Chapter 12: The Works

The Works is the band's eleventh studio album, it marked a partial return to their rock roots, although with a much lighter approach. It has also the heaviest electronics amongst all group 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.

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.[1] 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.

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. 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 February 27, 1984.

1. Radio Ga Ga

"Radio Ga Ga" is a song performed and recorded by 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 an enormous worldwide success for the band. It reached number two in the UK (kept from the number one spot only by Frankie Goes To Hollywood's smash hit "Relax"). In the USA it reached the number 16 spot. This was to be their last Top 20 hit single in the US until 1992.

The song was a commentary on the invention of television's overtaking radio's popularity and how one would listen to radio for a favorite comedy, drama, or sci-fi program and so on. It also pertained to the advent of the music video and MTV. (Ironically, the video would become a regular staple on MTV in 1984.) Taylor originally conceived of it as "Radio Ca-Ca" (apparently from something his toddler son once said), a slam against radio for the decrease in variety of programming and the type of music being played. It was eventually changed to "Radio Ga Ga", because that sounded better, clearer, and rolled off the tongue more easily. There are rumors that the publishers objected to the original title because of the close resemblance of "Ca-Ca" to a common word for feces in many languages.[citation needed]

The song makes a reference to the broadcast of Orson Welles's The War of the Worlds, in the verse "through wars of worlds/invaded by Mars".

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 appeggiated 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.

David Mallet's music video for the song features scenes from Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi movie Metropolis—Freddie 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. Critics said that the video looked like a "Nuremberg Rally" much to Roger Taylor's dislike. 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, illustrating the changes and the influence videos received through the years. In the video Taylor tries to turn right in the vehicle but the vehicle moves to his left, he quickly tries to correct this but the video still shows the error.

In the video, a different version of Bohemian Rhapsody was shown. It can clearly be seen that there are flames around the four members of Queen in the clip.

Queen played a shorter, uptempo version of "Radio Ga Ga" at the Live Aid charity event in 1985 at the Old Wembley Stadium. 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 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.

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 just 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.

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." [1] Roger Taylor has said the video is tasteless and that he will "wait for the royalties". On the other hand, Brian May reportedly enjoyed the video.
* 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).

Influences:

* "Radio Ga Ga" is also the name of a radio station in Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely), Romania, in 88 FM (in the region).[2]
* "Radio Gaga" is also a Norwegian cartoon published in the Norwegian cartoon album pondus.[3]
* "Radio Ga Ga" is also a radio program broadcast on Melbourne's (Australia) 3WBC-FM - 94.1FM locally. See [4]
* "Radio Gaga" is also a Macintosh computer program for listening to and recording Internet radio.
* American pop singer-songwriter and musician Lady Gaga named herself after this song.

2. 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.

3. It's A Hard Life

"It's a Hard Life" is a song by English 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 opening lyric 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."

Musically, the song strongly features 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.

Tim Pope's video which accompanies the song (which is full of visual jokes) 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 [1] 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"[1]. Both Roger Taylor and Brian May[2] 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.

4. Man On The Prowl

"Man on the Prowl" is a three-chord rockabilly Mercury composition (similar to "Crazy Little Thing Called Love") in which Fred Mandel plays the piano ending. Note that "Tear It Up", "It's a Hard Life" and this song are free of synthesizers. Mercury played rhythm guitar throughout the song, while May played the solo using a Telecaster.

5. Machines (Or 'Back To Humans')

"Machines (Or 'Back to Humans')" came up as an idea by Taylor, and May collaborated with him and finished it. Producer Reinhold Mack programmed the synth-"demolition" using a Fairlight CMI II Sampler, and the song is sung as a duet between two Mercury (harmonising with each other) and a robotic Taylor (using a Roland VP330 Vocoder). The instrumental remix of the song samples parts of "Ogre Battle" from Queen's second album Queen II. This song, along with Radio Ga Ga are some of the heaviest uses of electronics on the album.

6. I Want To Break Free

"I Want to Break Free" was written by bassist John Deacon. In the UK Chart, it peaked at number 3, and remained in the chart for fifteen consecutive weeks from its release in late April 1984. Most of the song follows the traditional 12 bar blues progression in E Major, a rare thing for a Queen song.

