the Dust" inspired Queen to temporarily abandon their glam and experimental rock roots in the early 1980s, and experiment with disco, funk and soul music. "Body Language" and more importantly, its parent album Hot Space were the results of this change. "Body Language" is notable for its near lack of guitar; atmospheric guitar chords sparingly dot the body of the song, while a brief two-note riff is heard during the fade out. The song's key feature was its minimal, sparse production, with the emphasis of "suggestive" lyrics, a "slinky" synth bass (Played on an Oberheim OB-X), and writer Freddie Mercury's moans and groans. This song was played few times during the European Leg, with the first performance being in Vienna on May 13. It often got a lukewarm reaction, although the live arrangement was much different from the studio. The song was played much more frequently on the U.S leg, where the song achieved more commercial success.
Reaction
The drastic change caused the single to stall at #25 on the UK charts. However, it did far better in the U.S., where it peaked at #11, the Americans appearing to be a lot more supportive of Queen's forays into dance music. The B-side is "Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)", this single was released just a little over a year after John Lennon's assassination. In the US the accompanying music video caused a considerable amount of controversy. Due to thinly veiled homoerotic undertones plus lots of skin and lots of sweat (but apparently not enough clothing, save that worn by the fully clothed members of Queen themselves), it was deemed unsuitable for a television audience in 1982. It was not accepted by MTV, becoming the first ever music video to be banned from that television station, and also one of the most controversial music videos of all time.
Trivia
A sample from "Body Language" is used for an ad-infinitum ending on Nine Inch Nails's Head Like a Hole single, on the 'Copper' mix of the title track.
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Singleby Queen from the album Hot Space B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer Cool Cat June 1, 1982 Vinyl record (7") 1981 1982 Rock 4:29 EMI Brian May Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" is a song by English rock band Queen. It is the fourth track on the second side of the album Hot Space and it was written by Brian May, with vocals by Mercury, with May on the high harmony vocal. The single was released on June 1, 1982. The song was inspired by the band's close relationship with their Ibero-American fans. It marked the band's fourth appearance on Top of the Pops (the first, second and third being for "Seven Seas of Rhye", "Killer Queen" and "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" respectively). For this mimed performance May is seen playing a grand piano and, on the recording, he plays both piano and synths in addition to acoustic and electric guitars. May also sang lead vocals for the harmonized line "this time and evermore" throughout the song. At one point Mercury is seen miming incorrect words. During the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium in 1992, this was the third song of the second half, performed by Zucchero and Queen. In Queen + Paul Rodgers Rock The Cosmos-tour 2008 it was played in the
"Las Palabras de Amor" Spanish speaking countries, sung by Brian. This song also made it onto 1999 Queen's Greatest Hits III after Made in Heaven song "Heaven for Everyone" and before Brian May's smash hit "Driven by You". The baby's face image of the single's cover would reappear on The Cross single for their song "New Dark Ages".
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350
"Calling All Girls" is a song by English rock band Queen. It is the third track on the second side of the album Hot Space and it was written by Roger Taylor. It was the fourth single from the album. It was released as a single in the US in the Summer of 1982 where it peaked at #60.
Music video
The video is a parody of the George Lucas film THX 1138, and is rarely seen. Both Taylor and May openly expressed disdain for the video in their commentary for Greatest Video Hits 2, Taylor claiming the song's message had nothing to do with "fucking robots".
Personnel
John Deacon: Bass guitar Roger Taylor: Guitar, keyboards, drums and backing vocals Brian May: Lead guitar Freddie Mercury: Vocals
Live recording
Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl (DVD)
"Staying Power"
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"Staying Power"
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"Staying Power"
Singleby Queen from the album Hot Space B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer Calling all girls 31 July 1982 Vinyl record 1981 1982 funk rock 4:10 Elektra (Japan) Freddie Mercury Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Staying Power" is the first track on the first side of Queen's 1982 album Hot Space. It was written by lead singer Freddie Mercury and is notable as being the only Queen song to have a horn section which was arranged by Arif Mardin. The song is driven by a funk-styled synth-bass riff (played by Mercury on an Oberheim OB-X) beginning in D minor and modulating to E minor throughout the song. John Deacon does not play bass on this songinstead playing rhythm guitar on a Fender Telecaster. Roger Taylor programmed a drum machine for the track. Brian May of course is on his Red Special. The song was released as a single in Japan only.
"Staying Power"
352
Live performances
This song was played throughout the Hot Space Tour and to an extent, on The Works Tour. The live version of Staying Power is slightly different than the album version. Morgan Fisher would take over the keyboard parts and replace the Oberheim with the Roland Jupiter 8. Taylor would replace the drum machine with acoustic drums. Also of note is that it would be the only song played live in which Deacon played rhythm guitar, as the bass was done via keyboard. With the electronics scaled back on the live version, the song is transformed into a funk rock songrather than a disco-influenced rock song that stays strong to its disco influences. The live version can be found on Queen Greatest Video Hits II DVD and on Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl album and DVD.
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: Lead Vocals, Oberheim OB-X Brian May: Lead guitar, backing vocals Roger Taylor: Drum machine, percussion, backing vocals John Deacon: Rhythm guitar
Additional credits
Arif Mardin: "Hot and spacey" horn arrangement Morgan Fisher: Roland Jupiter 8 (during live performances)
External links
Lyrics [1]
References
[1] http:/ / www. queenwords. com/ lyrics/ songs/ sng12_01. shtml
"Back Chat"
353
"Back Chat"
"Back Chat"
Singleby Queen from the album Hot Space B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Staying Power August 9, 1982 Vinyl record (7", 12") 1981 1982 funk rock Label Writer(s) Producer 4:31 (Album version) 4:10 (Single remix) 6:58 (12" extended version)
EMI; Elektra (USA) John Deacon Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Back Chat", written by bassist John Deacon, is the track most influenced by black music on the 1982 Queen album Hot Space. Deacon (who differed from his band-mates, in that he was the only one raised on soul instead of rock and roll) had chosen a no-compromise method of eliminating any rock elements from his songs for Hot Space. This act of defiance caused friction amongst fellow band members, particularly Brian May, who fought to retain at least some rock sensibilities in their funk diversions.[1] The band finally decided to include a guitar solo on "Back Chat" after heated debate. It reached #40 on the UK singles chart. The track would be performed on the Hot Space tour at a faster tempo, with a more rock-orientated arrangement. "Back Chat", the title, is an English idiom referring to a teasing argument between two people[2] .
"Back Chat"
354
References
[1] Obrecht, Jas. "Brian May Interview" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20070102131812/ http:/ / www. pemcom. demon. co. uk/ queen/ articles/ bhm8301. html). Guitar Player (January 1983), archived at (http:/ / www. guitarplayer. com/ article/ gp-flashback-/ April-2010/ 111745). Archived from on 2007-01-02. . Retrieved 2011-02-18. [2] http:/ / www. dict. org/ bin/ Dict?Form=Dict2& Database=wn& Query=backchat
"Radio Ga Ga"
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"Radio Ga Ga"
"Radio Ga Ga"
Singleby Queen from the album The Works B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length "I Go Crazy" January 23, 1984 Vinyl record (7", 12") 1983 Rock Label Writer(s) Producer 5:44 (Album/video version) 4:23 (US radio edit) 6:53 (12" extended version) 6:01 (12" instrumental version)
EMI / Capitol Roger Taylor Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with "I Go Crazy" by Brian May on the original B-side (3:42) and was included on the album The Works without "I Go Crazy" (that song would only be included on the 1991 CD remaster). The single was a worldwide success for the band, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart, and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.[1] [2]
"Radio Ga Ga"
356
Meaning
The song was a commentary on television overtaking radio's popularity and how one would listen to radio for a favourite comedy, drama, or sci-fi program. It also pertained to the advent of the music video and MTV. Ironically, the video for "Radio Ga Ga" would become a regular staple on MTV in 1984, and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award that year.[3] Taylor originally conceived of it as "Radio caca" (apparently from something his toddler son once said), which doubled as a criticism of radio for the decrease in variety of programming and the type of music being played.[1] "Radio Ga Ga" in one of the original cassette boxes is called 'radio ca ca'.[4] The song makes reference to two important radio events of the 20th century; Orson Welles' 1938 broadcast of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds in the verse "through wars of worlds/invaded by Mars", and Winston Churchill's 18 June 1940 "This was their finest hour" speech from the House of Commons, in the verse "You've yet to have your finest hour".[5]
Development
Taylor began writing the song in Los Angeles when he locked himself in a room with a Roland Jupiter 8 and a drum machine. He thought it would fit his solo album, but when the band heard it, John Deacon wrote a bass-line and Freddie Mercury reconstructed the track, thinking it could be a big hit. Taylor then took a skiing holiday and let Mercury polish the lyrics, harmony, and arrangements of the song. Recording sessions began at Record Plant Studios and included session keyboardist Fred Mandel, who later on would work with Supertramp and Elton John. Mandel programmed the Jupiter's arpeggiated synth-bass parts. The recording features prominent use of the Roland VP330+ vocoder. The bassline was produced by a Roland Jupiter 8, using the built-in arpeggiator.[6]
Video
David Mallet's music video for the song features scenes from Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi movie MetropolisFreddie Mercury's solo song "Love Kills" was used in Giorgio Moroder's restored version of the film, and in exchange Queen were granted the rights to use footage from it in their "Radio Ga Ga" video. However, Queen had to buy performance rights to the film from the communist East German government, which was the copyright holder at the time. In the video there is a part where they list some of their earlier videos (such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Flash", and so forth) in a photo album. A different version of Bohemian Rhapsody is also shown. At the end of the music video on Greatest Flix II VHS, Classic Queen VHS and Greatest Video Hits II DVD, the words "Thanks to Metropolis" appear.
Live versions
Queen finished their sets before the encores on The Works Tour with "Radio Ga Ga" and Freddie would normally sing "you had your time" in a lower octave and modify the deliveries of "you had the power, you've yet to have your finest hour" while Roger Taylor sang the pre-chorus in the high octave. Live versions from the 1984/85 tour were recorded and filmed on the concert films Queen Rock in Rio 1985 and Final Live in Japan 1985.[7] Queen played a shorter, uptempo version of "Radio Ga Ga" during the Live Aid charity event in 1985 at old Wembley Stadium.[8] It became a live favourite thanks largely to the audience participation potential of the clapping sequence prompted by the rhythm of the chorus (copied from the video). The song was played for the Magic Tour a year later, including twice more at Wembley Stadium; it was recorded for the live album Live at Wembley '86, VHS Video and DVD on 12 July 1986, the second night in the venue. Paul Young performed the song with Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert again at Wembley Stadium on 20 April 1992.
"Radio Ga Ga" At the "Party at the Palace" concert, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee in 2002, "Radio Ga Ga" opened up Queen's set with Roger Taylor on vocals and Phil Collins on the drums. This song was played on the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour in 2005/2006 and sung by Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers. It was recorded officially at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England, on 5 May 2005. The result, Return of the Champions, was released on CD and DVD on 19 September 2005 and 17 October 2005, respectively. It was also played on the Rock the Cosmos Tour during the fall of 2008, this time with only Rodgers on lead vocals. The concert Live in Ukraine came as a result of this tour, yet the song is not available on the CD or DVD versions released 15 June 2009. This performance of "Radio Ga Ga" is only available as a digital download from iTunes.
357
Chart performance
Country Peak Certification position 3 2 1 11 24 2 1 1 1 [9] 1 2 2 4 4 6 3 2 16 silver
Australia Austria Belgium Canada France Germany Ireland Italy The Netherlands Sweden Norway Poland South Africa New Zealand Spain Switzerland UK US
Cover versions
Roger Taylor performed the song with Spike Edney's SAS Band. A heavily modified version of the song serves as the introductory number for We Will Rock You, a musical composed of Queen songs. The song was covered in 2004 by Electric Six. The band recorded the song against their wishes under pressure from their label at the time. The video depicts Electric Six frontman, Dick Valentine, as the ghost of Freddie Mercury dancing near his own grave. It was widely misinterpreted that Valentine (as Mercury) was dancing on his grave. He explains on his website's video section "Though some have claimed this video portrays me dancing on Freddie Mercury's grave, actually it's more like we are resurrecting Mr. Mercury for the duration of the song and his grave is the logical starting point." [10]
"Radio Ga Ga" Sophie Ellis-Bextor has made a live-cover of this single at the Al Murray's Happy Hour, on ITV. "Radio Ga Ga" is one of the songs performed by the inmates of CPDRC Philippines (as seen on various web based video sites). Jamie 'Afro' Archer sung this on The X Factor on Saturday November 14 during Queen week.
358
Influences
American pop star Lady Gaga credits her name to this song.[11] [12] She stated: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name."[13] "Radio Ga Ga" is the name of a radio station in Trgu Mure, Romania, on 88 FM (in the region).[14] "Radio Ga Ga" is also a Norwegian cartoon published in the Norwegian cartoon album pondus.[15] "Radio Ga Ga" is also a radio program broadcast on Melbourne's (Australia) 3WBC-FM - 94.1FM locally.[16] "Radio Ga Ga" is also a Macintosh computer program for listening to and recording Internet radio. "Radio Ga Ga" is the name of a radio program in Melbourne Australia on community radio station 88.3 Southern FM hosted by Shaun Stokie. "Radio Ga Ga" is the name and the theme song of a political satire radio show on the Slovenian national radio Radio Slovenija 1.[17] A Malaysian sitcom was named after this song. Radio Ga Ga was aired on TV1.
References
[1] Barry Lazell (1989) Rock movers & shakers p.404. Billboard Publications, Inc., Retrieved January 14, 2011 [2] Queen Biography 1984 (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ queenzone/ bio_view. aspx?q=16) QueenZone.com [3] Rock On The Net: 1984 MTV Video Music Awards (http:/ / www. rockonthenet. com/ archive/ 1984/ mtvvmas. htm) Retrieved January 14, 2011 [4] Peter Freestone (2001) Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=AH8zZsbmB98C& pg=PA80& dq=queen+ -+ radio+ ga+ ga+ -+ radio+ ca+ ca& hl=en& ei=IJgwTbGWOc61hAe-07jQCw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=5& ved=0CEQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage& q& f=false) p.80. Omnibus Press, Retrieved January 14, 2011 [5] Avery, Todd (2006) Radio modernism: literature, ethics, and the BBC, 1922-1938 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=G5H7x-OnqpEC& pg=PA137& dq=radio gaga hg wells& hl=en& ei=joswTdfLMYyqhAen_tmvCw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=1& ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q& f=false) p.137. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., Retrieved January 14, 2011 [6] "Queen Concerts, The Works Tour II" (http:/ / www. queenconcerts. com/ instruments/ 1985-works. html). . Retrieved 2008-02-25. [7] Georg Purvis (2007) Queen: Complete Works p.321. Reynolds & Hearn, 2007 [8] Inglis, Ian (2006) Performance and popular music: history, place and time (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=I7Pyrk-Koq4C& pg=PA143& dq=queen+ RADIO+ GAGA+ -+ LIVE+ AID& hl=en& ei=YbYwTYmmLo6whQfCw8iWCw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=6& ved=0CEEQ6AEwBQ#) p.143. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., Retrieved January 14, 2011 [9] "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 8, 1984" (http:/ / www. radio538. nl/ web/ show/ id=44685/ chartid=6325). . Retrieved 2008-02-25. [10] Electric Six - Music + Videos (http:/ / www. electricsix. com/ music. php) [11] Martin, Gavin (2009-01-08). "Lady GaGa the new Princess of Pop" (http:/ / www. mirror. co. uk/ tv-entertainment/ music/ 2009/ 01/ 08/ lady-gaga-the-new-princess-of-pop-115875-21026283/ ). Mirror.co.uk. . Retrieved 2009-03-16. [12] Rose, Lisa (2010-01-21). "Lady Gaga's outrageous persona born in Parsippany, New Jersey" (http:/ / www. nj. com/ entertainment/ music/ index. ssf/ 2010/ 01/ lady_gaga_her_outrageous_perso. html). The Star-Ledger (Advance Publications). . Retrieved 2010-01-23. [13] Dingwall, John (2009-11-27). "The Fear Factor; Lady Gaga used tough times as inspiration for her new album" (http:/ / www. thefreelibrary. com/ THE+ FEAR+ FACTOR;+ Lady+ Gaga+ used+ tough+ times+ as+ inspiration+ for+ her. . . -a0213005824). Daily Record: pp.4849. . Retrieved 2011-01-25. [14] Radio Gaga - Marosvsrhely 88 FM (http:/ / www. radiogaga. ro) [15] Radio Gaga - Norway (http:/ / www. radiogaga. no/ ) [16] Radio Gaga - Australia (http:/ / www. radiogaga. org. au) [17] Radio ga ga in Sao Hribar (http:/ / www. rtvslo. si/ modload. php?c_id=43& c_menu=1& c_mod=rtvoddajeradio& func=read& op=show)
"Radio Ga Ga"
359
External links
Radio Ga Ga performed by Prisoners in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitational Centre (http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=lAVVVMcTShQ)
Singleby Queen from the album The Works B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length "Machines (or 'Back to Humans')" 2 April 1984 (UK) Vinyl records (7", 12"), CDs (3", 5") 1983 Rock Label Writer(s) Producer 3:20 (Album version) 4:21 (Single mix) 7:16 (Extended mix)
EMI, Capitol, Toshiba Records John Deacon Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
360
Alternative cover
"I Want to Break Free" (sample) is a song by the British rock band Queen, which was written by its bassist John Deacon. The song was featured on the Queen's 1984 album The Works and distributed as a single on 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl records and 3-inch and 5-inch CDs. The song had three versions: album, single and extended, differing in length by a more than a factor of 2. It was included in most live concerts by the group, in several videos, and in The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert where it was sung by Lisa Stansfield. The song is largely known for its music video for which all the band members dressed in women's clothes, a concept proposed by Roger Taylor, which parodied the long running British soap opera Coronation Street. Mercury also wore women's outfits in many live performances of the song. The second part of the video included a composition rehearsed and performed with the Royal Ballet and choreographed by Wayne Eagling. Whereas the parody was acclaimed in the UK, it was considered controversial in the US and banned by MTV and other stations. After its release in 1984 the single of the song was well received all over Europe and South America, where it was listed within top ten and regarded as an anthem of fight against oppression. However, the single reached only the 45th position in the US charts.
Song
The song was written in 1983 by John Deacon[1] and was influenced by male attitudes to the women's liberal movement. The main idea of the song lies in its title which is repeated through the text. A love theme is also present as the protagonist "has fallen in love", "can't get over the way you love me like you do" and "don't want to live alone". Most of the song follows the traditional 12 bar blues progression in E Major. It has three verses with one bridge, no chorus and relatively little section repetition.[2] There are three versions of the song: album, single and extended. The album version is 3 minutes 20 seconds long. Its first 6 seconds repeat the basic rhythm played with the drums (Ludwig), an acoustic guitar (Gibson), a bass guitar (Fender) and an electric guitar (Fender Telecaster). This rhythm continues through most of the song, stopping only for its first line. The first verse ends at 0:37 and is followed by a very similar second verse, which is however shorter by one line. A guitar solo (Red Special) appears at the end of the second verse (1:03), and between 1:15 and 1:17 it is replaced by a synthesizer. A synthesizer solo starts at 1:33 that mimics the sound of brass instruments, it is assisted by a guitar. The last verse starts in the second minute, it additionally features a synthesizer and a Fender Stratocaster guitar. The song pauses at the final line "I've got to break free", followed by the fade out. This version was released on the album The Works and on some singles.
"I Want to Break Free" The regular single version lasts 4 minutes 21 seconds and differs from the album version by the 40-second introduction and a longer synthesizer solo which starts at 2:33. The introduction is played on an electronic keyboard and is assisted by cymbals, drums and a guitar (Red Special). Otherwise, the composition copies that of the album version. The extended version lasts 7 minutes 16 seconds and features longer introduction and ending. It lasts until 6:04, and the remaining minute contains fragments of other songs from The Works, namely "Radio Ga Ga", "It's a Hard Life", "Man on the Prowl", "Machines (or "Back to Humans")", "Keep Passing the Open Windows", "Hammer to Fall", "Tear It Up" and "Is This the World We Created ...?". The extended version was mostly distributed as 12-inch vinyl records and then reissued on the CD of The Works in 1991. Besides The Works, the song was featured in the albums Greatest Hits II, Jewels II, Box of Tricks, Greatest Hits (1992 U.S. edition) and Absolute Greatest and in the box-sets The Complete Works, The Crown Jewels and The Platinum Collection.[3]
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45
[4] [5]
The single was received very positively over most of the world except for North America. In April 1984, it became No 3 in the United Kingdom, and was within top 10 in many European and Latin American countries, but became only 45th in the US charts. The single was certified gold in the UK.[16] The video for the song, featuring Mercury in women's outfit with a thick moustache, and its ban by MTV and some other US stations played a role in the low US ranking.[14] The ban was lifted in 1991 when the song was aired on VH1's My Generation two-part episode devoted to Queen hosted by guitarist Brian May. According to May in an interview about Queen's Greatest Hits, whereas the video was understood and taken as a joke in UK, the US audience failed to see the soap-opera connection and might have interpreted the video as an open declaration of transvestitism and Mercury's homosexuality.[17] [18] In some other countries, especially in South Africa and South America, the song was praised because it was seen as an anthem of fight against oppression, and was treated separately with the video.[1] [19] Illustrative in this regard was the live performance of the song in Rio de Janeiro in 1985. When Mercury appeared in front of an audience of 325,000 and started singing "I want to break free", stones were thrown into him. He quickly realized that his female outfit was the reason and removed his wig and false breast thereby calming down the public. This incident however puzzled and disappointed the singer.[20] [21]
"I Want to Break Free" After the release of The Works, the song was performed at almost every live concert of the group. Spike Edney usually played the synthesizer introduction, after which Mercury appeared on the scene, often in the outfit of the video dark bobbed wig, pink blouse and false breast, which he would remove later during the song.[20] [22] Brian May played the guitar solo on his Red Special. Some lines were let sung by the audience, and "God Knows" was chanted by the whole group. Live recording of the song appeared on the concert albums Live Magic, Live at Wembley '86 and Return of the Champions. In addition, the song was performed at the concerts which were then included in the Queen's videos such as Queen at Wembley, We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and Return of the Champions.[23] Lisa Stansfield led the song in The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.[24] She appeared on stage with a vacuum cleaner, dressed as a housewife, as in the original video. The song was also performed in many concerts of the project Queen + Paul Rodgers, where Paul Rodgers took vocals, Danny Miranda played the bass guitar and Spike Edney was at the keyboard.[25] Starting in July 2004, a remixed one-minute version of the song was leading a Coca-Cola C2 video advertisement.[26]
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Video
The music video "I Want to Break Free" was directed by David Mallet. It was shot on 22 March and 4 May 1984 in the studio "Limehouse Studios"[27] and cost about 100 thousand pounds.[20] It was included in the collections The Works Video EP, Greatest Flix II, Box of Flix, Greatest Hits, and Greatest Video Hits 2. Footage from the video was later used for the song "The Show Must Go On". The first part of the video was a spoof of the northern British soap opera Coronation Street, as proposed by Roger Taylor. "We had done some really serious, epic videos in the past, and we just thought we'd have some fun. We wanted people to know that we didn't take ourselves too seriously, that we could still laugh at ourselves. I think we proved that."[28]
The video depicts Mercury as a housewife, loosely based on Bet Lynch, who wants to "break free" from his life. Although Lynch was a blonde in the soap opera, Mercury thought he would look too silly as a blonde and chose a dark wig. May plays another, more relaxed housewife based on Hilda Ogden. Deacon appears as a conservative 'grandma', while Taylor plays a schoolgirl, who like Mercury wants a different life.[14] [27] At the beginning, during the synthesizer prelude, the clip shows a common British brick house (as featured in Coronation Street) and then moves into May's bedroom. May is woken up by a fancy (fire spitting) alarm clock. He
The musicians dressed in female characters of Coronation Street. Left to right: Roger Taylor, Brian May Freddie Mercury and John Deacon based on the characters from Coronation Street. Left to right Susan Barlow, Hilda Ogden, Bet Lynch and Ena Sharples
"I Want to Break Free" gets up, dressed in a pink shirt, pink socks and pink bunny-shaped slippers, with hair rollers in his head. The camera moves to the living room and the kitchen where Mercury is vacuuming the floor. He wears a black wig, pink earrings, pink blouse with a sizeable false breast under it, black leather miniskirt, tights and heeled shoes. During the trials Mercury realised that he couldn't walk freely in high-heeled shoes and settled on 2-inch ones.[27] His own thick moustache remains in place. May descends the staircase and goes to the kitchen. He passes Deacon, who is sitting on a couch, dressed in a black cloak, gloves, grey wig and a hat. Deacon reads a newspaper, constantly snorting and shaking his head. Taylor is busy with dishwashing in the kitchen. He has a magnificent blonde wig, ladies shirt, a grey miniskirt, coloured tie and a straw hat behind his back. Mercury stops vacuuming and starts singing.[20] During the first verse, Mercury opens the door of a storage room that briefly reveals a dark place, which is further used in the second verse; it appears to be a coal mine. There, the group features in their normal-life look (with Mercury naked above the waist that was common for his live and studio performances). It is surrounded by a crowd wearing black robes and miner's helmets with headlamps. The crowd moves in sync with the music. The camera is constantly closing up on the musicians who are arranged in the same pattern as in the video for the song "Bohemian Rhapsody". Mercury sings, while Deacon, May and Taylor just stand around him with their heads down. During the third verse, Mercury moves to another set and hides behind a big white box. In the beginning of the synthesiser solo, the box "explodes" and falls apart revealing a large stone. Mercury sits at the top of the stone, playing on a copper pipe, though the sound is of electric guitar. He is surrounded by two men and two women, all wearing the same spotty tights. In the second part of the solo, more people wearing the same outfit join in and together they perform a choreographic composition. In its first part, Mercury is carried through a row of people who pass his body over their heads. He then climbs the stone and dives in between two rows of people who catch him on the fly. After that, Mercury moves over a group of people who lie parallel on the ground and roll him over their bodies by turning around, as on a lineshaft roller conveyor. This part is finalized by a static scene of Mercury with a female dancer in a dry ice smoke.[20] The composition was choreographed by Wayne Eagling a friend of Mercury who had helped him before with the choreography of the "Bohemian Rhapsody".[29] Eagling was then a leader of the Royal Ballet which was involved in the video[30] (one of the dancers was Jeremy Sheffield). Specially for this part, Mercury shaved his trademark moustache to portray Nijinsky as a faun in the ballet L'aprs-midi d'un faune. The shooting took much practice, especially the conveyor rolling episode.[20] According to Eagling, despite being a natural performer on stage, Mercury could not stand performing any choreographed act himself, which is why he was mostly picked up and moved around in the ballet part of the video. The rehearsals with the Royal Ballet were organised by Eagling secretly from his superiors, that put him into a serious trouble when this was discovered later.[31] The fourth verse, with the words "but life still goes", returns to the Coronation Street set of the first part, with some minor changes. May, Taylor and Deacon sit in the living room; May and Deacon are reading and Taylor is doing "her" school homework beside a table. Mercury walks around them and goes up the stairs, while singing. In the final, the action moves back into the coal mine set of the second part, but this time the miners surrounding the Queen musicians move erratically.
363
Distribution
The song became the second single from the album The Works, after the song "Radio Ga Ga". The single was released in 1984 on 7-inch and 12-inch records and the 3-inch and 5-inch CDs.[32] [33] The 7-inch records were distributed in 16 countries. In most countries the other side of the disk contained the album version of the song "Machines" (or "Back to Humans"), in the US and Canada there was an instrumental version of this song, and in Brazil the other side featured the song "It's a Hard Life". The label also depended on the country: Capitol Records in the US and Canada, Toshiba Records in Japan, and EMI in other countries. In UK, US, Portugal and South Africa several records of the song were sold at the same time, differing only by covers. There were special editions, such as a record with empty side B in UK. The song title Argentina song on was "Quiero Ser Libre".[32] [33]
"I Want to Break Free" In all countries except for US the A side contained the extended version of the song, side B featured "Machines" and the disk had EMI label. In the US, side B had either an instrumental version of "Machines" or the album version of "I Want to Break Free" and the label was from Capitol Records.[32] [33] The single was also distributed on the 3-inch and 5-inch CDs. In the UK the 3-inch CD featured "I Want to Break Free" (album version), "Machines" and "It's a Hard Life" and had a Parlophone Records label. In Germany, the 5-inch CD had an EMI label and contained "I Want to Break Free" and "It's a Hard Life", as well as the video of "I Want to Break Free".[32] [33] Single covers contained pictures of the group from the cover of the album The Works. In countries where the single went in four different versions, each version had a picture of one Queen member, otherwise four images were placed together. The inscription "Queen. I Want to Break Free" was red, white, gold or black and the frame was red or white. The German 5-inch CD had the cover for the single of "Radio Ga Ga". The reverse side was the same a photo of the group on a red background, except for CDs which had a white background and no pictures.[32] [33] [34]
[35]
364
References
[1] Sky, Chapter 3 (http:/ / www. queen. org. ua/ books/ freddie/ chapter3. shtml) [2] Queen Songs The Book: I Want To Break Free (http:/ / www. queensongs. info/ the-book/ songwriting-analyses/ modern-era-queen/ the-works/ i-want-to-break-free. html). Queensongs.info. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [3] Queen Non-UK Albums Discography (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ discography/ queenalbumsnonuk. htm). Ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [4] I Want To Break Free (http:/ / www. pcpki. com/ queen/ works/ brkfree. html). Pcpki.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [5] Queen International Singles Chart Positions (http:/ / www. pcpki. com/ queen/ singles. html). Pcpki.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [6] Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (21 July 1984). Billboard (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=j5I4br0t7cwC& pg=PT127). Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. p.127. ISSN00062510. . Retrieved 20 February 2011. [7] Queen I Want To Break Free (http:/ / austriancharts. at/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=I+ Want+ To+ Break+ Free& cat=s). austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [8] Queen I Want To Break Free (http:/ / lescharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=I+ Want+ To+ Break+ Free& cat=s). lescharts.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [9] Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Knstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche (http:/ / www. musicline. de/ de/ chartverfolgung_summary/ title/ QUEEN/ I+ Want+ To+ Break+ Free/ single). musicline.de. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [10] The Irish Charts (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ search/ placement) [11] Queen I Want To Break Free (http:/ / dutchcharts. nl/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=I+ Want+ To+ Break+ Free& cat=s). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [12] Queen I Want To Break Free (http:/ / hitparade. ch/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=I+ Want+ To+ Break+ Free& cat=s). hitparade.ch. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [13] Queen I Want To Break Free (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ songinfo. php?id=11526). Chart Stats. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. [14] Sutcliffe, p. 180 [15] Barry Lazell (1 April 1989). Rock movers & shakers (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=L2kGAQAAMAAJ). Billboard Publications, Inc.. ISBN9780823076086. . Retrieved 20 February 2011. [16] "Queen albums and singles certifications" (http:/ / www. queenmuseum. com/ index. php?option=content& task=view& id=262). Queen Museum. . [17] Sky, Chapter 8 (http:/ / www. queen. org. ua/ books/ freddie/ chapter8. shtml) [18] Brian May with Terry Gross on 'Fresh Air' (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ briannews/ briannewsaug10a. html), NPR Radio Interview, 3 August 2010 [19] Sutcliffe, p. 189 [20] Sky, Chapter 4 (http:/ / www. queen. org. ua/ books/ freddie/ chapter4. shtml) [21] Phil Sutcliffe Brian May Interview Q Magazine (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Brian_May_-_03-XX-1991_-_Q_Magazine), March 1991 [22] Freestone, p. 66 [23] Sutcliffe, p. 277 [24] Freddie Mercury Tribute (http:/ / queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_04-26-1992_-_The_Times_-_Freddie_Mercury_Tribute), The Times, 26 April 1992
365
Bibliography
Freestone, Peter & Evans, David (2001). Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir by the Man who Knew Him Best (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AH8zZsbmB98C&pg=PA119). Omnibus Press. ISBN9780711986749. Sky, Rick (1994). The show must go on: the life of Freddie Mercury. Carol Pub. Group. ISBN0806515066. Sutcliffe, Phil; Hince, Peter and Mack, Reinhold (15 November 2009). Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock (http://books.google.com/books?id=adNONbUWLjgC&pg=PT183). MBI Publishing Company. ISBN9780760337196.
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Singleby Queen from the album The Works B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length "Is This the World We Created...?" 16 July 1984 Vinyl record (7", 12") 1983 Rock Label Writer(s) Producer 4:08 (Album version) 5:05 (12" extended version)
EMI / Capitol Freddie Mercury Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"It's a Hard Life" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was featured on their 1984 album The Works, and it was the third single from that album. It reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and was their third consecutive Top 10 single from the album. The song is a continuation of the theme presented in earlier single "Play the Game": Mercury writes from the same lover's perspective at a later stage in their search for true love.[1] The opening lyric and melody of "It's a Hard Life" is based on the line "Ridi, Pagliaccio, sul tuo amore infranto!" (Laugh, Pagliaccio, at your broken love!) from "Vesti la giubba", an aria from Ruggiero Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci. Mercury was well-known for his love of opera, which influenced many Queen songs, such as "Bohemian Rhapsody."
"It's a Hard Life" Musically, the song recreates the feel of "Play the Game" in order to update the story,[1] utilising Mercury's piano playing and the band's characteristic technique of layered harmonies. It is recorded very much with the ethos of earlier Queen albums in that it features 'no synthesizers'. By that time the band had been using synths on record since 1980's The Game and the gesture of returning to the traditional Queen sound was comforting to some fans.
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Promotional video
Tim Pope's video which accompanies the song has been created in an operatic "style," with the band and extras appearing in period "operatic-style" costume. The video also featured an unusual "skull and bones"-themed guitar that cost more than 1,000 [2] played by May, which can be seen on the single cover. The band found the costumes hot and uncomfortable, and the "eyes" on Mercury's outfit were ridiculed by the others, saying he looked "like a giant prawn".[2] Both Roger Taylor and Brian May[3] groaned out loud when shown this video during their commentary for the Greatest Video Hits 2 collection. Taylor said it was "the worst music video ever." May pointed out more positively that the video was a thematic joke, as it portrayed Mercury as a wealthy man singing about how hard life and love are, and at that point Mercury in real life possessed great wealth but was still searching for love. Roger Taylor, by his side, remarked that he'd "actually loved the song, hated the video." Despite this, the video was posted on the band's official YouTube channel. One of the extras in the clip is Mercury's then-lover, Barbara Valentin.
Personnel
Freddie Mercury: Lead and backing vocals and piano. Brian May: Lead guitar and backing vocals. John Deacon: Bass guitar. Roger Taylor : Drums and backing vocals.
Live recordings
Live in Rio (VHS) We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan (DVD)
References
[1] Queen's Greatest Videos. Channel 4. 1999. No. 1/1. 30 minutes in. [2] Queen, Box of Flix, 1991, Picture Music International, liner notes p. 7 [3] See also Mark Blake. "Cash for Questions. Answered in Brian's living room, Windlesham, Surrey on 29 April 98." Q, July 1998. ( Queen Archives (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ viewtopic. php?t=12))
External links
"It's a Hard Life" at Queen Picture Hall (http://www.queenpicturehall.com/singles/q26iahl.shtml)
"Hammer to Fall"
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"Hammer to Fall"
"Hammer to Fall"
Singleby Queen from the album The Works B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Tear It Up 10 September 1984 (UK etc.) Vinyl record (7", 12") 1983 Rock Label Writer(s) Producer 4:28 (Album version) 3:40 (Single edit) 5:25 (12" Headbanger's Mix)
EMI / Capitol Brian May Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Hammer to Fall"
369
Withdrawn cover
"Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song written by Brian May and performed by the British rock group Queen. It appeared on their 1984 album The Works. It was the fourth and final single to be released from that album, although the single version was edited down by thirty seconds in contrast to the version on the album. Different sleeves were used to package this single and the live picture sleeve is now a collector's item. The song was also the subject of a popular music video directed by David Mallet, in which was a regular live performance of the song by the band in Brussels during the Works Tour, over which the single edit of the song was dubbed. The song harks back to the Queen of old, with a song being built around a hard angular and muscular riff. The song was a concert favourite and was also played at Live Aid. Live versions of the song in the 1980s also usually served as an opporitunity for touring keyboardist Spike Edney to appear onstage playing rhythm guitar (he was usually not visible from his keyboard stack.) A different version of the song with the first part played in the style of a ballad was played by Queen + Paul Rodgers in 2005. The song peaked at number 13 in the UK, at 1 in Japan, and at 3 in South America; then was later featured in the film Highlander. At the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, Extreme singer Gary Cherone performed the song with the band, having earlier done a medley of other Queen songs with his own group. The song itself features Freddie on lead vocals, doing a call and response with Brian May, who sings the chorus.
Interpretation
The lyrics at several points refer to the Cold War era in which the band members grew up, fuelling the popular conception that the song was about nuclear war: For we who grew up tall and proud In the shadow of the mushroom cloud Convinced our voices can't be heard We just wanna scream it louder and louder and louder What the hell are we fighting for Just surrender and it won't hurt at all The term "waiting for the hammer to fall" in the song was taken to refer to the anticipation by the public that Cold War would turn "hot" - or, alternatively, as a reference to the Soviet Hammer and Sickle. The song also contains references to death and its inevitability:
"Hammer to Fall" Rich or poor or famous For your truth it's all the same (oh no oh no) Lock your door but the rain is pouring Through your window pane (oh no) Baby now your struggle's all in vain, yeah, yeah. The question of the meaning of the song was effectively settled when May wrote on his website that Hammer to Fall is really about life and death, and being aware of death as being part of life. "The Hammer coming down is only a symbol of the Grim Reaper doing his job!"grim-reaper-quote
370
References
1. Brian May: Brian's Soapbox, April 2004, brianmay.com [1]
External links
"Hammer to Fall" at discogs [2] Lyrics at Queenonline.com [3]
References
[1] http:/ / www. brianmay. com [2] http:/ / www. discogs. com/ master/ 14241 [3] http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ q_history/ Music/ TheWorks/ HammerToFall_lyrics. php
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Singleby Queen B-side "Man on the Prowl" "Keep Passing the Open Windows" 26 November 1984 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl 1984 Rock, Christmas 4:19 EMI/Capitol Brian May and Roger Taylor Queen, Mack Queen singles chronology
"Thank God It's Christmas" is a Christmas single by British rock band Queen. It was written by guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. The single spent six weeks in the UK charts during the Christmas/New Year period of 1984, and reached number 21.[1] Though not released on any Queen studio album, the song appears on Queen's Greatest Hits III, released in 1999. The song was also released as the B-side of the single "A Winter's Tale" from the 1995 album Made in Heaven. No promotional video was filmed for the track, hampering its future use on music TV channels. For that reason it is a lesser known Christmas single. It also appears on several Christmas compilation albums. One of them is the original Now That's What I Call Christmas compilation released in 1985 but deleted in 1989.
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Track listings
7" vinyl
EMI / QUEEN 5 Side one No. Title Writer(s) Length
Side two No. Title 1. "Man on the Prowl" Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Length
12" vinyl
EMI / 12QUEEN 5 Side one No. Title 1. "Thank God It's Christmas" Writer(s) May, Taylor Length
Chart performance
Chart (1984) Peak position [2] [3] 21 31 8 Peak position [6] 21 57
[4] [5]
[7]
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References
[1] [2] [3] [4] "Chart Stats - Queen - Thank God It's Christmas" (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ songinfo. php?id=12124). . Retrieved 24 February 2009. "everyhit.com search results" (http:/ / www. everyhit. com). . Retrieved 24 February 2009. "Chart Stats -" (http:/ / www. chartstats. com). . Retrieved 24 February 2009. "dutchcharts.nl - Queen - Thank God It's Christmas" (http:/ / dutchcharts. nl/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Thank+ God+ It's+ Christmas& cat=s). . Retrieved 24 February 2009. [5] "irishcharts.ie search results" (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie). . Retrieved 24 February 2009. [6] "Queen - Thank God It's Christmas - austriancharts.at" (http:/ / austriancharts. at/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen& titel=Thank+ God+ It's+ Christmas& cat=s). . Retrieved 24 February 2009. [7] "charts-surfer.de search results" (http:/ / www. charts-surfer. de). . Retrieved 24 February 2009.
"One Vision"
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"One Vision"
"One Vision"
Singleby Queen from the album A Kind of Magic B-side Released Format Blurred Vision November 4, 1985 Vinyl record (7", 12")
Recorded September 1985 Genre Length Rock Label 4:02 (Single version) 6:28 (12" 'extended vision') 5:11 (Album version) 4:38 (Classic Queen version)
EMI / Capitol
Writer(s) Queen (Music: Roger Taylor/Queen, Lyrics: Queen) Producer Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"One Vision" is a song written and recorded by the band Queen, first released as a single in 1985 and then included on their 1986 album A Kind of Magic. It was originally written by Roger Taylor about Martin Luther King, Jr., and includes lyrical references to King's "I Have a Dream" speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1963. The song was featured in the movie Iron Eagle. Queen were inspired to write and record this song because of the euphoric feeling that came from their performance at Live Aid. The song was included in all Queen's live concert performances of the 1986 Magic Tour, as the very first song of each concert. They claimed they chose "One Vision" as the introduction song because its intro made a perfect concert introduction.
"One Vision"
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Oddities
Distorted vocals
The song contains mysterious and distorted beginning vocals (which on the album and extended versions, also appear throughout Roger Taylor's drum section and in the end), most prominently the vocals retained in the single version. Forward message The reversed vocals at the start of the song relay new lyrics when played forwardsthey say, "God works in mysterious ways... mysterious ways...". Though it has been claimed by an official Queen fan club that the second part is sung by Brian May, it is likely sung by Freddie Mercury. It is clearly shown during the portions of the studio recording session of "One Vision" on both the Magic Years documentary and the DVD Greatest Video Hits II that Mercury sings the line.
"Fried chicken"
The final line of the song (in both the studio and live versions) is "fried chicken", although the lyrics say "one vision". This was the result of trying to come up with vocal ideas to put into the song. One set of ideas included dishes from a Chinese takeaway menu which they had had for dinner that dayall the rest was scrapped but the fried chicken survived. Jim Hutton, Freddie Mercury's lover, says in his book, that the singer was not sure whether to include it in the final cut or not. Hutton encouraged him, saying "You are big enough" (to get away with this).
