Chapter 13: A Kind Of Magic

A Kind of Magic was the band's twelfth 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. Though the album stalled at #46 in the United States, it rocketed to #1 in the United Kingdom, remaining in the charts for sixty-three weeks and spawning 3 hit singles. The single "A Kind of Magic" only reached #42 in the US despite being featured in Highlander. The album eventually went Gold in the US in 2002. It is Queen's first album with a title track, and every album released thereafter also contained one. 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 affliction with AIDS. For the first time in their career, the band allowed cameras to film them while they were in the studio. The video for "One Vision" shows them in various stages of writing and recording the song.

The album enjoys the status of an unofficial soundtrack for the 1986 film Highlander (for which no official standalone soundtrack album was ever released), as six out of nine songs on the album appeared in the film, although in different versions. The three songs that did not appear in Highlander are "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure", "Friends Will Be Friends" and "One Vision" (which was featured a year earlier in the film Iron Eagle). Conversely, a recording of "Theme from New York, New York" made specifically for a scene in Highlander does not appear on A Kind of Magic, and in fact has never been released in album form to date. According to a statement by Brian May on the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD (2003), at least at that point, he had the intention to work on a proper Highlander soundtrack in the future.

1. One Vision

"One Vision" was 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 featured briefly in the film Highlander playing on the radio in the car of the gun nut, it was also 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.

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 forwards—they 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[1]. 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 a result of a prank that Freddie Mercury played in the studio, as the band had fried chicken for dinner that day. 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).

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 percussions, 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 Maimarktgelände 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.

A remixed version of the song, basically an extended and completely different (but not in structure) version of Roger Taylor's drum section from the song, but retaining the ending (however with a longer version of the music from the end of the song's intro plus an additional non-distorted sond over the final vocals "Vision vision vision vision...", which are like in the single version of the song), and repeating the existing famous distorted vocals (also in a new form, which is the first repetition), plus adding new distorted vocals (although they are nowhere as prominent as the famous ones), has been released as the song's B-side on both the 7" and 12" singles, and titled "Blurred Vision".

"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.

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 isn't known if he actually played some drum parts in the song or if it is just a joke.

"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 at this time.It also made #10 on Australia's ARIA Chart.

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 preceeded 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.

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.

Actor Ricky Groves and his dance partner Erin Boag performed a paso doble to the song in the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing.

2. A Kind Of Magic

"A Kind of Magic" is written by Roger Taylor for the film Highlander. The song reached number three in the UK Singles Chart, but only reached number forty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

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.

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.

The music video for this song was directed by Russell Mulcahy, director of Highlander. Notable is that guitarist Brian May didn't 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 apparently condemned house where Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon (all dressed as stereotypical hobos) 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.

Usage in other media:

* A shortened version of the song is used in the opening credts of the Children's animated series A Kind of Magic.
* The song was heard on a launch promo of Disney Channel in the UK in 1995. But also in 2009 for the launch in the Netherlands and Flanders.
* A sample of Freddie yelling Ha ha ha ha ha it's magic also appears in the Queen version of the song "I Was Born to Love You" from the album Made in Heaven.
* M-Net have used the song in promo's several times, as their motto is "we call it magic".

3. One Year of Love

"One Year of Love" is a song by John Deacon. The album version features Deacon playing Yamaha DX-7 synth, a string orchestra conducted by Lynton Naif and a saxophone played by Steve Gregory. Deacon decided to substitute the guitar components with a saxophone solo after a discussion with May, who doesn't appear in the song. It was released as a single in France and Spain only, and appeared during the bar scene in Highlander. The song was covered by Elaine Paige in 1988, and by Dutch singer Stevie Ann in 2006.

4. Pain Is So Close to Pleasure

"Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" began as a riff idea by May. Then Deacon and Mercury turned that into a song, with Deacon playing rhythm guitar. The song has a Motown style (a first for Queen) and was released as a single in 1986, reaching #26 on the Dutch charts. The title also appears as a line in "One Year of Love". This would be one of the last times Freddie Mercury would sing a Queen song in falsetto.

5. Friends Will Be Friends

"Friends Will Be Friends" was written by Mercury and Deacon, with lyrics written by Mercury (which was confirmed by Brian May on his website)[1]. It's one of the last of Mercury's piano ballads, and it holds many musical similitudes with older Queen material, such as "Play the Game" and "We Are the Champions". It is another song not featured in Highlander. It was noted as being a modern update of the 70's Queen rock anthems "We Are The Champions" and "We Will Rock You" and reached #14 in the UK.