Two differing versions of the song are in circulation. The version on The Works is in fact shorter than the single remix by 61 seconds, because of a fade-in synthesiser introduction and a longer solo in which both the synthesiser and guitar feature separately. This is in contrast to "Hammer to Fall", a song which was edited down by thirty seconds from the album version to be released as a single. The promotional 45 sent to radio stations by Capitol Records had both versions on either side. However, Queen's name and the song title were deliberately left off one, so the labels read "Special Single Mix (Queen 4:21)" and "Special Single Mix-Edited (3:59).

The music video, directed by David Mallet, was a parody of the northern British soap opera Coronation Street. During part of the video, the band members dressed in drag, as mildly similar characters found in the soap at the time; Mercury's character was loosely based on Bet Lynch, while May's character was based on Hilda Ogden.[1] The video also depicted the band in what appeared to be a coal mine in their normal look, and it also features a ballet piece with the Royal Ballet (one of the dancers was Jeremy Sheffield), for which Freddie Mercury shaved his trademark moustache to portray Nijinsky (though he had kept it for the parody part of the video, interestingly enough). According to Brian May in an interview about Queen's Greatest Hits, the video ruined the band in America, where many people - unlike the case in the UK - failed to see the soap-opera connection & interpreted the video as an open declaration of transvestitism and Mercury’s homosexuality. This might explain why singles failed to go above #40 in the US Billboard charts after "Radio Ga Ga", until The Show Must Go On reached No. 2. The video was initially banned by MTV in the U.S., but the ban was lifted in 1991 when it aired on VH1's My Generation 2-part episodes devoted to Queen hosted by guitarist Brian May. The song received renewed attention when it was used in a media advertising campaign for Safeway.

Cover versions:

* In 1998, Masterboy made a dance cover.
* Belgian singer Arno Hintjens recorded a cover of the song.
* In 2006, Dewa 19, one of the bestselling Indonesian rock bands covered the song on their album Republik Cinta (Republic of Love).
* A ska version was recorded and released by Australian ska band Area 7.
* Las Vegas band, The Cab, released a cover of this song in June 2009 on The Lady Luck EP

Live cover performances:

* At the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, Lisa Stansfield performed the song. She entered the Wembley stage wearing hair curlers (à la Hilda Ogden) and pushing a vacuum cleaner in a direct reference and tribute to the song's video.

* Extreme performed the song live a few times. Most notably, they played a bit of it during their medley on the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. They also performed it live in London around the same time with Brian May himself as a guest guitarist.

Parodies

In the late 1990s, the Spanish TV program "El Informal" made a parody of the videoclip of the song. The song was called "Me Quiero Reír" (I Want to Laugh) and it featured the presenters dressed as the band members and performing funny sketches.

7. Keep Passing the Open Windows

"Keep Passing the Open Windows" was written by Mercury in 1983 for the film version of The Hotel New Hampshire, based on a novel by John Irving. The phrase is mentioned on a number of occasions throughout the film and was, according to the opening credits, also co-produced by the band's manager Jim Beach, who changed it in order to suit the album mood better. Mercury played piano and synths and wrote the lyrics after reading the quote in the book.

8. Hammer To Fall

"Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 hard rock 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 favorite 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 the EUA and 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 lyrics 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 song, however, contains many more references to death and its inevitability:

Rich or poor or famous
For your truth it's all the same (oh no oh no)
Lock your door while the rain is pouring
Through your window pane (oh no)
Baby now your struggle's all in vain, yeah, yeah.

The issue 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!"

9. Is This the World We Created...?

"Is This the World We Created...?" was written in Munich after Mercury and May watched the news. Mercury wrote the lyrics and May wrote the chords. The song was recorded with an Ovation but live they used May's Gibson Chet Atkins CE nylon-stringed guitar.

Chapter 11: Hot Space

Hot Space is released in 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" . This made the album less popular with fans that preferred the traditional rock style they had come to associate with the band, though Hot Space did fit in with the Queen tradition of incorporating many disparate influences into their music.

Queen's decision to record a funk 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). In hindsight, while it seemed a carefully calculated move to capitalise on their incidental interest in "black music", it was considered by some to be a temporary blow to their reputation. While the album's second single "Body Language" did peak at #11 on the U.S. charts, the accompanying video was not accepted to be put on rotation by MTV for its erotic overtones (particularly those that hinted at Freddie Mercury's sexuality) which may have resulted in a backlash from the more conservative sections of the band's fan base.