Live performances
What is notable that the live performances of the song added an additional section in the beginning of the song, right after the guitar riffs without the percussion, and a big finale, which included ad-libbed vocals by Freddie Mercury. The ad-libbed vocals were not present on all performances though, the most notable being the performance at the Maimarktgelnde in Mannheim, on 21 June 1986. Also, the live versions of the song included a different version of the intro, which starts like the single version intro, but later changes into the album version intro, but repeats the section after the vocals "Ii" near the end. It also features the initial distorted vocals as they were in the single version. However, the version used on the Wembley shows was yet different from the one mentioned above - basically it had the complete initial distorted vocals, and the first part was also like in the one in the album and extended versions, but the transition to the second part was just like in the version, mentioned above, and it did include the repeated section in the end. The VHS version of the July 12th Wembley show has the first part of the middle instrumental section of the studio version of Brighton Rock instead of the initial distorted vocals. The version of the song from the 11 July Wembley show has not yet been officially released. Interestingly enough, none of the two versions of the intro has been used with a studio version of the song so far.
Single B-side
An extensively remixed version of the song, titled "Blurred Vision" appears as the B-side of both the 7" and 12" single releases. This is primarily an extended and completely different (but not in structure) version of Roger Taylor's drum section from the A-side. However, it retains the original ending, albeit with a longer version of the music from the end of the original's intro plus an additional non-distorted sound over the final vocals "Vision vision vision vision..." (which are like those in the single version). It also repeats the existing famous distorted vocals, and adds new, less-prominent distorted vocals.
"One Vision"
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Cover versions
"One Vision" has been covered by many artists, the most notable is the German-language cover by the industrial music band Laibach, titled "Geburt einer Nation" ('Birth of a Nation'), which changed the song's feel and mood from the somehow light-hearted and optimistic original to the feel and mood of a Nazi propaganda song. This version also starkly revealed the ambiguity of lines like "One race one hope/One real decision". It was released in 1987, on the album Opus Dei. A video was also shot for this version, directed by Daniel Landin. There is also a version covered by Melanie C live.
Music video
The music video to "One Vision" mainly showed the band recording the song at Musicland Studios in Munich and was the first to be directed and produced for Queen by Austrian directors Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher, also collectively known as DoRo. DoRo and Queen developed a fruitful working relationship which would result in numerous acclaimed and award-winning videos (for "Innuendo" and "The Show Must Go On", among others). The video also featured a "morphing" effect of the band's famous pose in 1975's "Bohemian Rhapsody" video to a 1985 version of the same pose. The video even shows John Deacon on the drums. It is not known if he actually played some drum parts in the song or if it is just a joke. There was also a video made to match the 12" inch version of the song which appears on Queen Rocks The Video VHS and Queen Greatest Video Hits II DVD.
Chart performance
"One Vision" became another hit single for Queen in many countries, usually reaching the Top 40, where it did in the Netherlands (#21), Switzerland (#24), and Germany (#26). It also had very minor chart success on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at #61. It became a big hit in the band's native UK, peaking at #7 in the singles chart, a strong showing for a rock band at a time when pop music was by far the more dominant genre in Britain. It also made #10 on Australia's ARIA Chart.
Other uses
The song is featured in the movie Iron Eagle and is on the soundtrack. The version on the Iron Eagle soundtrack is the original single version, which preceded the album version by nearly a year. The song was recorded in September 1985 (according to the "One Vision" documentary found on The Magic Years Vol. 1 VHS and the Greatest Video Hits Vol. 2 DVD, chronicling the recording of the song). The single was released November 4, 1985, the soundtrack album was released in January 1986, and the song was remixed for the album, which came out June 2, 1986. In 1990, the song was used in the stage show "An Evening With The Phantom", as background music for a choreographed sword fight performed by actors Jason Patrick and Michael Burg. The song also appears on the Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack, and in-game on the radio station "Liberty Rock Radio 97.8". During the 2008-09 season it was used as the official song of Rotherham United F.C. It is also used in Ricky Gervais Fame DVD as he enters the stage. A remixed and edited version of the song was used in Sony's E3 2009 Opening and Closing videos. A small part of the footage from the music video was also included in the opening. The song is available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series and is the hardest song on drums of the Queen pack.
"One Vision" Actor Ricky Groves and his dance partner Erin Boag performed a paso doble to the song in the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing. It was also recently featured on an advert for British Gas's merger with Nectar.
377
References
Queen - Magic Years vol. 1 (1987) VHS Queen - At Wembley (1990) VHS Queen - Live At Wembley '86 (1992) CD Queen - Live At Wembley Stadium (2003) DVD Queen - Live In Budapest (1987) VHS Queen - Greatest Hits II (1991) CD Queen - Greatest Flix II (1991) VHS Queen - Greatest Video Hits 2 (2002) DVD Queen - Box Of Tricks (1992) Boxed set (VHS + CD + booklet) Queen - Reigns The World (19??) CD (bootleg; Mannheim June 21, 1986 concert)
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Singleby Queen from the album A Kind of Magic B-side "A Dozen Red Roses for My Darling" "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" (USA) 17 March 1986 7"/12" vinyl single
Released Format
Recorded 1985 1986 Genre Length Rock, pop rock 4:25 (Album version) 3:37 (CD bonus track: "A Kind of 'A Kind of Magic'") 6:23 (12" extended version) 4:10 (Original Highlander version)
Label
EMI, Capitol
Writer(s) Roger Taylor Producer Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
"A Kind of Magic" is a rock song written by Roger Taylor for the film Highlander, for which Queen wrote the music. The song reached number three in the UK Singles Chart, but only reached number forty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
379
Recording
Name
The phrase "a kind of magic" is actually used in the film by Christopher Lambert and impressed Taylor so much that he made it into a full song. There are references to the film in the lyrics "one prize, one goal"; "no mortal man": "there can be only one".
Composition
Taylor wrote the melody and chords for the version that appeared in the film. Freddie Mercury composed a new bass line, added instrumental breaks, and changed the song's order. Mercury and David Richards produced this new version. The song was still credited only to Taylor. Whilst Taylor's version is at the end of the film, Mercury's version appears on the album.
Live performances
The song was a live favourite on Magic Tour of the same year, which proved to be Queen's last with the original foursome. On the Rock the Cosmos Tour of Europe, Roger Taylor took lead vocals for the song at some concerts.
Music video
The music video for this song was directed by Russell Mulcahy, director of Highlander. Notable is that guitarist Brian May did not use his famous Red Special guitar in the music video, instead he used a 1984 copy. Mercury is dressed as a magician type of figure. He enters an abandoned theatre (The Playhouse Theatre in London) where Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon (all dressed as stereotypical tramps) are asleep until awakened by Mercury's entrance. Mercury, dressed as a magician, transforms the hobos into the Queen members dressed regularly with their instruments, and back to hobos again as he leaves. Throughout the video, cartoon images dance to the beat of the song.
Chart positions
1986 Charts UK Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart Dutch Singles Chart French Singles Chart German Singles Chart Australian Singles Chart Austrian Singles Chart U.S. Singles Chart Position 3 3 3 4 5 6 6 12 42
The single was certified platinum in Brazil for more than 100,000 digital downloads of the single. Queen's compilation The Platinum Collection makes an unsubstantiated claim that the song reached number-one in 35 countries around the world,[1] but to date, there is no known territory where the song did reach the top position.
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Personnel
Freddie Mercury: Lead vocals Brian May: Electric guitar, backing vocals Roger Taylor: Drums, backing vocals John Deacon: Bass.
References
[1] Jenkins, Jim; Smith, Jacky; Davis, Andy; Symes, Phil (2000). Album notes for The Platinum Collection by Queen, p. 11 [CD booklet]. Parlophone (7243 5 29883 2 7).
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Singleby Queen from the album A Kind of Magic B-side A Dozen Red Roses for My Darling" "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Japan) "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" (Australia) "Was It All Worth It" (2000 Dutch CD Single) March 1986 (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand; Japan) Vinyl record (7") 1985 1986 Power metal, heavy metal 3:32 Capitol, EMI Freddie Mercury Queen and Mack Queen singles chronology
"Princes of the Universe" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and performed by Queen. The song was written for the soundtrack of the movie Highlander and released on the A Kind of Magic album in 1986.[1] This song is the only song which Mercury receives sole credit for on the entire album. Later it was also used for the Highlander: The Series as its theme song.[2] The song was never released as a single in the United Kingdom, and while it never truly charted, it is considered a cult favorite because of its relation to the film. In the movie, the guitar solo in the beginning is cut out. The music video was directed by Russell Mulcahy and was shot on the Silvercup rooftop stage used for the film, featuring a sword fight between Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) and Freddie Mercury (Freddie wielding his
"Princes of the Universe" trademark bottomless mic stand instead of a sword) intercut with scenes from the movie. During the video, guitarist Brian May appears without his Red Special, but instead with a white Washburn RR11V. The video was actually played quite a bit on music video stations (in the US) when this single came out, despite not charting. Up until its eventual release on Greatest Flix III (VHS, 1999) and Greatest Video Hits 2 (DVD, 2003), it was rarely seen by fans outside North America, elevating its possession to collector's item status. The lyrics are from the perspective of the immortals, about the state of being immortal, the superiority it gives them to normal humans, and the test that they all always have to face because of this. The lyrics can also be interpreted as regarding Queen themselves: "People talk about you, people say you've had your day / I'm a man that will go far, find the moon and reach for the stars." The song "Who Wants to Live Forever" is the foil of this song, and features in the film.[3]
382
References
[1] Freestone, Peter (2001) Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=AH8zZsbmB98C& pg=PA96& dq=princes+ of+ the+ universe+ highlander& hl=en& ei=FW06TdCzG4adOu_EvOwK& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=8& ved=0CEUQ6AEwBw#v=onepage& q=princes of the universe highlander& f=false) p.96.Omnibus Press, Retrieved January 22, 2011 [2] Bartkowiak, Mathew J. (2010) Sounds of the Future: Essays on Music in Science Fiction Film (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=i5mKZT5D3TMC& pg=PA19& dq=princes+ of+ the+ universe+ highlander& hl=en& ei=FW06TdCzG4adOu_EvOwK& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=5& ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage& q=princes of the universe highlander& f=false) p.19. Retrieved January 22, 2011 [3] Who Wants To Live Forever (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Songs/ akindof. htm) UltimateQueen.co.uk
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Label Writer(s)
Producer
"Friends Will Be Friends" is a song performed by Queen and written by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon, included on the album A Kind of Magic. It was the band's 30th single in the UK upon its release on 9 June 1986, reaching number 14 in the UK. "Friends Will Be Friends" was performed live in Magic Tour concerts. It is remarkable that it was first and only song that was sung at the end of concerts between "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" since the News of the World Tour in 1977.[1] The song was included in various greatest hits compilations by Queen such as Greatest Hits II, Greatest Flix II and Greatest Video Hits II.
Music video
The video was directed by DoRo and filmed at JVC Studios, Wembley in May 1986 and features the band performing the song in front of fan club members.
Chart performance
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Chart (1986)
[2] [3]
New Zealand Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart UK Singles Chart [6]
[7]
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Information about Queen's concerts with typical setlists (http:/ / www. queenconcerts. com/ live/ queen/ ) http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ http:/ / www. musicline. de/ http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ http:/ / charts. org. nz/ http:/ / www. swisscharts. com/ http:/ / www. chartstats. com/
External links
A Kind of Magic at UltimateQueen.co.uk (http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/Songs/akindof.htm)
385
Singleby Queen from the album A Kind of Magic B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length "Don't Lose Your Head" 17 March 1986 7"/12" vinyl single 1985 1986 Rock 4:19 Label Writer(s) Producer 4:38 (Album version) 4:17 (Single remix) 5:56 (12" extended mix)
EMI, Capitol Freddie Mercury, John Deacon Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
"Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" is a song by Queen, released only in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA as the second single from their 1986 album A Kind of Magic. The song began as a riff idea by Brian May. Then John Deacon, Freddie Mercury and Jerry Holkins turned that into a song, with Deacon playing rhythm guitar. The single reached #26 on the Dutch charts. The title also appears as a line in "One Year of Love". As with most Mercury songs, it has prominent keyboards and, like most Deacon songs, it has a prominent bass line. The version which appears on the single is a remix, rearranging much of the backing track from the original elements. The 12" single features an extended version of this remix, rather than an extended version of the track as it
386
Singleby Queen from the album A Kind of Magic B-side "Killer Queen" "Forever" (12" single only) September 15, 1986 Vinyl record (7"/12") 1985 1986 Rock Label Writer(s) Producer 5:15 (Album version) 4:00 (Single version)
EMI Brian May Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
"Who Wants to Live Forever" is a song by the English rock band Queen. The song is the sixth track on the album A Kind of Magic, released in June 1986, and was written by guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to the film Highlander, directed by Russell Mulcahy.[1] The song peaked at No 24 in the British charts. The song is used to frame the scenes in the film where Connor MacLeod must endure his beloved wife Heather growing old and dying while he, as an Immortal, remains forever young. (It was later used in the episodes "The Gathering", "Revenge is Sweet", "The Hunters", "Line of Fire", and "Leader of the Pack" of the Highlander television series.) The song's title is taken from a line in another movie scored by Brian May and Queen, Flash
"Who Wants to Live Forever" Gordon (the line can be heard on Battle Theme from Queen Flash Gordon soundtrack album). May sings lead vocals on the first verse, before Freddie Mercury takes over for most of the rest of the song, with May singing "But touch my tears with your lips" during Mercury's verse and then the final line of the song, "Who waits forever anyway?". The version which can be heard in the film is unique, in that it features Mercury singing lead vocals on the first verse. Mercury also sang the lead in live performances. When live, however, the song was lowered by a whole tone, and Mercury would frequently alter the song's highly demanding vocal line due to the strain placed on his voice by vocal nodules: this often involved Roger Taylor handling lead vocals on the choruses, while Mercury harmonised with a counter-melody. An instrumental version of the song, titled "Forever", was included as a bonus track on the CD version of the album. This instrumental featured only a piano, with keyboard accompaniment during the chorus sections. The piano track was recorded solely by Brian May. Queen was backed up by an orchestra, with orchestrations by the co-composer of the film's score, Michael Kamen.[1]
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Music video
The video was directed by David Mallet and filmed in a (now demolished) warehouse at Tobacco Wharf at London's East End in September 1986. It featured the National Philharmonic Orchestra with forty choirboys and hundreds and hundreds of candles which remain lit throughout filming as well as Mercury wearing a tuxedo suit. It is the only Queen video to feature bassist John Deacon playing an upright bass. An alternative version with clips from the film Highlander (which the song appears in) appears on the video single with A Kind Of Magic in October 1986 and later as a hidden music video on Queen Greatest Video Hits II DVD in November 2003.
Cover versions
Elaine Paige, who recorded an album of Queen songs in 1988, included a strong 'power-ballad' version of the song. In 1989, Brian May's daughter Louisa, who was at the time eight years old, sang a version of the song. It was included on a 12inch single, along with another version of the song that Brian May performed with two kids named Ian and Belinda. Seal performed a live version of this song at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, noting that the song made him cry when he first heard it. In 1995, Brian May recorded a version with Jennifer Rush on her Out of My Hands album. It featured May on lead-vocals for a verse plus backing vocals and guitar work. It was released as a 1-track single only credited to Jennifer, although Brian sings on the single version. In 2010, a previously unreleased version of this recording, with Jennifer singing all lead vocals, was released on a compilation of Jennifer-rarities. Luciano Pavarotti called Giorgia for his charity concert Pavarotti & Friends where she performed the song. The recorded Live-CD was released in 1995. Shirley Bassey covered this song on her 1995 album Sings the Movies, and performed it on "A Royal Gala" at the Royal Albert Hall in 1996. Dune recorded an orchestrated version on the 1997 album Forever. It was also released as the first single from the album. The song is featured in the Queen jukebox musical We Will Rock You. The version that appears on the original London cast recording is sung by Tony Vincent and Hannah Jane Fox. The symphonic metal band After Forever recorded a cover of this song and released it with their single "Emphasis" in 2002. Sarah Brightman covered this track on her 1997 album, "Time to say Goodbye" Polish singer Edyta Grniak recorded a cover called "Niemiertelni" in 2003, released on Moja i Twoja muzyka, RMF FM compilation album.
"Who Wants to Live Forever" In 2005, the song was covered by Breaking Benjamin on the album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen. The Ten Tenors recorded a version on their album Here's to the Heroes, released in 2006. Rock Star: INXS finalist, MiG Ayesa covered the song on his debut album MiG in 2007. Katharine McPhee covered this song on the "Queen" themed week on American Idol's fifth season. Eva Avila covered this song on the "1980's" themed week on Canadian Idol's fourth season. In 2007, the song was covered by the band Gregorian on their album Masters of Chant Chapter VI. Kady Malloy covered this song during "80's" week on American Idol's seventh season. Dutch diva Karin Bloemen did a cover in her 2007/2009 show "Overgang", in a translation by Jan Rot, "Wie wil die leeft voor eeuwig" . Jonathan Ansell covered this song for his 2nd album Forever, released in 2008 Rhydian Roberts covered this song on his debut album Rhydian, released on the 24th of November 2008. Katherine Jenkins covered this song on her seventh album Believe, released on the 26th of October 2009. Stacey Solomon performed the song on the sixth series of The X Factor.
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Dune version
"Who Wants to Live Forever"
Singleby Dune from the album Forever Released Format 23 October 1996 CD Dune singles chronology
German band Dune released their cover of "Who Wants to Live Forever", from their album Forever, as a single in October 1996. Dune's version of "Who Wants to Live Forever" sold more than 500.000 copies in Germany. The single peaked at #3 in the Austrian singles charts, at #9 in the Swiss Charts, at #12 in the Dutch Charts and at #59 in the Swedish charts.
389
Track listing
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Who Wants To Live Forever (Sixtysix Radio Mix) (3:54) Who Wants To Live Forever (South Bound Mix) (3:58) Highland Trilogy: One Day In Glencoe (4:49) Highland Trilogy: Valley Of Tears (4:58) Highland Trilogy: In The Air, Part 2 (10:29)
Remixes Released: 4 December 1996 1. Who Wants To Live Forever (Komakino Remix) (5:32) 2. Who Wants To Live Forever (Future Breeze Remix) (7:03) 3. In The Air, Part 1 (5:13)
Music video
The music video was shot in the Scottish Highlands.
Singleby Sarah Brightman from the album Time to Say Goodbye Released Format Producer 1997 CD Frank Peterson Sarah Brightman singles chronology
Soprano Sarah Brightman released her cover of "Who Wants to Live Forever", from her album Timeless/Time to Say Goodbye, as a single in 1997 (See 1997 in music). The single peaked at #45 in the UK singles chart.
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Track listing
CD single 1. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Album version) 2. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Xenomania club mix) Maxi CD single 1. 2. 3. 4. "Who Wants to Live Forever" "A Question of Honour" "Heaven Is Here" "I Loved You"
12" vinyl 1. 2. 3. 4. "Who Wants To Live Forever (Trouser Enthusiasts 'Cybernetic Odalisque' Mix)" "Who Wants To Live Forever (Xenomania Club Mix)" "Who Wants To Live Forever (Xenomania Dub Mix)" "Who Wants To Live Forever (X-Citing Mix)
Singleby Edyta Grniak Released Format Label Writer(s) Producer 2003 CD Pomaton EMI Ryszard Kunce Edyta Grniak Edyta Grniak singles chronology
"Who Wants to Live Forever" Polish singer Edyta Grniak released a cover of "Who Wants to Live Forever" in 2003 called "Niemiertelni" (Immortals). She recorded the cover with Polish lyrics for the cover compilation album RMF FM - Moja i Twoja muzyka by Polish radio station RMF FM. It was released as a promo radio single by Pomaton EMI. The image on the cover was shot by photographer Robert Wolaski
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Track listing
1. Niemiertelni (3:26)
References
[1] Who Wants To Live Forever (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Songs/ akindof. htm) UltimateQueen.co.uk
392
"One Year of Love" is a song by Queen from their 1986 album A Kind of Magic and also the film Highlander. Written by bassist John Deacon, it was released as a single in France and Spain. Like his other composition, "You're My Best Friend", this song has some of Deacon's most notable instrumental playing. It has a saxophone solo replacing Brian May's usual guitar solos. The song features a string orchestra conducted by Lynton Naiff and a saxophone played by Steve Gregory. Guitarist Brian May is absent in this song.
Covers
"One Year of Love" was covered by Elaine Paige in 1986 and later by Dutch singer Stevie Ann in 2006.
393
Singleby Queen from the album The Miracle B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Hang on in There" 2 May 1989 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, CD single, Compact Cassette 1988 Rock 4:42 (album), 3:57 (single) Parlophone, Capitol Brian May Queen, David Richards Queen singles chronology
"Breakthru" (1989)
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"I Want It All" (sample) is a song by English rock band Queen, featured on their 1989 twelfth studio album The Miracle. Written by guitarist and backing vocalist Brian May (but credited to Queen) and produced by David Richards, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 2 May 1989.[1] "I Want It All" reached number three on both the UK Singles Chart[2] and the American Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,[3] number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[3] and number one in other European territories, including Spain, where Los 40 Principales regularly played the song during the month of July 1989.[1] The song was first played live on April 20, 1992, three years after its release, during The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, performed by the three remaining members of Queen, with Roger Daltrey singing lead vocals and Tony Iommi playing rhythm guitar. Mercury himself never performed the song live, as he died in November 1991 from AIDS at the age of 45, and his final performance with Queen was at the end of the Magic Tour, in 1986. The song is sung mainly by Mercury, with May singing on the choruses, and the middle eight.
Background
The song is notably heavy and features themes relating to rebellion and social upheaval. Songwriter May, however, claims that it is about having ambitions and fighting for one's own goals; because of this, the song became an anti-apartheid song in South Africa and has also been used as a gay rights protest theme and a rallying anthem for African-American youth.[1]
395
Music video
The music video features the band performing in a studio that used halogen lighting. It was directed by David Mallet.
SingStar
The song is featured in the music video game SingStar Queen.
Chart performance
Chart (1989) Peak Total position weeks [7] 10 11 34 2 9 3 [13] 3 4 14 8 3 [18] 50 3 12 14 13 14 17 5 10 7 4 14 7 10 ?
[8] [9]
[10] [11]
[12]
New Zealand Singles Chart Norwegian Singles Chart Swedish Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart UK Singles Chart
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
396
References
[1] Jenkins, Jim; Smith, Jacky; Davis, Andy; Symes, Phil (2000). Album notes for The Platinum Collection by Queen, p. 12 [CD booklet]. Parlophone (7243 5 29883 2 7). [2] "Queen" (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ artistinfo. php?id=400). Chart Stats. . Retrieved May 7, 2009. [3] "Queen > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p5205/ charts-awards/ billboard-singles). allmusic. . Retrieved May 7, 2009. [4] Prato, Greg. "The Miracle > Review" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r15983/ review). allmusic. . Retrieved May 7, 2009. [5] "06-25-1989 The Miracle Newsday (Melville, NY)" (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_06-25-1989_-_The_Miracle_-_Newsday_(Melville,_NY)). Queen Music Reviews. Queen Archives (originally published by Newsday). June 25, 1989 (original publication). . Retrieved May 7, 2009. [6] "07-02-1989 The Miracle The Dallas Morning News" (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_07-02-1989_-_The_Miracle_-_The_Dallas_Morning_News). Queen Archives (originally published by The Dallas Morning News). February 7, 1989 (original publication). . Retrieved May 7, 2009. [7] Australian charts portal (http:/ / www. australian-charts. com/ ). australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [8] Austria Top 40 Hitparade sterreich (http:/ / www. austriancharts. at/ ). austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [9] http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ [10] Dutch charts portal (http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ ). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [11] Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Knstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche (http:/ / www. musicline. de/ ). musicline.de. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [12] The Irish Charts All there is to know (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ ). Irishcharts.ie (1962-10-01). Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [13] New Zealand charts portal (http:/ / charts. org. nz/ ). charts.org.nz. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [14] Norwegian charts portal (http:/ / www. norwegiancharts. com/ ). norwegiancharts.com (2006-06-15). Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [15] Swedish Charts Portal (http:/ / www. swedishcharts. com/ ). swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [16] Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community (http:/ / www. swisscharts. com/ ). swisscharts.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [17] UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ ). Chart Stats. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [18] Music News, Reviews, Articles, Information, News Online & Free Music (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ ). Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01. [19] AllMusic (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ ). AllMusic. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
"Breakthru"
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"Breakthru"
"Breakthru"
Singleby Queen from the album The Miracle B-side Released Format Stealin' June 19, 1989 Vinyl record (7", 12"), cassette tape, 5"CD
Recorded 1988 Genre Length Hard rock Label 4:08 (Album version) 5:45 (12" extended version)
Writer(s) Roger Taylor/Freddie Mercury (credited to Queen) Producer Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
"Breakthru" (1989)
"Breakthru" is a song by British rock band Queen. Credited as being written by Queen, it was released in June 1989 from the album The Miracle. The single reached #7 in the UK, and peaked at number 6 in the Netherlands and Ireland and at 7 in UK, but failed to chart in the US. The song is remarkable by its video where the group is performing the song on an open platform of a fast-moving steam train.
"Breakthru"
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Song
The album version of the song begins with 30 seconds of slow vocal harmony. It was apparently written by Freddie Mercury for a different song which ended up never being released, "A New Life Is Born".[1] [2] It then abruptly changes to a fast-paced rocker, that was written by Roger Taylor. Other song versions were created by either extending or cutting the introduction.[3] On the Queen for an Hour interview conducted in 1989, Mercury said that this was a great example of two separate bits coming together to make a final track. He commented on how the band had about 30 tracks to work with and only completed a handful, working on all of them at least somewhat.[4]
Video
The video of the song was filmed within two days on the preserved Nene Valley Railway, near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, England. The group members mentioned in the interviews that despite the hot summer weather, the event brought a nice refreshment to their studio work. The steam locomotive No. 3822[5] and an open platform were rented by Queen from the Didcot Railway Centre in Oxfordshire and repainted for the video. In particular, the group named the train "The Miracle Express", and this name was reflected in large red letters on the sides of the locomotive.[6] The idea of using a train in the video A regular (demonstration) run of the 3822 train was suggested by Taylor and was inspired by the rhythm of the rapid through the Network Rail's Didcot East Curve part of the song. During the introduction ("new life is born"), the video from Oxford to Reading. features Taylor's then-girlfriend Debbie Leng, with a black mask painted around her eyes, waking up and getting up on the rail track. She was the first choice of Mercury for the role of "enigmatic beauty". The commencing of the fast part coincides with the scene of the train breaking through a polystyrene wall painted as a brick wall; the wall was constructed in a tunnel, under an arch of a stone bridge. The group was dissatisfied with this part because polystyrene could not stand the enormous air pressure buildup in the tunnel from the incoming train and the wall started breaking before the physical impact. The rest of the clip mostly shows the moving train with an attached open platform whereon the group performs the song. May, Deacon and Taylor are playing guitars and drums, whereas Mercury is moving around the whole platform with his trademark bottomless microphone stand while singing. Leng appears in some scenes on the platform and further in the clip.[7] The train was reportedly going at a speed of between 30[7] and 60 mph[8] (intermediate values were mentioned in interviews), and thus the group has insured itself for 2 million pounds against bodily damage. The clip cost 300,000 pounds to make.[8]
Distribution
The single was distributed in 1989 as 7-inch and 12-inch records, 5-inch CDs and tapes, with a Parlophone label in most countries. The label was from Capitol in the US. The B-side either contained the song "Stealin'", was only used as an addition to "Breakthru",[9] or was blank as in some UK 12" records. Other 12" records and 5" CDs contained two versions of "Breakthru" and one of "Stealin'". Most covers contained a photomorph of four heads of the group members; the faces were merged at one eye of each face creating a five-eyed merged face. A strip showing eyes only was cut of this picture for most covers.[10] The song was included into the following albums and compilations: The Miracle, Greatest Hits II, The Platinum Collection, Box of Tricks, Greatest Video Hits 2 (disk 1), Greatest Flix II (VHS) and Queen: The eYe (electronic video game released in 1998 by Electronic Arts).
"Breakthru"
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Chart performance
Chart (1989) Peak Total position weeks [11] 45 80 6 24 6 [16] 45 28 7 1 3 14 12 4 1 4 8
[12]
[13] [14]
[15]
New Zealand Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart UK Singles Chart [17]
[18]
References
[1] Sutcliffe, Phil; Hince, Peter and Mack, Reinhold (15 November 2009). Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=adNONbUWLjgC& pg=PT183). MBI Publishing Company. ISBN9780760337196. . [2] Unreleased Queen Tracks (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ songs/ unreleasedqueen. htm#anewlife). Ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-03-02. [3] The Miracle (http:/ / www. queenvault. com/ themiracle. html). QueenVault.com (1989-03-15). Retrieved on 2011-03-02. [4] 1989 Radio Interview with Queen hosted by Mike Read [5] Didcot Railway Centre (http:/ / didcot-railway-centre. co. tv/ ). Didcot Railway Centre. Retrieved on 2011-03-02. [6] Peterborough Tourist Attractions: Sightseeing and Attractions in Peterborough Area, England, UK (http:/ / www. peterborough. world-guides. com/ peterborough_attractions. html). Peterborough.world-guides.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-02. [7] Freestone, Peter & Evans, David (2001). Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir by the Man who Knew Him Best (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=AH8zZsbmB98C& pg=PA119). Omnibus Press. p.129. ISBN9780711986749. . [8] Sky, Rick (1994). "4" (http:/ / www. queen. org. ua/ books/ freddie/ chapter4. shtml). The show must go on: the life of Freddie Mercury. Carol Pub. Group. ISBN0806515066. . [9] Georg Purvis (1 April 2007). Queen: Complete Works (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=okE5AQAAIAAJ). Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN9781905287338. . Retrieved 2 March 2011. [10] Breakthru as an a-side (http:/ / www. pcpki. com/ cgi-bin/ discography. cgi?qs:BREAKTHRU). Pcpki.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-02. [11] Australian-charts.com (http:/ / www. australian-charts. com/ ) [12] Collectionscanada.gc.ca (http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ ) [13] Dutchcharts.nl (http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ ) [14] Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Knstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche (http:/ / www. musicline. de/ de/ chartverfolgung_summary/ title/ QUEEN/ Breakthru/ single). musicline.de. Retrieved on 2011-03-02. [15] The Irish Charts All there is to know (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ search/ placement). Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved on 2011-03-02. [16] Charts.org.nz (http:/ / charts. org. nz/ ) [17] Swisscharts.com (http:/ / www. swisscharts. com/ ) [18] Queen Breakthru' (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ release. php?release=16341). Chart Stats (1989-08-26). Retrieved on 2011-03-02.
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External links
Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q22oGInO-uo) Behind the scenes video (http://wn.com/Queen__Breakthru_behind_the_scenes)
Singleby Queen from the album The Miracle B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length "Hijack My Heart" August 7, 1989 Vinyl record (7", 12"), cassette tape, CD 1988 Rock 3:57 (Album version) 4:17 (Video version) 5:28 (12" extended version)
Parlophone, EMI Roger Taylor Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
"Breakthru" (1989)
"Scandal" (1989)
"The Invisible Man" is a song by English rock band Queen, written by drummer Roger Taylor. The song is sung mostly by Mercury but Taylor sings on parts of the song. Originally released on the album The Miracle, it was released as a single in 1989. Taylor claims that he got the inspiration to create the song while reading a book, and the bass beat instantly came up. This song marks the only time in any of Queen's songs that all four band members names are mentioned in the lyrics. The first being Freddie Mercury, followed by John Deacon. Brian May's name is then mentioned twice (just before his guitar solo starts), and lastly Mercury sings "RRRoger Taylor", rolling the "r"
"The Invisible Man" to emulate the drums at the end of the verse. In the music video, a video game called "The Invisible Man" plays a large part, as a small child is playing a game while the band (all dressed in black), who are the "bad guys" in the game, enter the real world and perform the song in his room, while the boy is trying to shoot them with the game controller. From time to time, Mercury appears in various places in the child's room, vanishing before the boy can shoot him with the video controller. After Mercury emerges from the child's closet with his band in tow, John Deacon removes his cowboy hat and throws it to the floor. In perhaps a futile attempt to emulate him, the boy removes his baseball cap, and dons the other. The screen then shows an image of the band in the game once more, Deacon without a hat, and the child walks underneath them. A cover of the song has been done by Scatman John, in which many of the lyrics and instrumentals are replaced with scat singing. Butch Hartman, the creator of Danny Phantom has said the show's theme song was inspired by the bass line of The Invisible Man. [1] The video features a then-15-year-old Danniella Westbrook who joined soap opera EastEnders the following year .
401
Chart performance
Chart (1989) Peak Total position weeks 6 31 10 [5] 15 30 12 12 12 3 9 1 6
[2] [3]
New Zealand Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart UK Singles Chart [6]
[7]
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] http:/ / hometown. aol. com/ zcat6/ IntBH2006p8. html http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ http:/ / www. musicline. de/ http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ http:/ / charts. org. nz/ http:/ / www. swisscharts. com/ http:/ / www. chartstats. com/
"Scandal"
402
"Scandal"
"Scandal"
Singleby Queen from the album The Miracle B-side Released Format "My Life Has Been Saved" October 9, 1989 Vinyl record (7", 12") Cassette tape CD 1988 Rock Label Writer(s) Producer 4:43 (Album version) 6:23 (12" extended version)
Parlophone, EMI, Capitol Brian May (credited to Queen) Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
"Scandal" (1989)
"Scandal" is the fourth single from Queen's 1989 album The Miracle. The single was released in the United States but failed to chart, possibly because it was released on some formats with a Capitol Records sleeve, instead of the Queen sleeves. It is one of Brian May's personal favourite songs.
"Scandal"
403
Composition
Scandal, written by Brian May but credited to Queen, is about the unwanted attention May and singer Freddie Mercury received from the press in the late 1980s involving May's divorce and marriage to actress Anita Dobson and Mercury's growing health problems (he had yet to tell the public he had HIV and/or AIDS).[1] Queen had several bad experiences with the British tabloids throughout their career. Mercury chose early on to partly seclude himself from the press by these very reasons.
Recording
May recorded the keyboards and guitars in one take. Mercury's vocal was also done in one take.[1]
Music video
The video for the song featured the band performing on stage designed to look like a newspaper and was filmed at Pinewood Studios in September 1989.
Chart performance
Chart (1989) Peak Total position weeks [2] 12 14 25 10 2 4
[3]
[4]
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] "Scandal - Queenpedia" (http:/ / www. queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=Scandal). http:/ / www. queenpedia. com/ . . Retrieved 2008-01-26. http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ http:/ / www. chartstats. com/
"The Miracle"
404
"The Miracle"
"The Miracle"
Singleby Queen from the album The Miracle B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Stone Cold Crazy" (live) November 27, 1989 Vinyl record (7", 12"), cassette tape, CD 1988 1989 Rock 5:02 Parlophone, EMI Queen Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
"Scandal" (1989)
"Innuendo" (1991)
"The Miracle" is the fifth and last single from Queen's 1989 album The Miracle. It was composed by the entire band, though Freddie Mercury was the main driving force.[1] It was released as a single in late November 1989, some six months after the album. It was the last of the singles from that album to be released, and the first 5th single released from any of Queen's albums from EMI. The song uses the album's artwork inverted with a hologram-like fashion. Mercury began writing the song after he and John Deacon made some chords and decided which one would be the theme. All four contributed to the lyrics and musical ideas, and the song was still credited to the entire band because they had agreed to do so during the albumrecording, regardless of who had been the actual writer. While both Mercury and May regarded this as one of their favourites, Taylor said in the audio commentary of Greatest Video Hits II that although it was not a favourite of his, he respected it as "an incredibly complex track". The song describes several of "God's creations, great and small", such as great buildings like the Taj Mahal and the Tower of Babel, all described as "miracles" in the song. The song also references such well-known figures as
"The Miracle" Captain Cook, Cain and Abel, and Jimi Hendrix.
405
Music video
The music video for the song features four young boys including a then-unknown Ross McCall as Mercury performing as Queen on stage. Throughout the video, McCall appears dressed as four different incarnations of Mercury: '70s era (long hair and harlequin leotard), early '80s (thick mustache, leather jacket and pants), the mid-80s Live Aid outfit, and Magic Tour '86 (the iconic yellow leather jacket, white pants and Adidas sneakers). Queen themselves appear only near the end of the video. According to Roger Taylor, Mercury joked about sending the boys out on tour instead of them because of how well they did in the video.
Trivia
On the B-side of the original single a live version of the song "Stone Cold Crazy" can be found.
Chart performance
Chart (1989) Peak Total position weeks [2] [3] 16 78 23 21 9 4 1 5
[5]
References
[1] QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS TOUR SPRING 2005 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ tour05/ interviews/ bm_classicq_mar05pt5. html). Brianmay.com. Retrieved on 2011-02-16. [2] http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ [3] http:/ / www. musicline. de/ [4] http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ [5] http:/ / www. chartstats. com/
"Innuendo"
406
"Innuendo"
"Innuendo"
Singleby Queen from the album Innuendo B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Bijou 14 January 1991 7"/12" single, CD single 1989 1990 Rock, heavy metal Label Writer(s) Producer 6:30 (Album version) 6:46 (12" explosive version)
"Innuendo" (1991)
"Innuendo" is a song by English rock band Queen. It is the opening track on the 1991 album of the same name. At six and a half minutes, it is one of Queen's longest songs, and their longest ever released as a single, exceeding "Bohemian Rhapsody" by 35 seconds. Like that song, it was released as the first single from its parent album, despite its length and complexity, going straight to #1 in the UK Singles Chart. Featured is a flamenco guitar section performed by Yes guitarist Steve Howe and Brian May,[1] [2] an operatic interlude that harks back to the Queen of old, sections of heavy metal, and lyrics inspired in part by Mercury's illness. Accompanied by a powerful music video featuring animated representations of the band on a cinema screen akin to Nineteen Eighty-Four, eerie plasticine figure stop motion and harrowing imagery, it has been described as one of the band's darkest and most moving works.[3] Allmusic described the song as a "superb epic", which deals with "mankind's inability to live harmoniously."[4]
"Innuendo"
407
Songwriting
"Innuendo" was pieced together "like a jigsaw puzzle." The recurring theme (with the Bolro-esque beat) started off as a jam session between May, Deacon and Taylor. Mercury then added the melody and some of the lyrics, which were then completed by Taylor. The middle section was primarily Mercury's work, according to an interview with May in October 1994's Guitar Magazine. It features a flamenco guitar solo, followed by a classically influenced bridge, and then the solo again but performed with electric guitars. This section is especially complex, featuring a pattern of three bars in 5/4 time (reasonably uncommon in popular music) followed by four bars in the more often used 3/4 time. The end of the flamenco-guitar style is based on the 5/4 bar, but is in 6/4 time. The "You can be anything you want to be" section features a very sophisticated orchestration, created by Mercury and producer David Richards using the popular Korg M1 keyboard/synth/workstation. Mercury had arranged and co-arranged orchestras in his solo career, and closed the previous Queen album with "Was It All Worth It", which included a Gershwin-esque interlude also coming from an M1 synth. The bridge section in "Innuendo" is in 3/4, showing once again Mercury's affection for trinary metres: "Bicycle Race" is another one with main sections in 4/4 and middle-eight in 3/4, and some of his best-known pieces (namely "We Are the Champions" and "Somebody to Love") were in 12/8, as would be his last ever composition, "A Winter's Tale".
Promotional video
A very elaborate music video was created to accompany the single, combining Stop Motion animation with live action and digital mask replacement and featuring plasticine figures reminiscent of the album artwork in a detailed miniature cinema set. The band members only appear as illustrations and images, mainly taken from earlier Queen music videos (such as "The Miracle", "Scandal", "Breakthru", "The Invisible Man", "I Want It All", and clips from "Live at Wembley Stadium 1986"), on a cinema screen in the same manner as in the film Nineteen Eighty-Four, with Freddie drawn in the style of Leonardo da Vinci, Brian in the style of Victorian etchings, Roger in the style of Jackson Pollock, and John in the style of Pablo Picasso.[6] It also featured a montage of historical images and photographs. The video won production company DoRo (who also produced the videos to all other singles from the Innuendo album) a Monitor Award for Best Achievement in Music Video. An early draft of the video for "Innuendo" was banned from American television due to the inclusion of footage from the Gulf War. An alternate video (without the footage) was released and received moderate airplay in the United States.
"Innuendo"
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Other versions
The song and parts of the Led Zeppelin songs "Kashmir" and "Thank You" were performed by that band's lead singer Robert Plant with the three surviving members of Queen (May, Taylor and Deacon) at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 at Wembley Stadium. "Kashmir" had been one of the inspirations for "Innuendo", making Plant's performance all the more fitting. However, the song was left off the DVD release at Plant's request, as he forgot part of the lyrics and his vocal was, in his admission, not in the best shape. As in "Kashmir", the title of the song appears in the lyrics only once. The 12" explosive version of this song features a noise similar to an atomic bomb after Mercury sings "until the end of time".
Cover versions
Cover version of the song appeared on 1997 album Ball of the Damned by speed metal band Scanner. American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry performed "Innuendo" on Queen Night in April 2006. The progressive metal band Queensrche also covered the song for their 2007 album Take Cover.
In popular culture
The song is included in the competitive karaoke videogame SingStar Queen for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3.
Chart performance
Chart (1991) Peak Total position weeks [7] 28 12 4 5 4 [12] 10 1 1 3 1 17 6 10 11 16 4 8 ? ? 12 6 ?
[8]
[9] [10]
[11]
South African Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart UK Singles Chart [13]
[14]
"Innuendo"
409
References
[1] from Queenitalia.it (http:/ / www. queenitalia. it/ Queen/ Discografia/ innuendo. htm) [2] interview from stevehowe.com (http:/ / www. stevehowe. com/ archives/ archives1. html) [3] Queen's Greatest Videos. Channel 4. 1999. No. 1/1. [4] Prato, Greg. Innuendo review (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r15963). Allmusic. Retrieved 12 April, 2011. [5] interview from stevehowe.com (http:/ / www. stevehowe. com/ archives/ archives1. html) [6] Queen - Champions of the World video (1995) [7] http:/ / www. australian-charts. com/ [8] http:/ / www. austriancharts. at/ [9] http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ [10] http:/ / www. musicline. de/ [11] http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ [12] http:/ / charts. org. nz/ [13] http:/ / www. swisscharts. com/ [14] http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ [15] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/
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Singleby Queen from the album Innuendo B-side Lost Opportunity The Hitman 4 March 1991 7"/12" vinyl record, CD, cassette 1990 Rock, psychedelic rock 4:22 Parlophone Queen (Freddie Mercury/Peter Straker) Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
Producer
"Innuendo" (1991)
"Headlong" (1991)
"I'm Going Slightly Mad" is a Queen song, written by Freddie Mercury. It is the second track on the 1991 album Innuendo. The lyrics and the accompanying music video project the song as quirky, humorous and light-hearted,[1] but the eerie keyboards and the unsettling instrumentation as well as part of the lyrics, plus some of Mercury's lowest vocals, reflect gloomier undertones, inspired by AIDS-induced dementia. Actress Cleo Rocos has confirmed this notion, stating that Mercury had explained to her and mutual friend Kenny Everett that the song documents the tragic mental decline he suffered during the final years of his life.[2] He finally announced that he had AIDS on 23 November 1991, and died the following day - barely a year after the video for this song was recorded. The single cover was inspired by a Grandville illustration (as are the others from the album).