6. Who Wants To Live Forever

"Who Wants to Live Forever" is a power ballad 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. The song peaked at No 24 in the British charts.

The song is used to frame the heart-wrenching scene in the film where Connor MacLeod must endure his beloved wife Heather growing old and dying while he, as an Immortal, is 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 Gordon.

May sings lead vocals on the first verse, before Freddie Mercury takes over for most of the remainder of the song. 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.

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 12 inch 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.
* 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 symphonic metal band After Forever recorded a cover of this song and released it with their single "Emphasis" in 2002.
* Polish singer Edyta Górniak recorded a cover called "Nieśmiertelni" in 2003, released on Moja i Twoja muzyka, RMF FM compilation album.
* 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.
* Stacey Solomon performed the song on the sixth series of The X Factor.

7. Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)

"Gimme the Prize" was written by May. This song is featured in Highlander, and also samples the lines "I have something to say: It's better to burn out than to fade away" and "There can be only one", spoken by actors Clancy Brown (The Kurgan) and Christopher Lambert (Connor MacLeod) respectively. Director Russell Mulcahy states in the DVD commentary that this was his least favourite of the band's songs used in the film because he does not like heavy metal. Brian May also commented (to a Japanese magazine in 1986) that both Mercury and Deacon hated the song. It is one of Queen's heaviest works.

8. Don't Lose Your Head

"Don't Lose Your Head" was composed by Taylor and features Joan Armatrading in a vocal cameo. The song takes its name from a line spoken in Highlander, and is played for a short time when Kurgan kidnaps Brenda. The song then segues into a cover of "Theme from New York, New York", though it is only a small clip. An instrumental version of the track entitled "A Dozen Red Roses for My Darling" is featured as the 'B' side to "A Kind of Magic". This disco experimental track was a joke to not lose your head in battle, in co ordinance with the Highlander movie.

9. Princes Of The Universe

"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. 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. The song was never released as a single in the UK, and while not a charting hit, it is considered a cult favorite because of its relation to the film.

The music video was directed by Russel 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 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 guitar, similar to a Jackson Randy Rhoads but NOT an actual RR model (The inner surfaces of the 'V' shape are slightly curved on a Jackson Randy Rhoads instead of being completely straight like the white guitar in the video). 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 that of a collector's item.

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 must 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.

Singles

* Queen recorded One Vision, released in the UK on November 4, 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 March 17, 1986, reached #3 on its home chart and was a top ten hit in many other countries. 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 June 9, 1986, reached 14th in the UK and made the top forty throughout Europe.
* Who Wants to Live Forever, released on September 15, 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 favorite 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 February 28 2000.

Additional musicians

* Spike Edney – extra keyboards
* Joan Armatrading – incidental vocals on "Don't Lose Your Head"
* Steve Gregory – alto sax on "One Year of Love"
* String Section on "One Year of Love" arranged and conducted by Lynton Naiff
* National Philharmonic Orchestra on "Who Wants to Live Forever" arranged by Michael Kamen and Brian May and conducted by Michael Kamen

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.

Chapter 9: Jazz

Jazz is a 1978 album by Queen. It was the band's seventh studio album. 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 #6 on the American Billboard 200.

The band had intended to sell the album with a poster depicting the all-female nude bicycle race staged to promote "Fat Bottomed Girls", but in the USA it was only available through mail order so as not to upset retailers. A small version of the poster comes with the Crown Jewels box set.

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 album he co-produced for the band.

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.

1. Mustapha

"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, although it didn't cause much of an impact on the charts.

In live performances, Mercury would often sing the opening vocals of "Mustapha" in place of the complex introduction to "Bohemian Rhapsody", going from "Allah we'll pray for you" to "Mama, 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.

Although some fans believe that Mercury could speak more languages because of the lyrics of this song (and others such as "La Japonaise" and parts of "Bohemian Rhapsody"), he only knew English and perhaps Gujarati or Hindi, because of his Indian background and education in India (Gujarati is the native language of the Parsis).

2. Fat Bottomed Girls

"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 and was one of the few Queen songs played in an alternative guitar tuning commonly called "drop D tuning". The lyrics express the axiom "Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder", albeit done in a humorous and overtly sexual tone. The song is also considered ironic due to the ambiguous sexuality of lead singer Freddie Mercury.