Despite the controversy over the album's new sound, (Disco/Funk-influenced rock music) "Under Pressure" was well-received by fans and became the band's 2nd #1 hit in the U.K. It also reached #29 in the U.S.

1. Staying Power

"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 doesn't play bass on this song—instead 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.

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 song—rather than a disco-influenced, electronic-funk song.

2. Dancer

The bassline of "Dancer" was played on a synthesiser (a Oberheim OB-Xa) by Brian May. The song itself — a tantalising fusion of rock and funk — 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. 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.

3. Back Chat

"Back Chat", written by bassist John Deacon, is the track most influenced by black music. 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 some Queen 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 equivalent to the American phrase "back talk" (a phrase that is actually mentioned in the song), referring to an argument between two people.

4. Body Language

"Body Language" is a disco/rock hit, 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.

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. It contained no guitar during the body of the song, only a short two-note riff 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.

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 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, eventually becoming the first ever music video to be banned from that television station.

5. Action This Day

"Action This Day", one of two Roger Taylor songs that appear on the album, was clearly influenced by the New Wave movement/style current at the time; the track is driven by a pounding electronic drum machine and features a saxophone-like synthesizer solo, played by producer Mack on an Oberheim OB-Xa. "Action This Day" takes its title from a Winston Churchill catchphrase that the statesman would attach to urgent documents, and recapitulates the theme of social awareness that Taylor espoused in many of his songs. The band performed "Action This Day" live on the Hot Space Tour in a more conventional arrangement, replacing the drum machine and bass synth with a rock rhythm section.

6. Put Out the Fire

"Put Out the Fire" is an anti-firearm song written by Brian May, with lead vocals by Freddie Mercury. May recorded its guitar solo under the influence of alcohol (after many unsuccessful attempts). Though never released as a single, "Put Out the Fire", the album's most 'traditional' Queen song, later appeared on the Queen Rocks compilation in 1997. A new video was also produced for the accompanying video compilation, featuring a live performance of the song intercut with footage of fire and explosions.

7. Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)

Mercury wrote "Life Is Real" as a tribute to John Lennon, whose murder in 1980 had also previously prompted the band to perform his song "Imagine" on tour. Like Lennon's songs, "Life Is Real" features a sparse piano-based arrangement and a melancholy tone. It is also one of the few Queen songs whose lyrics were written before the music ("Killer Queen" being another). The title may be a reference to the lyric "love is real", from Lennon's 1970 song "Love". It contains the slightly offensive line "...Loving like a whore." It begins with three bell-like piano notes, meant to recall the opening bells in Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over," and "Beautiful Boy." Also, the first two words, "Guilt stains..." are virtually identical interval-wise (though in a different key) to Lennon's first two notes in his song, "Mother."

8. Calling All Girls

The first Roger Taylor song (however with Mercury on vocals) to be released as a single (albeit in selected countries, including the United States and Australia, but not the United Kingdom), "Calling All Girls" failed to create much of an impact on the charts where it peaked at #60 in the U.S., despite having an entertaining music video based on the George Lucas film THX 1138. Taylor composed "Calling All Girls" on guitar, and played the feedback noises during the song's break.[4] Queen rarely performed the song on tour, but a live recording from Japan in 1982 is commercially available on the Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl DVD, where "Calling All Girls" accompanies the photo gallery. The single was released in July of 1982 and reached #33 in Canada and #60 in the US.

9. Las Palabras de Amor (The Words Of Love)

"Las Palabras de Amor (The Words Of Love)" is written by Brian May. 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"). 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". 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 Spanish speaking countries, sung by Brian.

This song also made 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".

10. 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 either John or Freddie. On the album version, Mercury sings the entire song in falsetto.[5] The alternate take with Bowie's vocals still intact is widely available on various bootleg recordings[6] 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.

11. Under Pressure

"Under Pressure" marked David Bowie's first released collaboration with another recording artist as a performer, and is featured on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space and on David Bowie's 2002 album Best of Bowie. The song reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also number 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.

Bowie had originally come to the studios in order to sing backing vocals in another Queen song, "Cool Cat," which would end up being edited out since he wasn't satisfied with them. Once he got there, they worked together for a while and wrote the song.

Queen had been working on the song under the title "Feel Like" but were not yet satisfied with the result. 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. 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.

There has been some confusion about who created the song's famous 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 also said on his website that the bassline was already written before he became involved. The September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bassline as the best in popular music history.