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Video
The accompanying video is one of Queen's most famous, along with "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "I Want to Break Free". The video - like all other Innuendo videos directed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions was filmed in February 1991 and it features the band dressed and acting in very absurd ways, including but not limited to guitarist Brian May dressed as a penguin (a reprise of his outfit featured in the booklet of the first Queen album[3] ), drummer Roger Taylor wearing a tea kettle on his head and riding a tricycle while Mercury sneaks up on him and is chasing him, a man in a gorilla suit, bassist John Deacon as a jester, and Mercury wearing a bunch of bananas as a wig (corresponding with the line "I think I'm a banana tree"). "I'm Going Slightly Mad" is the last Queen video to feature significant creative input from Mercury. Although Freddie was already very ill at the time, "I'm Going Slightly Mad" features him very mobile and expressive in the final clip, as well as actively co-directing some of the video's storyboards. This was not the case in "These Are the Days of Our Lives", the last video of Mercury ever filmed, where he hardly moves around at all. The video is shot in black and white, and its light effects, and the absurd character Mercury creates, complete with heavy makeup and a wig, all help to camouflage his very frail condition at the time.[4] At the end of the video, the stairs on which John Deacon is standing disappear, followed by John Deacon disappearing as well, leaving nothing but the jester hat left, as the video fades out.
Chart performance
Chart (1991) Peak Total position weeks [5] [6] 20 42 19 22 9 10 2 5
[8]
References
[1] 02-15-1991 LA Times "Innuendo" review, retrieved from the Queen archives at http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_02-15-1991_-_Innuendo_-_LA_Times [2] Queen's Greatest Videos. Channel 4. 1999. [3] http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssboct09a. html#07 [4] The Queen Phenomenon. 1995. [5] http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ [6] http:/ / www. musicline. de/ [7] http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ [8] http:/ / www. chartstats. com/
"Headlong"
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"Headlong"
"Headlong"
Singleby Queen from the album Innuendo B-side "Mad the Swine" "All God's People" January 14, 1991 (US) May 13, 1991 (UK) 7"/12", CD, cassette 1990 hard rock 4:38 Parlophone; Hollywood Records Queen (Brian May) Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
Released
Producer
"Headlong" (1991)
"Headlong"
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Alternative cover
"Headlong" is the third track of Queen's 1991 album Innuendo. Written by guitarist Brian May, but credited to Queen, it is one of the album's five singles. The cover of one of the CD singles is inspired by Grandville illustrations, as are all of the others from the album. The song was initially going to be recorded by Brian May for his upcoming solo album, 1992's Back to the Light, but when he heard Freddie sing the track, he just could not help but let his band mates work on the song, thus becoming a Queen product. The song was the first single to be released in the United States under their contract with Hollywood Records on 14 January 1991, though it was not released in the United Kingdom for another four months. The song charted on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States at #3. The first single in the United Kingdom was "Innuendo", which Hollywood eventually released in the USA as a promotional single for radio stations. The line "And you're rushin' headlong" from the chorus is somewhat lifted from the second verse of "Breakthru", a single from Queen's previous album The Miracle, which contains the lyrics "I wanna rush headlong into this ecstasy".
Promotional video
The music video for "Headlong" was one of the final Queen videos shot with lead singer Freddie Mercury. The "Headlong" video clip heavily featured the group's lead singer, although it was actually shot before the "I'm Going Slightly Mad" video. The video showed the band in the studio performing the song (in a stage-like setup), as well as shots of the band generally fooling about and working in the studio. The version of the song in the video includes an extra short section after the second chorus not released in any audio format to date. The performance footage (Mercury wearing a yellow sweater) was shot in February 1991, while the other footage (Mercury wearing two different blue shirts) were shot in late 1990 at Metropolis Studios in London. (The footage of Mercury wearing a blue shirt with a tie was shot in fall of 1990notice his healthier appearance; the footage of Mercury wearing a blue shirt with a darker vest was shot in November 1990with a slightly more gaunt appearance in his face and neck). The outside of Metropolis Studios is also shown at the beginning and the end of the video. This is also the last colour video of Freddie Mercury. The next one, "These Are the Days of Our Lives", was recorded in black-and-white. Like all other videos for the Innuendo album, the "Headlong" clip was directed by Austrian director team DoRo, consisting of Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher, who had been regularly working for Queen since the video to the 1986 single "Friends Will Be Friends". They also directed the video to the only new output of the group as a three-piece, "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)", released in 1997.
"Headlong" In the course of the video, Brian May can be seen wearing a Bart Simpson T-shirt, a reference to The Simpsons, which was very popular at that time.
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Chart performance
Chart (1991) Peak Total position weeks [1] 25 43 25 14 3 11 8 2 4 ?
Canadian Singles Chart Dutch Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart UK Singles Chart [2]
[3]
[4]
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ http:/ / www. allmusic. com/
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Singleby Queen from the album Innuendo Released 14 October 1991 (UK) 6 February 1992 (US) 7"/12", CD single 1990 Rock 4:31 Parlophone (Europe), Hollywood Records (US) Queen (May) Queen and David Richards Queen singles chronology
"Headlong" (1991)
"The Show Must Go On" is a song by English rock band Queen, featured as the twelfth and final track on their 1991 album Innuendo. It is credited to Queen, but written primarily by Brian May. The song chronicles the effort of Freddie Mercury continuing to perform despite approaching the end of his life.[1] It was released as a single in the United Kingdom on 14 October 1991 in promotion for the Greatest Hits II album, just six weeks before Mercury died. Following Mercury's death in November 1991, the song re-entered the British charts and spent longer in the top 75 than it did on its original release, eventually reaching a peak of 16. A live version with Elton John on vocals appeared on Queen's Greatest Hits III album. The song was first played live on April 20, 1992, during The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, performed by the three remaining members of Queen, with Elton John singing lead vocals and Tony Iommi playing rhythm guitar. It has since been played live by Queen + Paul Rodgers with Rodgers citing one of the performances as the best of his career.
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"'The Show Must Go On' came from Roger and John playing the sequence, and I started to put things down. At the beginning, it was just this chord sequence, but I had this strange feeling that it could be somehow important, and I got very impassioned and went and beavered away at it. I sat down with Freddie, and we decided what the theme should be and wrote the first verse. It's a long story, that song, but I always felt it would be important because we were dealing with things that were hard to talk about at the time, but in the world of music, you could do [4] it."
Personnel
Freddie Mercury - lead vocals Brian May - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals John Deacon - bass guitar, backing vocals
Graffiti in Kharkov, 2008
Promotional video
Due to Mercury's deteriorating health at the time, no new footage of the lead singer could be shot. With Mercury just six weeks from death by the time of its release, shots of Freddie Mercury instead had to be salvaged from previous videos. The video was conceived and released as a montage of clips spanning Queen's music video career from 1981 to 1991. During the section of the video where a number of masks appear sequentially, one of the masks is of a Roboto, from the music video of "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. The music video was compiled and edited by Austrian director team DoRo, consisting of Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher.
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Chart performance
Chart (1991) Peak Total position weeks 6 2 7 17 6 [9] 20 3 [10] 30 11 16 40 17 21 26 3 ? 5 ? 6 11 10 ?
Italian Singles Chart New Zealand Singles Chart Polish Singles Chart Swedish Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart UK Singles Chart
[11]
[12]
Cover versions
The song was one of many used in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, performed by Jim Broadbent and Nicole Kidman. Shirley Bassey recorded a version of the song for her 2001 album Show Must Go On. The music was recorded in 2006 by Divinefire for their album Hero. It is one of the last songs Grgory Lemarchal premonitorily sang before his death. It was also covered by Michael Ball on his album Music. The Esperanto group Kore sings an Esperanto version of the song on their album Tielas Vivo, translation to Esperanto by Roel Haveman It also appears on Pet Shop Boys album Back To Mine as a Chris Lowe selection. It has also been covered by German power metal band Metalium on their album Nothing to Undo: Chapter Six. Extracts from the song appear in the first movement of The Queen Symphony by Tolga Kashif Celine Dion sang this song in her 2008-2009 Taking Chances Tour. DC Comics character Pied Piper used this song, thinking it would be the final thing he played, to destroy the planet Apokolips in Countdown to Final Crisis. The song was covered on the Danish final of their edition of X-Factor in 2008, with several of the "rejects" and "outsiders" who never made it far, but made a lasting impression on many viewers, performed the song together. Paris Bennett performed an abridged version of the song on the fifth season of American Idol. Carly Smithson performed an abridged version of the song, and recorded a lyrically complete studio version, for the seventh season of American Idol. Elton John performed the song on his 1992 tour; the song appears on the DVD Live In Barcelona. Anatoliy Aleshin performed the song on Russian TV show Superstar 2008. Russian singer Irina Nelson sang this song in 2008.
"The Show Must Go On" Hip-Hop/Rock group Twiztid made their version called "It Don't Stop", which featured the original song's sample and sped up chorus. It was released on their seventh studio album W.I.C.K.E.D. as a bonus track. Israeli singer Dana International recorded a version sung in Hebrew/English for her debut album Danna International in 1993 called "Ha-Hatzga Chayyevet L-Hamshikh". The song was performed by Patrick Fiori, Liane Foly, Garou and Lm during the annual Les Enfoires concert in 2010.
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References
[1] allmusic (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ song/ t2359477) [2] "100 greatest singers of all time Freddie Mercury" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ music/ lists/ 100-greatest-singers-of-all-time-19691231/ freddie-mercury-19691231). The Rolling Stone. . Retrieved 2011-10-01. [3] http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ news/ coverstory/ 24161972/ page/ 18 [4] "The Show Must Go On" (http:/ / www. queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=The_Show_Must_Go_On). queenpedia.com. . Retrieved 2010-03-10. [5] http:/ / www. dutchcharts. nl/ [6] http:/ / www. lescharts. com/ [7] http:/ / www. musicline. de/ [8] http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ [9] http:/ / charts. org. nz/ [10] [11] [12] [13] http:/ / www. swedishcharts. com/ http:/ / www. swisscharts. com/ http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ http:/ / www. allmusic. com/
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Singleby Queen from the album Innuendo B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label "Bohemian Rhapsody" September 5, 1991 (US) December 9, 1991 (UK) 7" single, CD 1990 Rock 4:13 Parlophone (Europe), Hollywood Records (U.S.) Queen (Roger Taylor) Queen and David Richards Platinum (UK) Queen singles chronology
"These Are the Days of Our Lives" is a song by English rock band Queen. It was written largely by their drummer Roger Taylor and is the eighth track on their album Innuendo. It is harmonically and structurally one of the simplest songs of the band's catalogue. Keyboards were programmed by the four band members in the studio, and conga percussion (a synthesised conga) was recorded by their producer David Richards (although it was mimed in the video by Roger Taylor). It was issued as a single in the United States on 5 September 1991 (which happens to be the last birthday lead vocalist Freddie Mercury lived to see) and as double A-side single in the UK three months later on 9 December, in the wake of Mercury's death, with the seminal Queen track "Bohemian Rhapsody". The single debuted at #1 on the UK singles chart. The song was awarded a BRIT Award for "Best Single" in 1992.
"These Are the Days of Our Lives" "These Are the Days of Our Lives" harks back to similarly themed 1975 Queen song "Love of My Life", twice using the line "I still love you". At the end of the song, Mercury simply speaks the words, as he would often do in live versions of "Love of My Life."[1]
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Music video
The accompanying video was the last to feature front man Freddie Mercury as he was in the final stages of his battle with AIDS. The majority of the footage used in the video was filmed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions on 30 May 1991 For the promotional video, Mercury, Taylor and John Deacon were present at the shoot, with additional footage of guitarist Brian May filmed some weeks later and edited into the footage, as he was out of the country on a radio promotional tour at the time of the principal film shoot. The video was shot in black and white to hide the full extent of Freddie's faltering condition from AIDS, as he was now barely six months away from death. Color production footage of the video later emerged, showing just how frail Freddie really looked, and justifying the band's decision to film in black and white out of respect for him. In this music video, Freddie is wearing a waistcoat with pictures of cats that was made for him by a close friend, and which he loved. "I still love you", at the end of the song, are Freddie's last words on camera. Roger Taylor has commented that Freddie wanted a visual documentation of just how ill he actually was. The version of the finished video serviced to the U.S. market also featured some animated footage produced by animators for the Walt Disney Studios, as Queen's North American record label, Hollywood Records, is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. In Europe, a different, 'clean' version of the video without the animated sequences was released. Then another video version was released in 1992 to promote the Classic Queen compilation album in the US, combining old footage of the band from 1973 to 1991 plus the performances of the band from the US aired video.
Tributes
The song was played live in April 1992 at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, sung by George Michael and Lisa Stansfield. This live version was later included in the 1993 "Five Live (EP)", credited to 'George Michael with Queen & Lisa Stansfield', but mostly featuring George Michael live songs plus Dear Friends, a short track sung by Freddie Mercury taken from the 1974 Sheer Heart Attack album, closing the EP. The song was played on the 2005/06 Queen + Paul Rodgers tours with vocals by Roger Taylor. On stage the song was accompanied by a video of the band in their early days in Japan. The song was used on July 1, 2007, at the Concert for Diana. It was a concert held at the new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, who had died 10 years earlier. At the end of the performances, a video montage of Diana as a child was presented and this song was playing in the background. A cover version by Petula Clark is included on her 2008 compilation album Then & Now.
References
[1] Queen's Greatest Videos. Channel 4. 1999. No. 1/1. 50 minutes in. (Roger Taylor)
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"Manipulator" (1989)
Singleby Queen from the album Made in Heaven B-side Released Format Recorded Genre "It's a Beautiful Day" 1995 7" single, CD single 1987 1995 Rock
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5:36 (album version) 4:37 (single version) Parlophone (Europe), Hollywood Records (U.S.) Roger Taylor Queen Queen singles chronology
Length
Label
Writer(s) Producer
"Heaven for Everyone" is a song written by Roger Taylor. It appeared originally in his band's (The Cross) album Shove It, with Freddie Mercury as a guest vocalist, and it's the album's fourth track. It was reworked with Queen's music and appeared in the album Made in Heaven, where it was the seventh track and released as the first single. The single reached number two on the charts in the UK.
Track listings
1988 The Cross single releases
March 20 UK 7" single 1. "Heaven for Everyone" (Roger Taylor vocals) 2. "Love on a Tightrope" UK 12" single 1. "Heaven for Everyone" (Roger Taylor vocals) 2. "Love on a Tightrope" 3. "Contact" After Freddie Mercury's death, as Queen prepared to complete their posthumous album, Made in Heaven, this song was selected to be re-done by the band as a Queen song. The lead vocal Mercury recorded in 1987 was given a new
"Heaven for Everyone" backing track and new backing vocals. A significant difference between The Cross versions and the Queen version is that there's no spoken introduction, refrain or "end" as done by Taylor on the original. Queen has offered no explanation as to why these elements were dropped, but it can be argued that without the spoken parts throughout, the song is more radio/listener friendly. It was the first UK single (Cat. # QUEEN21) off the new album on October 23, 1995, two weeks before the album's release. A planned two-part single, the same song with different B-side tracks was issued October 30, 1995, one week before the album's release. For the single releases, a single version was prepared, editing some instrumental portions of the song (almost a full minute's worth).
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CD single - U.S. 1. "Heaven for Everyone" (Single Version) 2. "Soul Brother" (recorded in 1981) UK Promo CDDJHEAVEN21 1. "Heaven for Everyone" (Single Version) UK Promo CDDJUKE21 1. "Heaven for Everyone" (Single Version) UK Promo 12" 1. "Heaven for Everyone" (Single Version) UK 7" QUEENLHDJ21 1. "Heaven for Everyone" (Single Version) 2. "Heaven for Everyone" (Album Version) In 1998, Queen released The eYe PC game, featuring instrumentals, edits and remixes of their songs, all playable on normal CD players. One of the instrumentals was of the album version of Heaven for Everyone. In 2003, Queen re-issued their Greatest Karaoke Hits DVD collection with added tracks from Made in Heaven, one of which was the instrumental for the single version of Heaven for Everyone.
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Music video
A music video to commemorate Freddie Mercury was directed by David Mallet and released in 1995. It shows footage from the films A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune, 1902), The Impossible Voyage (Le Voyage travers l'impossible, 1904) and The Eclipse (L'clipse du soleil en pleine lune, 1907) by Georges Mlis. The music video for The Cross version involved Taylor singing the song on a beach-like setting, while elderly people walked past the band and climbed up ladders to reach heaven.
French SNEP Singles Chart German Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart [4] [3]
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart Norwegian Singles Chart Swedish Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart UK Singles Chart [1]
[1]
[1]
[5]
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End of year chart (1995) Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart [6] [7]
Position 69 52 73
67
Certifications
Country France [9] Certification Silver Silver Date 1996 November 1, 1995 Sales certified 125,000 200,000
[10] UK
References
[1] "Heaven for Everyone", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (http:/ / lescharts. com/ showitem. asp?key=3112& cat=s) (Retrieved December 29, 2008) [2] "Single top 100 over 1995" (http:/ / www. top40. nl/ pdf/ Top 100/ top 100 - 1995. pdf) (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. . Retrieved 17 April 2010. [3] "Queen singles, German Singles Chart" (http:/ / www. musicline. de/ de/ chartverfolgung_summary/ artist/ Queen/ single) (in German). musicline. . Retrieved 18 April 2010. [4] Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ search/ placement) (Retrieved December 28, 2008) [5] UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ songinfo. php?id=23513) (Retrieved September 28, 2008) [6] "1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart" (http:/ / www. ultratop. be/ nl/ annual. asp?year=1995) (in Dutch). Ultratop. . Retrieved 18 April 2010. [7] "1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart" (http:/ / www. ultratop. be/ fr/ annual. asp?year=1995) (in French). Ultratop. . Retrieved 18 April 2010. [8] 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (http:/ / www. disqueenfrance. com/ fr/ monopage. xml?id=259376& year=1995) (Retrieved January 30, 2009) [9] French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (http:/ / www. disqueenfrance. com/ fr/ monopage. xml?id=259165& year=1996& type=6) (Retrieved December 28, 2008) [10] UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ certifiedawards/ search. aspx) (Retrieved December 28, 2008)
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Singleby Queen from the album Made in Heaven B-side "Thank God It's Christmas" "Rock in Rio Blues" December 18, 1995 CD single, 7" single
Released Format
Recorded 1991 1995 Genre Length Label Rock, psychedelic rock 3:49 Parlophone
Writer(s) Queen (Freddie Mercury) Producer Queen, David Richards, Justin Shirley-Smith, and Joshua J. Macrae Queen singles chronology
"A Winter's Tale" is a song by Queen, from the album Made in Heaven, released in 1995 after Freddie Mercury's death in 1991. It was written after the sessions from the album Innuendo, inspired as Mercury was staring out the windows of their recording studio, at Lake Geneva. The song has a psychedelic, dreamy feel, and describes what Mercury saw outside the windows. It was said to have been recorded 2 weeks before Mercury's death. He wrote, composed, and did the vocals and keyboards for it. In the documentary "Queen - Champions of the World", it was stated that this was if not the first then an extremely rare style of recording for Freddie, as it was all performed in one take live in the studio. It was stated in the film that Freddie had always insisted upon music being completed prior to the vocal arrangement beginning, but acknowledged that he had little time left and there was not enough time to work on it differently.
"A Winter's Tale" The song was released as the second single from the album. In the UK the single was also available in a special limited edition green paper CD case which resembled Christmas wrapper.
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Music video
The music video, produced after his death, was an epitaph, as Mercury's actual written song notes were displayed alongside imagery and clips of Mercury's past performances.
Chart performances
Chart Peak position 23 62 25 28 6 71
Austrian Singles Chart German Singles Chart Netherlands Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart UK Singles Chart Australian Singles Chart
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Queen chronology
"I Was Born to Love You" is a 1985 song by Freddie Mercury, and was released as a single and on the Mr. Bad Guy album. After Mercury's death, Queen remixed this song for their album Made in Heaven in 1995, by having the other members play their instrumental parts over the original track. The song received its live debut on the 2005 Queen + Paul Rodgers tour of Japan. Roger Taylor and Brian May performed the song acoustically. The Queen version from the Made In Heaven album also includes samples of Mercury's ad-lib vocals taken from "A Kind Of Magic" from the 1986 album of the same name and from "Living On My Own" from his Mr. Bad Guy album.
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Chart position
Freddie Mercury version
Charts (1985) Peak positions 10 11 20 24 34 55 76
German Media Control Chart UK Singles Chart Austrian Singles Chart Swiss Singles Chart Dutch Singles Chart Japanese Oricon Singles Chart U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Queen version
Year Charts Peak positions
References
[1] " - goo (Release information - Queen - I Was Born to Love You)" (http:/ / music. goo. ne. jp/ cd/ CDDORID270723-1/ index. html) (in Japanese). music.goo.ne.jp. . Retrieved 2008-06-28.
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Singleby Brian May / Queen from the album Back to the Light / Made in Heaven B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Spread Your Wings 1992 (Brian May) March 26, 1996 (Queen) CD single, 7" 1988 1995 (Queen version) Rock, soft rock 4:20 (Queen) Parlophone (Europe), Hollywood (U.S.) Brian May Frank Musker Elizabeth Lamers Queen (Queen version) Brian May chronology
Writer(s)
Producer
Queen chronology
"Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by Queen guitarist Brian May, Frank Musker, and Elizabeth Lamers.[1] The song was recorded around 1988 or before, and was intended to be on Queen's The Miracle album in 1989. In 1992, Brian May performed it at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. It also was on his solo album Back
"Too Much Love Will Kill You" to the Light in the same year and released as a single charting in the top 10 in the UK at #5. Unheard by most Queen fans with Freddie Mercury on vocals, "Too Much Love Will Kill You" appeared on the 1995 Queen album Made in Heaven, released four years after Mercury's death. Queen's version made it to #15 on the UK singles chart in 1996. The song was awarded Best Song Musically and Lyrically at the 1997 Novello Awards, and May said later that if there was one song that he would have wanted to win an award for, it was "Too Much Love Will Kill You".[1] In 2003, Brian May and Luciano Pavarotti performed a rendition of "Too Much Love Will Kill You", at the tenor's benefit concert held in Modena, Italy.[2]
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References
[1] Billboard 21 Jun 1997 (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=KBAEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA48& dq=too+ much+ love+ will+ kill+ you& hl=en& ei=c0EzTfPUOdKKhQf56Mz7Cw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=3& ved=0CC4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage& q=too much love will kill you& f=false) Billboard Retrieved January 16, 2011 [2] Pavarotti and Friends 2003; Press and News (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ pavarotti2003/ press. html) Retrieved January 21, 2011
"Let Me Live"
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"Let Me Live"
"Let Me Live"
Singleby Queen from the album Made in Heaven B-side "My Fairy King ('Live At The BBC' Session 1973)" "Doin' Alright ('Live At The BBC' Session 1973)" "Liar ('Live At The BBC' Session 1973)" June 17, 1996 CD single, 12" single 19831995 Rock 4:45 Parlophone Queen Queen Queen singles chronology
"Let Me Live" is a song by Queen, from the album Made in Heaven. Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, and Brian May, share lead vocals, with Mercury singing the first verse, Taylor the second and May singing the last one. During the choruses, all of the band members sing, as well as a background choir, giving it quite a gospel sound.
"Let Me Live"
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History
There are rumours that this song was originally recorded with Rod Stewart in 1983, and was intended to be on Queen's The Works album in 1984. The original "Made in Heaven" version had to be changed due to copyright problems because it resembled the song "Piece of My Heart". The song peaked at number nine in the UK singles chart.[1]
Additional musicians
Rebecca Leigh-White, Gary Martin, Catherine Porter and Miriam Stockley - Praise (backing vocals)
Alternate version
Made in Heaven The Film's Edit (0:29) (on the DVD only, on the 'Song Select' screen) (an edit of the album version from 0:25 to 0:55, fading out over 3 seconds)
References
[1] "Made In Heaven" (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Songs/ madein. htm#letme). Ultimatequeen.co.uk. . Retrieved 2010-12-13.
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Singleby Queen from the album Made in Heaven Released Format November 18, 1996 7" single, CD single CD maxi, 12" maxi 1991 1995 Rock 5:25 (album version) 3:54 (single version) Parlophone Queen (Freddie Mercury/Roger Taylor) Queen Queen singles chronology
Label Writer(s)
Producer
"You Don't Fool Me" is a song by Queen, from the 1995 album Made in Heaven. It was released as a single in 1996, containing various remixes of the song. The song is one of the few which were actually written and recorded after the Innuendo sessions, and was written and composed by Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor (albeit credited to the entire band). It was a worldwide hit and reached the peak of the single charts in Italy.
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Music video
The video is set in a night club where a young man encounters his former girlfriend and recounts the memories of their brief relationship.
Track listings
Original version
CD single 1. "You Don't Fool Me" (edit) 3:54 2. "You Don't Fool Me" (album version) 5:25 CD maxi 1. 2. 3. 4. "You Don't Fool Me" (album version) 5:25 "You Don't Fool Me" (edit) 3:54 "You Don't Fool Me" (Sexy Club Mix) 10:18 "You Don't Fool Me" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) 7:07
12" maxi - Europe 1. 2. 3. 4. "You Don't Fool Me" (Sexy Club Mix) "You Don't Fool Me" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) "You Don't Fool Me" (B.S. Project Remix) "You Don't Fool Me" (Dancing Divaz Instrumental club mix)
12" maxi - U.S. 1. 2. 3. 4. "You Don't Fool Me" (Freddy's Club Mix) 7:02 "You Don't Fool Me" (album version) 5:24 "You Don't Fool Me" (Freddy's Revenge Dub) 5:53 "You Don't Fool Me" (Queen for a Day mix) 6:33
Remixes
CD single 1. "You Don't Fool Me" (B.S. Project remix - edit) 3:15 2. "You Don't Fool Me" (edit) 4:40 CD maxi - UK release only 1. 2. 3. 4. "You Don't Fool Me" (album version) 5:24 "You Don't Fool Me" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) 7:05 "You Don't Fool Me" (Sexy Club mix) 10:53 "You Don't Fool Me" (Late Mix) 10:34
12" maxi - UK release only 1. 2. 3. 4. "You Don't Fool Me" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) 7:05 "You Don't Fool Me" (Late Mix) 10:34 "You Don't Fool Me" (Sexy Club Mix) 10:53 "You Don't Fool Me" (album version) 5:24
Cassette single (plays the same on both sides) 1. "You Don't Fool Me" (album version) 5:24
"You Don't Fool Me" 2. "You Don't Fool Me" (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) 7:05 The Sexy Club Mix is the nearly the same on all formats. The UK CD and 12" versions list the wrong time of 10:53, when it should only be 10:18 like the other formats list it. The UK CD version has a mastering error and the first 4 seconds are lost, bringing the running time down to 10:14.
436
1995 remixes
"B.S. Project Remix" (Remix by M. Marcolin and Bob Salton) "B.S. Project Remix - Edit" (Remix by M. Marcolin and Bob Salton) "Dancing Divaz [Instrumental] Club Mix" (Remix by Dancing Divaz) "Dancing Divaz Rhythm Mix" (Remix by Dancing Divaz) "Dub Dance Single Mix" (Remix by David Richards) "Freddy's Club Mix" (Remix by Freddy Bastone) "Freddy's Revenge Dub" (Remix by Freddy Bastone) "Late Mix" (Remix by David Richards) "Queen For A Day Mix" (Remix by Freddy Bastone) "Queen Forever Megamix" (Remix by Freddy Bastone) "Sexy Club Mix" (Remix by Jam & Spoon)
The "Queen Forever Megamix" features vocal samples from a few different Queen songs, but not "You Don't Fool Me". It was only released on the limited edition orange promo vinyl disc in the UK.[1]
Charts
Chart (1996) Peak position [2] [2] [2] 23 13 14 22 [2] 14 26 23 [2] 52 27 17 End of year chart (1996) Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart [6] [7] Position 58 70
French SNEP Singles Chart German Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart [4] [3]
[2]
[5] 1
Remixes
437
References
[1] The complete list of all "You Don't Fool Me" remixes and their sources can be found on this Queenpedia.com article (http:/ / queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=You_Don't_Fool_Me_remixes) [2] "You Don't Fool Me", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (http:/ / lescharts. com/ showitem. asp?key=3196& cat=s) (Retrieved November 23, 2008) [3] German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (http:/ / www. charts-surfer. de/ musiksearch. php) (Retrieved November 23, 2008) [4] Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ search/ placement) (Retrieved November 23, 2008) [5] UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (http:/ / www. chartstats. com/ songinfo. php?id=24730) (Retrieved September 3, 2008) [6] 1996 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (http:/ / www. ultratop. be/ nl/ annual. asp?year=1996) (Retrieved November 23, 2008) [7] 1996 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (http:/ / www. ultratop. be/ fr/ annual. asp?year=1996) (Retrieved November 23, 2008)
Singleby Queen from the album Queen Rocks B-side Released Tie Your Mother Down, We Will Rock You 'The Rick Rubin 'Ruined' Remix, Gimme The Prize 'Instrumental Remix For 'The Eye' 1997 (Europe, Japan, US), January 5, 1998 (UK) CD Vinyl record (7") Cassette tape
Format
438
"No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)" is a song recorded by the remaining three members of the British rock band Queen following the death of Freddie Mercury. Guitarist Brian May the writer of the song and drummer Roger Taylor share lead vocals. The song was released on the album Queen Rocks and it was also released as a single. The impetus for the song came after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997, but is largely a eulogy to Freddie Mercury. It was originally written for a potential Brian May solo project, which eventually evolved into the album Another World. He sent the demo of the song to Roger Taylor who according to Taylor himself put it in a drawer and forgot about it.[1] After eventually hearing it Taylor suggested that it could be turned into a Queen song. Roger Taylor's contribution was to change the tempo and make the lyrics less specific to Mercury. The song features only the remaining three members of Queen, the final new recording to be released under the Queen name alone. This is also the last new recording to feature John Deacon, who subsequently retired from public life.
Music Video
The music video was directed by the Torpedo Twins and filmed at Bray Studios in 1997, the home of Hammer Horror in the 1960s and also where the Rocky Horror Picture Show was shot, it was shot in black and white lifted by excellent lighting and a high-class sheen on the finished article. There are two versions of the promo video. The black and white promo video which was shown across the world and does not contain sepia tinted footage of Freddie, and the second version featured a new ending and also sepia tinted footage of Freddie, which was featured on Queen Rocks The Video in 1998 and on Greatest Flix III VHS in 1999.
Personnel
John Deacon: bass guitar. Brian May: vocals, piano, lead guitar. Roger Taylor: vocals, drums.
Chart position
#13 (UK) #75 (German Singles Charts)
439
Singleby Kerry Ellis from the album Wicked in Rock Released Format 19 March 2005 digital download
Writer(s) Brian May Producer Brian May, Steve Sidwell, Justin Shirley-Smith Kerry Ellis singles chronology
In 2002, Brian May worked with stage actress and singer, Kerry Ellis, to record an orcechestral version of the song as it appears in the musical, We Will Rock You, where Ellis played the role of Meat. In the musical, it is sung by a female, who after the ensemble have recalled the names of a number of musicians who died young, will culminate in saying the name "Freddie" as a tribute to Freddie Mercury. This version of the song was made only available to download on the official Queen website on 19 March 2005 and failed to chart. However, it was later included on her extended play Wicked in Rock and subsequently featured on her debut album Anthems.
440
Track recorded at Sphere Studios, Olympic Studios and Allerton Hill Steve Sidwell - orchestra arranger and conductor The London Session Orchestra - orchestra Gavyn Wright - orchestra leader Isobel Griffiths - orchestra contractor
Orchestra recorded at Air Studios, Lydhurst Hall Steve Price - engineer Tom Jenkins - protools Jake Jackson - assistant Roger Taylor - sticks
References
[1] Queen Rocks EPK
441
Songs
List of songs by Queen
This is a list of all songs performed by Queen. Songs that were created and recorded by queen
1971-1997
Title '39 Year Recorded 1975 Album A Night At The Opera Hot Space News of The World Innuendo May Author(s) May Lead vocal(s)
1982 1977
Taylor May
1991
Queen/Mike Moran (Mercury/Moran) Deacon Deacon Deacon May Mercury Queen (May/Mercury) Queen Mercury Mercury
Mercury
Another One Bites the Dust Arboria (Planet of Tree Men) Back Chat Battle Theme Bicycle Race Bijou Blurred Vision Body Language Bohemian Rhapsody
The Game Flash Gordon Hot Space Flash Gordon Jazz Innuendo Single Hot Space A Night At The Opera The Miracle Sheer Heart Attack Sheer Heart Attack Hot Space The Miracle The Game Hot Space Flash Gordon The Game Hot Space Jazz
Mercury Instrumental Mercury Instrumental Mercury Mercury Mercury, with May & Taylor Mercury Mercury
1989 1974
1974
Mercury
Calling All Girls Chinese Torture Coming Soon Cool Cat Crash Drive On Mingo City Crazy Little Thing Called Love Dancer Dead On Time
Mercury Instrumental Taylor & Mercury Mercury May Mercury Mercury Mercury
442
1974 Sheer Heart Attack A Night At The Opera Innuendo Queen A Kind of Magic Jazz Innuendo The Game Single May Mercury
Dear Friends
1975
Mercury
Mercury
Delilah Doing All Right Don't Lose Your Head Don't Stop Me Now Don't Try So Hard Don't Try Suicide A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling Dragon Attack Dreamer's Ball Drowse
Queen (Mercury) May, Tim Staffell Taylor Mercury Queen (Mercury) Mercury Taylor
The Game Jazz A Day At The Races Flash Gordon Flash Gordon Queen II Jazz Queen II News of The World Flash Gordon Flash Gordon
Escape From The Swamp Execution of Flash The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke Fat Bottomed Girls Father To Son Fight From The Inside
1980 1980
May May
May & Mercury Instrumental (chorus from May, Mercury, Taylor) Mercury, May, Taylor
1980
Flash Gordon
May
1974
Sheer Heart Attack Flash Gordon A Kind of Magic A Kind of Magic Jazz Queen II News of The World A Kind of Magic
Mercury
Mercury
Football Fight Forever Friends Will Be Friends Fun It Funny How Love Is Get Down, Make Love
1986
May
Mercury
1975
instrumental
Good Company
1975
May
May
443
1976 A Day At The Races Queen The Works Mercury Mercury & Mike Stone
1973 1984
Mercury May
Mercury Mercury (verses) and May (chorus) Mercury Mercury Mercury Mercury, May & Taylor Taylor Mercury Taylor Mercury Mercury & May (bridge) May & Mercury Mercury Mercury Mercury Taylor
Hang On In There Headlong Heaven for Everyone The Hero Hijack My Heart The Hitman A Human Body I Can't Live With You I Go Crazy I Want It All I Want to Break Free I Was Born To Love You I'm Going Slightly Mad I'm In Love With My Car
1989 1991 1995 1980 1989 1991 1980 1991 1984 1989 1984 1985 1991 1975
The Miracle Innuendo Made in Heaven Flash Gordon Single Innuendo Single Innuendo
Queen Queen (May) Taylor May Queen Queen (Mercury/May) Taylor Queen (May)
Single/The Works May The Miracle The Works Mr. Bad Guy Innuendo A Night At The Opera Jazz Jazz Flash Gordon Queen (May) Deacon Mercury Queen (Mercury) Taylor
If You Can't Beat Them In Only Seven Days In The Death Cell (Love Theme Reprise) In The Lap of The Gods
1974
Mercury
Mercury
In The Space Capsule (The Love Theme) Innuendo The Invisible Man Is This The World We Created... ? It's A Beautiful Day/Reprise It's a Hard Life It's Late
1980
Taylor
instrumental
Innuendo The Miracle The Works Made In Heaven The Works News of The World Jazz Queen The Works Queen
Jealousy Jesus Keep Passing the Open Windows Keep Yourself Alive
Mercury Mercury Mercury Mercury, May (one line), Taylor (one line)
444
1989 1974 The Miracle Sheer Heart Attack A Kind of Magic Flash Gordon Hot Space A Night At The Opera Jazz Jazz Made In Heaven Queen Hot Space Sheer Heart Attack A Day At The Races Queen II Single A Night At The Opera The Works Single/Queen Made In Heaven The Works Queen II Flash Gordon Queen Mercury Mercury Mercury
A Kind of Magic The Kiss (Aura Resurrects Flash) Las Palabras de Amor Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon
Leaving Home Ain't Easy Let Me Entertain You Let Me Live Liar Life Is Real (Song For Lennon) Lily of the Valley
Long Away
1976
May
May
Machines (or 'Back To Humans') Mad The Swine Made In Heaven Man On The Prowl The March of The Black Queen Marriage of Dale & Ming (And Flash Approaching) The Millionaire Waltz
Mercury & Taylor Mercury Mercury Mercury Mercury & Taylor Instrumental
1976
Mercury
Mercury
Ming's Theme (In The Court of Ming The Merciless) The Miracle Misfire
1980
Mercury
Instrumental
1989 1974
The Miracle Sheer Heart Attack Queen Jazz Made In Heaven Jazz The Miracle Queen Made In Heaven
Queen Deacon
Mercury Mercury
Modern Times Rock & Roll More of That Jazz Mother Love Mustapha My Baby Loves Me My Fairy King My Life Has Been Saved
445
1977 News of The World The Game Queen II Queen Queen Rocks Mercury Mercury
My Melancholy Blues
Need Your Loving Tonight Nevermore The Night Comes Down No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) Now I'm Here
1974
Sheer Heart Attack Queen II A Kind of Magic A Kind of Magic A Kind of Magic The Miracle The Game A Kind of Magic Queen II A Night At The Opera Hot Space The Works The Miracle Innuendo Flash Gordon
May
Mercury
Ogre Battle One Vision One Year of Love Pain Is So Close to Pleasure Party Play the Game Princes of the Universe Procession The Prophet's Song
Put Out the Fire Radio Ga Ga Rain Must Fall Ride The Wild Wind The Ring (Hypnotic Seduction of Dale) Rock It (Prime Jive) Sail Away, Sweet Sister Save Me Scandal Seaside Rendezvous
The Game The Game The Game The Miracle A Night At The Opera Single/Queen II Queen Queen II Sheer Heart Attack News of The World Innuendo News of The World Queen II
See What A Fool I've Been Seven Seas of Rhye... Seven Seas of Rhye She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettoes) Sheer Heart Attack
1977
Taylor
1991 1977
Mercury May
1974
May
May
446
1976 A Day At The Races Queen Single News of The World Hot Space Single Sheer Heart Attack A Night At The Opera The Works Sheer Heart Attack A Day At The Races Greatest Hits III Innuendo A Day At The Races Made In Heaven Mercury Mercury
Somebody to Love
Sweet Lady
1975
Mercury
1984 1974
May Taylor
Mercury Taylor
Teo Torriate (Let Us Cling Together) Thank God It's Christmas These Are The Days of Our Lives Tie Your Mother Down
1976
May
Mercury
1995
Mercury
Under Pressure Vultan's Theme (Attack of The Hawk Men) Was It All Worth It? We Are the Champions
1981 1980
1989 1977
The Miracle News of The World News of The World Flash Gordon A Day At The Races Queen II News of The World A Kind of Magic Made In Heaven Made In Heaven A Day At The Races Made In Heaven
Mercury Mercury
1977
May
Mercury
1980 1976
Instrumental Mercury
1974 1977
May Deacon
Mercury Mercury
1995
Queen
Mercury
447
1976 A Day At The Races A Night At The Opera Mercury Mercury
1975
Deacon
Mercury
Taylor and Mercury Played at 1988 Queen fan club convention Mercury Mercury Mercury Mercury Mercury Later became Under Pressure From News of the World sessions Performed live between 1970 and 1973 Recorded in The Miracle Sessions Recorded in the Innuendo sessions Recorded in Innuendo sessions Recorded during The Game sessions Recorded in Innuendo sessions Written when Smile was around, recorded for Queen
I Guess We're Falling Out 1988 My Secret Fantasy Robbery Sandbox Self Made Man Silver Salmon 1990 1990 1979 1990 1973
Queen (Deacon) Mercury Queen (Taylor) Unknown May Tim Staffel Mercury Instrumental May and Mercury Mercury
448
449
1992 (Deacon/May/Taylor)
Played live at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: "All the Young Dudes" originally performed by Mott the Hoople (1972); written by David Bowie. * "Heaven and Hell" (intro). * "Heroes" originally performed by David Bowie (1977); written by Bowie and Brian Eno. * "Kashmir" (excerpt) originally performed by Led Zeppelin (1975); written by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham. * "Pinball Wizard (intro) performed by The Who (1969); written by Pete Townshend. * "Thank You" (excerpt) originally performed by Led Zeppelin (1969); written by Plant and Page. *
19992006 (May/Taylor)
"All Right Now" originally performed by Free (1970); written by Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers. "Amandla" song by Queen, Dave Stewart and Anastacia. "Bad Company" originally performed by Bad Company (1974); written by Simon Kirke and Paul Rodgers. "Can't Get Enough" originally performed by Bad Company (1974); written by Mick Ralphs. "Feel Like Makin' Love" originally performed by Bad Company (1975); written by Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs. "Fire and Water" originally performed by Free (1970); written by Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers. "46664 - The Call" unreleased song by Queen. "Last Horizon" written and originally performed by Brian May (1992: Back to the Light) "Let There Be Drums" originally performed by Sandy Nelson (1961); written by Nelson and Richard Podolor. "Little Bit of Love" originally performed by Free (1972); written by Paul Rodgers, Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke. "Molly Malone" (part of May's guitar solo) Irish song. * "Reaching Out" originally recorded by "Rock Therapy" featuring Brian May, Paul Rodgers and Charlie Watts, released as a single in 1996 (in aid of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre); written by Hill/Black. "Red House" written and performed first by Jimi Hendrix. * "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" originally performed by Bad Company (1979); written by Rodgers. "Sakura" (part of May's guitar solo) traditional Japanese folk song. * "Seagull" originally performed by Bad Company (1974); written by Mick Ralphs and Paul Rodgers. "Shooting Star" - originally performed by Bad Company (1974); written by Rodgers. "Sunshine of Your Love" (excerpt) originally performed by Cream (1967); written by Jack Bruce, Pete Brown and Eric Clapton. * "Take Love" unreleased song by 'Queen + Paul Rodgers', written by Rodgers. "The Blue Danube" (part of May's guitar solo) written by Johann Strauss II in 1867. * "Wishing Well" originally performed by Free (1972); written by Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, Paul Kossoff and John Bundrick.