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 are sung by Freddie Mercury, while May performs the lower harmony. In the chorus, May has lead vocals.

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.

The original single cover featured a nude woman riding a bicycle. When many stores refused to stock the single because of the cover, the label altered the image so that the woman was wearing panties.

Cover versions:

* 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.
* The song was covered by American Idol Season 5 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.

Featured appearances:

* The song as 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.
* A song set to the same tune "Triple D's" was featured in an episode of Rick & Steve.
* The song was released for Guitar Hero: World Tour as downloadable content on March 26, 2009.

3. 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. All vocals were recorded by Mercury. It was released as a single in 1979.

4. Bicycle Race

"Bicycle Race" (Sample (info)) is a single for the English rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album Jazz and written by Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury. The song is unusual for a Queen single in that it shows off the band's humorous side. Among other comic moments it has a middle eight which features bicycle bells. Fans would often replicate this at Queen concerts with their own such bells.

To release this song Queen staged a bicycle race with 65[citation needed] naked women. The video was originally banned and subsequently re-edited with added special effects to censor the offensive imagery.

It was released as a Double-A side with the song "Fat Bottomed Girls". A crudely retouched photograph of a naked cyclist from the bicycle race was used for the single cover (now sporting a pair of bikini bottoms).

Cover versions:

* This song was covered by the German dance artist Blümchen (1996). Her version contains samples from Queen's original recording.
* The song was covered in 2002 by Upsilon Acrux on Queen tribute album released by Three One G records.
* The song was covered by Lemon Demon and was released on the bonus tracks to his Damn Skippy album in 2005.
* The song was covered again in 2005 by Be Your Own Pet on a Queen Tribute album.
* The song was covered again in 2006 by Between the Buried and Me on their covers album The Anatomy Of.
* The song was also covered in 2009 by Jason Lytle which can be heard on his MySpace.

5. If You Can't Beat Them

"If You Can't Beat Them" was another Hard Rock composition by John Deacon and was a live favourite for the band in late '70s. It is one of the few songs by Deacon where May plays all the guitars and contains a guitar solo of over two minutes, making it one of the longest guitar solos in a Queen song.

6. Let Me Entertain You

"Let Me Entertain You" was written by Mercury, directed towards the audience. The line "we'll sing to you in Japanese" is a reference to May's Teo Torriatte, from A Day at the Races. The idea of a guitar riff in parallel sixths was re-used later in the Innuendo track, "The Hitman".

7. 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. Particularly the guitar play is similar to that of Keep Yourself Alive, although it's faster in "Dead on Time". 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. Amusingly, the album's liner notes credit the thunderbolt to God.

8. In Only Seven Days

"In Only Seven Days" resembles Deacon's previous song, "Spread Your Wings". Deacon also played acoustic guitar and electric guitar.

9. Dreamer's Ball

"Dreamer's 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.

10. 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.

11. Leaving Home Ain't Easy

"Leaving Home Ain't Easy" was a ballad by May, who also sang all the vocals (lead and harmony). His voice was sped up for the bridge.

12. Don't Stop Me Now

"Don't Stop Me Now" is a 1979 hit single by Queen, from their 1978 album Jazz. Lyrics and music were written by Freddie Mercury and Daniel Preece. 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 1978 and 1979 tours, May would also play rhythm guitar throughout the rest of the song to add a rockier feeling to it.

The lyrics have cosmic imagery describing feelings of power and exhilaration, for example "I'm gonna go, go, go there's no stopping me / I'm burning through the sky yeah 200 degrees…".

The single reached #9 in the UK charts but only #86 in the US.

It is famous for being a song Brian May did not like, and is the advertising jingle for the Trafford Centre.

Despite the fact that the studio version is one of Queen's most popular songs, it only lasted from 1978-1979 live, with the last performance in the Crazy Tour.

* 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 (probably intentionally) 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 former barkeep 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.
* 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.
* 'Don't Stop Me Now' is also the title of a group show held at Trolley Gallery, London in June 2008, of artists examining the body beyond death
* 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 90's.
* The song is featured in graffiti film Grovt Skadeverk 2.

Cover versions:

* McFly, the cover is the official song for Sport Relief 2006. It reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 29 July 2006.
* The Vandals, 2004 (punk)
* Fobia (in Spanish)
* In the European release of the drumming game Donkey Konga (2004)
* The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
* Katy Perry covered the song twice on her Hello Katy tour.