Roger Taylor was frequently rumoured to be the song's chief writer. However, it appears that he served more as an intermediary for Mercury and Bowie (two of rock music's biggest stars at the time), being friends with both men. Taylor was involved in the production of the track and did some preliminary mixes with Bowie in New York, but Bowie was unsatisfied with these results and wanted to re-record everything (as claimed by May on a November 1982 interview for IM&RW magazine). In the end, the final mix was done with the involvement of Mercury and recording engineer Mack, under pressure from Bowie and Taylor (according to Brian May in the same 1982 interview).

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.

Chapter 10: The Game

The Game is the eighth studio album by Queen released 30 June 1980. It was the only Queen album to reach the #1 position in both the United Kingdom and 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 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 synthesizer[1] (an Oberheim OB-X). The album's working title was "Play the Game", but Taylor voiced concern about its possible overtones of conformity, so it was changed to simply "The Game".

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 (To The Sister I Never Had)", "Coming Soon", and "Save Me" were recorded from June to July of 1979. The rest of the songs were recorded between February and May of 1980.

1. Play The Game

"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 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.

2. Dragon Attack

3. Another One Bites The Dust

"Another One Bites the Dust" is written by bassist John Deacon.

"Another One Bites the Dust" was a worldwide crossover hit. It hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two on the R&B charts and the Disco Top 100, and number seven in the UK Singles Chart. The song is one of Queen's best selling singles, with sales of over 7 million copies. This version was ranked at number 34 on Billboard's All Time Top 100.

In 1998, it was covered by Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel and featured Free's rap vocals. "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song as "Another One Rides the Bus".

The song was also remixed by eurodance Captain Jack.

The bass line was inspired by the song "Good Times" by the Disco group Chic.[1][2] 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".[3]

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 Harmoniser. There are no synthesizers 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 Harmoniser 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 U.S. radio show In the Studio with Redbeard that spotlighted the album The Game on one episode).

The song garnered Queen its only 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.

A common urban legend surrounding the chorus is that, when played in reverse, will be heard as, "It's fun to smoke marijuana." A spokeswoman for Hollywood Records (Queen's current US label) has denied that the song contains a backward message. In 2008, DJ Lobsterdust released a mix of the song called "It's Fun to Smoke Dust" that combines the original with a recording of Gary Greenwald's 1982 rant about the alleged subliminal message in the song.

During the administration of chest compressions during CPR, it can be difficult to achieve and maintain the recommended rate of 100 compressions per minute[6]. The bass line of this song is at such a rate; thus it is possible to think or hum this song during CPR, to maintain the correct rate.

In 1998, Wyclef Jean along with Pras Michel, Canibus, and Free remixed the song using a new instrumental track and samples from the actual song for the 1998 movie Small Soldiers. This version also 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.

It was Pras' third top-10 UK hit as a solo artist following Ghetto Supastar and Blue Angels.

The song was covered by Queen Factory, a French project of Stéphane Durand who was inspired by Mad'House (house covers of Madonna) and King of House (house covers of Michael Jackson).

The song was remixed and 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.

The song was remixed again in 2006 by The Miami Project.

3. Dragon Attack

4. Need Your Loving Tonight

"Need Your Loving Tonight" is 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.

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 sang backing vocals and Freddie Mercury played piano (both of which were absent in the studio version).

5. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is written Freddie Mercury. While it peaked at number two in the UK, it hit number one on the U.S. charts on February 23, 1980, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. It topped the charts in Australia for six weeks.

The song is written in a rockabilly style. As reported by Mercury in Melody Maker, May 2, 1981, Mercury composed "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" on the guitar in just five to ten minutes.[citation needed] 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).

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.

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.

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.[5] 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.

Other cover versions:

* In 1980 by The Chipmunks on their comeback album, Chipmunk Punk. Respectively their Mexican couterparts Las Ardillitas cover a Spanish version.
* Canadian pop/big band singer Michael Bublé 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.

6. Rock It (Prime Jive)

7. Don't Try Suicide

8. Sail Away Sweet Sister (To the Sister I Never Had)

9. Coming Soon

10. Save Me

"Save Me" is a song by English rock band Queen. This rock ballad was written by guitarist Brian May, who played piano, as well as guitar on the track. It was recorded in 1979 and released in the U.K. on January 25th, 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 1979-1984.

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.

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.