450
"Clebrity"
451
"Clebrity"
"C-lebrity"
Singleby Queen + Paul Rodgers from the album The Cosmos Rocks B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Writer(s) Producer "Fire and Water" (Live in Japan) 8 September 2008 CD, Download, 7" vinyl 2007 Hard rock 3:38 EMI, Parlophone Roger Taylor Queen + Paul Rodgers Joshua J Macrae Justin Shirley Smith Kris Fredriksson
"C-lebrity" (2008)
"C-lebrity" is the second single from The Cosmos Rocks album by Queen + Paul Rodgers. It received its live debut on the series finale of ITV's Al Murray's Happy Hour. The song tells the story from the point of view of an aspiring celebrity, who does not let their apparent lack of talent hold them back. It was released on September 8, 2008[1] and is available on CD, 7" Vinyl and digital downloadable formats[2] . Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters sings backing vocals.[3] Brian May plays bass guitar on the track.[4] On August 4, 2008 the track was premiered for the first time on Ken Bruce's radio show on BBC Radio 2. The song has so far reached number 1 on the UK Rock Singles Chart.
"Clebrity" The song was released as downloadable content as part of a Queen Track Pack for Guitar Hero: World Tour on March 26, 2009.
452
C-lebrity was born of a great lyrical idea from Rogera theme very relevant right nowthe current obsession with fame, the cult of Celebrity. I threw in some riffs to hang it on, and some arrangement ideas, and Paul tore in and tore it up! It was Pauls idea to present things from the point of the view of the aspiring Talent Show contestant, in a positive way. We chose this track as a first taster from the album, performing it live on Al Murrays TV show. It got a great reaction, so we went back in, roughed up the studio version a bit and there it is. I think it gives a fair idea of the kind of energy on the albumour first studio creation together. I think we sound like a group ! These things have to happen organically.
C-lebrity is really a comment on the current concept of fame, success, and all that goes with it. Getting your face on TV is enoughtalent doesnt really enter into the equation. "Celebrity" is an overused and devalued word today.
I see the song as Roger's take on the increasing emphasis on fame for its own sake. Its quite ironic that Andy Warhol's statement that everyone will have fifteen minutes of fame is becoming something of a reality, although it may be down to fifteen seconds in todays world of [2] instant communication.
Chart positions
Chart UK Singles Chart UK Rock Chart Position 33 1
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ qpr/ news/ 637/ http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ qpr/ news/ 644/ http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ qpr/ news/ 648/ Brian May (5 August 2008). "C-lebrity: Bass guitar question" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ letters/ lettersaug08. html). brianmay.com. Retrieved on 2009-01-10
453
Singleby Queen as Queen + Paul Rodgers from the album The Cosmos Rocks Released 1 December 2007 (Download) 31 December 2007 (CD single) CD, download 2007 Progressive rock 4:02 EMI, Parlophone Queen + Paul Rodgers (Roger Taylor) Queen + Paul Rodgers Joshua J Macrae Justin Shirley Smith Kris Fredriksson
Producer
"C-lebrity" (2008)
454
Original Cover
"Say It's Not True" is the first studio single by Queen + Paul Rodgers, It was released on World AIDS Day 1 December 2007. The song was available as a free download from QueenOnline.com. The track is written by drummer Roger Taylor and features all 3 members on vocal. The song was performed live on the Queen + Paul Rodgers 2005/06 world tour, however the live rendition was acoustic and only featured Taylor on vocal. When played on the Rock the Cosmos Tour, the song was sung by Taylor, May and Rodgers as on the single. The song was written for Nelson Mandela's AIDS foundation "46664". On 31 December 2007, the song was released as a CD single, with all proceeds going to "46664".
Live recordings
Return of the Champions CD/LP/DVD (2005) Super Live in Japan DVD (2006) (Japan Only) Live in Ukraine CD/DVD/DOWNLOAD (2009)
Chart positions
Due to the singles availability to download for free, chart positions were severely affected particularly in Germany, France, The Netherlands and the U.K. where the sale of downloads account for much of a songs chart positioning. #5 (Italy, airplay/download) #62 (Netherlands) [1] #68 (Romania) #75 (France) [2] #82 (Germany)[3] #90 (UK)
455
References
[1] dutchcharts.nl (http:/ / dutchcharts. nl/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen+ + + Paul+ Rodgers& titel=Say+ It's+ Not+ True& cat=s) [2] lescharts.com (http:/ / lescharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen+ + + Paul+ Rodgers& titel=Say+ It's+ Not+ True& cat=s) [3] Charts-Surfer (http:/ / www. charts-surfer. de/ musiksearch. php)
Details
The "Seven Seas of Rhye" single featured the first of several non-album B-sides released during Queen's recording career. This song dated from the pre-Queen band Smile. Brian May heard the song "That's How I Feel" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee on a TV program, but at the time he never caught the name of the song or band. He remembered the riff and some lyrics and brought them to the band, then proceeded to write "See What A Fool I've Been" around it. It was not recorded until the Queen II sessions, though it was a live staple since Queen's formation. The B-side version features a vocal delivery from Freddie Mercury that could be best described as burlesque in nature, rather than the more straightforward delivery of the live and BBC versions which are yet to be officially released. Also, there are lyric changes between the B-side, BBC and live versions (with references to a "train to Georgia" and a "Greyhound bus at dawn" not heard in B-side version, whereas the live versions have no "sailor boy" or "barking dog" lyrics). The reason for these differences has never been explained. In 2004, May was contacted by a fan who had discovered which song "See What A Fool I've Been" had been based on, as it had long been a mystery. May officially confirmed "That's How I Feel" as the inspiration after the fan sent him the recently released CD containing the song (along with a note explaining how it was tracked down by looking up song lyrics rather than listening to every recording by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee). The explanation of the song's history appears on the February 2004 Soapbox entry of May's official website.[3] May said he planned to contact their estates to work out the long-overdue royalty issues.
References
[1] Hodkinson, Mark (2004). Queen The Early Years (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=n84WbO8wiTQC& pg=PA82& dq="See+ What+ A+ Fool+ I've+ Been"& q="See What A Fool I've Been"). London: Omnibus Press. p.82. ISBN978-1-84449-012-7. [2] Woodstra, Christopher. All Music Guide Required Listening : Classic Rock (All Music Guide Required Listening Classic Rock). Backbeat. ISBN978-0-87930-917-6. [3] http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssbfeb04. html#06
C. Strong, Martin; Peel, John (1998). The Great Rock Discography: Complete Discographies Listing Every Track Recorded by More Than 1,200 Artists (http://books.google.com/?id=2C6I4KfgJ1kC&pg=RA1-PA665& dq="See+What+A+Fool+I've+Been"+queen). Canongate U.S.. p.665. ISBN978-1-84195-615-2.
456
Recorded July - September 1974 Genre Length Label Writer Heavy metal, thrash metal 2:12 EMI / Elektra Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon
Producer Roy Thomas Baker Queen Sheer Heart Attack track listing
Recorded 1990 Genre Length Label Thrash metal 2:17 Elektra Records
Writer(s) Freddie Mercury Brian May Roger Taylor John Deacon Producer Metallica Metallica singles chronology
"One" (1989)
"Stone Cold Crazy" is a song by English rock band Queen from their successful 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. The song is the eighth track on the album. Although the song was never released as a single, it has been featured on
"Stone Cold Crazy" Queen compilation albums and was played live at almost every show in their first ten years. The song credit is shared between all the members of the band, although Mercury played it with his band Wreckage before Queen was created in the late 1960s. It was the first song Queen performed live in 1970, but the song underwent many changes musically and lyrically before getting recorded, resulting in credit going to the entire band. Early versions of the song were much slower, according to the band, although no bootlegs exist. In 2009 it was named the 38th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[1] "Stone Cold Crazy" is featured in the music video games Guitar Hero: Metallica and Rock Revolution. This track is known for its fast tempos and heavy distortion, thus being a precursor to speed metal.
457
Cover versions
Metallica covered the song as their contribution to the 1990 compilation album "Rubiyt" Elektra's 40th Anniversary. This cover version was later used as a B-side of their "Enter Sandman" single and subsequently won a Grammy Award; it also appeared on their covers/b-sides album Garage Inc.. The Metallica version of the song is more aggressive than the original; they also slightly altered the lyrics, adding two uses of the word "fuck" and changing the more humorous lines for more violent lyrics, such as "walking down the street/shooting people that I meet/with my fully loaded tommy gun". James Hetfield once sang it together with Queen & Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath fame (singing Metallica's altered lyrics) at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Metallica also played the song as an encore during their 1991-'93 Black Album tour; it appears on the live CD Live Shit: Binge & Purge and the 2009 Live DVD Franais Pour Une Nuit. Hellyeah played Metallica's version of Stone Cold Crazy on the 2007 Family Values Tour, sometimes referring to it under the title "Stone Cold Wasted". Extreme also included part of the song during their medley at the same Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. The band Eleven has also recorded a cover, lending the spot of lead vocals to friend and Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme (Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen). Rock band Sum 41 began covering a version of this song in their live shows in 2010.
References
[1] "spreadit.org music" (http:/ / music. spreadit. org/ vh1-top-100-hard-rock-songs/ ). . Retrieved 7 February 2009.
458
Videography
Queen videography
This is the videography of the British rock band Queen.
Information Greatest Flix Released:November2,1981 Format(s): VHS, Laserdisc
We Will Rock You Released:September10,1984 Format(s): VHS, DVD (October 30, 2001) Chart position(s): USA (2x platinum)
Queen videography
459
Queen at Wembley Released:December3,1990 Format(s): VHS, DVD (June 17, 2003) Chart position(s): #1: Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal (11x platinum, 44.000 copies), Spain, UK (4x platinum); #2: Greece, Ireland; #3: Norway, Sweden; #4: Denmark, France; #?(diamond): US (5x platinum)
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Released:November23,1992 Format(s): VHS, DVD (April 2002) Chart position(s): #1: UK, #5: Germany
Queen videography
460
Greatest Video Hits 1 Released:October12,2002 Format(s): DVD Chart position(s): #1: Germany, Spain, UK, USA (platinum); #2: Australia, Denmark, Sweden; #3: Italy
Greatest Video Hits 2 Released:November25,2003 Format(s): DVD Chart position(s): #1: Ireland, UK (2x platinum, 100.000); #2: Spain; #4: Germany, Italy
Jewels Released:April28,2004 (Japan only) Format(s): DVD Chart position(s): #1: Japan
We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan Released:June7,2004 (Japan only) Format(s): DVD Chart position(s): #1: Japan
Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl Released:October25,2004 Format(s): DVD Chart position(s): #1: Austria, Belgium, Germany (4 weeks), Italy, Japan (on international charts), Sweden, UK (2 weeks, 3x platinum, 150.000); #2: New Zealand, Portugal (2x platinum, 8.000); #4: Norway; #5: France; #?(3x platinum) US (platinum)
Live Aid (various artists) Released:November8,2004 Format(s): DVD Chart position(s): #1: UK
Return of the Champions (Queen + Paul Rodgers) Released:October18,2005 Format(s): DVD Chart position(s): #1: Japan (on international charts), UK (platinum); #2: Austria, Germany, Netherlands; #3: Sweden; #4: Italy; #7: Portugal
The Making of A Night at the Opera Classic Albums Released:March20,2006 Format(s): Chart position(s): #3: UK
Super Live in Japan (Queen + Paul Rodgers) Released:April28,2006 (Japan only) Format(s): DVD
Queen Rock Montreal Released:October29,2007 Format(s): DVD, HD DVD, Blu-Ray Chart position(s): #1 Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Holland #2 Switzerland, Japan, UK #3 Germany #4 Austria, Belgium, Mexico, Hong Kong #5 Canada (2xPlatinum), Australia / New Zealand #6 Denmark #9 Norway #13 France #23USA
461
Directed by
Saul Swimmer
Produced by Saul Swimmer, Jim Beach Starring John Deacon Brian May Freddie Mercury Roger Taylor Queen
Music by
We Will Rock You is a concert film by English band Queen. It was filmed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the Montreal Forum on November 24 and 25, 1981. A new official release of the concert (Retitled Queen Rock Montreal) digitally remastered by Queen was released on October 29, 2007 on DVD (by Eaglevision) double CD (by Hollywood Records for the U.S. and Canada and by Parlophone Records for Europe and EMI for the rest of the world) and triple vinyl LP.[1] A special double DVD ('Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid') included Queen's performance at Live Aid as well as never before seen interviews and rehearsal footage. It is unclear if the royalties from the Live Aid section went to charity. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray versions were released on December 4, 2007.
List of songs
1. We Will Rock You (fast) (May) 2. Let Me Entertain You (Mercury) 3. Play the Game (Mercury) 4. Somebody to Love (Mercury) 5. Killer Queen (Mercury) 6. I'm in Love With My Car (Taylor) 7. Get Down, Make Love (Mercury) 8. Save Me (May) 9. Now I'm Here (May) 10. Dragon Attack (May) 11. Now I'm Here (reprise) (May) 12. Love of My Life (Mercury) 13. Under Pressure (Queen/Bowie) 14. Keep Yourself Alive (with impromptu jam before the song) (May) 15. Drum Solo/Tympani Solo (Queen/Taylor) 16. Guitar Solo/Guitar and Drum Duel (May)
We Will Rock You 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Mercury) Jailhouse Rock (Lieber, Stoller) Bohemian Rhapsody (Mercury) Tie Your Mother Down (May) Another One Bites the Dust (Deacon) Sheer Heart Attack (Taylor) We Will Rock You (May) We Are the Champions (Mercury) God Save the Queen (tape) (arr. May)
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The tracks "Flash's Theme" and "The Hero" (both written by May) were also performed at these concerts but were deleted from the film. However, the tracks do appear on the CD and vinyl issues of Queen Rock Montreal. A commentary by Roger Taylor and Brian May is an optional feature of "Queen Rock Montreal" whereas a commentary by Saul Swimmer (the director/producer) was an optional feature of the DVD re-release of "We Will Rock You".
Commentaries
Director Saul Swimmer recorded a commentary for the original laserdisc release of the concert. In it, he describes the process by which he and the band went about organizing and recording the concerts which eventually became this video. He is complimentary of the band and spoke positively about the experience. Specifically, he talked about the lengths he went to in order to convince the band to make the video at the end of their then-current tour. Swimmer said the deciding moment came when he took Freddie Mercury to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and showed him the three-storey IMAX screen, and told him to imagine himself five stories tall. Having convinced Freddie, the rest of the band followed suit. When Queen eventually acquired the rights to the video, Brian May and Roger Taylor recorded a new commentary track, on which they discuss their feelings about the original process of making the concert video. May describes Swimmer's behaviour in trying to get the band to agree to the project in very negative terms. He says the director effectively hounded them and that when they relented, he was not easy to work with during the actual two nights of recording. Unlike Swimmer's earlier commentary track, which paints a generous picture of the relationship between himself and the band, May and Taylor's commentary track indicates very directly that this was not the case.
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Trivia
The original video is slightly sped up. It would seem that the released material was judiciously 'compressed' to meet a predetermined time limit of 90 minutes. This problem has been rectified on the Queen Rock Montreal version (96 minutes) of this show. "Under Pressure" was first performed live here before the release of the Hot Space album as the track had appeared on the original US and Canadian album versions of Queen's Greatest Hits album. Material from both nights were used in the final version. In a number of instances, the footage is a mixture of camera shots from one night and audio recordings from the other night. The original video had an obvious 'blooper' during "Killer Queen" when Mercury could be heard clearly but was seen to not be singing. This mistake has been corrected in the DVD version. "Jailhouse Rock" was actually played as part of the first encore, after "Sheer Heart Attack", apart from this and the omission of the "Flash" medley the songs are in the order that they were actually played. Producer Saul Swimmer asked Queen to wear the same clothes in both nights, however, the band were fairly angry with the producers, so the band decided to ruin the continuity by constantly changing clothes during the course of the two nights. This was confirmed by Brian May on the Queen Rock Montreal DVD commentary. It was finally released in 2007 this time with permission of the band. All the flaws were corrected. The title was also changed. Queen Rock Montreal was chosen as the new official title.
Links
Official Site [2]
References
[1] http:/ / queenonline. com/ news_item. php?article=1672377 [2] http:/ / www. queenrockmontreal. com/
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History
Following Freddie Mercury's death on 24 November 1991 from AIDS, the remaining members of Queen (John Deacon, Brian May and Roger Taylor) came together with Queen Manager Jim Beach to organise an open air concert to celebrate the life and legacy of Mercury, as well as raise money for AIDS research, and spread awareness about the disease.
In February 1992, at the annual BRIT Awards ceremony, May and Taylor announced plans for the concert. When tickets finally went on sale, all 72,000 tickets sold out in just two hours, even though no performers were announced apart from remaining members of Queen.
Concert
The concert began with short sets from bands that were influenced by the music of Queen, including Metallica, Extreme (playing a Queen medley), Def Leppard (who brought Brian May onstage for a faithful version of "Now I'm Here"), and Guns N' Roses. Between bands, several video clips honouring Freddie Mercury were shown, while the roadies changed the stage for the following act's performance. The second half of the concert featured the three remaining Queen members - John Deacon (on bass), Brian May (on guitar) and Roger Taylor (on drums) - along with guest singers and guitarists, including Elton John, Roger Daltrey (of The Who), Tony Iommi (of Black Sabbath), David Bowie, Mick Ronson (of Spiders from Mars), James Hetfield (of Metallica), George Michael, Seal, Paul Young, Annie Lennox, Lisa Stansfield, Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Joe Elliott and Phil Collen (of Def Leppard), Axl Rose and Slash (of Guns N' Roses), Liza Minnelli, and others. This was the second high-profile project with both Elton John and George Michael in as many years; the year before, they did a live reworking of John's song "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". U2 dedicated a live performance via satellite from Tacoma, WA of "Until the End of the World" to Mercury.
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Home releases
The concert was originally released in VHS form (usually in two tape releases worldwide), but due to time limitations, the last two songs by Extreme, the first two of Def Leppard, and the song of Spinal Tap "The Majesty of Rock" were deleted (along with Robert Plant's "Innuendo") in the original release. The US release also omitted Bob Geldof's performance of "Too Late God" and Zucchero's performance of "Las Palabras De Amor". In April 2002, for the 10th anniversary of the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the concert was released on DVD and entered the UK charts at number 1. "Innuendo" was not included on the DVD, at the request of Robert Plant. In addition, the original 4:3 footage had been cropped down to widescreen.
Performances
Without Queen
Metallica - "Enter Sandman", "Sad But True", "Nothing Else Matters" Extreme - Queen Medley, "Love of My Life" (Gary Cherone & Nuno Bettencourt), "More Than Words" (Gary Cherone & Nuno Bettencourt) Def Leppard - "Animal", "Let's Get Rocked", "Now I'm Here" (w/Brian May) Bob Geldof - "Too Late God" Spinal Tap - "The Majesty of Rock" U2 - "Until the End of the World" - played via satellite from Tacoma, Washington Guns N' Roses - "Paradise City", "Only Women Bleed" (intro), "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" Mango Groove - "Special Star" - played via satellite from Johannesburg, South Africa Elizabeth Taylor - AIDS Prevention Speech Freddie Mercury - compilation of various interactions with the audience
With Queen
1. Queen + Joe Elliott/Slash - "Tie Your Mother Down" 2. Queen + Roger Daltrey/Tony Iommi - "Heaven and Hell" (intro), "Pinball Wizard" (intro), "I Want It All" 3. Queen + Zucchero - "Las Palabras de Amor" 4. Queen + Gary Cherone/Tony Iommi - "Hammer to Fall" 5. Queen + James Hetfield/Tony Iommi - "Stone Cold Crazy " 6. Queen + Robert Plant - "Innuendo", "Thank You" (intro), "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 7. Brian May with Spike Edney - "Too Much Love Will Kill You" 8. Queen + Paul Young - "Radio Ga Ga" 9. Queen + Seal - "Who Wants to Live Forever" 10. Queen + Lisa Stansfield - "I Want to Break Free" 11. Queen + David Bowie/Annie Lennox - "Under Pressure" 12. Queen + Ian Hunter/David Bowie/Mick Ronson/Joe Elliot/Phil Collen - "All The Young Dudes" 13. Queen + David Bowie/Mick Ronson - "Heroes" 14. David Bowie - "The Lord's Prayer" 15. Queen + George Michael - "'39" 16. Queen + George Michael/Lisa Stansfield - "These Are the Days of Our Lives" 17. Queen + George Michael - "Somebody to Love" 18. Queen + Elton John/Axl Rose - "Bohemian Rhapsody" 19. Queen + Elton John/Tony Iommi - "The Show Must Go On" 20. Queen + Axl Rose - "We Will Rock You" 21. Queen + Liza Minnelli/Cast - "We Are the Champions"
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert 22. Queen - God Save The Queen (taped outro)
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Backing musicians
Queen were backed by the following musicians: Spike Edney - keyboards, piano, backing vocals Mike Moran - piano on "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "Somebody to Love" Josh Macrae - percussion in some Queen tracks Chris Thompson - backing vocals, acoustic guitar on "I Want It All", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Heroes", additional percussion Maggie Ryder - backing vocals Miriam Stockley - backing vocals The London Community Gospel Choir - backing vocals on "Somebody to Love" and "We Are the Champions" John Jones - organ and backing vocals on "We are the Champions"
Reviews
The Times, 26 April 1992 [2] The Denver Post, 23 May 1993 (VHS review) [3]
References
[1] VHS cover text (http:/ / queen. musichall. cz/ en/ discography/ the-freddie-mercury-tribute-concert-vhs. html) [2] http:/ / queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_04-26-1992_-_The_Times_-_Freddie_Mercury_Tribute [3] http:/ / queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_05-23-1993_-_Freddie_Tribute_Concert_Video_-_The_Denver_Post
External links
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103999/) at the Internet Movie Database Transcript of the DVD edition (http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/Videos/fmtributedvd.htm)
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Bruce Gowers (Bohemian Rhapsody) Simon Lupton and Rhys Thomas Freddie Mercury Brian May Roger Taylor John Deacon Queen
Music by
Greatest Video Hits 1 was the first Queen video collection on DVD. Most of the content was released previously on the VHS cassette Greatest Flix in 1981. It was released in October 2002, and included video hits of the band between 1973 and 1981. There is also a Greatest Video Hits 2. The DVD peaked at number one in UK, with sales of more than 90,000 copies. It was also the best selling DVD of the year in 2002. It was also number one in USA (platinum), Germany (gold), Spain and other countries. It was also 4 times platinum in Australia, 3 times platinum in Canada, platinum in Poland, and other places. Most music videos on the DVD have been converted to 16:9 widescreen. This was achieved by cropping large amounts of picture from the top and bottom of the original 4:3 frame. This has caused much controversy among many fans who want the videos presented in their original aspect ratio, and see the conversion as unnecessary and detrimental to the original material.
Disc 1
1. Bohemian Rhapsody 2. Another One Bites the Dust 3. Killer Queen (live Top of the Pops version) 4. Fat Bottomed Girls 5. Bicycle Race 6. You're My Best Friend 7. Don't Stop Me Now 8. Save Me 9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 10. Somebody to Love
Greatest Video Hits 1 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Spread Your Wings Play the Game Flash Tie Your Mother Down We Will Rock You We Are the Champions
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Disc 2
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Now I'm Here Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (live Top of the Pops version) Keep Yourself Alive Liar Love of My Life
6. We Will Rock You (Live Fast Version) The second disc also contains some extras, such as a documentary about 'Bohemian Rhapsody' called 'Inside the Rhapsody' and a photo gallery. It is also possible to access audio commentaries to the initial 16 tracks of this release. Commentaries by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon are taken from previously recorded interviews whilst Brian May and Roger Taylor have recorded new commentaries for the DVD. Both confessed they have few memories of many of the videos due to a long time in each seeing them prior to the DVD being recorded.
Trivia
The videos for We Will Rock You and Bicycle Race on the DVD version are noticeably different from those found on the original VHS version. The track order on the DVD version is the same as the corresponding album but the order is chronological on the original VHS version. On Disc Two, if you press Up, Up, Right, Right, Left, Left at the "Rhapsody" menu, the "flames" version of Bohemian Rhapsody will start to play.
Charts
Country Charts Peak position Weeks Certification United Kingdom 1 Australia United States Netherlands France Germany Canada 1 2x Platinum Gold 5x platinum 1 37 6X Platinum Platinum 187.000 90.000 90.000 46.000 40.000 25.000 25.000 Sales
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Spain Portugal Poland Mexico New Zealand 1 Gold 3x Platinum Platinum Platinum Platinum 20.000 12.000 10.000 10.000 5.000
Queen at Wembley
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Queen at Wembley
Queen at Wembley
Directed by Produced by Starring Gavin Taylor Simon Lupton Rhys Thomas John Deacon Brian May Freddie Mercury Roger Taylor Spike Edney
Queen at Wembley is a video recorded at the original Wembley Stadium, England on Saturday 12 July 1986 during Queen's Magic Tour. It was first released in December 1990 as an edited VHS (missing 11 songs), then as an audio CD in 1992, followed by a DVD release as Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium (in its entirety) to coincide with the CD rerelease in 2003.
Disc one
1. One Vision 2. Tie Your Mother Down 3. In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited 4. Seven Seas of Rhye 5. Tear It Up 6. A Kind of Magic 7. Under Pressure 8. Another One Bites the Dust 9. Who Wants to Live Forever 10. I Want to Break Free 11. Impromptu 12. Brighton Rock Solo 13. Now I'm Here 14. Love of My Life 15. Is This the World We Created? 16. (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care 17. Hello Mary Lou 18. Tutti Frutti 19. Gimme Some Lovin' 20. Bohemian Rhapsody 21. Hammer to Fall 22. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 23. Big Spender 24. Radio Ga Ga 25. We Will Rock You
Queen at Wembley 26. Friends Will Be Friends 27. We Are the Champions 28. God Save the Queen
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Disc two
Road to Wembley
Brian May and Roger Taylor interview (2003) (28 mins) Gavin Taylor (Director) and Gerry Stickles (Tour Manager) interview (19 mins) A Beautiful Day Rudi Dolezal's backstage documentary about the whole day (30 mins) Tribute to the Wembley Towers including timelapse demolition footage set to 'These Are the Days of Our Lives (Instrumental)' (5 mins)
Unseen Magic
Features 'Friday Concert Medley' highlights package of the previous night's show (28 mins): 1. A Kind Of Magic 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Another One Bites The Dust Tutti Frutti Crazy Little Thing Called Love We Are The Champions (ending) God Save The Queen
Rehearsals (10 mins) Picture Gallery (5 mins) (The background music for this extra is the full, unreleased original version of "A Kind of Magic" used in the Highlander film)
Queen Cams
4 tracks presented in multi-angle Brian, Roger, John and Freddie cams: 1. 2. 3. 4. One Vision Under Pressure Now I'm Here We Are the Champions
Audio
DTS Surround Sound & PCM Stereo
Queen at Wembley
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Charts
Country Charts Sales Sales 500,000 315,000 160,000 125,000 113,000 90,000
Peak position Weeks Certification USA UK Netherlands Germany France Australia Portugal Japan Spain South Africa Canada Poland New Zealand Austria Denmark Platinum Gold 3x Platinum Platinum 2x Platinum Gold Gold 5x Platinum 4x Platinum 2x Platinum 5x Gold Diamond 6x Platinum
11x Platinum 44,000 27,000 25,000 25,000 15,000 10,000 10,000 5,000 4,000
External links
Queen at Wembley [1] at the Internet Movie Database
References
[1] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0158874/
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Produced by Starring
Simon Lupton and Rhys Thomas Freddie Mercury Brian May Roger Taylor John Deacon Queen
Music by
Greatest Video Hits 2 is the second DVD of music videos from the English band, Queen. It was released in November 2003, and included video hits of the band between 1982 to 1989. It was at number one in UK, in its first week. It also peaked at number 1 in Ireland. In that same year the DVD was number 2 in Spain, and number 4 in Italy. It was certified 2 platinum awards in UK, platinum in France and Australia, gold in Germany, Spain, Poland and other countries. It features an option for audio commentary from both Brian May and Roger Taylor on each music video, reflecting on their memories and opinions of each video. The music videos from Innuendo were not included in the DVD. They were replaced with the songs, "Las Palabras de Amor", "Body Language", "Princes of the Universe", and "Scandal."
Disc one
1. A Kind of Magic 2. I Want It All 3. Radio Ga Ga 4. I Want to Break Free 5. Breakthru 6. Under Pressure 7. Scandal 8. Calling All Girls 9. Who Wants to Live Forever 10. The Miracle 11. It's a Hard Life 12. The Invisible Man
Greatest Video Hits 2 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Las Palabras de Amor Friends Will Be Friends Back Chat Body Language Hammer to Fall Princes of the Universe One Vision
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Disc two
Hot Space section
Staying Power; live from Milton Keynes, 1982
Audio
PCM Stereo DTS 5.1 (for Disc 1 only and those marked with an asterisk on Disc 2) Commentary from Roger Taylor and Brian May on each Music Video.
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Starring
Music by
We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan is a live concert video of English rock band Queen's performance at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo on May 11, 1985 as part of the Japanese leg of The Works Tour. The film's title is slightly inaccurate, as Queen actually performed two more shows in Japan (in Nagoya on May 13, and in Osaka on the 15th). The 90-minute film is not the full concert, leaving out Brian May's guitar solo and Dragon Attack. The video is also edited for time by cutting away setup waits between songs. Only officially released in Japan, it first appeared as a video release in 1992, then as a laserdisc release, before a DVD release in 2004. The concert footage has not been studio-corrected to remove errors in sound, unlike other Queen concert video releases. It features an extensive synth playing.
Track List
1. Tear It Up 2. Tie Your Mother Down 3. Under Pressure 4. Somebody to Love 5. Killer Queen 6. Seven Seas of Rhye 7. Keep Yourself Alive 8. Liar 9. Impromptu 10. It's A Hard Life 11. Now I'm Here 12. Is This The World We Created? 13. Love of My Life 14. Another One Bites the Dust 15. Hammer to Fall 16. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan 17. Bohemian Rhapsody 18. Radio Ga Ga Encore: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. I Want to Break Free Jailhouse Rock We Will Rock You We Are the Champions God Save the Queen
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The concert opens with "Machines, Or Back to Humans (Intro)" which is not credited on the video.
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Tours
Queen live performances
The English rock band Queen is well-known for its prowess as a live musical act. A diverse catalogue of songs, massive sound systems, huge lighting rigs, an arsenal of pyrotechnics and many extravagant costumes helped turn shows into entertaining, theatrical events. As both lead vocalist and front man, Freddie Mercury was able to immerse himself in the audience's adulation and thrived on their excitement an ability for which many artists, such as Bob Geldof, David Bowie, George Michael, Kurt Cobain (in his possible suicide note), and Robbie Williams have expressed great admiration. Queen wrote a number of songs, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions," for example, with the specific goal of audience participation. Songs such as "Radio Ga Ga" came to inspire actions like synchronised hand-clapping (this particular hand-clapping routine, originating from the song's video, was actually the invention of the video's director, David Mallet). This contributed to Queen's memorable appearance at Live Aid, where the 75,000 strong crowd at Wembley Stadium sang at a loud volume and clapped their hands in unison to the song. Queen's performance at Live Aid was voted by a large selection of musicians and critics to be the greatest live show of all time.[1]
1970s
Queen played approximately 700 live performances during their career with roughly two-thirds during the seventies. Their early performances were essentially hard rock, often heavy metal, but the band later developed a more pop rock sound as the years went by. Many of their future trademarks first appeared in these early shows although some could be traced back to the members' previous bands and artistic outlets (e.g., Smile, Ibex and Wreckage). Freddie Mercury dressed in an overtly flamboyant, Thespian manner and acted with great camp and extravagance while dry ice and banks of colourful lights were used with considerable effect. During the concerts, it was typical for both Brian May and Roger Taylor to have impromptu, instrumental interludes and Mercury to engage in a crowd 'shout-along' whereas it was traditional for Taylor to sing one song. Brian May and John Deacon sang backup vocals. Other recognisable trademarks were Mercury's microphone, which featured only the upper part of the stand with no base (which allegedly first came about while Mercury was with his band "Wreckage" where the bottom of his stand accidentally broke off), a grand piano, and May's hand-built electric guitar, the Red Special, with his inimitable curly hair. The lengthy guitar solo by May showcased his unique skills and creativity at using a multiple-delay effect which gave rise to a layered, orchestral atmosphere. Only on very rare occasions did Queen allow a non-member to perform, or even appear, on stage with them, the most notable being keyboardist Spike Edney who performed with the band during the eighties. A semi-informal medley of 50's rock 'n roll songs (especially "Big Spender" and "Jailhouse Rock") was also a staple and usually formed the backbone of an encore. The band's logo, which was designed by Mercury shortly before the release of the first album is made up of their star signs and was usually displayed on the front of Taylor's bass drum during their early tours. Some stage costumes worn by Mercury and May on their earliest tours and a few subsequent tours were created by fashion designer Zandra Rhodes. The concert duration and set-list for each Queen show evolved significantly during its career, eventually leading to shows that exceeded two hours. Queen performed most of the songs released on their catalogue of studio albums during live performances. Queen is remembered for stand-out performances during tours in the seventies which were mainly recorded on videotape. Examples include shows in: Rainbow Theatre (1974), Hammersmith Odeon (1975), Hyde Park (1976), Earls Court (1977), Houston (1977), and the Hammersmith Odeon (1979). None of these
Queen live performances recordings have officially been released. Footage from other seventies shows exist, especially from Japan in 1975/1976 and Europe in 1978/1979, but most of this footage is of inferior quality compared to the aforementioned recordings, due to poor camera angles, inadequate lighting and unbalanced sound mixing. Filming of rock concerts was still in its formative stages, and most rock acts placed little importance on how well their shows could be captured on film. In addition, like many acts at the time, most of its early promotional videos featured the band performing the song on-stage as a quasi-live rendition, which could not capture Queen's full live experience. Lisa Marie Presley stated that the first rock concert she attended was by Queen in Los Angeles in the late seventies. After the show, she gave Mercury a scarf that belonged to her late father.[2]
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Queen - Queen II
With the release of their first two albums Queen & Queen II, the band began live performing in earnest, essentially following the traditional 'album-tour' cycle throughout the seventies. The embryonic Queen played numerous gigs in and around London in the early seventies, but evidence suggests that its first performance was on 27 June 1970 at Truro in England, while still billed as "Smile". The band's first major step toward becoming a recognized live act came when Queen was a support act to Mott the Hoople on its UK tour. Despite being young and inexperienced, Queen's performances were quite impressive, and they consistently received an enthusiastic reception from audiences. This led to Mott the Hoople's inviting Queen to be its support act for Hoople's US tour. Here, the band was able to hone its on-stage presentations in front of large crowds, try out different songs and arrangements, and gain valuable experience with state-of-the-art light and sound systems. The friendly relationship between Mott the Hoople and Queen still remains strong to this day. The Queen song "Now I'm Here" was written by Brian May as a tribute to Mott The Hoople. Jim Kerr from Simple Minds first saw Queen when they opened for Mott the Hoople during the 1974 UK tour. At the launch party of the Innuendo album, Kerr stated that Queen "blew Hoople off the stage!". Similarly, Richie Sambora from Bon Jovi saw Queen open for Hoople three times in New York in 1974, and stated that they were "absolutely fantastic", and that he "never forgot" the performances. On this same US tour, a show in Pennsylvania also featured a then-relatively unknown Aerosmith, which was at a similar stage as Queen in its lengthy career.
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Queen live performances on lead vocals, was initially introduced to the setlist. This was also the first time in which "Love of My Life" was performed live, as a reworked acoustic version, and it became a highlight of the show almost instantly. The fans often took control of the lead vocals of this song, while Mercury conducted the audience as a choir. To make way for the new material, most songs from the first two Queen albums were omitted.
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Jazz
On the exhausting Jazz Tour in late 1978 for the US and early 1979 through Europe and Japan, most European dates were recorded and then later spliced together to make up the Live Killers double-album. This tour featured their "Pizza Oven" lighting rig which consisted of 320 par lights arranged on a massive moveable rig above the band. It was nicknamed the "Pizza Oven" due to the massive amount of heat that the lights generated. When introducing the song "Death on Two Legs", Mercury often swore profusely about the bands previous managers which had to be dubbed over on the album. This tour saw Hannover, Germany, 1979 Mercury start to wear full leather/vinyl outfits instead of glam-inspired leotards (which drew a public jibe from Rob Halford of Judas Priest) and, in keeping with a theme of their latest singles "Bicycle Race" and "Fat Bottomed Girls", a group of topless women riding bicycles sometimes appeared on stage. To some observers, there seemed to be a 'sex theme' deliberately integrated into the shows and this tour first saw the now infamous Brian-Brian chant from the audience. Another unexpected feature of many shows was the requests for the seemingly inconspicuous song "Mustapha" by numerous members of the crowd. On this tour, Mercury would sing only the opening few bars a cappella as on the album version, but the band would perform the song in full on the next few tours. On the Japanese shows, the band played "Teo Torriatte" with May playing piano.
Crazy Tour
The small-scale Crazy Tour in late 1979, which was only preceded by a big-selling single and not an album, saw Mercury with short hair and it was the first time that Mercury played the acoustic guitar (i.e. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love") on stage. The band would typically drop "Brighton Rock" from the shows on this, and future, tours so that the guitar solo by May (which had its genesis in "Son and Daughter") effectively became a stand-alone performance. In some concerts, Mercury would appear on stage near the closing of the show sitting on the shoulders of Superman or Darth Vader although this would lead to some minor legality problems. Because of the many small venues used on this tour, the road crew often encountered problems when constructing the band's stages and so the stages, and sometimes the venues themselves, had to be altered substantially. One noteworthy show on this particular tour was their Boxing Day gig at the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea in London which was also filmed.
1980s
The eighties were to be later acknowledged as the decade dominated by 'pop' music (with heavy use of synthesisers) and the subsequent arrival of the MTV generation and Queen, along with many other bands of their generation, were not immune to these new influences. Hence their live sound would take on a more pop-oriented flavour which alienated a number of their long-term fans and critics alike. In 1980 Queen had reached a high point in their worldwide popularity as this would be the only time that Queen would top both the US singles and albums charts. This popularity partially inspired the 1981 simultaneous release of the Greatest Hits album, the Greatest Flix video, and the Greatest Pix book. The video included live recordings of "Love of My Life" and the fast version of "We Will Rock You" while the re-release on DVD included "Now I'm Here" from the Rainbow show. Although various members of the band released solo material in the eighties, there is no reported instances of this non-Queen material being performed in a Queen concert.
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The Game
The Game Tour in 1980 coincided with Queen being at their most popular with massive sales of their latest album both inside and outside of the United States. One surprise, however, to many concert-goers was the prominent moustache that Mercury had grown which resulted in some diehard fans throwing razors and shaving cream cans onto the stage. Also Mercury's stage costumes appeared to be more casual and less flamboyant (e.g. T-shirts and sport shoes) than in the earlier tours. Moreover the band, and Mercury in particular, would emphasise the funk/dance sound when performing the songs "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Dragon Attack" although many of their loyal hard-rock fans were rather indifferent. It is noted that a small selection of material from the Flash Gordon album was also included in the play list. The Gluttons for Punishment Tour in 1981 heralded in a largely untapped frontier for live rock music. In this case, Queen embarked on a short, yet frantic, tour of South America that included a number of dates at some of the world's biggest football stadiums. No major rock band had ever seriously toured this area of the globe. Queen's album sales in South America had been quite high from quite early on in the bands career which provided the main inspiration for the tour. Overall Queen played to approximately 700,000 people in the space of just 13 concerts with the show at So Paulo in Brazil setting the world record for the biggest paying audience at 131,000 people. As a point of note, football star Diego Maradona appeared on stage with the band in Argentina. Some of the shows were filmed and the two Canadian gigs at Montreal were filmed and released as the We Will Rock You video, and DVD at a later date, but sometimes referred to as just Live In Concert. In this era, Mercury appeared onstage naked except for some white shorts.
Hot Space
The Hot Space Tour in 1982 came on the heels of an interesting, yet controversial, studio album. A highlight of the tour was a massive, open-air concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl near Northampton the show was released as the Queen On Fire CD and DVD several years later. To many concert-goers ears, the band's sound as well as Mercury's vocal performances now had a distinctive soul/funk tone. It is worth noting that this was the tour that Queen started employing the services of another musician, a keyboardist, on stage. Hence keyboards would become a prominent feature of Queen's live sound from this point onwards although the piano, played by Mercury, was still retained. Almost no material from this album would be played on future tours -- "Staying Power" saw some play early in the next tour, and only "Under Pressure" would become a lasting addition to the setlist. The band performed two songs live, namely "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" along with "Under Pressure", on Saturday Night Live as well. Also one of the Japan gigs was filmed although it did not receive an international release. However some live footage from this Japan show, as well as some footage from an Austrian gig, does appear in the special features section of the Queen on Fire release. The 'Hot Space Tour' was to be Queen's last tour of America.
The Works
The Works Tour in 1984/1985 was one of Queens largest tours and included the huge Rock in Rio festival in Brazil (which was released as the Live in Rio video but has not been globally released on DVD to date) where they appeared on stage at 2 a.m. in the morning. However this tour was also the first time that Queen did not perform in North America. The lack of US dates seems quite surprising given that Mercury had started living in New York around this time, the album was partially recorded in Los Angeles, and Queen had changed their US label from Elektra to Capitol. One persistent rumour was that there would be too much strain on Mercury's voice on a full-scale US tour. In fact, it is fair to say that both media reports (e.g. covering the Wembley Arena show) and bootleg recordings of some concerts did show that Mercury would sometimes have vocal difficulties. Usually Mercury wore scant leotards reminiscent of his seventies attire but, in keeping with its unconventional video, on a number of occasions he would make a cameo appearance dressed, or partly dressed, in drag when "I Want to Break Free" was being performed although this sometimes received a rather mixed reception. Audiences also reproduced the
Queen live performances synchronised hand-clapping routine that appeared in the "Radio Ga Ga" video during the choruses of this song. Moreover it was during this tour that the band began to resurrect some of the material from their first three albums into the setlist as part of a 'flash-back' medley. Again one of the Japan shows was filmed, and titled Final Live in Japan, but was not released internationally. Rick Parfitt from Status Quo also appeared on-stage with the band during one of their London gigs and Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet appeared on-stage with the band during their one and only New Zealand concert. Queen were to partake in two music festivals (in 1984 and 1986) at Montreux in Switzerland where they lip-synched (i.e. mimed on-stage to the recorded songs) a small selection of their latest material. This surprised many onlookers as the band had often spoken out strongly against this style of performance. The concerts were filmed and then broadcasted to many millions of people throughout Europe and can be found on the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD. To their fans particularly, it seemed obvious that the band, as well as some members of the audience, were dis-oriented and somewhat confused during these faked performances. The performances at Sun City in South Africa in 1984 were to land the band in hot water. Many well-known acts, both before and after Queen, have played at the luxurious holiday resort in the desert and were not subsequently criticised for it. However the international deploration of apartheid would reach a high-point shortly after the band performed. Many action groups, including a group of musicians called Artists United Against Apartheid, publicly condemned Queen (and some other acts) for their performances at the exclusive resort. To try and calm the waters, Queen officially released a statement saying how much they despised racism and that they had absolutely no wish to promote racial prejudice.
482
Live Aid
The performance at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985 is often regarded as, arguably, Queen's greatest single live performance. Their set lasted 21 minutes and comprised "Bohemian Rhapsody" (ballad section and guitar solo), "Radio Ga Ga", crowd singalong, "Hammer to Fall", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "We Will Rock You" (1st verse), and "We Are the Champions". Mercury and May returned later on to perform a version of "Is This the World We Created?" As the band would later admit, the audience reaction to Queen's condensed segment was quite astonishing and their performance would be remembered for decades to come. Ironically the band were only lukewarm about performing when they were first approached by Geldof. Fans had to wait patiently for almost twenty years before the concert became publicly available on the official Live Aid DVD. The appreciation they received after their performance led to them writing, collectively, the song One Vision which was then released as a single.
A Kind of Magic
The Magic Tour in 1986 was to be Queen's last tour. On this occasion the tour did not extend beyond Europe and included two back-to-back shows at Wembley Stadium in London (where INXS and Status Quo were the supporting acts) as well as one concert at Budapest in Hungary. One striking image of Mercury from the Wembley show would be regularly used for promotional purposes (e.g. the Tribute Concert posters, the memorial statue at Montreux, the cover of the Greatest Hits III album, the Musical billboards). Throughout the tour, Mercury would regularly make an impromptu statement on stage that denounced the rumour that Queen were about to split up. As "God Save the Queen" played over the PA system at the end of each show, Mercury would come on stage wearing a cloak and a replica of the crown jewels. After this tour, Queen were credited as being one of the first rock acts to employ the over-sized screen (or Jumbotron) at live concerts. Many of the shows were recorded and a heavily edited album, titled Live Magic, was released shortly afterwards. Similarly the Budapest concert was released as the Live In Budapest video (but has not been released on DVD to date) and one of the Wembley concerts would be released as the Live At Wembley album/CD and video/DVD many years later. For the record, the final show of the tour was held on 9 August 1986 at Knebworth Park in England (with Status Quo as support act) and drew an estimated 150,000 in attendance.
Queen live performances Shortly after the completion of the Magic Tour, a three-video rockumentary was released called The Magic Years which had footage from various live shows. Following on from this, a compilation of entirely live material was released by way of the Rare Live A Concert Through Time and Space video. However neither of these have been re-released on DVD to date. The last albums to be released while Mercury was still alive were The Miracle (1989), Innuendo (1991), and Greatest Hits II (1991) and no tours were made. According to the Mercury and Me book,[3] Mercury was supposedly diagnosed HIV positive in the year following the Magic Tour (i.e. 1987) which may explain why they stopped touring so abruptly. However Taylor did form a band called The Cross, that went on to release three studio albums, who performed a number of live concerts with Taylor adopting the role of lead vocalist and not drummer. No live recordings were ever released although some bootlegs do exist.
483
1990s
Queen did not perform any concerts in the nineties with their original lineup. After the death of Freddie Mercury in November 1991, the next performance was at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992 at Wembley Stadium. The three remaining members (in one of the very, very few concerts they played together after Mercury's death) and a host of special guests staged a lengthy and emotional show billed as the Concert For AIDS Awareness (as well as Concert for Life) that was televised worldwide. Due to various complications, the video, and then DVD, of the concert would be released quite sometime afterwards. One track from the concert appeared on the Greatest Hits III album, namely "Somebody to Love", and it should also be mentioned here that some tracks have been released by the artists (i.e. their particular performance) under their own name e.g. George Michael, Lisa Stansfield. May recorded two studio albums in the nineties as well as forming his own band, called The Brian May Band which included Cozy Powell and Spike Edney, that went on tour after their releases. The bands first live performances were supporting Guns N' Roses in 1993 on some legs of their world tour and the group also performed an abbreviated version of the classic Queen track "Tie Your Mother Down", with a guest appearance by Slash, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. This version was released as the B-side of a single shortly thereafter. The band then made a small headlining world tour and one show from London was subsequently released on both CD and DVD Live At The Brixton Academy. Made in Heaven, released in 1995, was the last studio album by the band, and "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)", which appeared on the "Queen Rocks" compilation album in 1997, was the final song to feature John Deacon. However the final occasion where all remaining members of Queen performed on stage was in January 1997 at Paris in France for the world premiere of Bejart Ballet For Life. Joining the surviving trio were Spike Edney on keyboards/backing-vocals and Elton John who sang lead vocals. They only performed one song, namely "The Show Must Go On" which was one of the two songs they had performed together at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, and this was the last reported appearance of John Deacon on stage. The song also appears on the Greatest Hits III album.
484
Brian May - guitar, vocals Freddie Mercury - lead vocals, piano Roger Taylor - percussion, vocals Mike Grose - bass (JuneJuly 1970) Barry Mitchell - bass (August 1970 January 1971) Doug Bogie - bass (February 1971) John Deacon - bass, triangle, vocals Brian May - guitar, vocals, piano, ukelele/banjo Freddie Mercury - lead vocals, piano, tambourine, guitar Roger Taylor - percussion, vocals John Deacon - bass, vocals, guitar Brian May - guitar, vocals, piano, keyboards Freddie Mercury - lead vocals, piano, guitar Roger Taylor - percussion, vocals
With Queen + (19921997) Morgan Fisher - keyboards (AprilJune 1982) Fred Mandel - keyboards (JulyNovember 1982) Spike Edney - keyboards, vocals, guitar (19841986) John Deacon - bass Brian May - guitar, vocals Roger Taylor - percussion, vocals
References
[1] BBC (9 November 2005). "Queen win greatest live gig poll" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ entertainment/ 4420308. stm). . Retrieved 2006-07-12. [2] Ken Sharp. "lisapresley.com" (http:/ / www. lisapresley. com/ news/ interviews/ pop_ent. htm). . [3] Jim Hutton and Tim Waspshott. Mercury and Me. Bloomsbury, 1994. ISBN 0-7475-1922-6
Further reading
Greg Brooks, Chris Charlesworth. Queen Live: A Concert Documentary. London: Omnibus Press, 1995. ISBN 0711948143
485
The Sheer Heart Attack Tour was the first world tour by the British rock band Queen, and supported their 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. The supporting bands consisted of: Styx, Kansas, Hustler, and Mahogany Rush. This was their first tour of Japan, and the band was met at the airport by "more than 3,000 screaming fans."[1]
References
[1] "Queen timeline" (http:/ / www. accessmylibrary. com/ coms2/ summary_0286-11853836_ITM). Music Week. 2005-11-12. .
486
A Night at the Opera Tour was a concert tour in 1975 by Queen to promote their album A Night at the Opera. It spanned from 1975 to 1976 and covered Europe, the United States, Japan, and Australia.
Setlist
1. "Procession" 2. "Bohemian Rhapsody (rock section, live)" 3. "Ogre Battle" 4. "Sweet Lady" 5. "White Queen (As It Began)" 6. "Flick of the Wrist" 7. "In the Lap of the Gods' 8. "Killer Queen" 9. "The March of the Black Queen" 10. "Bohemian Rhapsody (outro)" 11. "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" 12. "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" 13. "Son and Daughter" 14. "The Prophet's Song" 15. "Stone Cold Crazy" 16. "Keep Yourself Alive" 17. "Modern Times Rock and Roll" 18. "Liar" 19. "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited" 20. "Now I'm Here" 21. "Big Spender" 22. "Jailhouse Rock" 23. "God Save the Queen" (tape)
487
Tour dates
Date City Country First Leg Europe 14 November 1975 15 November 1975 16 November 1975 17 November 1975 18 November 1975 19 November 1975 21 November 1975 23 November 1975 24 November 1975 26 November 1975 (2 shows) 29 November 1975 30 November 1975 1 December 1975 2 December 1975 3 December 1975 7 December 1975 8 December 1975 9 December 1975 10 December 1975 11 December 1975 Newcastle upon Tyne 13 December 1975 14 December 1975 15 December 1975 16 December 1975 24 December 1975 London England Second Leg America Hammersmith Apollo Dundee Aberdeen Glasgow Scotland City Hall Caird Hall Capitol Theatre Apollo Theatre Wolverhampton Preston Birmingham Civic Hall Guildhall Odeon Cardiff Taunton Bournemouth Southampton Manchester Wales England Capitol Odeon Winter Gardens Gaumont Theatre Free Trade Hall Coventry Bristol Belgrade Theatre Colston Hall Liverpool England Empire Theatre Venue
London
Hammersmith Apollo
488
Waterbury Boston United States Palace Theatre Music Hall
27 January 1976 29 January 1976 30 January 1976 31 January 1976 1 February 1976 2 February 1976 5 February 1976 6 February 1976 7 February 1976 8 February 1976 11 February 1976 12 February 1976 13 February 1976 14 February 1976 15 February 1976 18 February 1976 19 February 1976 20 February 1976 23 February 1976 24 February 1976 26 February 1976 27 February 1976 28 February 1976 29 February 1976 1 March 1976 3 March 1976 7 March 1976 9 March 1976 (2 shows) 10 March 1976 11 March 1976 12 March 1976 13 March 1976
Philadelphia
Tower Theater
Beacon Theatre
Detroit
Masonic Temple
Riverfront Coliseum Public Hall Toledo Sports Arena Civic Center Veterans Memorial Auditorium Stanley Theater Auditorium Building
St. Louis Indianapolis Madison Fort Wayne Milwaukee St. Paul Berkeley Santa Monica
Kiel Auditorium Market Square Arena Dane County Coliseum Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Milwaukee Auditorium Roy Wilkins Auditorium Berkeley Community Theatre Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
489
Tokyo Nagoya Himeji Fukuoka Osaka Tokyo Japan Nippon Budokan Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium Himeji Kosei Nenkin Hall Kyuden Kinen Taiikukan Festival Hall Nippon Budokan
22 March 1976 23 March 1976 24 March 1976 26 March 1976 29 March 1976 31 March 1976 1 April 1976 2 April 1976 4 April 1976
Sendai Tokyo
Miyagi Prefectural Sport Center Ryogoku Nihon University Auditorium Fourth Leg Australia
11 April 1976 14 April 1976 15 April 1976 17 April 1976 18 April 1976 19 April 1976 20 April 1976 22 April 1976
Perth Adelaide
Australia
Sydney
Hordern Pavilion
Melbourne
Festival Hall
Festival Hall
Edinburgh
Scotland
Edinburgh Playhouse
Cardiff London
Wales England
490
The Summer Gigs of 1976 was a short tour by Queen, consisting of four gigs. This was before A Day at the Races was released.
Setlist
1. A Day at the Races intro 2. Bohemian Rhapsody (Opera and Rock sections) 3. Ogre Battle 4. Sweet Lady 5. White Queen (As It Began) 6. Flick Of The Wrist 7. You're My Best Friend 8. Bohemian Rhapsody 9. Killer Queen 10. The March Of The Black Queen 11. Bohemian Rhapsody (Reprise) 12. Bring Back That Leroy Brown 13. Brighton Rock 14. Son And Daughter (Reprise) 15. '39 16. You Take My Breath Away 17. The Prophet's Song 18. Stone Cold Crazy 19. Doing All Right 20. Liar 21. In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited
491
Tour dates
Date September 1, 1976 September 2, 1976 September 10, 1976 September 18, 1976 Cardiff London Wales England Cardiff Castle Hyde Park City Edinburgh Country Scotland Venue Playhouse Theatre
Trivia
This would be the last tour in which Mercury would sport long hair and his trademark black nail polish.
External links
Queen Concerts [1]
References
[1] http:/ / www. queenconcerts. com/ live/ queen/ summer76. html
492
The A Day at the Races Tour was a concert tour by the British rock band Queen, and supported their late 1976 album A Day at the Races. This tour was the first to use the song Somebody to Love and many others. Plus Brighton Rock and Bohemian Rhapsody were performed in full for the first time. Also, singer Freddie Mercury would perform a vocal canon to segue between "White Man" and "The Prophet's Song". The opening act on most of the North American leg was Thin Lizzy. In New York City, the concert at Madison Square Garden was sold out within moments of tickets going on sale.[1] The final two shows on the tour at Earls Court was filmed and is widely traded among fans. These shows were of note as the band used an expensive lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the very first time.[2] Both shows were also officially recorded on video and the first show was also released on many bootlegs in almost excellent quality. Both gigs included a Rock'n'Roll Medley (this medley is also the only bootleg recording from the second night).
Tour dates
Date City Country First Leg North America January 13, 1977 January 15, 1977 January 16, 1977 January 18, 1977 January 20, 1977 January 21, 1977 January 22, 1977 January 23, 1977 January 25, 1977 January 26, 1977 January 28, 1977 January 30, 1977 Milwaukee Columbus, Ohio Indianapolis Detroit Saginaw Louisville Kalamazoo Cleveland Ottawa Montreal Chicago Toledo United States Canada United States Milwaukee Auditorium St. John Arena Indiana Convention Center Cobo Hall Saginaw Civic Center Louisville Gardens Wings Stadium Richfield Coliseum Ottawa Civic Centre Montreal Forum Chicago Stadium Toledo Sports Arena Venue
493
February 1, 1977 February 3, 1977 February 4, 1977 February 5, 1977 February 6, 1977 February 8, 1977 February 9, 1977 February 10, 1977 February 11, 1977 February 19, 1977 February 20, 1977 February 21, 1977 February 22, 1977 February 25, 1977 February 26, 1977 March 1, 1977 March 2, 1977 March 3, 1977 March 5, 1977 March 6, 1977 March 11, 1977 March 12, 1977 March 16, 1977 March 17, 1977 March 18, 1977 Edmonton Second Leg - Europe May 8, 1977 May 10, 1977 May 12, 1977 May 13, 1977 May 14, 1977 May 16, 1977 May 17, 1977 May 19, 1977 May 23, 1977 May 24, 1977 May 26, 1977 May 27, 1977 May 29, 1976 Stafford Bingley Hall Southampton Gaumont Theatre Stockholm Gothenburg Copenhagen Hamburg Frankfurt Dsseldorf Rotterdam Basle Bristol Netherlands Switzerland England Denmark Germany Sweden Civic Auditorium Scandinavium Brondby Stadium Congresscentrum Festhalle Philipshalle Ahoy Rotterdam Sporthalle Hippodrome Northlands Coliseum San Diego San Francisco Vancouver Portland Calgary Canada United States Canada San Diego Sports Arena Winterland Pacific Coliseum Paramount Theater Jubilee Auditorium Toronto Springfield College Park New York City Uniondale Syracuse Boston Providence Philadelphia Miami Lakeland Atlanta Birmingham Dallas Houston Phoenix Inglewood Canada United States Maple Leaf Gardens Springfield Civic Center Cole Field House Madison Square Garden Nassau Coliseum War Memorial Auditorium Boston Garden Providence Civic Center The Spectrum Hollywood Sportatorium Lakeland Civic Center Omni Coliseum Boutwell Memorial Auditorium Moody Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum The Forum
494
May 30, 1977 May 31, 1977 June 2, 1977 June 3, 1977 June 6, 1977 June 7, 1977 London Earls Court Liverpool England Empire Theatre Glasgow Scotland Apollo Theatre
References
[1] Tiven, Jon (1977). "Queen's Live Act Stuns City" (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_XX-XX-1977_-_Circus_-_Madison_Square_Garden). Circus. . [2] Hilburn, Robert (1978-12-20). "Pop Music Review: Putting Queen in Audio Seat Queen for a Night" (http:/ / pqasb. pqarchiver. com/ latimes/ access/ 649614822. html?dids=649614822:649614822& FMT=ABS& FMTS=ABS:AI& date=Dec+ 20,+ 1978& author=ROBERT+ HILBURN& pub=Los+ Angeles+ Times& desc=POP+ MUSIC+ REVIEW). Los Angeles Times. .
External links
Queen Concerts (North America) (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/adatrna.html) Queen Concerts (Europe) (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/adatrna.html)
495
The News of the World Tour was a concert tour by the British rock band Queen, and supported their successful 1977 album News of the World. This tour was the first to use the songs We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions and Love of My Life, three of the famous anthems that helped make Queen well-known for their concerts. The tour also marked the first time where a song (I'm In Love With My Car) would not have Mercury on lead vocals, which were, instead, provided by Taylor. It was also the first time the band toured without an opening act.[1] In the book The Show I'll Never Forget: 50 Writers Relive Their Most Memorable Concertgoing Experience, novelist Tracy Chevalier recalls attending one of this tour's concerts at the age of 15: The band wisely didnt dare attempt to reproduce in its entirety the long, baroque confection that is Bohemian Rhapsody. For the infamous operatic middle section, the band members left the stage as the studio recording played. Freddie and Brian then changed costume, and, at the word Beelzebub, all four men popped out of a door in the stage floor and joined live again for the heavy metal section, fireworks going off, dry ice pouring out, everyone going berserk, me in tears of excitement. It was one of the best live moments Ive ever witnessed. Indeed, I was spoiled by seeing Queen play live before anyone else; for sheer exuberant theatricality, no one else has come close.[2] Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called this concert tour the band's "most spectacularly staged and finely honed show yet".[1] One of the shows on the North American leg at The Houston Summit was filmed and is widely traded among fans. Also, that show saw the band not play "Spread Your Wings" and was the one show where Brian May did his guitar solo spot in normal tuning as the solo would segue into "Now I'm Here" instead of "The Prophet's Song (Reprise)".
Tour dates
496
Date
City
Venue
England
United States Cumberland County Civic Center Boston Garden Springfield Civic Center Providence Civic Center Memorial Coliseum Cobo Hall
November 13, 1977 Springfield, Massachusetts November 15, 1977 November 16, 1977 November 18, 1977 November 19, 1977 November 21, 1977 Toronto, Ontario Canada Providence, Rhode Island New Haven, Connecticut Detroit, Michigan
November 23, 1977 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States November 24, 1977 November 25, 1977 November 27, 1977 November 29, 1977 December 1, 1977 December 2, 1977 December 4, 1977 December 5, 1977 December 8, 1977 December 10, 1977 December 11, 1977 December 15, 1977 December 16, 1977 December 17, 1977 December 20, 1977 December 21, 1977 December 22, 1977 February 19, 1978 February 20, 1978 February 21, 1978 February 22, 1978 February 25, 1978 February 26, 1978 March 1, 1978 March 2, 1978 March 3, 1978 Second Leg Inglewood, California Miami, Florida Lakeland, Florida Atlanta, Georgia Birmingham, Alabama Dallas, Texas Houston, Texas Phoenix, Arizona Inglewood, California Dayton, Ohio Chicago, Illinois Atlanta, Georgia Ft. Worth, Texas Houston, Texas Las Vegas, Nevada San Diego, California Oakland, California Long Beach, California Norfolk, Virginia Cleveland, Ohio Washington, D.C New York City, New York
University of Dayton Arena Chicago Stadium Omni Coliseum Fort Worth Convention Center The Summit Aladdin Hotel San Diego Sports Arena Boston Garden Long Beach Arena
The Forum Hollywood Sportatorium Lakeland Civic Center Omni Coliseum Auditorium Moody Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum The Forum
497
April 12, 1978 April 13, 1978 April 14, 1978 April 16, 1978 April 17, 1978 April 19, 1978 April 20, 1978 April 21, 1978 April 23, 1978 April 24, 1978 April 26, 1978 April 28, 1978 April 30, 1978 May 2, 1978 May 3, 1978 May 6, 1978 May 7, 1978 May 11, 1978 May 13, 1978 London Empire Pool Dortmund Berlin Zrich Vienna Munich Stafford Switzerland Austria Germany England Germany Westfalenhalle Deutschlandhalle Hallenstadion Stadthalle Olympiahalle New Bingley Hall Brussels Paris Belgium France Forest National Pavillon de Paris Rotterdam Netherlands Ahoy Hall Stockholm Copenhagen Hamburg Brussels Sweden Denmark Germany Belgium Ice Stadium Folketeatret Ernst-Merck Halle Forest National
References
[1] Hilburn, Robert (1977-12-20). "Pop Music Review: Queen's Royal Achievement" (http:/ / pqasb. pqarchiver. com/ latimes/ access/ 650333162. html?dids=650333162:650333162& FMT=CITE& FMTS=CITE:AI& date=Dec+ 20,+ 1977& author=& pub=Los+ Angeles+ Times& desc=POP+ MUSIC+ REVIEW). Los Angeles Times. . [2] Chevalier, Tracy (2007-01-27). "These were the gigs of our lives" (http:/ / entertainment. timesonline. co. uk/ tol/ arts_and_entertainment/ music/ article1272040. ece). The Times. .
External links
Queen Concerts (North America) (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/notwna.html) Queen Concerts (Europe) (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/notweu.html)
Jazz Tour
498
Jazz Tour
Jazz Tour [[file:Hannover7907.jpg Queen performing in Hanover on January 23, 1979 during the Jazz Tour. World tour by Queen Associated album Start date End date Legs Shows Jazz October 28, 1978 August 18, 1979 4 79 Queen tour chronology News of the World Tour (1977-1978) Jazz Tour (1978-1979) Crazy Tour (1979) alt=]]
The Jazz Tour was a concert tour made by the British rock band Queen. This tour supported the album Jazz. This tour was memorable for the spectacle created by the band. As James Henke of Rolling Stone said about the band's Halloween 1978 concert in New Orleans: ...when they were launching a U.S. tour in support of their Jazz, album, Queen threw a bash in New Orleans that featured snake charmers, strippers, transvestites and a naked fat lady who smoked cigarettes in her crotch.[1] Part of the European leg was recorded and then released as the band's first live album, Live Killers.
Tour dates
Date City Country Venue
Jazz Tour
499
October 28, 1978 October 29, 1978 October 31, 1978 November 3, 1978 November 4, 1978 November 6, 1978 November 7, 1978 November 9, 1978 November 10, 1978 November 11, 1978 November 13, 1978 November 14, 1978 November 16, 1978 November 17, 1978 November 19, 1978 November 20, 1978 November 22, 1978 November 23, 1978 November 25, 1978 November 26, 1978 November 28, 1978 November 30, 1978 December 1, 1978 December 3, 1978 December 4, 1978 December 6, 1978 December 7, 1978 December 8, 1978 December 12, 1978 December 13, 1978 December 14, 1978 December 16, 1978 December 18, 1978 December 19, 1978 December 20, 1978 Second Europe (Live Killers) Madison Chicago Kansas City Seattle Portland Vancouver Oakland Inglewood Canada United States United States Dane County Coliseum Chicago Stadium Kemper Arena Seattle Coliseum Portland Coliseum PNE Coliseum Coliseum Arena Forum Uniondale Philadelphia Nashville St. Louis Cleveland Cincinnati Buffalo Ottawa Montreal Toronto Canada Nassau Coliseum The Spectrum Municipal Auditorium Checkerdome Richfield Coliseum Riverfront Coliseum War Memorial Auditorium Ottawa Civic Centre Montreal Forum Maple Leaf Gardens Kalamazoo Boston Providence New York City Wings Stadium Boston Garden Providence Civic Center Madison Square Garden Dallas Memphis New Orleans Hollywood Lakeland Washington, D.C. New Haven Detroit United States Dallas Convention Center Mid-South Coliseum Civic Auditorium Hollywood Sportatorium Lakeland Center Capital Centre New Haven Coliseum Cobo Arena
Jazz Tour
500
January 17, 1979 January 18, 1979 January 20, 1979 January 21, 1979 January 23, 1979 January 24, 1979 January 26, 1979 January 27, 1979 January 29, 1979 January 30, 1979 February 1, 1979 February 2, 1979 February 4, 1979 February 6, 1979 February 7, 1979 February 10, 1979 February 11, 1979 February 13, 1979 February 15, 1979 February 17, 1979 February 19, 1979 February 20, 1979 February 21, 1979 February 23, 1979 February 25, 1979 February 27, 1979 February 28, 1979 March 1, 1979 Third Leg Japan Madrid Poitiers Paris France Pabellon de Real Madrid Les Arenes Pavillon de Paris Stuttgart Saarbrcken Lyon Barcelona France Spain Sporthalle Saarlandhalle Palais des Sports Palacio de los Deportes Cologne Frankfurt Zrich Zagreb Ljubljana Munich Germany Switzerland Yugoslavia Germany Sporthalle Festhalle Hallenstadion Dom Sportova Hala Tivoli Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle Rotterdam Netherlands Ahoy Hamburg Kiel Bremen Dortmund Hanover Berlin Brussels Belgium Germany Ernst-Merck Halle Ostseehalle Stadthalle Westfalenhalle Coliseum Messesportspalace Forest National
Jazz Tour
501
April 13, 1979 April 14, 1979 April 19, 1979 April 20, 1979 April 21, 1979 April 23, 1979 April 24, 1979 April 25, 1979 April 27, 1979 April 28, 1979 April 30, 1979 May 1, 1979 May 2, 1979 May 5, 1979 May 6, 1979 Fourth Leg Germany August 18, 1979 Saarbrcken Germany Ludwigspark Stadion Yamaguchi Sapporo Prefectural Athletic Association Makomanai Ice Arena Kobe Nagoya Fukuoka Kobe Central Gymnasium International Display Kyuden Memorial Gymnasium Kanazawa Tokyo Jissen-rinri Memorial Hall Nippon Budokan Osaka Festival Hall Tokyo Japan Nippon Budokan
References
[1] Henke, James (1981-06-11). "Queen Holds Court in South America" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ news/ story/ 23501689/ queen_holds_court_in_south_america/ print). Rolling Stone. .
External links
Queen Concerts (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/jazz.html)
Crazy Tour
502
Crazy Tour
Crazy Tour Local tour by Queen Start date End date Legs Shows November 22, 1979 December 26, 1979 1 20 Queen tour chronology Jazz Tour (1978-1979) Crazy Tour (1979) The Game Tour (1980-1981)
Crazy Tour was a short tour by the English rock band Queen during November and December 1979. After the release of the single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", the band decided to change the concert dynamic they used to do the last years. In this tour Queen would revisit smaller venues, many which held less than two thousand seats. Nonetheless, it was the highly awaited UK leg of the successful Jazz Tour. The last concert of this tour at the Hammersmith Odeon was also the first concert of the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea.[1] A bootleg recording of this concert exists as the 2-CD set Crazy Tour of London.[2] During this tour, Freddie Mercury was in great voice, in which he is notable for giving vocal performances much stronger than his performances from the Jazz and Live Killers tour.
Setlist
1. Intro 2. We Will Rock You (Fast) 3. Let Me Entertain You 4. Somebody To Love 5. If You Can't Beat Them 6. Mustapha 7. Death On Two Legs 8. Killer Queen 9. I'm In Love With My Car 10. Get Down Make Love 11. You're My Best Friend 12. Save Me 13. Now I'm Here 14. Don't Stop Me Now 15. Spread Your Wings 16. Love of My Life 17. '39 18. Keep Yourself Alive 19. Drum solo 20. Guitar solo 21. Liar (Manchester, Glasgow and Newcastle only) 22. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Crazy Tour 23. Bohemian Rhapsody 24. Tie Your Mother Down Encores: 1. 2. 3. 4. Sheer Heart Attack We Will Rock You We Are The Champions God Save the Queen (tape)
503
Other songs: Jailhouse Rock Fat Bottomed Girls Mull of Kintyre (December 7, 1979 Liverpool) Silent Night (December 26, 1979 London) Danny Boy (November 22, 1979 Dublin)
Tour dates
Date November 22, 1979 City Dublin Country Ireland England Venue RDS Arena National Exhibition Centre Apollo Theatre
November 24, 1979 Birmingham November 26, 1979 Manchester November 27, 1979 November 30, 1979 December 1, 1979 December 3, 1979 December 4, 1979 December 6, 1979 December 7, 1979 December 9, 1979 December 10, 1979 December 11, 1979 December 13, 1979 December 14, 1979 December 17, 1979 December 19, 1979 December 20, 1979 December 22, 1979 December 26, 1979 London Bristol Brighton Liverpool Newcastle Glasgow
Scotland
Apollo Theatre
England
City Hall
Empire Theatre
Lyceum Theatre Rainbow Theatre Purley Tiffany's Tottenham Mayfair Lewisham Odeon Alexandra Palace Hammersmith Odeon
Crazy Tour
504
References
[1] Freestone, Peter; David Evans (2001). Freddie Mercury: An intimate memoir by the man who knew him best (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=AH8zZsbmB98C& pg=PA18). Omnibus Press. p.18. ISBN0711986746. . [2] "Crazy Tour of London" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r552285). Allmusic. . Retrieved 2009-04-09.
External links
Queen Concerts (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/crazy.html)
505
The Game Tour was a concert tour by the English rock band Queen to support their successful 1980 album The Game. This tour saw the band being the first to play in South American stadiums in early 1981. In Buenos Aires, Queen drew a crowd of 300,000the largest single concert crowd in Argentine history as of 1982.[1] In So Paulo, the attendance was 131,000 and 120,000 on two consecutive nights.[2]
Tour dates
Date City Country North America June 30, 1980 Vancouver Canada PNE Coliseum Venue
506
July 1, 1980 July 2, 1980 July 5, 1980 July 6, 1980 July 8, 1980 July 9, 1980 July 11, 1980 July 12, 1980 July 13, 1980 July 14, 1980 August 5, 1980 August 6, 1980 August 8, 1980 August 9, 1980 August 10, 1980 August 12, 1980 August 13, 1980 August 14, 1980 August 16, 1980 August 20, 1980 August 22, 1980 August 23, 1980 August 24, 1980 August 26, 1980 August 27, 1980 August 29, 1980 August 30, 1980 Memphis Baton Rouge Oklahoma City Dallas Houston Atlanta Charlotte Greensboro Charleston Hartford Philadelphia Baltimore Pittsburgh Providence Portland, Maine Montreal Toronto Canada Mid-South Coliseum Riverside Centroplex The Myriad Reunion Arena The Summit The Omni Charlotte Coliseum Greensboro Coliseum Charleston Civic Center Hartford Civic Center The Spectrum Baltimore Civic Center Pittsburgh Civic Arena Providence Civic Center Cumberland County Civic Center Montreal Forum CNE Coliseum Oakland Oakland Arena Seattle Portland, Oregon San Diego Phoenix Inglewood United States Seattle Center Coliseum Memorial Coliseum San Diego Sports Arena Compton Terrace The Forum
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August 31, 1980 September 10, 1980 September 11, 1980 September 12, 1980 September 13, 1980 September 14, 1980 September 16, 1980 September 17, 1980 September 19, 1980 September 20, 1980 September 21, 1980 September 23, 1980 September 24, 1980 September 26, 1980 September 27, 1980 September 28, 1980 September 29, 1980 September 30, 1980 Europe November 23, 1980 November 25, 1980 November 26, 1980 November 27, 1980 November 29, 1980 November 30, 1980 December 1, 1980 December 5, 1980 December 6, 1980 December 8, 1980 December 10, 1980 December 12, 1980 December 13, 1980 December 14, 1980 December 16, 1980 December 18, 1980 Frankfurt Strasbourg Munich Germany France Germany Japan Festhalle Frankfurt Rhnus Hall Olympiahalle Brussels Belgium Forest National London Wembley Arena Zrich Paris Cologne Leiden Essen Berlin Bremen Birmingham England Switzerland France Germany Netherlands Germany Hallenstadion Le Bourget La Rotonde Cologne Sporthalle Groenoordhallen Grugahalle Deutschlandhalle Stadthalle National Exhibition Centre Rochester Milwaukee Indianapolis Kansas City Omaha St. Paul Ames St. Louis Rosemont Detroit Cleveland Glens Falls Syracuse Boston New York City United States Rochester War Memorial MECCA Arena Market Square Arena Kemper Arena Omaha Civic Auditorium St. Paul Civic Center Hilton Coliseum Checkerdome Rosemont Horizon Joe Louis Arena Richfield Coliseum Glens Falls Civic Center Onondaga War Memorial Boston Garden Madison Square Garden
508
February 12, 1981 February 13, 1981 February 16, 1981 February 17, 1981 February 18, 1981 February 19, 1981 South America Bites the Dust February 28, 1981 March 1, 1981 March 4, 1981 March 6, 1981 March 8, 1981 March 20, 1981 March 21, 1981 Gluttons for Punishment September 25, 1981 September 26, 1981 September 27, 1981 October 9, 1981 October 17, 1981 October 18, 1981 We Will Rock You/Rock Montreal November 24, 1981 November 25, 1981 Montreal Canada Montreal Forum Monterrey Puebla Mexico Estadio Universitario Estadio Zaragoza Caracas Venezuela Poliedro de Caracas Mar del Plata Rosario Buenos Aires So Paulo Brazil Estadio Jos Mara Minella Estadio Gigante de Arroyito Estadio Jos Amalfitani Estdio do Morumbi Buenos Aires Argentina Estadio Jos Amalfitani Tokyo Japan Nippon Budokan
Set lists
North America
1. Intro 2. "We Will Rock You (Fast)" 3. "Let Me Entertain You" 4. Need Your Loving Tonight 5. "Play the Game" 6. "Mustapha" 7. "Death on Two Legs" 8. "Killer Queen" 9. "I'm in Love with My Car" 10. Somebody to Love 11. "Get Down, Make Love" 12. Rock It (Prime Jive) 13. "Save Me" 14. "Now I'm Here"
The Game Tour 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. Dragon Attack Now I'm Here (Reprise) "Love of My Life" Under Pressure "Keep Yourself Alive" "Instrumental Inferno" Flash The Hero "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Bohemian Rhapsody" "Tie Your Mother Down" Another One Bites The Dust "Sheer Heart Attack" Jailhouse Rock "We Will Rock You" "We Are the Champions" "God Save the Queen"
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Europe
1. Intro 2. Jailhouse Rock 3. We Will Rock You (Fast) 4. Let Me Entertain You 5. Play the Game 6. Mustapha 7. Death on Two Legs 8. Killer Queen 9. I'm in Love with My Car 10. Get Down, Make Love 11. Need Your Loving Tonight 12. Save Me 13. Now I'm Here 14. Dragon Attack 15. Now I'm Here (Reprise) 16. Fat Bottomed Girls 17. Love of My Life 18. Keep Yourself Alive 19. Instrumental Inferno 20. Battle Theme 21. Brighton Rock (Reprise) 22. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 23. Bohemian Rhapsody 24. Tie Your Mother Down 25. Another One Bites the Dust 26. Sheer Heart Attack 27. We Will Rock You 28. We Are the Champions
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Japan
1. Intro 2. We Will Rock You (Fast) 3. Let Me Entertain You 4. Play the Game 5. Mustapha 6. Death on Two Legs 7. Killer Queen 8. I'm in Love with My Car 9. Get Down, Make Love 10. Need Your Loving Tonight 11. Rock It (Prime Jive) 12. Save Me 13. Now I'm Here 14. Dragon Attack 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. Now I'm Here (Reprise) Love of My Life Keep Yourself Alive Drum Solo Guitar Solo Vultan's Theme Battle Theme Flash The Hero Crazy Little Thing Called Love Jailhouse Rock Bohemian Rhapsody Tie Your Mother Down Another One Bites the Dust Sheer Heart Attack Teo Torriate We Will Rock You We Are the Champions God Save the Queen
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Personnel
John Deacon: Bass guitar Brian May: Guitar, backing vocals, piano. Freddie Mercury: Lead vocals, piano, guitar ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love"), tambourine. Roger Taylor: Drums, percussion, lead vocals ("I'm in Love With My Car"), backing vocals.
References
[1] "Queen's Flashy Rock" (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_07-27-1982_-_Washington_Post_-_Capital_Centre). The Washington Post. 1982-07-27. . [2] Henke, James (1981-06-11). "Queen Holds Court in South America" (http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ news/ story/ 23501689/ queen_holds_court_in_south_america/ print). Rolling Stone. .
1. www.queenconcerts.com
External links
Queen Concerts (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/gamena.html)
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The Hot Space Tour was a concert tour by the English rock band Queen, supporting their 1982 album Hot Space. A DVD documenting the band's June 5, 1982 concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl outside London was released in 2004 as Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl. Concerts in Japan and Austria were recorded and added to the DVD as extras. The Hot Space Tour was the last tour of the band that took them to United States until the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour in 2006.[1] It is considered as one of the best and strongest tours with approximately 69 shows and 3 legs. Billy Squier was the opening act during the North American leg of the tour.[2] [3]
Personnel
John Deacon: Bass, Guitar (on "Staying Power") Brian May: Guitars, Backing vocals, Piano Freddie Mercury: Vocals, Piano, Guitar (on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love") Roger Taylor: Drums, Backing vocals
Extras
Morgan Fisher: Keyboards (during the European leg) Fred Mandel: Keyboards (during the rest of the tour)
Track listing
1. Flash's Theme (tape) 2. Rock It 3. We Will Rock You (fast) 4. Tie Your Mother Down 5. Sheer Heart Attack 6. Action This Day 7. Play the Game 8. Staying Power 9. Somebody to Love 10. Now I'm Here 11. Dragon Attack
Hot Space Tour 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Now I'm Here (reprise) Love of My Life Save Me Back Chat Body Language Get Down, Make Love Instrumental Inferno Guitar Solo Under Pressure Life Is Real Fat Bottomed Girls Crazy Little Thing Called Love Bohemian Rhapsody Liar
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Encore: 1. Another One Bites the Dust 2. Jailhouse Rock 3. 4. 5. 6. Teo Torriate We Will Rock You We Are the Champions God Save The Queen
Tour dates
Date City Country First Leg Europe April 9, 1982 April 10, 1982 April 12, 1982 April 16, 1982 April 17, 1982 April 19, 1982 April 20, 1982 April 22, 1982 April 23, 1982 April 24, 1982 April 25, 1982 April 28, 1982 May 1, 1982 May 3, 1982 Frankfurt Dortmund Paris France Germany Festhalle Westfalenhalle Palais des Sports Leiden Netherlands Groenoordhallen Paris Lyon Brussels Belgium France Paris Palais des Sports Palais des Sports de Gerland Forest National Gothenburg Stockholm Drammen Zurich Norway Switzerland Sweden Scandinavium Stockholm Isstadion Drammenshallen Hallenstadion Venue
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May 5, 1982 May 6, 1982 May 7, 1982 May 9, 1982 May 10, 1982 May 12, 1982 May 13, 1982 May 15, 1982 May 16, 1982 May 18, 1982 May 21, 1982 May 22, 1982 May 29, 1982 June 1, 1982 June 2, 1982 June 5, 1982 Milton Keynes England National Bowl Leeds Edinburgh England Scotland Elland Road Royal Highland Showground Berlin Hamburg Kassel Munich Germany Waldbhne Ernst-Merck-Halle Eissporthalle Olympiahalle Wrzburg Stuttgart Vienna Austria Carl-Diem-Halle Sporthalle Stadthalle Hannover Cologne Germany AWD-Arena Cologne Sporthalle
Second Leg North America July 21, 1982 July 23, 1982 July 24, 1982 July 25, 1982 July 27, 1982 July 31, 1982 August 2, 1982 August 3, 1982 Montreal Boston Philadelphia Washington, D.C. New York City Cleveland Toronto Canada Canada United States Montreal Forum Boston Garden The Spectrum Capital Centre Madison Square Garden Richfield Coliseum Maple Leaf Gardens
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August 5, 1982 August 6, 1982 August 7, 1982 August 9, 1982 August 10, 1982 August 13, 1982 August 14, 1982 August 15, 1982 August 19, 1982 August 20, 1982 August 21, 1982 August 24, 1982 August 27, 1982 August 28, 1982 August 30, 1982 September 2, 1982 September 3, 1982 September 4, 1982 September 7, 1982 September 10, 1982 September 11, 1982 September 12, 1982 September 14, 1982 September 15, 1982 Third Leg Japan October 19, 1982 October 20, 1982 October 24, 1982 October 26, 1982 October 29, 1982 November 3, 1982 Nishinomiya Nagoya Sapporo Tokorozawa Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium Port Messe Nagoya Tsukisamu Green Dome Seibu Lions Stadium Fukuoka Japan Kyuden Memorial Gymnasium Inglewood Forum Saint Paul Biloxi Houston Dallas Atlanta Oklahoma City Kansas City Denver Portland Seattle Vancouver Oakland Phoenix Irvine Canada United States Saint Paul Civic Center Mississippi Coast Coliseum Summit Reunion Arena Omni Coliseum Myriad Kemper Arena McNichols Arena Portland Coliseum Seattle Coliseum Pacific Coliseum Oakland Coliseum Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Irvine Meadows Indianapolis Detroit Cincinnati East Rutherford New Haven Hoffman Estates United States Market Square Arena Joe Louis Arena Riverfront Coliseum Brendan Byrne Arena New Haven Coliseum Poplar Creek Music Theater
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References
[1] Cohen, Howard (2006-02-26). "Carrying on without mercurial star" (http:/ / www. accessmylibrary. com/ coms2/ summary_0286-32360045_ITM). The Miami Herald. . [2] "Queen's Flashy Rock" (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_07-27-1982_-_Washington_Post_-_Capital_Centre). The Washington Post. 1982-07-27. . [3] "You're My Best Friend - Billy Squier & Queen" (http:/ / www. geocities. co. jp/ HeartLand-Sumire/ 1293/ English/ queen. html). exo! project. 1999. .
External links
Queen Concerts (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/hotspaceeu.html)
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The Works Tour was one of the largest tours by the English rock band Queen. During this tour, Queen participated in the Rock in Rio festival in 1985; the concert was released on VHS but there has not been a worldwide DVD release as of 2011. The band released a DVD from a concert in Tokyo titled We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan, but the name had no relation to the context, because after Tokyo there were two more gigs at Nagoya and Osaka.
Stage design
The stage design was based on a scene from Fritz Lang's Metropolis with huge rotating cog-wheels at the rear of the stage and a brightly lit cityscape.[1] Due to a prior ligament damage in his knee, it was somewhat of a challenge for Mercury to navigate the complex set of multiple levels and stairs. Eventually, in Hanover, Mercury fell down the stairs during the performance of "Hammer to Fall".[2] He was only able to play "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions" afterwards, shortening the concert somewhat. Due to Mercury's injury, May played the first bars of "We Will Rock You" out of anxiety in order to get Mercury to hospital.
Personnel
John Deacon Bass guitar, Rhythm guitar, Vocals Brian May Lead guitar, Vocals Freddie Mercury Lead vocals, Piano, Rhythm Guitar Roger Taylor Drums, Vocals
Extras
Spike Edney Keyboards, Vocals, Rhythm guitar
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Encore: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. I Want To Break Free Jailhouse Rock We Will Rock You We Are the Champions God Save the Queen [tape]
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Other songs
Staying Power (approx. half of the gigs) Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting Rock You Like a Hurricane Sheer Heart Attack Mustapha (intro) Not Fade Away (London, 4 September 1984) '39 (part, Leiden) A Day At The Races (outro) (Dublin only)
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Other songs
Rock You Like a Hurricane Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
Tour dates
Date City Country Europe 24 August 1984 28 August 1984 29 August 1984 31 August 1984 1 September 1984 2 September 1984 4 September 1984 5 September 1984 7 September 1984 8 September 1984 10 September 1984 Dortmund Germany Westfalenhalle London Wembley Arena Birmingham United Kingdom National Exhibition Centre Brussels Dublin Belgium Ireland Forest National RDS Simmons Hall Venue
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14 September 1984 15 September 1984 16 September 1984 18 September 1984 20 September 1984 21 September 1984 22 September 1984 24 September 1984 26 September 1984 27 September 1984 29 September 1984 30 September 1984 South Africa 5 October 1984 6 October 1984 7 October 1984 12 October 1984 13 October 1984 14 October 1984 18 October 1984 19 October 1984 20 October 1984 South America 11 January 1985 18 January 1985 Oceania 13 April 1985 16 April 1985 17 April 1985 19 April 1985 20 April 1985 25 April 1985 26 April 1985 28 April 1985 29 April 1985 Fifth Leg Japan Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre Auckland Melbourne New Zealand Australia Mount Smart Stadium Sports & Entertainments Centre Rio de Janeiro Brazil Rock in Rio Sun City South Africa Sun City Super Bowl Munich Paris Leiden Brussels Hannover Berlin Frankfurt Stuttgart Vienna Austria Germany France Netherlands Belgium Germany Olympiahalle Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Groenoordhallen Forest National Europahalle Deutschlandhalle Festhalle Schleyerhalle Stadthalle Milan Italy Palasport di San Siro
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8 May 1985 9 May 1985 11 May 1985 13 May 1985 15 May 1985 Nagoya Osaka Yoyogi National Gymnasium Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium Osaka Castle Hall Tokyo Japan Nippon Budokan
Other
On 7 October in Sun City, the concert came to an end early after Mercury lost his voice and left in tears after the third song in the set "Under Pressure".[3] Queen performed before 325,000 people in Rio de Janeiro.[4] Despite rumours, Mercury was not pelted with stones during "I Want To Break Free" (Whilst dressed as a Woman). However, as a professional, he did stop a fight during "Jailhouse Rock" saying " No fighting. Rock and Roll to the music". In Hannover, after the end of Hammer to Fall, Mercury fell and injured his leg. This can be seen on the bootleg cover "Hannover is Dangerous". Mercury was helped to the piano to continue the concert by his assistant, however the set was shortened because Freddie suffered from the pain to his leg.
References
[1] Bell, Mike (8 September 1984). "Body but no soul" (http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=Queen_-_09-08-1984_-_The_Times_-_Wembley_Arena). The Times. . [2] Freestone, Peter; David Evans (2001). Freddie Mercury: An intimate memoir by the man who knew him best (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=AH8zZsbmB98C& pg=PA65). Omnibus Press. pp.6566. ISBN0711986746. . [3] "Queen concertography: The Works 1984" (http:/ / www. queenconcerts. com/ live/ queen/ works1984. html). QueenConcerts.com. . Retrieved 9 April 2009. [4] Morse, Steve (25 May 1989). "Abundant Offerings". Boston Globe.
External links
Queen Concerts (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/works1984.html)
Magic Tour
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Magic Tour
Magic Tour Europe tour by Queen Associated album A Kind of Magic Start date End date Legs Shows 7 June 1986 9 August 1986 1 26 Queen tour chronology The Works Tour (1984-1985) Magic Tour (1986) Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour (2005-2006)
The Magic Tour was the last and final tour by the English rock band Queen with their lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1986. The band's next tour Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour began some 19 years later, after the death of Freddie Mercury on 24 November 1991 and the retirement of John Deacon in 1997. The tour took in 26 dates around Europe's stadiums, in support of their latest album A Kind of Magic. In 1987, Mercury was diagnosed with HIV and the band together made the decision to cease touring, making the concert at Knebworth on 9 August 1986 the last time the four members of Queen would perform on stage together. Over a million people attended the Queen tour, making it one of the largest ever. Support acts included The Alarm, Big Country, INXS, Level 42, Marillion, Gary Moore, The Bangles and Status Quo.[1] From this tour Queen have since released Live at Wembley Stadium on DVD, CD & VHS, Live Magic on CD and Live in Budapest on VHS & Laserdisc.
Setlist
1. One Vision 2. Tie Your Mother Down 3. In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited 4. Seven Seas of Rhye 5. Tear It Up 6. A Kind of Magic 7. Under Pressure 8. Another One Bites the Dust 9. Who Wants to Live Forever 10. I Want to Break Free 11. Impromptu 12. Guitar solo 13. Now I'm Here 14. Love of My Life 15. Is This the World We Created...? 16. (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care 17. Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart) 18. Tutti Frutti
Magic Tour 19. Bohemian Rhapsody 20. Hammer to Fall 21. Crazy Little Thing Called Love Encore 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Radio Ga Ga We Will Rock You Friends Will Be Friends We Are the Champions God Save the Queen
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Other songs
Gimme Some Lovin' Big Spender Immigrant Song (Berlin only) Tavaszi Szel Vizet Araszt (Budapest only) Mustapha (full song - soundcheck in Manchester only) Keep Yourself Alive (part) Impromptu (featuring bits and pieces of Get Down Make Love) (Stockholm only) Get Down, Make Love (part in guitar solo) Molly Malone (part in guitar solo) (Slane Castle only) Chinese Torture (part in guitar solo) I Feel Fine (guitar riff only - Mannheim)
Tour dates
Date City Country Europe June 7, 1986 June 11, 1986 June 12, 1986 June 14, 1986 June 17, 1986 June 19, 1986 June 21, 1986 June 26, 1986 June 28, 1986 June 29, 1986 July 1, 1986 July 2, 1986 July 5, 1986 Slane Ireland Slane Castle Zurich Switzerland Hallenstadion Paris Brussels Leiden Mannheim Berlin Munich France Belgium Netherlands Germany Hippodrome de Vincennes Forest National Groenoordhallen Maimarkt-Gelnde Waldbhne Olympiahalle Stockholm Leiden Sweden Netherlands Rsunda Stadium Groenoordhallen Venue
Magic Tour
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July 9, 1986 July 11, 1986 July 12, 1986 July 16, 1986 July 19, 1986 July 21, 1986 July 22, 1986 July 27, 1986 July 30, 1986 August 1, 1986 August 3, 1986 August 5, 1986 August 9, 1986 Budapest Frjus Barcelona Madrid Marbella Stevenage United Kingdom Hungary France Spain Npstadion Amphitheatre Mini Estadi Rayo Vallecano Estadio Municipal Knebworth Park Manchester Koln Vienna Germany Austria Maine Road Mngersdorfer Stadion Stadthalle Newcastle London United Kingdom St. James' Park Wembley Stadium
Personnel
John Deacon Bass Guitar, Vocals Brian May Lead Guitar, Vocals, Synthesizer (Who Wants to Live Forever) Freddie Mercury Lead Vocals, Piano, Rhythm Guitar (Crazy Little Thing Called Love) Roger Taylor Drums, Vocals
Extras
Spike Edney Keyboards, Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (Hammer to Fall)
References
[1] http:/ / www. queenconcerts. com/
External links
Queen Concerts (http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/magic.html)
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Related articles
"Another One Rides the Bus"
"Another One Rides the Bus"
Singleby "Weird Al" Yankovic from the album "Weird Al" Yankovic B-side Released Format Recorded Genre Length Label Producer "Gotta Boogie" November 28, 1981 and March 1982 7" single September 14, 1980 Comedy rock, polka 4:57 TK Records "Weird Al" Yankovic "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology
"Ricky" (1983)
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"Weird Al" Yankovic track listing "Ricky" "Gotta Boogie" "I Love Rocky Road" "Buckingham Blues" "Happy Birthday" "Stop Draggin' My Car Around" "My Bologna" "The Check's in the Mail" "Another One Rides the Bus" "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" "Such a Groovy Guy" "Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung"
"Another One Rides the Bus" is a parody of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It originally was released on Yankovic's first EP and was later re-released on Yankovic' debut album.
Track listing
The following tracks are on the single: 1. "Another One Rides the Bus" 4:56 2. "Gotta Boogie" 2:21 The promo single only contains "Another One Rides the Bus".
Lyrics
The lyrics describe a person riding in a crowded public bus. In the first verse, the speaker in the song is riding in a crammed bus, then the bus stops to pick up more people. The second verse talks about various things touching the person, such as a suitcase and an elbow. In the third verse, the speaker is trying to get fresh air but the fan is broken and the window does not open.
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Music video
There is no music video for this single, though The Tomorrow Show performance is included on the "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection DVD, as a bonus feature.
Chart positions
Chart (1981) Peak Position 4
References
[1] Hansen, Barret (1994). Album notes (http:/ / dmdb. org/ al/ booklet. html) for Permanent Record: Al in the Box by "Weird Al" Yankovic [liner]. California, USA: Scotti Brothers Records.
Jim Beach
Jim Beach MA LLB (born 1942) is the long-time manager of the English rock band Queen and its individual members. He took over as manager of the band in 1978 after he had acted on their behalf as a lawyer. He is also a film and TV producer. His son Ol Beach is the keyboard player for the rock band Wire Daisies, discovered by Queen's Roger Taylor. Jim Beach is co-founder of Transistor Project, a digital pump put together with Blur's Dave Rowntree. Jim Beach lives in Montreux, Switzerland.
Titles
Director of 46664 Concerts[1] Trustee of the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the EMI Music Sound Foundation and START.[1]
References
[1] Jim Beach (http:/ / musicsoundfoundation. com/ biog_jimbeach. html) - EMI Music Sound Foundation.
Deacy Amp
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Deacy Amp
The Deacy Amp is an amplifier created by and named after Queen bassist John Deacon and used by guitarist Brian May. It was created in the early 1970s using an amplifier found in a skip by Deacon and a treble booster, constructed by May. Also used was an amplifier circuit board stationed into a Hi-Fi speaker cabinet, powered by a 9-volt battery. The amp was used along with May's Red Special guitar and his treble booster.
External links
Greg Fryer: History and background of the Legendary Deacy Amp [1] (brianmay.com)
References
[1] http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ briannews/ briannewsjun05. html#32
Spike Edney
Philip 'Spike' Edney (born 11 December 1951) is a British musician who, since early 1970s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably, Queen, where his participation, starting in 1984, has been so extensive that some writers have described him as the "fifth member of Queen". In the earlier phase of his career, during mid-1970s, he recorded and toured with The Tymes and Ben E. King, playing keyboards, bass, guitar and trombone, subsequently, in the late 1970s, he was musical director for Edwin Starr and, during early 1980s, worked with Duran Duran, the Boomtown Rats, Dexys Midnight Runners, Bucks Fizz, Haircut 100 and the Rolling Stones. Spike Edney's collaboration with Queen included mostly keyboards (his main instrument), plus rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Accompanying the band on its tours since 1984, he was an obvious choice for Roger Meddows Taylor's side-project The Cross as well as for Brian May's Band when they toured in 1993 and 1998. He can be seeing playing piano and later guitar (during the track "Hammer To Fall"), dressed in a pink top, onstage with Queen on their Queen Live At Wembley 86 DVD. In 1994, he formed SAS (Spike's All Stars), a band with constantly fluctuating personnel sometimes, but not always, including musicians from Queen, Whitesnake, Free, Roxy Music, Toto, Spandau Ballet and solo artists including Fish, Roy Wood, Leo Sayer, Kiki Dee and Paul Young[1] . After the death of Freddie Mercury, who was also Queen's primary pianist, he took over Mercury's role as such during Queen + Paul Rodgers 2005, 2006 and 2008 tours, playing all piano parts on a Korg Triton keyboard, in addition to all other keyboard parts.[2] During the 200506 tour, he was often referred to as "The Wizard" by Roger Taylor. He has also been the keyboardist for the London production of We Will Rock You since it opened in 2002.[3] .
Spike Edney
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Selected discography
Albums Queen: A Kind of Magic (1986) Queen: Live Magic (1986) The Cross: Shove It (1987) The Cross: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know (1990) The Cross: Blue Rock (1991) Lucio Battisti: Cosa succeder alla ragazza (1992) Queen: Live at Wembley '86 (1992) The Brian May Band: Live at the Brixton Academy (1994) SAS Band: SAS Band (1997) Brian May: Another World (1998; keyboards on "Slow Down") Queen + Paul Rodgers: Return of the Champions (CD/DVD, 2005) Queen + Paul Rodgers: Live in Ukraine (CD/DVD, 2009)
Videos: Queen: Live in Rio (VHS/DVD, 1985) Queen: Live in Budapest (VHS/DVD, 1986) The Brian May Band: Live at the Brixton Academy (VHS, 1994) Queen+: The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (DVD, 2002) Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium (DVD, 2003) 46664 The Event (DVD, 2004) Live Aid (DVD, 2004) Queen + Paul Rodgers: Return of the Champions (CD/DVD, 2005) Queen + Paul Rodgers: Super Live in Japan (DVD, 2006) Queen + Paul Rodgers: Live in Ukraine (CD/DVD, 2009)
References
[1] Website of SAS (http:/ / www. sasband. com/ ) [2] "Spike Edney brings his band to the Bisley Pavillion in Brookwood, Woking, on Friday, December 7" (Get Surrey, December 2007) (http:/ / www. getsurrey. co. uk/ entertainment/ music/ s/ 2018313_spike_edney_brings_his_band_to_the_bisley_pavillion_in_brookwood_woking_on_friday_december_7_) [3] Goguen, Paul. "Daltreys $7,500 Rent-a-Rocker Camp Sells Power Jams to Boomers" (Bloomberg News, 2 February 2011) (http:/ / www. bloomberg. com/ news/ 2011-02-02/ daltrey-s-7-500-rent-a-rocker-camp-sells-power-jams-to-boomers-with-dough. html)
External links
Spike Edney (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0249628/) at the Internet Movie Database SAS Band website (http://www.sasband.com/)
"In My Defence"
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"In My Defence"
"In My Defence"
Singleby Freddie Mercury from the album Time, The Great Pretender and The Freddie Mercury Album Released 1986 (Original) 1992 (remix) October 1985 3:48 (original) 3:52 (remix) EMI Dave Clark
Recorded Length
Label Writer(s)
Background
The song was written by Dave Clark, David Soames and Jeff Daniels for the musical Time. During the musical, Mercury performed the song as a duet with Cliff Richard; this was last time Freddie sung live in concert; his last performance would be Barcelona in 1988 with Montserrat Caball, but this performance was lip-synced. Recorded as a solo project was recorded at Abbey Road in October 1985, about six months after Mr. Bad Guy was released. The producers expected that if Mercury was not satisfied with the final song, they would let him record with the rest of Queen, but Mercury found the final version satisfactory. "In My Defence" was first released on the "Time" LP in 1986. Other versions include '(Ron Nevison Mix)' - released on "The Freddie Mercury Album" and 'instrumental version' released also on The Solo Collection. The Ron Nevison mix is very similar to the original, but has stronger bass and drums, while some string parts were added and others were removed. The 2000 Remix is the same as the Ron Nevison mix although the instrumentation is somewhat more muffled.
"In My Defence"
532
Music video
The music video, made after Mercury's death, was directed by Rudi Dolezal and was a montage featuring outtakes of past music videos, numerous private shots, as well as highlights of Freddie's career. Dolezal wanted the video that showed Mercury being happy and having a good time. It also features several quotations from interviews with Mercury, and ends with the line "I still love you" from These Are The Days Of Our Lives.
Tracklisting
UK 7"/Cassette
A. In My Defence B. Love Kills (Wolf Euro Mix)
UK CD1
1. In My Defence 2. Love Kills (Wolf Euro Mix) 3. She Blows Hot And Cold (Single Version) 4. In My Defence (Original Version)
UK CD2
1. 2. 3. 4. In My Defence Love Kills (Original Wolf mix) Mr. Bad Guy Living On My Own (Underground Solutions Mix)
Musicians
Piano - Mike Moran Guitars - Paul Vincent Drums - Graham Jarvis Bass - Andy Pask Synthesizers - Peter Banks Backing vocals - John Christie Lead vocals - Freddie Mercury
Larry Lurex
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Larry Lurex
Larry Lurex
Origin Genres London, England Pop rock
Larry Lurex was the artist name used for a musical project by Trident Studios house engineer Robin Geoffrey Cable, in 1972. The name is a pun on the stage name of glam rock star Gary Glitter and the metallic yarn Lurex. Cable was experimenting with re-creating the "Wall of Sound" style favoured by Phil Spector. He recorded cover versions of the following two songs: "I Can Hear Music" (written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, which had been a hit for The Ronettes and The Beach Boys) "Goin' Back" (written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, which had been a hit for Dusty Springfield and The Byrds ) Cable enlisted singer Freddie Mercury from the band Queen to perform lead vocals on these tracks. (Queen were recording their debut album in Trident Studios at the time.) Mercury in turn suggested bringing his band-mates Roger Meddows-Taylor and Brian May to add percussion, guitar and backing vocals to the recordings. The tracks were released as a 7" vinyl single on EMI in 1973 (catalogue number EMI 2030); it did not chart in the UK, but it did manage to hit #115 on the US Bubbling Under The Hot 100 chart. This pre-dated the release of the first Queen album. They have subsequently been included on the 1995 Italian bootleg Queen In Nuce and the Freddie Mercury solo compilation albums The Solo Collection and Lover of Life, Singer of Songs.
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External links
www.mercuryphoenixtrust.com - Official website [1]
References
[1] http:/ / www. mercuryphoenixtrust. com
Mountain Studios
535
Mountain Studios
Mountain Studios is a recording studio previously located in Montreux, now located in Attalens, Switzerland. It was owned by the rock band Queen from 1979 until 1993. Since then, it is owned by David Richards - long time producer of Queen.
Mountain Studios
536
External links
Official website [1]
References
[1] http:/ / www. mountainstudios. com
537
Remix album by The Kleptones Released Genre Length Producer 2004 Bastard pop 78:18 The Kleptones The Kleptones chronology
A Night at the Hip Hopera was The Kleptones' breakthrough and remains their most highly acclaimed album, which fused Queen's rock music with rap vocals and many sound bites from movies (such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and other sources. On November 8, 2004, Waxy, the main site that hosted A Night At The Hip Hopera, received a cease & desist notice from the Walt Disney Company (Hollywood Records) for illegal sampling of songs by Queen, similar to the banning of DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album. However, the album is still widely available for download.
Track listing
1. "Precession" 2:06 Samples - Queen, "Procession" Sound bites - Flash Gordon Sound bites - Introduction from a live GG Allin show featured in the Documentary, "Hated". Interview - Frankie Goes to Hollywood 2. "See" 4:14 Samples - Queen, "One Vision" Samples - Quentin Harris, "Let's Be Young" Samples - KRS-One, "Hip Hop v. Rap"
A Night at the Hip Hopera Samples - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "The Message" Samples - Kelis, "Milkshake" Sound bites - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Sound bites - Ferris Bueller's Day Off 3. "Live" 3:10 Samples - Queen, "Keep Yourself Alive" Samples - Afrika Bambaataa & Family, "Got to Get Up/Just Get Up and Dance" Sound bites - Calvert DeForest, Run DMC video - "King of Rock" 4. "Bite" 4:02 Samples - Queen, "Another One Bites the Dust" Samples - Justin Timberlake, "Like I Love You" Samples - Ol' Dirty Bastard w/Kelis, "Got Your Money" Samples - Missy Elliott, "Pass That Dutch" Sound bites - Lee Ving, The Decline of Western Civilization, TV Offal's "Honest Obituary" 5. "Jazz" 4:48 Samples - Queen, "More Of That Jazz" Samples - Queen, "We Will Rock You" Samples - Task Force, "Tears on my Pillowcase" 6. "Rock" 2:45 Samples - Queen, "We Will Rock You" Samples - Peaches, "Rock Show" Samples - Killa Kela, "Heavy Artillery" 7. "Love" 0:31 Samples - Queen, "Tenement Funster" 8. "Fight" 3:20 Samples - Queen, "Fight from the Inside" Samples - Dilated Peoples, "Marathon" 9. "Fuck" 1:09 10. 11. 12. Samples - Queen, "Seven Seas of Rhye" Samples - Queen, "Keep Yourself Alive" Sound bites - Stereophile Test CD, "Pink Noise At -20dB" "Play" 3:41 Samples - Queen, "Play the Game" Samples - De La Soul, "Much More" Samples - Electric Six, "Gay Bar" Samples - Meat Loaf, "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" "Ride" 3:10 Samples - Queen, "Bicycle Race" Samples - Eminem, "My Name Is..." Sound bites - Britney Spears Sound bites - Ferris Bueller's Day Off "Sniff" 4:20
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Samples - Queen w/David Bowie, "Under Pressure" Samples - Belinda Carlisle, "Heaven Is A Place on Earth" Samples - Vanilla Ice, "Ice Ice Baby"
A Night at the Hip Hopera 13. Samples - Prince Paul w/De La Soul, "More Than U Know" Samples - The Avalanches, "Flight Tonight" Samples - Adam Freeland, "We Want Your Soul" Sound bites - Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz "Weedman Skit" "Ridicule" 0:36
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Samples - Queen, "Queen Talks" 14. "Plan" 4:49 Samples - Queen, "I'm Going Slightly Mad" Samples - Herbaliser w/Latyrx, "8-Point Agenda" 15. "Break" 3:11 16. 17. Samples - Queen, "I Want to Break Free" Samples - Aaliyah w/Timbaland, "Try Again" Samples - Beastie Boys, "Shake Your Rump" Samples - Beastie Boys, "Body Movin'" Samples - Beastie Boys, "Alive" Sound bites - Ferris Bueller's Day Off "Listen" 3:59 Samples - Queen, "Radio Ga Ga" Samples - Beastie Boys, "Shake Your Rump" Samples - Beastie Boys, "Intergalactic" Samples - Beastie Boys, "Root Down" Samples - Beastie Boys, "Sure Shot" "Work" 2:21
Samples - Queen, "Machines (Back to Humans)" Samples - Missy Elliott, "She's A Bitch" Sound bites - The Gift Sound bites - Richard Hamming, IBM slogan "Machines should work, people should think" (From Raymond Scott's "IBM MT/ST: The Paperwork Explosion") 18. "Come" 4:26 Samples - Queen, "Spread Your Wings" Samples - Common w/Erykah Badu & Q-Tip, "Come Close" 19. "Expose" 3:15 20. Samples - Queen, "Flash" Samples - Brandy, "The Boy Is Mine" Samples - Beats International, "Dub Be Good to Me" Samples - Jethro Tull, "The Third Hoorah" "Jerk" 5:04 Interview - The Kinks, BBC Sessions 1964-1977 Samples - Queen, "A Kind of Magic" Samples - Morris Day & The Time, "Jerk Out" Samples - Detroit Grand Pubahs, "Sandwiches" Sound bites - Ferris Bueller's Day Off Sound bites - Neon Genesis Evangelion (English dub)
A Night at the Hip Hopera Samples - DJ Vadim w/Atmosphere, "Edie Brickell" 22. "Stop" 3:28 23. Samples - Queen, "Don't Stop Me Now" Samples - Looptroop w/Chords & Timbuktu, "Heads Day Off" Sound bites - Kanye West, The College Dropout "Question" 5:28 Samples - Queen, "Who Wants to Live Forever" Sound bites - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Sound bites - The Big Lebowski Sound bites - Blade Runner Sound bites - The Decline of Western Civilization Sound bites - Fight Club Sound bites - Head Sound bites - Hugh Hefner Sound bites - Neon Genesis Evangelion
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Related track
"Bo Rhap" - 6:50 Although not part of the A Night At The Hip Hopera album, this unique track mashes up multiple versions of Queen's legendary song, Bohemian Rhapsody. It was released as a Christmas 2004 single (after the album), and since Bohemian Rhapsody was not among the songs sampled by the Kleptones for the album, it's possible that "Bo Rhap" was meant to be part of it, or at the very least a bonus track.
External links
A Night At The Hip-Hopera download page [1] Waxy [2] Cease and desist letter from EMI #1 [3] DownHill Battle [4] Download "Bo Rhap" [5] Podcast of discussion among John Batelle, Eric Kleptone, and EMI executive David Munns [6]
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] http:/ / www. kleptones. com/ pages/ downloads_hiphopera. html http:/ / www. waxy. org/ archive/ 2004/ 09/ 23/ kleptone. shtml http:/ / www. waxy. org/ archive/ 2004/ 11/ 17/ disney_s. shtml http:/ / downhillbattle. org/ node/ view/ 383 http:/ / www. kleptones. com/ music/ bo. mp3 http:/ / www. oreillynet. com/ pub/ a/ network/ 2007/ 03/ 14/ web-20-pirate. html
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References
[1] Folkard, Claire (2003). Guinness World Records 2004: Hundreds of New Records Inside.. Bantam Books. ISBN0553587129.
External links
Official website (http://www.queenworld.com) OIQFC (http://www.myspace.com/oiqfc) on Myspace
The Cross
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The Cross
The Cross
The Cross onstage in Germany, 1990. Background information Origin Genres England Rock Dance 19871993 Virgin Records Parlophone Records EMI Electrola Queen
Associated acts
Past members Roger Taylor Spike Edney Clayton Moss Peter Noone Josh Macrae
The Cross were a side project of Queen's Roger Taylor that existed from 1987 to 1993 and released three albums. Although the drummer in Queen, Taylor fronted The Cross as rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist. On its debut release, the classic rock band incorporated dance influences which they dropped on their remaining two albums. The band never enjoyed much commercial success.
History
Taylor formed The Cross while Queen were on hiatus after the Magic Tour in 1986. He recruited Queen's tour keyboardist, Spike Edney, but advertised for the remaining musicians. When the band was formed, guitarist Clayton Moss, bassist Peter Noone (not to be confused with the Herman's Hermits singer of the same name), and drummer Josh Macrae were unestablished in the field. Taylor himself never played the drums in The Cross.[1] The band's albums and singles were not commercially successful, although they did manage to reach the British charts with several and they enjoyed moderate success in Germany. The first album, Shove It, was released on Virgin Records in 1988. Largely a solo project for Taylor, who had written the songs prior to forming the band, the album and the three singles it spawned did reach the charts in the UK, where it also received some positive press. The band toured in support of the album before Taylor took a short break for the 1989 Queen album The Miracle, for which there was no tour.
The Cross
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The Cross
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Break Up
The band broke up in 1993 after performing a final show. Taylor continued working with Queen and produced solo albums. Drummer Macrae accompanied Taylor on his solo tours and also played percussion at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Both Taylor and keyboardist Edney participated in the Queen + Paul Rodgers tours, while Macrae worked behind the scenes as a sound engineer and Pro Tools engineer for them. In the late 1990s, Edney formed the SAS Band ("Spike's All Stars"), a group with an ever-changing lineup of 80s rock stars.
Tours
Shove It: 1988
19/02/88: Leeds University (Leeds, UK) 20/02/88: Glasgow University (Glasgow, UK) 21/02/88: Leicester Polytechnic (Leicester, UK) 23/02/88: Sheffield Polytechnic (Sheffield, UK) 24/02/88: Rock City (Nottingham, UK) 26/02/88: Manchester University (Manchester, UK) 27/02/88: Bradford University (Bradford, UK) 28/02/88:The Mayfair (Newcastle, UK) 01/03/88: TheMayfair Suite (Southampton, UK) 02/03/88: Cardiff University (Cardiff, UK) 04/03/88:U.E.A (Norwich, UK) 05/03/88:The Hummingbird (Birmingham, UK) 06/03/88:Leeds University (Leeds, UK) 07/03/88:Bristol Studio (Bristol, UK)
09/03/88:Civic Hall (Guildford, UK) 10/03/88:Town & Country Club (London, UK) 11/04/88:Modernes (Bremen, Germany)
The Cross 12/04/88:Markthalle (Hamburg, Germany) 13/04/88:Metropol (Berlin, Germany) 14/04/88:Theaterfabrik (Munich, Germany) 16/04/88: E-Werk (Erlangen ,Germany) 17/04/88: Music Hall (Frankfurt ,Germany) 18/04/88: Capitol (Hannover ,Germany) 19/04/88:Club Music & Action (Esslingen ,Germany) 20/04/88: Capitol (Mannheim ,Germany) 21/04/88: Tor 3 (Dsseldorf ,Germany) 23/04/88:Westfallenhalle II (Dortmund ,Germany) 24/04/88:Biskuithalle (Bonn ,Germany)
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16/10/91: Stadthalle (Memmingen, Germany) 18/10/91: Volkshaus (Zurich, Switzerland) 20/10/91: Schwarzwaldhalle (Appenweiher, Germany)
The Cross 21/10/91: Maintauberhalle (Wertheim, Germany) 22/10/91: Stadthalle (Offenbach, Germany) 23/10/91: Philipshalle (Dsseldorf, Germany) 24/10/91: Stadthalle (Erlengen, Germany) 25/10/91: Festhalle (Dietenheim, Germany) 26/10/91: Sporthalle Birkelbach (Erntebrck, Germany) 27/10/91: Forum (Ludwigsburg, Germany)
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Discography
Studio albums
Year Title UK DE [2] [3] 58 48 -
Singles
Year Title UK DE [2] [3] Shove It Album
1987 1988
"Heaven for Everyone" 84 68 "Manipulator" 1990 "Power to Love" "Liar" "Final Destination" 1991 "New Dark Ages" "Life Changes" 83 Blue Rock non-album single Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
External links
Queenpedia The Cross complete song list [4] Russian Fan Site [5] The Cross Fan Site [6]
References
[1] Queen - Royal Legend (http:/ / queen. musichall. cz/ index_en. php?s=ro& d=roger91) [2] QueenOnline Message Board :: View topic - Queen / Solos UK & US (Y MORE) Chart History (http:/ / queenforum. parlophone. co. uk/ viewtopic. php?t=13285& postdays=0& postorder=asc& start=0) [3] Charts-Surfer (http:/ / www. charts-surfer. de/ musiksearch. php). [4] http:/ / www. queenpedia. com/ index. php?title=Song_List#The_Cross_Studio_Songs [5] http:/ / thecross. queenrocks. ru/ en/ index. html
The Cross
[6] http:/ / eva. aws-it. at/ english/ the_cross. html
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Queen + Paul Rodgers at the NEC, Birmingham, 5/6/05. l-r: Danny Miranda, Roger Taylor, Brian May, Jamie Moses and Paul Rodgers. Background information Origin Genres Years active Labels England Rock 20042009 Hollywood Records (US/Canada) Parlophone (rest of the world) Queen, Bad Company, Free, Smile, The Cross Official Site Members Brian May Paul Rodgers Roger Taylor Additional live musicians: Spike Edney Danny Miranda Jamie Moses [1]
Queen + Paul Rodgers was a collaboration between Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen and Paul Rodgers (formerly of Bad Company, Free, The Firm and The Law). Guitarist May had previously performed with Rodgers on several occasions, including a performance at the Royal Albert Hall. It was made clear that Rodgers would not be replacing Queen's former lead singer, Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991. He would simply be "featured with" former Queen members. Former Queen bass guitarist John Deacon declined to participate in the collaboration due to his retirement in 1997. The group's three principal members May, Taylor and Rodgers were supplemented on tour by Queen's former touring keyboard player Spike Edney, rhythm guitarist Jamie Moses, and bass guitarist Danny Miranda who had previously worked with Blue yster Cult. Throughout their career the band completed two world tours, issued the first studio album for Queen in nearly 15 years entitled The Cosmos Rocks, and released two live DVDs and a live album. Rodgers announced in May 2009 that the 'Queen + Paul Rodgers' collaboration had come to an end, saying "it was never meant to be a permanent arrangement". He did, however, leave open the possibility for future collaborations.[2]
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Beginnings (2004)
The origins of the collaboration came when May played at the Fender Strat Pack concert in 2004. As he had done many times before (but beforehand nothing really happened as far as Queen were concerned), he joined Rodgers for a rendition of Free's classic, "All Right Now". After this, May spoke of a chemistry between the two of them. Following this, May invited Rodgers to play with Queen at their induction to the UK Music Hall of Fame where they played "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "All Right Now". Again citing a new excitement with Rodgers, the three announced their world tour in 2005.
Queen + Paul Rodgers Our Lives", "Say It's Not True" (a new song) and "I'm in Love with My Car" (which he sang lead on the studio version originally as well). He would often leave the drum kit (the exception being "I'm in Love with My Car") while a drum machine played on "Radio Ga Ga" and "These Are the Days of Our Lives". For "Say It's Not True", he would be accompanied by auxiliary band members Miranda and Moses who both played acoustic guitars (except for the 46664 concert, in which Taylor was accompanied by May and Moses which was the only time May played guitar on this song during the tour). In addition to well known favourites and hits, there were a number of occasional 'surprise' additions to the setlist, including: "I Was Born to Love You" (Japan only), "Imagine" (John Lennon cover, Hyde Park only), "Teo Torriatte" (Japan only), "Too Much Love Will Kill You" (feat. Katie Melua, South Africa only), '"Long Away" (selected shows only), "Tavaszi Szel" (Budapest only) and "Let There Be Drums" (Sandy Nelson cover performed at most gigs). "Sunshine of Your Love" was played in Newcastle as testament to the Cream reunion gig in London going on at the same time (3 May). May was present at that show the night before, which possibly inspired him to do it (2 May). The band also added "Dragon Attack" to a number of shows on the 2006 North American tour. Queen + Paul Rodgers followed the European tour with a series of performances in fall 2005, in such diverse locations as Aruba, Japan and the United States of America. Slash, former lead guitarist of the band Guns N' Roses and currently of Velvet Revolver, joined the band for "Can't Get Enough" during their show at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, the second of their two-show trial run in North America (22 October 2005). In early 2006, Queen + Paul Rodgers played a 23-date tour of North America. The tour started at the American Airlines Arena in Miami (first Florida date since 1978, first USA shows since 1982) and ended with a sold-out performance in Vancouver, Canada (where they also covered the Jimi Hendrix song "Red House" the only performance of this song on the tour).
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Split (2009)
With a summer reunion tour with Bad Company looming, the singer told Billboard.com that the Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration is, in effect, over, and without animosity.[2] "At this point we're gonna sit back from this," Rodgers says. "My arrangement with (Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor) was similar to my arrangement with Jimmy (Page) in The Firm in that it was never meant to be a permanent arrangement. "I think we made a huge success of it, actually. We did two world tours and a couple of live recordings, and...made a studio album [...] which was pretty historical for (Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor) because they hadn't really gone in the studio with anybody and recorded something like that for a very long time. So it was quite an achievement, I think." Rodgers does not rule out the possibility of working together again, however. "It's kind of an open book, really. If they approach me to do something for charity, for instance, or something like that...I'd be very much into doing that, for sure."[2]
2009 - present
May and Taylor are on the line up for The Prince's Trust Rock Gala 2010, taking place on 17 November 2010.[3]
Other performances
Queen + Paul Rodgers performed at the Rock Honours Show in 2004 performing Under Pressure. Queen + Paul Rodgers appeared on Al Murray's Happy Hour in April (2008) performing "C-lebrity" for the first time from their debut album The Cosmos Rocks. Queen + Paul Rodgers appear on Eminem's 2009 album Relapse. The song "Beautiful" samples "Reaching Out" which was used as Queen + Paul Rodgers's live show opener on the 2005-06 tour. "Reaching Out" was originally released as a charity single by Rock Therapy, a band which contained both Rodgers and May.
Media releases
Queen + Paul Rodgers released a single for World AIDS Day (1 December) in 2007. The track, "Say It's Not True", written by Roger Taylor became first available for free download on 30 November, and was subsequently released as a proper CD single on 31 December. Previously, Queen + Paul Rodgers have released a live CD called Return of the Champions and a DVD of the same name. Both featured recordings from their Sheffield Hallam FM Arena concert on 9 May 2005. The DVD also features a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" from Hyde Park. A single featuring "Reaching Out"/"Tie Your Mother Down"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" was also released. In addition, an American promo featuring two tracks taken from the Italian leg of the European tour was available with some copies of Return of the Champions. Soundboard recordings exist of all European shows, except those in Ireland and Sweden. Sheffield, Lisbon, Hyde Park and possibly Budapest concerts were professionally filmed. The Tokyo show on 26 October 2005 was also professionally filmed and televised, and later released on DVD exclusively in Japan in April 2006, entitled "Super Live in Japan". Many soundboard recordings of tracks were released for download on the Queen official website, with blank Q+PR CD-Rs to burn these tracks available for purchase. Also there are many bootlegs from nearly every show of the 2005/2006 tour in audio, and some video.
551
Discography
Studio albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions
US AUS NL NZ SWE UK
Sales
[4] 47
[5] 49
[6] [7] -
[8] -
[9]
UK: Platinum
"" denotes the album chart unknown or wasn't released in that country
Videography
Year Album details Peak chart positions
US UK
Certifications
[4]
[9] 1
2005
2006
Super Live in Japan Released: June 2006 (Japan Only) Label: EMI
N/A
N/A
2008
Live albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions
UK US
Certifications
[9] 12
[4] 84
2005
2006
Super Live in Japan Released: June 2006 (Japan Only) Label: EMI
N/A
N/A
2008
Live in Ukraine Released: April 2008 (only released with DVD) Label: EMI
Platinum
552
Singles
Reaching Out / Tie Your Mother Down (Live from Sheffield Arena) - 29 August 2005 Bohemian Rhapsody (Live from Hyde Park) - October 2005 Say It's Not True - 31 December 2007 #90 UK C-Lebrity - August 2008 #33 UK, #1 UK Rock We Believe (Promo Single) [Italy Only]
Film
Let the Cosmos Rock Film, 2008 Produced by NCM Fathom and Disneys Hollywood Records. A concert movie captured live 12 September from Ukraine in Kharkiv's Freedom Square before 350,000 fans. It was shown in U.S. movie theatres one night only Thursday, 6 November 2008.
References
[1] http:/ / www. queenpluspaulrodgers. com [2] "Queen, Paul Rodgers Split Up" (http:/ / www. billboard. com/ bbcom/ news/ queen-paul-rodgers-split-up-1003972472. story). Billboard.com, 13 May 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-21. [3] "Prince's Trust Rock Gala" (http:/ / www. princes-trust. org. uk/ support_us/ events/ rock_gala_2010. aspx). The Prince's Trust Rock Gala 2010. . Retrieved 6 October 2010. [4] "Meat Loaf > Charts & Awards > Billboard Album" (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ p4882). Allmusic. Macrovision. . Retrieved 2010-04-19. [5] "Australian Charts > Meat Loaf" (http:/ / australian-charts. com/ showinterpret. asp?interpret=meat+ loaf). australian-charts.com Hung Medien. . Retrieved 2010-04-19. [6] "Dutch Album Charts > Meat Loaf" (http:/ / dutchcharts. nl/ search. asp?search=meat+ loaf& cat=a) (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl Hung Medien. . Retrieved 2010-04-19. [7] "New Zealand Charts > Meat Loaf" (http:/ / charts. org. nz/ showinterpret. asp?interpret=Meat+ Loaf). charts.org.nz Hung Medien. . Retrieved 2010-04-19. [8] "Swedish Charts > Meat Loaf" (http:/ / swedishcharts. com/ showinterpret. asp?interpret=meat+ loaf). swedishcharts.com Hung Medien. . Retrieved 2010-04-19. [9] "UK Charts > Meat Loaf" (http:/ / www. theofficialcharts. com/ artist/ _/ meat loaf/ ). Official Charts Company. . Retrieved 2010-04-19.
External links
Queen + Paul Rodgers official site (http://www.queenpluspaulrodgers.com) Brian May's official site (http://www.brianmay.com) Official Paul Rodgers site (http://www.paulrodgers.com)
553
References
[1] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Queen: Full Biography" (http:/ / www. mtv. com/ music/ artist/ queen/ artist. jhtml). MTV.com. . Retrieved 2009-04-09. "In the summer of 1976, they performed a free concert at London's Hyde Park that broke attendance records..." [2] "Win Tickets To See Queen & Paul Rodgers; Concert Week In The Evening Standard." (http:/ / www. highbeam. com/ doc/ 1G1-131014961. html). Evening Standard. 2005-03-30. . [3] "Queen play Hyde Park" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ music/ sevenages/ events/ stadium-rock/ queen-play-hyde-park/ ). BBC. . Retrieved 2009-04-09.
Queen I Tour
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Queen I Tour
Queen I Tour UK tour by Queen Associated album Queen Start date End date Legs Shows 13.09.1973 02.02.1974 1 35
Background
This was Queen's first tour in 1973 covering most major cities in the UK in support of their first studio album Queen. The tour un-officially started with a recorded concert and the Golders Green Hippodrome which was recorded for and by the BBC. This concert is widely bootlegged.
Setlist
1. Procession 2. Father To Son 3. Son And Daughter 4. Ogre Battle 5. Hangman 6. Keep Yourself Alive 7. Liar 8. Jailhouse Rock 9. Shake, Rattle and Roll 10. Stupid Cupid 11. Be Bop A Lula 12. Jailhouse Rock (Reprise) 13. Big Spender 14. Bama Lama, Bama Loo
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Live album bootleg by Queen Recorded Genre Label 9/13/73 Rock Digital Queen Archives
Queen Live at Golders Green Hippodrome is a live performance of the band Queen which was recorded at the Golders Green Hippodrome in London on 13 September 1973,[1] and broadcast on BBC Radio 1 as part of its In Concert series on 20 October 1973.[2] There are several bootleg soundboard recordings of this broadcast known variously as Live at Golders Green Hippodrome 1973 and Queen Will Be Crowned. Some of the songs of this broadcast have been released by the band in the virtual albums Cry Argentina and Rogues & Scandals, part of the official Top 100 Bootlegs series.[3]
Tracks
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Introduction/Procession (Brian May) - 1:33 Father to Son (May) - 5:24 Son and Daughter (May) - 7:06 See What a Fool I've been (May) - 4:40 Ogre Battle (Freddie Mercury) - 4:38 Band Introduction - 0:36 Liar - 7:19 Jailhouse Rock/Shake, Rattle and Roll/Stupid Cupid/Be-Bop-A-Lula/Jailhouse Rock (Reprise) (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka, Gene Vincent, Donald Graves, Jesse Stone) - 3:47 9. Big Spender/Bama Lama Bama Loo (Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields, Richard Penniman) - 3:16
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Trivia
During the band introduction John Deacon is referred to as Deacon John, same as on the Queen album sleeve This is the earliest known soundboard recording of Queen
References
[1] Hodkinson, Mark (2004). Queen: the early years (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=n84WbO8wiTQC& pg=PA167). Omnibus Press. p.167. ISBN1844490122. . [2] Rock, Mick (2007). Classic Queen (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=imoqEuJwJhMC& pg=PA180). Sterling Publishing. p.180. ISBN1402751923. . [3] "The Top 100 Bootlegs" (http:/ / www. ultimatequeen. co. uk/ Songs/ bootlegs. htm). UltimateQueen.co.uk. . Retrieved 2009-04-10.
External links
Queen Concerts (http://www.queenconcerts.com/detail/live/40/13.09.1973 - Concert: Queen in Golders Green Hippodrome, London, UK/) Live at Golders Green Hippodrome (http://rateyourmusic.com/release/unauth/queen/ live_at_golders_green_hippodrome/) at Rate Your Music
Venues
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. July 6 to 15 July 2006:[1] The Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland. 24 - 28 and 31 January and 1 February 2006:[2] Spier Amphitheatre 30 August - 11 September 2005: Montecasino 30 April - 15 May 2005: Artscape Opera House, Cape Town, South Africa. 30 September - 9 October 2004:[3] Artscape Opera House, Cape Town, South Africa.
Songs
Act One
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. "Death on Two Legs" (Mercury) "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" (Mercury) "Killer Queen" (Mercury) "Under Pressure" (Queen, David Bowie) "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" (Mercury) "Bicycle Race" (Mercury) "Who Wants to Live Forever" (May) "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon) "Dont Try So Hard" (Queen)
10. "Don't Stop Me Now" (Mercury) 11. "The Millionaire Waltz" (Mercury)
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Act Two
1. "Innuendo" (Queen) 2. "We Will Rock You" (May) 3. "Play the Game" (Mercury) 4. "Seaside Rendezvous" (Mercury) 5. "Love of My Life" (Mercury) 6. "Radio Ga Ga" (Taylor) 7. "Take My Breath Away" (Mercury) 8. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Mercury) 9. "God Save the Queen" (Arr. May) 10. "Barcelona" (Mercury)
References
[1] (anonymous), Jacky (22 May 2006), QUEEN AT THE BALLET (http:/ / www. queenworld. com/ artman/ publish/ article_384. shtml), Official International Queen Fan Club, , retrieved 29 July 2009 [2] Brommert, Beverley (31 January 2006), "Queen At The Ballet" (http:/ / www. tonight. co. za/ index. php?fArticleId=3089910& fSectionId=358& fSetId=251), TONIGHT, Western Cape (South Africa: Independent Online (part of Independent News & Media)), , retrieved 29 July 2009 [3] Sewpersad, Roshan (21 October 2004), "Too little balls for balletomanes" (http:/ / www. oulitnet. co. za/ teater/ queen_ballet. asp), LitNet, Teater (South Africa), , retrieved 29 July 2009
John Reid
John Reid is a manager and music industry figure born in Paisley, Scotland currently living and working in Australia. Between 1975 and 1978, Reid was the manager of British rock group Queen[1] and Kevin Ayers. For some 25 years he was the manager of Elton John, but their relationship ended with acrimonious legal action in 2000[2] over a leaked letter from his accountants detailing Elton's spending which was found by Benjamin Pell and published in the Daily Mirror. In Australia, he is best known for being a judge on the local version of The X Factor.
References
[1] "Turning raw talent into TV stars" (http:/ / www. theage. com. au/ news/ TV--Radio/ Turning-raw-talent-into-TV-stars/ 2005/ 05/ 13/ 1115843369792. html). The Age. 14 May 2005. . Retrieved 6 April 2011. [2] "Leaked letter 'enraged' Sir Elton" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ uk/ 1054206. stm). BBC. 4 December 2000. . Retrieved 6 April 2011.
David Richards
558
David Richards
David Richards is an English-born Swiss-based record producer, engineer and musician. In the Mountain Studios in Montreux, owned by the rock band Queen, and in Attalens he engineered and co-produced many albums by Queen, David Bowie and other artists. Richards also played keyboards on some records. He also deals with live music recording in such events as Montreux Jazz Festival.[1]
Selected discography
Albums (co-)produced by David Richards: Roger Taylor Strange Frontier (1984) Jimmy Nail Take It or Leave It (1985; single: "Love Don't Live Here Anymore") Feargal Sharkey Feargal Sharkey (1985; single: "Loving You") Queen A Kind of Magic (1986) Iggy Pop Blah Blah Blah (1986) Magnum Vigilante (1986) Virginia Wolf Virginia Wolf (1986) David Bowie Never Let Me Down (1987) The Cross Shove It (1988) Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caball Barcelona (1988) Queen The Miracle (1989) Queen Innuendo (1991) David Bowie The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) David Bowie Outside (1995) Queen Made in Heaven (1995)
Others: Queen Live Killers (1979; assistant engineer) Yes Going for the One (1977; assistant engineer) Roger Taylor Fun in Space (1981) Queen Live Magic (1986; recorded by Mack and Richards) Brian May Back to the Light (1992; engineer, recording, mixing: "Driven by You", "Last Horizon", "Just One Life") Brian May Another World (1998; additional recording: "Why Don't We Try Again"; mixing: "Another World") Samael Eternal (1999; recording, mixing)
External links
www.mountainstudios.com [2]
References
[1] http:/ / www. tubechop. com/ watch/ 70722 [2] http:/ / www. mountainstudios. com/
SingStar Queen
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SingStar Queen
SingStar Queen
London Studio Sony Computer Entertainment Europe PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 March 20, 2009 (UK) August 4, 2009 (NA) Karaoke Single-player, multiplayer ESRB: Teen
SingStar Queen is a competitive karaoke video game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2, developed by London Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The game features the music of rock band Queen. It was released on March 20, 2009 in United Kingdom and on August 4, 2009 in North America.
Gameplay
SingStar games require players to sing along with music in order to score points. Players interface with their console via SingStar USB microphones while a music video plays in the background. The pitch players are required to sing is displayed as horizontal grey bars, which function similar to a musical stave, with corresponding lyrics displayed at the bottom of the screen. The game analyses a player's pitch and compares it to the original track, with players scoring points based on how accurate their singing is. Different modes of SingStar may vary this basic pattern, but the principle is similar throughout. SingStar includes a variety of game modes. The standard singing mode allows one or two people to sing simultaneously, either competitively or in a duet. The PlayStation 3 version of the game supports trophies, however older versions of the game will need to go online to get the latest patch. Future SingStar games will include the trophy patched game on the Singstar disc.
SingStar Queen
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Track list
"Another One Bites the Dust" "Bicycle Race" "Bohemian Rhapsody" "Breakthru" "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Fat Bottomed Girls" "I Want It All" "I Want to Break Free" "Innuendo" "One Vision" "Play the Game" "Somebody to Love" "These Are the Days of Our Lives" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Under Pressure" "We are the Champions" "We Will Rock You" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "You're My Best Friend"
References
[1] [PlayStation.com - Singstar Queen Description http:/ / us. playstation. com/ games-and-media/ games/ singstar-queen-ps3. html]
Smile
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Smile
Smile
Brian May, Tim Staffell, Roger Taylor. Background information Origin Genres Years active Labels London, England Blues-rock, psychedelic rock 19681970, 1992 Mercury Records
Associated acts Queen Past members Brian May Tim Staffell Roger Taylor
Smile were a London-based blues rock band best known as the predecessor to renowned rock band Queen. The band was formed in 1968 by Brian May, who was to become Queen's guitarist. The group included Tim Staffell as singer and bassist, and, later, drummer Roger Taylor, who also went on to play for Queen. The group disbanded in 1970.
History
In 1968, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's Imperial College, and bassist Tim Staffell formed a group when May placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Ginger Baker type" drummer, and a young medical student named Roger Taylor auditioned and got the job. Smile were signed to Mercury Records in 1969, and had their first experience of a recording studio in Trident Studios that year. Staffell was attending Ealing Art College with Freddie Bulsara (later known as Freddie Mercury), and introduced him to the band. Bulsara soon became a keen fan. The group's biggest public performance was on February 27, 1969 at the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child. Held at the Royal Albert Hall, May, Taylor and Staffell performed as a trio on guitar, drums and bass respectively. Keyboardist Chris Smith had been fired the day before, according to Staffell. (According to Smith, he was only briefly in the band and left of his own accord because he was interested in different styles.)[1] Smile gigged quite a bit on the London scene, according to Time Out's listings. On April 19, they played at the Speakeasy and on May 31, they appeared at the Whisky A Go Go. In March 1969, the band played at a venue known as PJ's, using claims to have previously been played on radio station BBC Radio 1 to secure an audience. It seems likely that the claims were fictitious, however.[1] [2] Shortly after they were given a one-off recording deal by Mercury Records to record three tracks, "Earth" (Staffell), "Step On Me" (May), and "Doin' All Right" (May/Staffell). These were recorded in June 1969 at Trident Studios in Soho. Ultimately this US promotional recording was never published commercially. However, in September of the same year, Mercury Records commissioned them to record three more songs: "April Lady" (Stanley Lucas), "Blag", a May instrumental, and "Polar Bear", a "gentle song about a polar bear"[2] written
Smile and led by May, at De Lane Lea Studios. Again, the record was not released at the time. When Staffell left Smile in 1970 to join another band, Humpy Bong, Smile effectively disbanded.[3] Bulsara persuaded May and Taylor to continue, changing the band's name from "Smile" to "Queen" in the process.[3] Bulsara soon joined the band as lead vocalist. The band had a number of bass players during this period, namely Mike Grose, Barry Mitchell and Doug Bogie, who did not fit with the band's chemistry. It was not until February 1971 that they settled on John Deacon and began to rehearse for the first album.[4] This definitively created the Queen lineup which lasted until Mercury's death in 1991. For their debut album, Queen recorded "Doing All Right". According to the book "Queen: The Early Years", Staffell has been well compensated through royalties from the sale of the album, given his co-songwriting credit for the song with Brian May. Queen also recorded the song for their first BBC recording session with John Peel. That session, along with their third session, have been released in the UK as At the Beeb (Band of Joy Records) in 1989, and in the U.S. as Queen at the BBC (Hollywood Records) in 1995. Also in 1995, Queen issued their Let Me Live singles, one of which features three of the first session BBC recordings, including "Doing Alright". Smile reunited for several songs on 22 December 1992. Taylor's band The Cross were headliners and he brought May and Staffell on to play "Earth" and "If I Were a Carpenter".[5] May also performed several other songs that night.
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Discography
Two legitimate releases of the six Smile tracks have since been issued: Gettin' Smile (LP) from Japan, released September 23, 1982, on Mercury Records. The sleeve contains notoriously inaccurate lyrics and songwriting credits for the songs. This release was used for all subsequent bootlegs which contain the songs. Ghost of a Smile (CD) from Holland, released in 1997, on Pseudonym Records. The CD booklet is comprehensive and features new liner notes by Tim Staffell. All the tracks were newly remastered. The album also features two versions of the Eddie Howell/Freddie Mercury collaboration "The Man From Manhattan" (no relation to Smile, except that Brian May plays guitar on it). There is a bootleg album of their early tracks circa the Smile era titled Pre-Ordained. Most of them also appeared on the 1995 Italian bootleg In Nuce.
Songs
The following songs have been confirmed by the members of the band as being part of their repertoire, either live or in their short-lived studio time. "Earth" (Staffell) "Step On Me" (Staffell/May) originally from May and Staffell's band 1984. "Doin' Alright" (Staffell/May) "Blag" (May) "Polar Bear" (May) "Silver Salmon" (Staffell) "See What A Fool I've Been" (May, based on the song "That's How I Feel" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee) "If I Were a Carpenter" (Tim Hardin) a cover regularly featuring in their live set. "April Lady" (Lucas) a song presented to the band by Mercury Records during their second studio session.
Smile
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References
[1] "Smit's Smile". (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20050525180542/ http:/ / www. queenfans. com/ articles/ pics/ chrissmith. jpg) Originally from Queenfans.com. (Currently offline, retrieved through web archive on 2007-11-08.) [2] Pre-Queen - Smile! (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20040530091352/ http:/ / www. queenfans. com/ articles/ prequeen2. shtml) [3] Queen Biography 1970 (http:/ / queenzone. com/ queenzone/ bio_view. aspx?q=2), Queen Zone, [4] Queen Biography 1971 (http:/ / queenzone. com/ queenzone/ bio_view. aspx?q=3), Queen Zone, [5] Tim Staffell Biography (http:/ / www. queenzone. com/ queenzone/ article_show. aspx?Q=11)
External links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3507879
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The programme
The story of Bohemian Rhapsody is narrated by Richard E. Grant, and runs for approximately 57 minutes. Throughout the programme, Brian May and Roger Taylor revisit the place where they recorded the 1975 album A Night at the Opera, and discuss the song and the video.
External links
The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody [1] at the Internet Movie Database
References
[1] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0438465/
The Japanese We Will Rock You placard. Music Lyrics Book Queen Queen and Ben Elton Ben Elton
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Productions 2002 West End 2003 Melbourne 2003 Madrid 2004 Australia tour 2004 Las Vegas 2004 Moscow 2004 Spain tour 2005 Cologne 2005 Tokyo 2006 South Africa 2006 Japan tour 2006 Zrich 2007 Madrid revival 2007 Toronto 2007 Australasian tour 2008 Vienna 2008 Stuttgart 2009 UK tour 2010 Berlin 2010 Italy tour 2010 Netherlands 2010 Sweden (Stockholm) 2011 Norway (Oslo)
We Will Rock You (often abbreviated as WWRY) is a jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor. The musical was first produced in London by Queen Theatrical Productions, Phil McIntyre Entertainment and Tribeca Theatrical Productions, with Christopher Renshaw as director, Mark Fisher as the production designer, Willie Williams as the lighting designer, Williams & Fisher as co-video directors, Tim Goodchild as the costume designer, Arlene Phillips as choreographer and Bobby Aitken as sound designer. The musical opened in the West End at the Dominion Theatre on 14 May 2002, with Tony Vincent, Hannah Jane Fox, Sharon D. Clarke and Kerry Ellis in principal roles. The musical was panned by critics, but was an audience favourite, and has since been played to packed houses around the world, and has become the longest-running musical at the Dominion Theatre.[1] The story takes place in a tongue-in-cheek dystopian future where originality and individualism are shunned, and a lone "Dreamer" appears who can fulfill a prophecy that will enable the return of rock 'n roll. A number of international productions have followed the original, and We Will Rock You has been seen in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Russia, Spain, Japan, South Africa, Zrich, Vienna, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong. As of July 2009, productions are still active in Great Britain, Italy and Germany. The Dutch production will premiere at the end of summer 2010. The Swedish production will premiere in the autumn of 2010. A sequel is currently in the works, and as of March 2009 a draft has been completed.[2] [3]
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Development
According to Brian May, Queen's manager Jim Beach had spoken with the band about creating a jukebox musical with Queen's songs since the mid-90s. Initially, the intent was to create a biographical story of Freddie Mercury. About this time, Robert De Niro's production company Tribeca expressed interest in a Queen musical, but it found the original idea difficult to work with.[4] In the year 2000, Ben Elton was approached to start talks with May and Queen drummer Roger Taylor on the project. Elton suggested taking the musical down a different path than initially imagined, creating an original story that would "capture the spirit of much of [their] music". He worked closely with May and Taylor to incorporate Queen's songs into the story. Elton has also stated that he was in part inspired by the computer-controlled dystopia of the science-fiction film The Matrix. The script was eventually completed midway through 2001.[4] Before working on We Will Rock You, neither May nor Taylor liked the musical genre.[4] The original London production began previews on 26 April 2002 and opened on 14 May 2002 at the Dominion Theatre. The show is currently still playing there, and in May 2010 celebrated its 8th anniversary.
Critical reception
London's critics almost uniformly panned the show, criticising the concept and direction. The Guardian wrote that the premise "really is as sixth form as it sounds", called the production "ruthlessly packaged and manufactured" and opined that the "sometimes funny" libretto exists mainly to "devise more unlikely ways to wring out another Queen song."[5] The Daily Mirror wrote that "Ben Elton should be shot for this risible story."[6] However, some individual performances received praise[6] and the production remains a popular success. In their popular book Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit, Steve Lowe and Alan MacArthur derided the show as having "a plot similar to a Yes concept album".
Productions
West End and UK tour
The original production of We Will Rock You opened on 12 May 2002 at the Dominion Theatre in London, England. Tony Vincent played the lead role of Galileo, with Hannah Jane Fox as Scaramouche, Sharon D. Clarke as Killer Queen, Nigel Planer as Pop and Kerry Ellis as Meat. For her performance, Clarke was nominated for "Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical or Entertainment" at the 2003 Olivier Awards. On 17 August 2005 We Will Rock You became the longest running musical at that venue, surpassing the previous record-holder Grease.[7] This is notable because the Dominion Theatre is one of the largest theatrical venues in West End, with a seating a capacity of 2,000 people. The show is currently scheduled to play at this venue until July 2011[8] Notable cast replacements include Mig Ayesa, who played Galileo; Mazz Murray, who took over the role of Killer Queen from Sharon D. Clarke in April 2004 and as of February 2010 is still playing the part,
The statue of Freddie Mercury above the entrance to the Dominion Theatre
We Will Rock You making her the longest running principal cast member, though she is currently on maternity leave (September 2010). Brenda Edwards (semi-finalist in X-Factor in 2005) is currently covering for a limited season in the West End. Rachel Tucker, a semi-finalist in BBC's I'd Do Anything, played the role of Meat from 22 September 2008 until 19 September 2009, this role was taken over in September 2009 by Irish born Louise Bowden (Mama Mia /Guys and Dolls / Mary Poppins).[9] However, an unexpected departure of Bowden in May 2010 led to the role of Meat being taken over by Amanda Coutts who was previously understudying the part. The show features a live band with Elliott Ware as musical director.[10] A national UK tour was launched in 2009 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester.[11] [12] The 2009 tour cast initially included, Alex Gaumond as Galileo, Sarah French-Ellis as Scaramouche, Brenda Edwards as Killer Queen, Georgina Hagen as Meat, Jonathan Wilkes as Khashoggi, Kevin Kennedy as Pop.[13] . A second UK tour launched in December 2010 starting at the Palace Theatre, Manchester and is currently due to run through until early 2012. [14]
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Spain
A Spanish production ran from 3 November 2003 to 30 May 2004 at Teatro Caldern, Madrid. The lead role of Galileo was shared by Jos Luis Corts and Miguel Fernndez. The rest of the cast included Mara Blanco as Scaramouche, Sheilah Cuffey as Killer Queen and Eva Mara Corts (sister of Jos Luis Corts) as Meat.[22] The Madrid production had all spoken dialogue and the lyrics translated into Spanish, except for the songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", which retained their English lyrics.[23] After closing at Teatro Caldern, the show began a tour through Spain with stops at Barcelona (12 November to 12 December 2004), Bilbao (17 December 2004 to 16 January 2005) and Valencia (3 February to 27 February 2005). In 2007 the production returned to Caldern Theatre, Madrid with previews from 23 January and an official opening on 12 February.[24] This stage featured an entirely new cast, with Daniel Diges and Julian Fontalvo sharing the role of Galileo, Ruth Calvo and Elena Medina sharing the role of Scaramouche, Maria Lopez and Lara Alcazar sharing the role of Meat, as well as Nieves Val and Tessa sharing the role of Killer Queen.[24] The production finally closed on 6 January 2008.
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Russia
A Russian production opened in the Estrada Theatre, Moscow on 17 October 2004. The production's dialogue and all songs but three were translated into Russian, by Evgeny Margulis of Mashina Vremeni.[29] This production closed only four months after its opening due to disagreements between the show's producers, despite fan protests to keep the show going.[29]
Germany
A German production opened in the Musical Dome, Cologne on 12 December 2004. The Cologne production had the spoken dialogue translated to German, but the musical numbers consisted of a mix of translated German language lyrics and the original English language lyrics. According to Brian May, the language combination was intentional by writer Ben Elton, with German representing the show's "present day" and English representing the distant past.[30] The production closed at this venue on 30 September 2008 to be transferred to Stuttgart.[31] The Stuttgart transfer opened at the Apollo Theatre on 13 November 2008 after previews from 7 November 2008.[32] [33] The production opened in Berlin on 21 October 2010.
South Africa
A South African production opened at the Civic Theatre in Johannesburg on 9 May 2006.[34] The production starred Francois Schreuder as Galileo, Helen Burger as Scaramouche, Vicky Sampson as Killer Queen, and Helen Goldberg as Oz.[35] This production made tour stops at the Artscape in Cape Town (from 25 July) and the Playhouse Opera in Durban (29 September to 29 October 2006) before closing.[34] [36]
Canada
A Canadian production began previews on 14 March and officially opened on 10 April 2007 at the Canon Theatre, Toronto.[40] [41] Mig Ayesa, who played the lead role in the London production, had been offered the role in the Canadian production by Brian May and Ben Elton, but the Canadian producers wanted an all-Canadian cast and Quebec native Yvan Pednault was given the role.[42] The rest of the cast included Erica Peck as Scaramouche, Alana Bridgewater as Killer Queen, Suzie McNeil as Oz and Evan Buliung as Khashoggi. McNeil had been a participant of
We Will Rock You the reality show Rockstar: INXS, in which she had competed against Ayesa and former Las Vegas We Will Rock You cast member Ty Taylor. This production closed at the Canon Theatre on 11 May 2008[43] to be transferred to the Panasonic Theatre, where it opened on 16 July 2008.[44] The new Toronto production underwent major rewrites in order to trim the show before its reopening. Changes include: there is no longer any dialogue between "Ga-Ga" and "I Want to Break Free"; "One Vision" has been cut; the Act Two song sequence is now "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Seven Seas of Rhye", "Hammer to Fall" and then "Another One Bites the Dust" before leading to the finale. In October 2008, Camilla Scott took over the role of Khashoggi, a character that had previously been portrayed as a male, though her understudies remain male. Erica Peck, who originated the role of Scaramouche in this production, is scheduled to reprise her role from 29 May.[45] This production closed on 28 June 2009.[46]
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Australasian tour
An Australasian tour was launched on at the end of 2007 in New Zealand, in which previous We Will Rock You cast members MiG Ayesa (London cast), Annie Crummer (original Australian cast), Neels Clasen (original South African cast) and Malcolm Terry (original South African cast) reprise their roles as Galileo, Killer Queen, Khashoggi and Pop respectively.[47] Talia Kodesh, who had played Oz in the South African production, played the role of Scaramouche in the New Zealand tour stop.[48] After the tour left New Zealand, the role was taken over by Sivan Raphaely, who had been in the ensemble of the original South African production. The tour performed in Auckland, New Zealand at The Civic, The Edge (26 October to 2 December 2007), in Seoul, South Korea at the Seongnam Arts Centre (2 February to 24 February 2008),[49] [50] in Singapore at the Esplanade Theatre (28 March to 27 April 2008),[51] in Hong Kong at The Lyric Theatre of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (16 May to 22 June 2008)[52] and in Bangkok, Thailand at the Muangthai Ratchadalai Theatre (12 July to 27 July 2008).[53]
Italy
An Italian production opened on 4 December 2009 at the Allianz Teatro in Milan, Italy. Starring Gianluca Merolli and Salvo Vinci as Galileo, Marta Rossi and Martina Ciabatti as Scaramouche, Valentina Ferrari as Killer Queen, Salvo Bruno and Carlo Spano as Khashoggi, Paolo Barillari as Brit, Loredana Fadda and Mary Dima as Oz and Massimiliano Colonna as Pop. WWRY Italy is produced by Barley Arts and directed by Maurizio Colombi. The musical director is Roberto Zanaboni followed by Davide Magnabosco (keyboard), Giovanni Maria Lori (keyboard), Linda Pinelli (bass), Alex Polifrone (drums), Marco Scazzetta (percussions), Andrea Cervetto (guitar) and the lead guitarist is Tristan Avakian, who had a successful run with WWRY Toronto. All the dialogues are in Italian and almost all the songs are in English expect for Radio Ga Ga and Noone but you. The translation and adaptation of the Italian script were made by Raffaella Rolla with the cooperation of Alice Mistroni. The show is scheduled to tour across Italy over the year, so far visiting Milan, Bologna, Trieste and Rome .[54] The second season is due to start in Bergamo on 4 November and it will be on tour until March 2011. The double cast has been dropped therefore this year the leading roles are : Galileo (Salvo Vinci), Scaramouche (Martha Rossi), Oz (Loredana Fadda), Brit (Paolo Barillari), Khashoggi (Salvo Bruno), Killer Queen (Valentina), Pop (Massimiliano Colonna). The new lead guitarist is Marco Gerace.
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Sweden
12 September through 18 December 2010 a big production of WWRY were played in Stockholm, Sweden at the venue Cirkus. The spoken dialogue is translated to Swedish by Anders Albien. Cast: Killer Queen: Tina Lejonberg, Galileo: Bruno Mitsogiannis, Scaramouche: Marie Haugen Smistad, Ozzy: Anna Lidman, Brit: Henrik Orwander, Khashoggi: Daniel Engman, Peps: Simon Bengtsson Tibblin, Teacher: Linda Holmgren, Christer: Tomas Marcotte.[55]
Norway
January 2011, the Stockholm Production of WWRY moved to Oslo, Norway. The production opened 23 January at Folketeateret. The spoken dialouge (and some of the songs) was translated to Norwegian by Kjetil Indregard. Cast: Killer Queen: Reidun Sther, Galileo: Espen Grjotheim, Scaramouche: Marie Haugen Smistad, Ozzy: Anna Lidman, Brit: Eivind Dundas, Khashoggi: Daniel Engman, Oddi (Pop): Mads Henning Jrgensen, Big Macca: Hvard Bakke, Teacher: Linda Holmgren. [56] The production closed 16 April 2011.
Other productions
From 2006, the show has been licensed for amateur productions in the UK, with proceeds going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.[57] In early 2007 Queen Theatrical granted the rights for a non-equity production of We Will Rock You at the Jedlicka Performing Art Centre in Chicago from April, making it the first North American production since the Las Vegas show closed.[58] An externally-licensed production was staged in Varberg, Sweden from February to July 2007. A Dutch production was opened at 3 decemeber 2010.
We Will Rock You On the streets, Bohemians Brit and Meat climb out of the sewers, where they have been gathering materials to make musical instruments. Brit is a believer in the Dreamer who will fulfil the prophecy, and insists to the cynical Meat that it's the key to bringing real music back into the world. ("I Want It All") Brit and Meat hear footsteps approaching, and hide. Galileo and the woman arrive, with Galileo talking about his belief that he has a destiny. He says that he has a name for the woman: "Scaramouche". Brit and Meat reveal themselves, and accuse Galileo and Scaramouche of being spies, because Galileo keeps spouting words of the "sacred text". Galileo insists that he only hears those words in his head. Brit tests Galileo, singing the first few lines of "Bohemian Rhapsody". Galileo responds correctly with the subsequent lines, and Brit realises that he is the Dreamer of the prophecy. They bring Galileo and Scaramouche to the Heartbreak Hotel, which is located at the ruins of the Tottenham Court Road tube station, where the Bohemians have made their home. ("Headlong") Of note, the original London production is staged at the Dominion Theatre, which is located above the real Tottenham Court Road tube station. The Bohemians explain that they take their names after singers long gone, and mourn the deaths of those who died young. ("No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)") The group then celebrate the reason rock bands started playing music in the first place, which was for love. ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love") Khashoggi and his police suddenly arrive at the Heartbreak Hotel, where they round up the Bohemians for capture. Brit breaks free and battles the police in order to enable Galileo and Scaramouche to escape, but in the process is killed. ("Ogre Battle")
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Act Two
The Ga Ga Kids of Planet Mall move on in their regular fashion. ("One Vision") Galileo and Scaramouche have escaped the Heartbreak Hotel, and realise that back at the hospital, tracking devices were installed in their heads. They remove them, and upon realizing that they are all that's left of the rebels, they confess their love for each other. ("Who Wants to Live Forever") The surviving Bohemians have been rounded up by Khashoggi to be tortured. ("Flash") When he cannot get any information from them about the prophecy, he has them brain-drained. ("Seven Seas of Rhye"interpolating "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon") Galileo wakes up, and tells Scaramouche that he had a dream that the Bohemians were sent to the Seven Seas of Rhye. Scaramouche agrees they have to go there, but then Galileo insists that she stay because she's a "chick", to which Scaramouche takes offense. They argue, and decide that both of them will go to the Seven Seas of Rhye, but their relationship will be purely professional. Back at Globalsoft headquarters ("Fat Bottomed Girls") Khashoggi reports that the Bohemians are no longer a problem. Killer Queen prematurely starts to celebrate. ("Don't Stop Me Now") Khashoggi interrupts her, explaining that Galileo and Scaramouche escaped. Killer Queen declares this is the last time Khashoggi has disappointed her, and has him brain-drained. ("Another One Bites the Dust") Galileo and Scaramouche are making their way to the Seven Seas of Rhye, arguing all the way. ("Hammer to Fall") At the Seven Seas of Rhye pub, Pop the librarian is serving drinks to the lifeless Bohemians. ("These Are the Days of Our Lives") When Galileo and Scaramouche arrive, Pop explains the full nature of the prophecy to them as inscribed by the three remaining members of the band Queen just before they were sentenced to death. Scaramouche figures out that the bright shining star of the prophecy is rock star Freddie Mercury's statue, and that it's pointing to Wembley Stadium, the "place of living rock". After initially preparing to travel by bicycle, (opening of "Bicycle Race")Scaramouche protests that the method "isn't very cool", and so they travel there by motorcycle. ("Headlong (reprise)") Wembley Stadium is in ruin, with no instruments to be found. Reconciling and their love for each other rekindled ("Love of My Life"), Scaramouche inspires Galileo to perform the opening of "We Will Rock You", and an electric
We Will Rock You guitar is revealed. Galileo cannot play it, but Scaramouche can. ("Brighton Rock solo") Pop hacks into Globalsoft's network so their music can be heard by everyone on Planet Mall, and Killer Queen is defeated. ("Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions") After the curtain calls ("We Will Rock You (fast version)"), a question appears that says "Do you want "Bohemian Rhapsody"?" Everybody in the audience is supposed to yell yes, and the answer appears as "Oh...alright then" and the entire cast perform "Bohemian Rhapsody" as an encore.
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Variations
International productions of the musical feature changes in the story and song line-up in order to better reach target audiences. All the main characters retain their general personalities across productions, but the names vary depending on the production. (See characters section below). The dialogue contains many references to popular culture, with lyrics from numerous non-Queen songs and albums inserted into the text. These references are constantly changing, and according to writer Elton, this is to keep the show "fresh".[4] Songs that have been referenced include The Beatles' "Help!", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "I Am the Walrus" and "Hello, Goodbye", Little Richard's "Tutti Fruitti" and "Long Tall Sally", the theme from The Wombles, The Goodies' "Funky Gibbon", Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run", David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" and "Space Oddity", The Wild Ones' "Wild Thing", Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women", Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and "Fernando", Oasis' "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady", Spice Girls' "Wannabe", Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", Black Lace's "Agadoo", The Clash's "Complete Control", Teletubbies and "Michael Jackson"
Special shows
May often performs with the London production on special occasions such as anniversaries[59] and Freddie Mercury's birthday.[60] Hannah Jane Fox, who originated Scaramouche, was the last original principal cast member to remain with the show. She gave her final performance on 28 January 2006, four years after the musical opened at the Dominion Theatre, and the event was celebrated with May appearing on stage to perform the guitar solo during the "Bohemian Rhapsody" encore.[61] On 5 September 2006, the London show celebrated what would have been Freddie Mercury's 60th Birthday. During the song "Don't Stop Me Now", ordinarily sung by Killer Queen, the band "McFly" (who were at #1 with the song on the singles charts the previous week) emerged onto the stage to sing it instead.[62] Brian May and Roger Taylor joined the encore, performing Taylor's "Say It's Not True" as a duo. Ben Elton also addressed the audience on this special occasion. The following week, tickets to the London show were sold from 19.46, Mercury's birth year. On 14 May 2007, the London show celebrated its 5th anniversary with a special show featuring both May and Taylor playing in the final section of the show. Writer Ben Elton also made an appearance to present a special plaque to the cast, May and Taylor. During the portion of the show based in Pop's bar, the line "But the Pub Landlord has a Bike" was followed by a cameo appearance of British comedian Al Murray, who came up through the stage on a motorcycle.[63] The London show's 6th anniversary performance was held on 21 May 2008, a week after its actual anniversary due to the unavailability of Brian May. For the first time since the show opened, the Killer Queen character performed the entire song "Don't Stop Me Now", a musical number which is normally interrupted by the Khashoggi character. This unique performance is acknowledged by Killer Queen's dialogue: "No, you didn't let me finish, you never let me finish. For six long years, night after night, week after week, year after year. Well, tonight, I'm going to finish." To which Khashoggi replied: "It's not in the script?" Additionally, May joined Killer Queen and the dancers on stage for the performance. After the encore, Elton made a thank you speech, after which the entire cast performed "The Show Must Go On", accompanied by May on guitar.
We Will Rock You The 7th anniversary of the London Show was celebrated on Monday 18 May 2009. The show contained a special appearance from Brian May and Ben Elton who emerged together in a cloud of smoke during the encore rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" with May playing guitar. As with the year before, Elton gave a thank you speech and the entire cast performed "The Show Must Go On", accompanied by May on guitar. On Saturday 12 September 2009 at the early matinee performance Brian May again emerged in a cloud of smoke playing the guitar in "Bohemian Rhapsody". What was the occasion for this appearance is not clear. He did the same again on Saturday 14 November 2009 at the matinee. On Sunday 31 January 2010 in The O2 Dublin, Brian May once again played Bohemian Rhapsody with the company during the finale of both the matinee and evening shows to celebrate the end of their year long tour. On Saturday 5 September 2010 Brian also appeared though a cloud of smoke, again to play "Bohemian Rhapsody". This was due to the annual cast change and afterwards Brian gave a farewell speech to the cast that were leaving.
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Characters
Galileo - The central character of the musical; a dreamer who hears strange words in his head. He is eventually revealed to be a reincarnation of Freddie Mercury. The character's name is a reference to the lyrics in the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody". Scaramouche A sarcastic, cynical character and Galileo's love interest. In the finale she shows talent playing the electric guitar, and Galileo declares that she is a reincarnation of Brian May, only this time "he's a babe". The character's name is a reference to the lyrics in the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody". Killer Queen The villain of the musical, she rules over Planet Mall with an iron fist. The character's name is a reference to the Queen song "Killer Queen". Brit (alternately Paris, Duff, Vic and J.B.) Brit, short for Britney Spears, is the main male Bohemian rebel. In other productions, his name is either Paris (short for Paris Hilton), Duff (short for Hilary Duff), Vic (short for Victoria Beckham) or J.B. (short for Jeanette Biedermann). Meat (alternately Oz, Ozzy) Meat, short for Meat Loaf, is the main female Bohemian. In some productions, the character is named Oz after Ozzy Osbourne. Khashoggi Killer Queen's second-in-command, Khashoggi is head of Globalsoft's police and carries out Killer Queen's dirty work. The character's name is a reference to the Queen song "Khashoggi's Ship". Pop (alternately Polo, Bap) An elderly librarian trying to figure out the "exact date the music died", in some productions in love with Scaramouche, believed to be named after the creation of reality television talent shows (the example given varies depending on the production, but includes Popstars, Pop Idol, The X Factor, or the relevant regional variant). Probably named for Iggy Pop or simply a diminutive for "Grandfather". Other Bohemians The other Bohemians have constantly changing names following media trends. These are usually music-related, and have included Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Williams, Beyonc, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Bob the Builder, Cheeky Fairy, Boy George, Cliff Richard, Spice Girls, Elton John, Jackson Five, Prince, Burton Cummings, John Farnham, Charlotte Church, Crazy Frog, Eddie Cochran, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Lily Allen, Kelly Osbourne and Clay Aiken, Cheeky Girls, Kurt Cobain and recently Michael Jackson.
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Music
As a jukebox musical, the show's music consists entirely of Queen material. The musical numbers of the original London production are as follows.
Act I Innuendo Freddie Mercury and ensemble Radio Ga Ga Ga Ga Kids I Want to Break Free Galileo I Want to Break Free (reprise) Scaramouche Somebody to Love Scaramouche and Teen Queens Killer Queen Killer Queen and Yuppies Play the Game Killer Queen and Yuppies Death On Two Legs* (instrumental) Under Pressure Galileo and Scaramouche A Kind of Magic Killer Queen, Khashoggi and Yuppies Here Comes Santa! / Don't Stop Me Now - Ga Ga Kids I Want It All Brit and Meat Headlong Brit, Meat, Galileo and Scaramouche No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young) Meat and Bohemians Crazy Little Thing Called Love* Brit, Meat, Galileo, Scaramouche and Bohemians Ogre Battle (instrumental) Act II One Vision/Radio Ga Ga (reprise) Ga Ga Kids Who Wants to Live Forever Galileo and Scaramouche Flash Bohemians Seven Seas of Rhye Khashoggi and Bohemians Fat Bottomed Girls* Killer Queen and Sex Yuppies Don't Stop Me Now (reprise) Killer Queen Another One Bites the Dust Killer Queen Hammer to Fall Galileo and Scaramouche These Are the Days of Our Lives Pop and Bohemians Bicycle Race* Bohemians Headlong (reprise)* Galileo, Scaramouche and Pop Brighton Rock solo* (instrumental) Tie Your Mother Down* (instrumental) We Will Rock You Galileo and Bohemians We Are the Champions Galileo and ensemble Encore: We Will Rock You (fast version) Ensemble Encore: Bohemian Rhapsody Entire cast
Later in the London production, the "One Vision" sequence was changed to include Freddie Mercury's recorded vocals for the bridge. Previously, the bridge had been sung by the ensemble. In the original London production, "Fat-Bottomed Girls" was a short instrumental interlude prior to "Another One Bites the Dust". Subsequent international productions expanded the song into a full song and dance sequence. Due to the positive response, the change was transferred back to the London production. For the single-act Las Vegas production, "Who Wants to Live Forever" is replaced by "You're My Best Friend". For the Australasian tour and Canadian production, "Play the Game" is replaced by "Now I'm Here". For the revamped Canadian production, "One Vision" is removed. On special occasions, "The Show Must Go On" is added to the encore.[59] [63]
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Recordings
A cast recording of the original London production was released in November 2002.[64] Not all songs in the show were included in the album, the omitted tracks have been marked* in the above list. In August 2003, the London cast recording was given an Australian edition re-release, containing a bonus track of the original Australian Killer Queen, Annie Crummer, singing a studio version of "Another One Bites the Dust". In 2004, Kerry Ellis, who was the original Meat in the London production, worked with Brian May to record an instrumental studio version of "No One but You (Only the Good Die Young)". This version is available through the official Queen website and in Ellis' limited-release CD single titled Wicked in Rock.[65] [66]
A Madrid cast recording was released in 2004. The recording includes a bonus second disc containing an extended Spanish-translated studio version of "No-One But You" ("Solo Por Ti") sung by the original Meat, Eva Mara Corts, and video clips of the original Madrid production. A Cologne cast recording was released in 2005. It is the only We Will Rock You cast recording to contain "Fat Bottomed Girls".
The cover of the original London cast album, [4] featuring Tony Vincent.
Discography
Release Year Format
UK AUS AUT FRA GER IRE NL US
Album
2002
Album
2003
We Will Rock You: Australasian Album Edition (The Origninal London Cast, Queen & Annie Crummer) "Another One Bites The Dust" (Queen + Annie Crummer) We Will Rock You: Spanish Cast (The Spanish Cast) "Solo Por Ti (No One But You)" (Queen + Eva Maria) We Will Rock You: German Cast (The Kln Cast) Single
2003
2004
Album
2004
Single
2005
Album
Alana Bridgewater recorded version of Fat Bottomed Girl on her debut album "Horizon".
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2004 Helpmann Award nominations Best Musical Best Direction of a Musical - Ben Elton Best Choreography in a Musical - Arlene Phillips Best Male Actor in a Musical - Michael Falzon Best Female Actor in a Musical - Kate Hoolihan (WINNER) Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical - Robert Grubb (WINNER)
Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical - Amanda Harrison (WINNER) Best Music Direction - Mike Dixon, Brian May and Roger Taylor (WINNER) Best Sound Design - Bobby Aitken (WINNER) 2006 Naledi Theatre Awards nominations[68] [69] Best Performance in a Musical (Male) - Neels Calsen Best Performance in a Musical (Female) - Helen Burger Best Comedy Performance (Male) (Play, Musical or Revue) - Malcolm Terrey Best Musical Director / Score / Arrangement - Bryan Schimmel Best Theatre Sound Design - Mark Malherbe (WINNER)
2007 Dora Mavor Moore Awards nominations[70] Outstanding Production of a Musical (WINNER) Outstanding Direction of a Musical - Ben Elton Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role (Musical) - Yvan Pedneault Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role (Musical) - Erica Peck Outstanding Costume Design - Tim Goodchild Outstanding Sound Design/Composition - Bobby Aitken Outstanding Musical Direction - Rick Fox Outstanding Choreography in a Play or Musical - Arlene Phillips
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References
[1] For the first time ever...Queen: Ten great hits from the sensational rock band (http:/ / www. dailymail. co. uk/ tvshowbiz/ article-1169307/ For-time--Queen-Ten-great-hits-sensational-rock-band-todays-The-Mail-Sunday. html) The Mail On Sunday Retrieved 23 January 2011 [2] We Will Rock You Sequel Being Planned, by Mark Shenton, dated 15 April 2008 (http:/ / www. playbill. com/ news/ article/ 116795. html) playbill.com [3] WWRY: Queen of the musicals? by Dave Cunnignham ,25 February 2009 (http:/ / www. whatsonstage. com/ blogs/ manchester/ 2009/ 02/ 25/ wwry-queen-of-the-musicals/ ) - WhatsOnStage.com [4] We Will Rock You The Musical by Queen and Ben Elton: The Official Book. pp. 10-27 [5] Logan, Brian (15 May 2002). ""We Will Rock You" Guardian Unlimited Arts" (http:/ / arts. guardian. co. uk/ reviews/ story/ 0,,766309,00. html). The Guardian (London). . [6] BBC News. Reviews. "Raspberries for Queen's Rhapsody" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 1988767. stm) [7] "We Will Rock You becomes longest running show at the Dominion." (http:/ / londontheatredirect. com/ information/ ltdItem. asp?lngID=69& lngCategory=1& datItem=Wed Aug 17 00:00:00 UTC+ 0100 2005). . [8] http:/ / www. wewillrockyou. co. uk/ tickets/ [9] "IDA's Rachel Tucker Joins Queen We Will Rock You" (http:/ / www. whatsonstage. com/ index. php?pg=207& story=E8821215617989& title=IDAs+ Rachel+ Tucker+ Joins+ Queen+ We+ Will+ Rock+ You). Whatsonstage.com. 10 July 2008. . Retrieved 10 July 2008. [10] http:/ / www. wwry-london. co. uk/ index. php?page=band [11] Shenton, Mark (22 August 2008). "We Will Rock You to Kick Off U.K. National Tour in 2009" (http:/ / www. playbill. com/ news/ article/ 120655. html). Whatsonstage.com. . Retrieved 24 August 2008. [12] (http:/ / www. wewillrockyou. co. uk/ tour/ ) - We Will Rock You tour, Official website [13] Cast: We Will Rock You UK tour, 9 February 2009 (http:/ / www. whatsonstage. com/ blogs/ manchester/ 2009/ 02/ 09/ cast-wwry-uk-tour/ ) - WhatonStage.com [14] We Will Rock You UK Tour | Venues - Where to see We Will Rock You, 13 March 2011 (http:/ / www. wewillrockyou. co. uk/ tour/ venues/ ) - WWRY Tour Page [15] We Will Rock You Australia (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ wwry/ OZ/ pressrelease. html) - Queen Press Release [16] Stage Credits, including We Will Rock You Australia tour (http:/ / www. robertgrubb. com/ Credits-Stage. htm) - Robert Grubb website [17] We Will Rock You, by Dave Grunebaum (http:/ / metropolis. co. jp/ tokyo/ 586/ stage. asp) - Metropolis.co.jp [18] We Will Rock You Tokyo (http:/ / www. arts. australia. or. jp/ english/ events/ 0505/ wwry/ ) - Arts Australia Japan [19] We Will Rock You returns to Japan (http:/ / arts. australia. or. jp/ english/ events/ 0611/ wwry/ ) - Arts Australia Japan [20] November 2006 archive (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsnov06a. html) - Official Queen news website [21] WWRY JAPAN MOVES TO OSAKA IN JANUARY, entry 2 December 2006 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsdec06a. html) - Official Queen news website [22] MADRID REVISITED ..., entry 18 February 2007 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssbfeb07. html) - Brian May's blog [23] Original Madrid Cast Recording (http:/ / castalbumcollector. com/ recordings/ 5120) Original Madrid Cast Recording [24] We Will Rock You Madrid (http:/ / www. wewillrockyou. es) - Official website [25] We Will Rock You Las Vegas press releases (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ wwry/ lasvegas/ news. html) - Official Queen website [26] Smash-Hit Musical 'We Will Rock You' Premieres at Paris Las Vegas on 8 Sept. with Star-Studded Gala and Special Rock Walk Induction (http:/ / findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_m0EIN/ is_2004_Sept_8/ ai_n6184975) - Business Wire [27] We Will Rock You Las Vegas cast (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ wwry/ lasvegas/ cast. html) - Official Queen website [28] We Will Rock You to Close on 27 November in Las Vegas (http:/ / www. broadway. com/ gen/ Buzz_Story. aspx?ci=520513) Broadway.com [29] Unhappy Ending, by Anna Malpas 4 March 2005 (http:/ / context. themoscowtimes. com/ stories/ 2005/ 03/ 04/ 103. html) - The Moscow Times [30] FIRST ANNIVERSARY WWRY COLOGNE!, entry 11 December 2005 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ brian/ brianssb/ brianssbdec05. html) - Brian May's blog [31] WWRY DECEMBER IN STUTTGART, entry 8 March 2008 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsmar08a. html) Official Queen news website [32] WWRY STUTTGART OPENING, entry 30 July 2008 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennews. html) - Official Queen news website [33] We Will Rock You, Stuttgart tickets (https:/ / www. topticketline. de/ tickets. aspx?shop=WWRY) - Official ticket vendor website, accessed on 1 August 2008 [34] We Will Rock You (announcement) (http:/ / www. artsmart. co. za/ miscellaneous/ archive/ 1402. html) - ArtSmart [35] We Will Rock You South Africa Cast (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ wwry/ southafrica/ cast. html) Queen website [36] WE WILL ROCK YOU review by Caroline Smart, 4 October 2006 (http:/ / www. artsmart. co. za/ drama/ archive/ 1914. html) - ArtSmart [37] WWRY ZURICH PRESS LAUNCH PRESS (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsnov06. html) - Official Queen news website [38] ZURICH PRODUCTION MOVING TO ViENNA, entry 23 November 2007 (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewsnov07. html) - Official Queen news website
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External links
Official website (http://www.queenonline.com/wewillrockyou) Official UK website (http://www.wewillrockyou.co.uk/) Video: Brian May speaks about We Will Rock You (http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/wear/ realmedia/brianmay?size=16x9&bgc=C0C0C0&nbram=1&bbram=1)(requires Real Player)
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Studio album by Queen + Paul Rodgers Released Germany, Austria: 12 September 2008 Europe: 15 September 2008 [1] Japan: 17 September 2008 United States: 28 October 2008 20062008 at The Priory recording studio Rock 58:46 Parlophone, Hollywood Brian May Paul Rodgers Roger Taylor co-producers: Joshua J Macrae Justin Shirley Smith Kris Fredriksson Professional reviews Classic Rock Financial Times Mojo [2] link [3] [4]
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It's Not True" Released: 31 December 2007 2. "C-lebrity" Released: 8 September 2008 3. "We Believe" Released: 8 September 2008 (promo single, Italy only)
The Cosmos Rocks is the debut studio album by Queen + Paul Rodgers released on 15 September 2008 in Europe and 28 October 2008 in North America.[9] It contains 14 new tracks written by Brian May, Paul Rodgers and Roger Taylor. This is the first studio album of new material from the two members of Queen since 1995's Made in Heaven, and is the only studio collaboration to date with Paul Rodgers.[10] The album hit #5 in the United Kingdom and #1 in Estonia, where it stayed for 10 weeks.
History
The band entered Roger Taylor's Priory studio in late 2006 having completed the American leg of their world tour. Sessions were initially scheduled around Rodgers' other touring commitments. On the previous tour the band had debuted a new song, "Take Love", which did not make the album. Throughout the promotion for his solo tour, Rodgers' also debuted songs such as "Warboys", and "Voodoo". John Deacon's continued retirement meant that bass duties are shared between Rodgers and May. The first single, "Say It's Not True" was released 9 months before the album was released. The second single, "C-lebrity" was previewed on Al Murray's Happy Hour in April, 5 months before the album was released. The album's release came 17 years after the death of Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, in 1991.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Queen + Paul Rodgers.
No. Title 1. "Cosmos Rockin'" (Taylor) 2. "Time to Shine" (Rodgers) 3. "Still Burnin'" (May) 4. "Small" (Taylor) 5. "Warboys" (Rodgers) 6. "We Believe" (May) 7. "Call Me" (Rodgers) 8. "Voodoo" (Rodgers) 9. "Some Things That Glitter" (May) 10. "C-lebrity" (Taylor) 11. "Through the Night" (Rodgers) 12. "Say It's Not True" (Taylor) Length 4:10 4:23 4:04 4:39 3:18 6:08 2:59 4:27 4:03 3:38 4:54 4:00
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13. "Surf's Up... School's Out!" (Taylor) 14. "Small Reprise" (Taylor) 15. "Runaway" (Shannon/Crook, iTunes exclusive bonus track) 5:38 2:05 5:28
Song information
Cosmos Rockin'
This is a song dealing with partying and generally having a good time. Its working title was "Whole House Rockin'". May confirmed it was written by Taylor. Paul Rodgers sings all the lead, with the chorus vocals dominated by Taylor. The introductory distortion is reminiscent of the 1985 hit "One Vision", and of the film dialogues from the beginning of the Flash Gordon album.
Time to Shine
This track was written by Rodgers, according to an interview with the three of them published on Brian May's website. It also features him singing all vocals.
Still Burnin'
This song was written by Brian May. It briefly samples the famous "stomp, stomp, clap" of the band's previous 1977 hit "We Will Rock You" from the album News of the World, also written by May. The song features Rodgers on lead vocals, coupled with Taylor who also sings during the 'call and response' style chorus. It is probable that Queen + Paul Rodgers recreated the 1-1-2 beat, as the sample does not sound identical to the 1977 version.
Small
This song was written by Taylor, and is a commentary on nature.
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Warboys
"Warboys" was written by Rodgers as a protest song against war. It was given the subtitle "A Prayer for Peace" to make it clear as to what the intention of the song was. It was debuted as one of two new songs by Rodgers on his 2007 tour of Britain, although it was unclear whether this new song had been written for the then upcoming Queen + Paul Rodgers album. It first appeared on Rodgers' solo live album and DVD Live in Glasgow, and was later performed solely by Rodgers on acoustic guitar on a radio show after listeners called in to request something to be played from the new album. It was officially revealed as an album track in August 2008. It features Paul Rodgers playing acoustic guitar, and also samples many rifle noises. Roger Taylor also sings additional vocals on this track along with Rodgers' lead.
We Believe
"We Believe" was written by Brian May. It is the longest song on the album. It is mainly sung solely by Rodgers, but the end does feature singing from all three band members. An edited version of the song has been released as a promo single in Italy.
Call Me
Written and sung solely by Rodgers, this song is a bluesy rocker. The vocals are a lighthearted take on love.
Voodoo
The second new song written by Rodgers which debuted on his 2007 tour of the UK.
C-lebrity
Roger Taylor wrote the song about obsession with instant stardom. It received its live debut on the series finale of ITV's Al Murray's Happy Hour. It was released as the second single from the album on 8 September 2008. Rodgers sings lead vocals, Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters sings additional backing vocals, and Brian May plays bass guitar on the track. On 4 August 2008 the track was premiered for the first time on Ken Bruce's radio show on BBC Radio 2. The single reached #33 in the UK pop singles chart and #1 on the UK Rock Charts.
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Small Reprise
A slower, shorter, mostly instrumental version of the earlier album track.
Runaway
Originally written by Del Shannon and Max Crook and released as Shannon's hit debut single in 1961, this was originally planned to feature on the album but was later omitted, instead featuring as an iTunes store exclusive bonus track. The track was recorded during a jam session which lasted 12 minutes long but was later cut for the album.
Omitted tracks
Take Love
Believed to have been written by Rodgers, this song was debuted on the North American and Japanese legs of 2005/2006 Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour. The band attempted to record it for the album but could not quite get it to sound right, so they decided to leave it unrecorded.
Singles
Three singles were released from the album: "Say It's Not True" was the lead single from the album, released in the UK on 31 December 2007; it reached #90 in the British charts although had been available as free download for some time. Its video features many clips of the suffering in South Africa as well as clips from Nelson Mandela's 46664 concerts. The single was released for the 46664 charity, with all proceeds being donated there. "C-lebrity" was released as the album's second single on 8 September 2008, reaching #33 in the UK singles charts. Its B-side was a recording of "Fire and Water" live in Japan. "We Believe" was released as a promo single in Italy, and reached #1 in th Virgin radio charts. It was edited down from its original 6 minute album version to a more manageable 3 minutes.
Critical reaction
Cosmos Rocks received a Metacritic score of 42/100.[11] According to Metacritic, the Cosmos Rocks holds the 23rd place in the 'worst-reviewed' albums list.[12] A review on website Pop and Rock gave it two out of five stars "the lyrics were stupid, trite, a bit offensive and bound to have an undermining effect on whatever musical efforts they put behind it".[13] Critic website Pop Matters gave it a largely positive review, stating "Paul Rodgers breathes new life into Queen, while still keeping the band's tremendous legacy intact as they soldier forth with new material into the 21st century". Pop Matters gave the Album a 70/100.[14] Mojo gave it a 60/100, stating "Occasionally they stumble, as on the clunky 'Warboys.' But with Rodgers' imperious, Queen's second coming is vindicated".[15]
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Personnel
Brian May guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards and piano Paul Rodgers lead vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, harmonica Roger Taylor drums, percussion, vocals, keyboards Taylor Hawkins backing vocals on C-lebrity[16]
Charts
Country Charts Sales
Peak position Weeks Certification Sales Estonia Czech Republic Germany Switzerland [17] 1 4 4 5 10 7 7 7 6 5 7 1 8 1 2 7 8 6 1 5 1 4 1 1 6 2 2 1 1 37,144 -
United Kingdom 5 Italy Netherlands Greece Austria [17] [17] 6 8 9 11 15 15 [17] 16 18 20 24 24 25 28 31 33 40 20 47 47 [17] 49
[17]
Denmark Sweden
[17]
[17] [17]
Portugal France
[17] [17]
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Formats
Standard CD Special Edition CD and DVD Tour Edition (Queen Online only) Gatefold Vinyl iTunes Music Store edition
Tour
The "Rock the Cosmos Tour" began in September 2008 to promote the release of this album. The opening date was recorded for a DVD release, and was broadcast across digital video theatres across the United States on 6 November 2008 under the title "Let the Cosmos Rock". The tour included one of the largest open air concerts in Kharkiv, Ukraine which garnered 350,000 people. Over the course of the tour, Queen played to just short of a million viewers.
External links
Queen Archives [18] The Cosmos Rocks interviews and reviews
References
[1] EMI Music Japan (http:/ / www. emimusic. jp/ queen/ index_j. htm) [2] Classic Rock, October 2008. [3] http:/ / www. ft. com/ cms/ s/ 0/ 81b56d46-812d-11dd-82dd-000077b07658. html [4] http:/ / www. queencuttings. com/ dblog/ articolo. asp?articolo=406 [5] Record Collector, November 2008. [6] http:/ / www. rollingstone. com/ reviews/ album/ 23506959/ review/ 23589020/ the_cosmos_rocks?rating=3 [7] http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ music/ 2008/ sep/ 12/ popandrockreview. queen [8] Total Guitar, October 2008. [9] "New North American Release Date." queenonline.com, 15 August 2008 (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ qpr/ news/ 653) [10] "Queen plot return with new album." BBC, 20 March 2008 (http:/ / newsvote. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ 7306006. stm) [11] metacritic.com: Cosmos Rocks by Queen + Paul Rodgers (http:/ / www. metacritic. com/ music/ artists/ queenpluspaulrodgers/ cosmosrocks) [12] metacritic.com: Bottom 100 Scores: The Worst-Reviewed Albums (http:/ / www. metacritic. com/ music/ bests) [13] http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ music/ 2008/ sep/ 12/ popandrockreview. queen [14] http:/ / www. popmatters. com/ pm/ review/ queen-paul-rodgers-the-cosmos-rocks [15] http:/ / www. metacritic. com/ music/ artists/ queenpluspaulrodgers/ cosmosrocks [16] "Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Guests On Upcoming Queen + Paul Rodgers Album." Komodo Rock, 3 September 2008 (http:/ / www. komodorock. com/ new-releases/ cd-releases/ foo-fighters-taylor-hawkins-guests-on-upcoming-queen-+ -paul-rodgers-album-200809037288) [17] swisscharts.com. Queen + Paul Rodgers The Cosmos Rocks (http:/ / swisscharts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=Queen+ + + Paul+ Rodgers& titel=The+ Cosmos+ Rocks& cat=a). Retrieved 21 January 2010. [18] http:/ / www. queenarchives. com/ index. php?title=The_Cosmos_Rocks_Press
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003602379 http://www.thewebisode.com/blog/2006/08/queen-to-record-new-studio-album.html
Five Live
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Five Live
Five Live (EP)
EP by George Michael and Queen with Lisa Stansfield Released Recorded Genre Length Label April 19, 1993 April 1992 Pop rock, dance-pop 28:46 Hollywood (U.S./Canada) Parlophone (Rest of world) Queen George Michael Roy Thomas Baker Professional reviews Allmusic link [1]
Producer
Older (1996)
Queen chronology
So Natural (1993)
Five Live Five Live, released in 1993, features five (in some countries, where it is considered to be a reduced-length long-playing album, six) tracks, performed by George Michael, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield. "Somebody to Love" and "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (both also available on video) were recorded at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, held on April 20, 1992, at Wembley Stadium. In particular, the live performance of the opener gave Michael a lot more credibility as an adult artist, making him one of the few acts of the evening to be praised for fitting Mercury's shoes. All proceeds from the sale of the EP benefited the Mercury Phoenix Trust. Sales of the record were in fact very strong throughout Europe, where it debuted at Number One, in the UK Singles Chart, and several European countries, either considered as a single, an extended play, or an LP. Chart success in the U.S. was far less spectacular, but the EP still peaked at Number 30 on the Billboard 200. An edited shorter version of "Killer" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," a live medley already (performed by George at the Wembley Arena), was released by George Michael as a further independent single, in some territories only. The singer also shot a video for it, where he did not appear personally though (it was during the time when the artist refused to exploit his outward look, which he thought would distract the audience from the music, his main concern). The video was directed by Marcus Nispel. While "These Are the Days of Our Lives," played by Queen, is actually a duet between George Michael and Lisa Stansfield, the sixth optional track is represented by a short performance by Queen, entitled "Dear Friends," originally sung by Freddie Mercury himself. Recorded in 1974, this constitutes the one studio recording on the record. Usually, countries where the six-track work is distributed consider it to be as a short LP, whereas those where the five-track (hence, its title) work is available generally tend to see it as an EP or even (if "Killer/Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" was not marketed independently in those same territories) as a particularly long or content-rich single. However, no matter its status, whether an EP, a short album or a long single, the work as a whole sold an estimated 5 million copies worldwide.
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Track listing
1. "Somebody to Love" (Freddie Mercury) 5:17 (U.S. #30) Performed by Queen and George Michael 2. "Killer" (Adam Tinley/Seal-Henry Samuel) 5:58 Performed by George Michael 3. "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (Norman Whitfield/Barrett Strong) 5:24 Performed by George Michael 4. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (Queen) 4:43 Performed by Queen, George Michael and Lisa Stansfield 5. "Calling You" (Bob Telson) 6:17 Performed by George Michael 6. "Dear Friends" (Brian May) 1:07 (some releases only) Performed by Queen (1974 studio recording) Note: On some CD releases in the UK, tracks 2 and 3 are grouped together as one.
Five Live
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Certifications
Country Austria Certification Gold Gold Gold [12] [13] [14] [15]
[2]
[16] [17]
New Zealand Albums Chart Norwegian Albums Chart Spanish Albums Chart [9] [2]
[2]
[2]
[10] [11]
US Billboard 200
Release details
Country The Netherlands France Date 1993 Label EMI Format CD Catalog 0777 7 89418 2 8 PM 517
References
[1] http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ album/ r177656/ review [2] Peak positions (http:/ / australian-charts. com/ showitem. asp?interpret=George+ Michael+ And+ Queen+ with+ Lisa+ Stansfield& titel=Five+ Live& cat=a). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [3] Top Albums/CDs - Volume 57, No. 18, May 15 1993 (http:/ / www. collectionscanada. gc. ca/ rpm/ 028020-119. 01-e. php?brws_s=1& file_num=nlc008388. 1761& type=2& interval=24& PHPSESSID=j1iht2pthc1l2l46a8t2hqlbk3). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [4] Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Class (http:/ / infodisc. fr/ Albums_ChartRun. php). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [5] Single-Chartverfolgung (http:/ / www. musicline. de/ de/ chartverfolgung_summary/ artist/ MICHAEL,GEORGE/ single). Retrieved May 4, 2011.
Five Live
[6] Hungarian Albums Chart (http:/ / www. mahasz. hu/ ?menu=slagerlistak& menu2=archivum& lista=top40& ev=1993& het=20& submit_=Keress). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [7] The Irish Charts (http:/ / www. irishcharts. ie/ search/ placement). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [8] George Michael albums sales ranking (http:/ / www. oricon. co. jp/ prof/ artist/ 88084/ ranking/ cd_album/ ). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [9] Spanish Albums Chart (http:/ / afyvecharts. blogspot. com/ 2007/ 08/ 1993-albumes-1-parte. html). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [10] Top 75 Releases (http:/ / www. theofficialcharts. com/ artist/ _/ george michael/ ). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [11] Billboard albums (http:/ / www. allmusic. com/ artist/ george-michael-p4909/ charts-awards). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [12] Gold & Platin (http:/ / www. ifpi. at/ ?section=goldplatin). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [13] Les Certifications depuis 1973 (http:/ / infodisc. fr/ Certif_Album. php). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [14] Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (http:/ / www. musikindustrie. de/ gold_platin_datenbank/ ). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [15] Goud/Platina Muziek (http:/ / www. nvpi. nl/ nvpi/ pagina. asp?pagkey=60461). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [16] Awards 1993 (http:/ / swisscharts. com/ awards. asp?year=1993). Retrieved May 4, 2011. [17] Certified awards search (http:/ / www. bpi. co. uk/ certifiedawards/ search. aspx). Retrieved May 3, 2011.
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Live in Ukraine
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Live in Ukraine
Live in Ukraine
Live album by Queen + Paul Rodgers Released Recorded Genre Length Label June 15, 2009 (CD & DVD) September 12, 2008 in Kharkiv Rock 120:26 Parlophone (Europe) Hollywood Records (US) Joshua J Macrae Justin Shirley Smith Kris Fredriksson Queen + Paul Rodgers chronology
Producer
Live in Ukraine is a double live album and also last release by British rock band Queen + Paul Rodgers. It was recorded in September 2008 during the Rock the Cosmos Tour at Freedom Square in Kharkiv, Ukraine and was released on June 15, 2009. A companion DVD was also released.
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History
Just weeks ahead of the start of the Rock the Cosmos Tour the band were approached to help Ukraines Elena Pinchuk AntiAids Foundation reach out to the youth of the country with this message: Dont Let AIDS Ruin Your Life. The venue they played was Kharkivs historic Freedom Square, a place so big that during World War II it was used to land planes. For the band and crew it meant Everyone had to run very fast, very suddenly, but then most of the great and worthwhile things in your life are a little dangerous. Over 350,000 Ukrainians came to see them play and more than 10,000,000 (by conservatives estimates) homes watched the show live on television. In all, more than 20,000,000 took part in what the band recall as an unforgettable experience one of those rare things in life you know you will never forget. A meeting in music, but also a coming together to fight a common enemy
Track listing
Disc 1
1. "One Vision" (John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor) - 4:03 2. "Tie Your Mother Down" (May) - 2:29 3. "The Show Must Go On" (Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor) - 4:37 4. "Fat Bottomed Girls" (May) - 5:00 5. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon) 3:35 6. "Hammer to Fall" (May) - 3:42 7. "I Want It All" (Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor) - 4:10 8. "I Want to Break Free" (Deacon) - 3:55 9. "Seagull" (Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs) 4:50 10. "Love of My Life" (Mercury) - 5:45 Lead vocals by May. 11. "'39" (May) - 4:37 Lead vocals by May. 12. "Drum Solo" (Taylor) - 5:00 13. "I'm in Love with My Car" (Taylor) - 3:42 Lead vocals by Taylor. 14. "Say It's Not True" (Taylor) - 4:02 Lead vocals by Taylor, May & Rodgers.
Kharkiv's Freedom Square
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Disc 2
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. "Shooting Star" (Rodgers) - 6:21 "Bad Company" (Simon Kirke, Rodgers) - 5:36 "Guitar Solo" (May) - 3:58 "Bijou" (Queen) - 2:07 Lead vocals by Mercury (via tape) "Last Horizon" (May) - 4:32 "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Mercury) - 4:04 "C-lebrity" (Taylor) - 3:52 "Feel Like Makin' Love" (Rodgers, Ralphs) - 6:45 "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Mercury) - 5:53 Pre-recorded vocals by Mercury, with lead vocals by Rodgers. "Cosmos Rockin'" (Taylor) - 4:28 "All Right Now" (Andy Fraser, Rodgers) - 5:31 "We Will Rock You" (May) - 2:19 "We Are the Champions" (Mercury) - 2:59 "God Save the Queen" (Traditional, arr. May) - 2:05
Personnel
Brian May: Guitars, arrangements, vocals. Roger Taylor: Drums, percussion, vocals. Paul Rodgers: Vocals, guitars, piano.
Additional personnel
Spike Edney: Keyboards, percussion, vocals. Jamie Moses: Guitars, vocals. Danny Miranda: Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals.
Formats
DVD Amaray Box Limited Edition (2CD Album + DVD) Tin Box (2CD Album + DVD + T-shirt) Digital Download (Audio only)
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External links
Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation (Russian Language) [1] Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation (English Language) [2] Concert Official Website - photo gallery etc (Russian Language) [3] The Mercury Phoenix Trust [1]
References
[1] http:/ / www. antiaids. org [2] http:/ / www. antiaids. org/ en [3] http:/ / www. lifemustgoon. net/ press/ gallery
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Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour was a world concert tour by Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, joined by singer Paul Rodgers under the moniker of Queen + Paul Rodgers. The tour was Queen's first since 1986 and the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in November 1991. Bassist John Deacon also did not take part due to his retirement in 1997.
History
The origins of the collaboration came when Brian May played at the Fender Strat Pack concert in 2004. Now for the first time, he joined Paul Rodgers for a rendition of Free's classic, "All Right Now". After this Brian spoke of a chemistry between the two of them. Following this, Brian invited Paul to play with Queen at their induction to the UK Music Hall of Fame. Again citing a new excitement with Rodgers, the three announced they would tour in 2005. The tour originally was meant only to include Europe and the 46664 concerts of that year. However at the end of the European tour, some dates in the USA and Japan were added. In 2006, a full scale US tour was undertaken.
The show
The stage design was minimal for the tour, the main feature being a large thrust runway which extended out into the audience. This would frequently be used by Rodgers & May. It also served as a B-stage of sorts, with the acoustic set being performed from there. A large moving lighting rig was used at all venues that could accommodate it. One screen would periodically play nostalgic footage. A mirrorball was used during "Last Horizon". The show would usually begin with the Eminem song "Lose Yourself" being played over the PA system. Toward the end of the song the guitar would join in from behind the curtain. This was used to build tension before the appearance of Rodgers and the song "Reachin' Out". Thought by many to be a new song, it was however a charity song that both Brian & Paul had taken part in during the 90s. The Band would then perform both Queen & Rodgers' favorites. A short acoustic section would follow with Taylor and May handling the lead vocals. Depending on the condition of Rodgers voice he would either join in the second verse of "Hammer to Fall", or leave it to May & Taylor. Taylor would sing "I'm in Love With My Car" whilst playing the drums. For "These Are the Days of Our Lives" & "Radio Ga Ga", Taylor would leave the drum kit and sing from the front of the stage, the drums would instead would be samples from the studio original, controlled by Edney. "Bohemian Rhapsody", by magic of modern technology would be a duet between Freddie Mercury & Rodgers. Freddie's vocals from Wembley would be used whilst the video of him played on the screen. The rest of the band would supply the music. After the operatic section, Rodgers would sing the heavy part.
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Setlist
2005
1. Lose Yourself [tape] 2. Reachin' Out 3. Tie Your Mother Down 4. I Want to Break Free 5. Fat Bottomed Girls 6. Wishing Well 7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 8. Say It's Not True 9. '39 10. Love of My Life 11. Long Away (1 Verse) 12. Imagine (Hyde Park only) 13. Hammer to Fall (slow/fast) 14. Feel Like Makin' Love 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Let There Be Drums I'm in Love With My Car Brighton Rock Solo Last Horizon These Are the Days of Our Lives Radio Ga Ga Can't Get Enough A Kind Of Magic I Want It All Bohemian Rhapsody
Encore:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Another One Bites The Dust All Right Now We Will Rock You We Are the Champions God Save the Queen [tape]
Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour Other songs Little Bit of Love (first six concerts) Seagull (first six concerts) Fire and Water (Belfast, Dublin and Tokyo)
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Queen + Paul Rodgers performing at Cologne on July 6, 2005 during their European Leg
2006
1. Lose Yourself [tape] 2. Reachin' Out 3. Tie Your Mother Down 4. Fat Bottomed Girls 5. Can't Get Enough 6. Take Love 7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 8. Love of My Life 9. Hammer to Fall fast 10. Feel Like Makin' Love 11. Let There Be Drums 12. I'm in Love With My Car 13. Guitar solo 14. Last Horizon 15. Bad Company 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. Another One Bites The Dust These Are the Days of Our Lives Radio Ga Ga Under Pressure The Show Must Go On Bohemian Rhapsody
Encore: 1. We Will Rock You 2. All Right Now 3. We Are the Champions 4. God Save the Queen [tape]
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Tour dates
Date City Country First Leg South Africa March 19, 2005 George South Africa Second Leg Europe March 28, 2005 March 30, 2005 April 1, 2005 April 2, 2005 April 4, 2005 April 5, 2005 April 7, 2005 April 8, 2005 April 10, 2005 April 13, 2005 April 14, 2005 April 16, 2005 April 17, 2005 April 19, 2005 April 20, 2005 April 23, 2005 April 25, 2005 April 26, 2005 April 28, 2005 April 30, 2005 May 3, 2005 May 4, 2005 May 6, 2005 May 7, 2005 May 9, 2005 May 11, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 14, 2005 July 2, 2005 July 6, 2005 July 10, 2005 July 15, 2005 London Paris Madrid Barcelona Rome Milan Florence Pesaro Basel Vienna Munich Prague Leipzig Frankfurt Antwerpen Budapest Dortmund Rotterdam Hamburg Stockholm Newcastle Manchester Birmingham Cardiff Sheffield London Belfast Dublin Lisbon Cologne Arnhem London Northern Ireland Ireland Portugal Germany The Netherlands United Kingdom Belgium Hungary Germany The Netherlands Germany Sweden United Kingdom Switzerland Austria Germany Czech Republic Germany Italy United Kingdom France Spain Brixton Academy Le Zenith Palacio de Deportes Palau Sant Jordi Palalottomatica Datch Forum di Assago Nelson Mandela Forum BPA Palas St. Jakobshalle Stadthalle Olympiahalle Sazka Arena Leipzig Arena Festhalle Sportpaleis Budapest Sports Arena Westfalenhalle Ahoy Hall Color Line Arena Globen Metro Radio Arena MEN Arena NEC Arena Cardiff International Arena Hallam FM Arena Wembley Arena Odyssey Arena Point Theatre Estdio do Restelo Rhein-Energie Stadion Gelredome Hyde Park Fancourt Venue
Third Leg Aruba, United States October 8, 2005 Oranjestad Aruba Aruba Entertainment Center
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East Rutherford Los Angeles Fourth Leg Japan United States Continental Airlines Arena Hollywood Bowl
October 26, 2005 October 27, 2005 October 29, 2005 October 30, 2005 November 1, 2005 November 3, 2005
Saitama
Japan
Yokohama
Yokohama Arena
March 3, 2006 March 4, 2006 March 7, 2006 March 8, 2006 March 10, 2006 March 12, 2006 March 14, 2006 March 16, 2006 March 17, 2006 March 20, 2006 March 21, 2006 March 23, 2006 March 24, 2006 March 26, 2006 March 27, 2006 March 31, 2006 April 1, 2006 April 3, 2006 April 5, 2006 April 7, 2006 April 10, 2006 April 11, 2006 April 13, 2006 May 25, 2006
Miami Jacksonville Duluth Washington, D.C. Worcester Uniondale Philadelphia Toronto Buffalo Pittsburgh Cleveland Rosemont Auburn Hills St. Paul Milwaukee Glendale San Diego Anaheim San Jose Las Vegas Seattle Portland Vancouver Las Vegas
United States
American Airlines Arena Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena Gwinnett Center MCI Center DCU Center Nassau Coliseum Wachovia Spectrum
Air Canada Centre HSBC Arena Mellon Arena Quicken Loans Arena Allstate Arena Palace of Auburn Hills Xcel Energy Center Bradley Center Glendale Arena Cox Arena Arrowhead Pond HP Pavilion Center MGM Grand Arena Key Arena Rose Garden Arena
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Personnel
Brian May Lead Guitar, Vocals Roger Taylor drums, percussion, Vocals Paul Rodgers Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano
External links
Queen Concerts [1] Queen + Paul Rodgers official site [2]
References
[1] http:/ / www. queenconcerts. com/ live/ queen/ paul. html [2] http:/ / www. queenonline. com
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Queen + Paul Rodgers tour chronology Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour (2005-2006) Rock The Cosmos Tour (2008)
The Rock The Cosmos Tour was the second and last concert tour by Queen + Paul Rodgers, promoting their first and only studio album "The Cosmos Rocks". The opening date was recorded for a DVD release.[1] which was released on 15 June 2009. The tour included one of the largest open air concerts in Kharkiv, Ukraine which garnered 350,000 people. Over the course of the tour, they played to just short of one million viewers.[2]
Setlist
Main set
1. "Cosmos Rockin'/Surf's Up...School's Out!" [intro tape] 2. One Vision 3. "Tie Your Mother Down" 4. The Show Must Go On 5. "Fat Bottomed Girls" 6. "Another One Bites the Dust" 7. "Hammer to Fall" 8. "I Want It All" 9. "I Want to Break Free" 10. "Seagull" (Paul Rodgers solo) 11. "Love of My Life" 12. "'39" 13. "Bass Solo" (Danny Miranda + Roger Taylor) 14. "Drum Solo" (building the drum kit) 15. "I'm In Love With My Car" 16. "Say It's Not True" 17. "Bad Company" 18. "We Believe" 19. "Guitar Solo" 20. "Bijou" (with Freddie Mercury studio vocals) 21. "Last Horizon" 22. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 23. C-lebrity
Rock the Cosmos Tour 24. Feel Like Making Love 25. Radio Ga Ga 26. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Pre-recorded vocals by Freddie Mercury, with lead vocals by Paul Rodgers) Encores: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. "Cosmos Rockin'" "All Right Now" "We Will Rock You" "We Are the Champions" "God Save the Queen" [tape]
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Other songs
"Wishing Well" (Kharkiv, Moscow) "Shooting Star" (Kharkiv, Moscow) "Warboys" (Moscow, Riga, Berlin) "Time to Shine" (Antwerp) "The Stealer" (Zurich) "Las Palabras de Amor" (Madrid, Santiago, Buenos Aires) "Tavaszi Szel" (Budapest) "Blue Danube Waltz" (Vienna) "Voodoo" (Newcastle, Manchester, London, Dubai, Santiago) "Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner" (London) "Under Pressure" (Buenos Aires, So Paulo, Rio) "Keep Yourself Alive Instrumental (London)
Tour dates
Date City Country Europe September 12, 2008 September 15, 2008 September 16, 2008 September 19, 2008 September 21, 2008 September 23, 2008 September 24, 2008 September 26, 2008 September 28, 2008 September 29, 2008 October 1, 2008 October 2, 2008 October 4, 2008 October 5, 2008 October 7, 2008 Riga Berlin Antwerp Paris Rome Milan Zurich Munich Mannheim Hannover Hamburg Rotterdam Netherlands Switzerland Germany Latvia Germany Belgium France Italy Arena Riga Berlin Velodrom Sportpaleis Merksem Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Palalottomatica Datchforum Hallenstadion Olympiahalle SAP Arena TUI Arena Color Line Arena Ahoy Rotterdam Kharkiv Moscow Ukraine Russia Freedom Square Olympic Arena Venue
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October 8, 2008 October 10, 2008 October 11, 2008 October 13, 2008 October 14, 2008 October 16, 2008 October 18, 2008 October 19, 2008 October 22, 2008 October 24, 2008 October 25, 2008 October 28, 2008 October 29, 2008 October 31, 2008 November 1, 2008 November 4, 2008 November 5, 2008 November 7, 2008 November 8, 2008 Middle East November 14, 2008 Dubai UAE South America November 19, 2008 Santiago Chile Argentina Brazil Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo Estadio Jos Amalfitani Via Funchal Dubai Festival City Luxembourg Nottingham Glasgow London Cardiff Birmingham Liverpool Sheffield Barcelona Murcia Madrid Budapest Belgrade Prague Vienna Newcastle Manchester London Hungary Serbia Czech Republic Austria United Kingdom Spain Luxembourg United Kingdom Rockhal Nottingham Arena S.E.C.C. Arena O2 Arena Cardiff International Arena National Indoor Arena Echo Arena Sheffield Arena Palau Sant Jordi Estadio La Condomina Palacio de los Deportes Budapest Sports Arena Belgrade Arena O2 Arena Wiener Stadthalle Metro Radio Arena MEN Arena O2 Arena Wembley Arena
November 21, 2008 Buenos Aires November 26, 2008 November 27, 2008 November 29, 2008 Rio de Janeiro So Paulo
HSBC Arena
Personnel
Brian May Lead Guitar, Vocals Roger Taylor Drums, Percussion, Vocals Paul Rodgers Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Harmonica Freddie Mercury Pre-recorded Lead Vocals Spike Edney Synthesizer, Piano, Keytar, Accordion, Backing Vocals Danny Miranda Bass Guitar, Electric Upright Bass, Backing Vocals Jamie Moses Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals, Electric Upright Bass on "Bass Solo" (Cardiff & Birmingham gigs only) Neil Murray (replacing Danny Miranda In Cardiff & Birmingham) - Bass Guitar, Electric Upright Bass on "'39" Al Murray was a guest at the first O2 gig and sang "Cosmos Rockin'" with Paul. Ivars Godmanis was a guest in Riga playing the drums on "All Right Now", with Taylor on tambourine.[3] [4]
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References
[1] http:/ / queentour2005wegotitat. blogspot. com/ 2008/ 08/ 12-sep-08-kharkov-concert-will-be. html [2] http:/ / www. queenconcerts. com/ live/ current-tour. html [3] "Queen + Ivars Godmanis" (http:/ / www. queenonline. com/ qpr/ news/ 734/ ). Queen Productions. 22 September 2008. . Retrieved 2009-11-04. [4] "Queen News September 2008" (http:/ / www. brianmay. com/ queen/ queennews/ queennewssep08c. html). Brianmay.com. . Retrieved 2009-11-04.
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Cinematography Anthony Richmond Distributed by Release date(s) Running time Language Almi Cinema 5 August, 1980 90 min. English
The Concert for Kampuchea (subtitled "Rock for Kampuchea") is a musical film from the best of the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea. The film was directed by Keith McMillan and was 4 nights of concerts in Hammersmith Odeon to raise money for the victims of Pol Pot's reign of terror in Cambodia. The event was organized by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim (who was then Secretary-General of the U.N.), and it involved well-established artists such as McCartney, The Who and Queen as well as younger punk and new wave acts like The Clash and the Pretenders. The film finishes with the presentation of Wings' Rockestra (more of 25 musicians playing together). Filmed in 1979, Concert for Kampuchea did not receive American theatrical distribution until it was picked up by Miramax in 1988.
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Track listing
Opening commentary by David A Lee, crabby Performed by Queen: Now I'm Here Cumquat Serenade by Dave Lee '39 Performed by Matumbi: Guide Us Jah (In Your Own Way) Performed by The Clash: Armagideon Time Performed by The Pretenders: The Wait Performed by Wings: Got To Get You Into My Life Getting Closer Every Night Arrow Through Me Coming Up Performed by The Specials: Monkey Man Performed by Elvis Costello & The Attractions: The Imposter Performed by Rockpile Crawling From The Wreckage Little Sister (with Robert Plant) Performed by Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Sweet Gene Vincent Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick Performed by The Who: Performed by Billy Connolly: Introduction to the Rockestra Performed by the Rockestra: Lucille Let It Be Rockestra Theme
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External links
The Concert for Kampuchea [1] at the Internet Movie Database The Concert for Kampuchea [2] at Allmovie.
References
[1] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0162254/ [2] http:/ / www. allmovie. com/ cg/ avg. dll?p=avg& sql=1:124587~T0
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Video by Queen + Paul Rodgers Released Genre Label Producer April 28, 2006 (Japan only) Rock EMI Music Japan Simon Lupton Queen + Paul Rodgers video chronology
Super Live in Japan is a DVD by Queen + Paul Rodgers, capturing the performances in Saitama Super Arena in Japan on 27 October 2005 from their world tour, featuring songs from both Queen and Rodgers' catalogues. 15 of these songs will become available on DVD to the rest of the world as a Bonus DVD for the new Queen + Paul Rodgers studio album The Cosmos Rocks. The songs are marked as such: *. Fire and Water will be released on the digital single for C-lebrity, and Fire and Water and The Show Must Go On will be available to download on the C-lebrity iTunes exclusive single.
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Disc one
Lead vocals by Paul Rodgers, except where noted. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Reaching Out* Tie Your Mother Down* Fat Bottomed Girls* Another One Bites the Dust* Fire and Water* Crazy Little Thing Called Love* Say It's Not True
Lead vocals: Roger Taylor 8. '39 Lead vocals: Brian May 9. Love of My Life Lead vocals: Brian May 10. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)* Lead vocals: Brian May and Paul Rodgers 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Hammer to Fall Feel Like Makin' Love Let There Be Drums I'm in Love With My Car Lead vocals: Roger Taylor Guitar Solo Last Horizon These Are the Days of Our Lives*
Lead vocals: Roger Taylor 18. Radio Ga Ga* 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Lead vocals: Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers Can't Get Enough* A Kind Of Magic Wishing Well I Want It All Bohemian Rhapsody
Lead vocals: Freddie Mercury (pre-recorded) and Paul Rodgers 24. I Was Born to Love You* 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. Lead vocals: Brian May and Roger Taylor The Show Must Go On All Right Now* We Will Rock You* We Are the Champions* God Save the Queen (tape)*
DVD produced by Simon Lupton. Audio for DVD produced by Justin Shirley-Smith & Kris Fredriksson.
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Disc two
The Second Disc contains a Queen + Paul Rodgers documentary shot in Budapest.
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License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/