13. More of that Jazz

"More of that Jazz" is yet another one of Taylor's bitter comments about current society and the way rock and roll is disrespected. It is loop based and Taylor plays most instruments and sings all vocals, reaching some very high notes (peaking on a E5). The outro also contains short clips from many songs on the album, including "Dead on Time", "Bicycle Race", "Mustapha", "If You Can't Beat Them", "Fun It" and "Fat Bottomed Girls".

Chapter 8: News Of The World

News of the World is the sixth studio album by Queen, released in 1977.

Containing hit songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Spread Your Wings", the album went platinum in the United Kingdom, four times platinum in the United States and achieved high certifications elsewhere throughout the world also.

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 and Wessex Studios, England and co-produced and engineered by Mike Stone.

After releasing A Day at the Races, Queen's self-producing debut and followup to A Night at the Opera which featured their magnum opus "Bohemian Rhapsody", having received some criticism that Races was a "boring" album,[1] Queen decided to shift their musical focus towards the mainstream, but remaining 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 Studios in Wessex, London. The group completed recording and production of the album two months later in September and released the album on 28 October. Initially, the album's critical response was mixed, and some was rather negative commenting that the group had again produced a "bland" album; however as the singles for the album were released, the reviews' favourability improved, and sales quickly improved.[2]

During the recording of the album, the Sex Pistols were recording their album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols in the next studio and Johnny Rotten was eager to meet Mercury, so he crawled on all fours through Queen's studio, up to the side of the piano where Mercury was playing, and said "Hello, Freddie!" before crawling out.

Brian May describes News of the World as being a "rootsier" album than previous Queen records, partly due to the punk scene breaking at that time, which inspired Queen to record a more "back to basics" rock album. News of the World is a less finely polished production than their previous offerings. The complex vocal harmonies and guitar orchestrations that are used heavily in earlier Queen albums are used much more sparingly and subtly on this album.

1. We Will Rock You

"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen. Due to its prevalence in popular culture, "We Will Rock You" has been recognized by various authorities as being quite influential, including Rolling Stone, which ranked it #330 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004[1] , and also the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) which placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century.

Cover Versions:

* 1991: Italian band Kirlian Camera covered the song on their album Todesengel. The Fall of Life.
* 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: 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.
* 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[2].
* 2004: Houseboyz performed a cover version for the video game Dance Dance Revolution Extreme[3].
* 2005: German band Pink Cream 69 covered the song in their album Food For Thought[4].
* 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.


Live cover performances:

* 1992: Queen with guest singer Axl Rose performed the song at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
* 1996: Alanis Morissette and her band ended the first encore of her "Can't Not" Tour (following the song, "You Learn") with a cover of the song. Drummer Taylor Hawkins took the microphone, while Morissette took to the drums.
* 2003: Robbie Williams covered the song at his Knebworth Park gig. The performance subsequently appears on his Live Summer 2003 album which was released in the same year.
* 2003: Anastacia performed a version with Queen members May and Taylor at the 46664 Mandela concert.
* 2007: Prince's performance at the Super Bowl XLI started with a rendition of the song.
* 2007: Japanese singer Kumi Koda covered the song in her a-nation '07 performance.
* 2007: Girl band Hope sang the song on series 4 of X Factor.
* 2008: Finnish band Sonata Arctica plays "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.
* 2008: 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

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.

Sampling:

* 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.
* 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.
* 2007: Bon Jovi use the song as intro of their song "Summertime" in all the Lost Highway Tour.
* 2008: Detroit rapper Pick Up used this song as a sample for the track, "Like Me Or Not," off his debute album 8 Milez North.

Parodies & References to song:

* 1987: Henry Rollins did a parody of "We Will Rock You" titled "I Have Come to Kill You".
* 2003: Blondie's song Good Boys uses the line "You got me on your face/A big disgrace."
* 2004: Scum of the Earth did a cover version on their debut album Blah...Blah...Blah...Love Songs for the New Millennium. However, the song title was changed to "Pornstar Champion" with modified lyrics.

Appearances in other media:

* We Will Rock You was a featured song on the game Donkey Konga.
* 2004: The song featured in a global Pepsi-Cola TV ad campaign performed by Beyoncé Knowles, Pink and Britney Spears, and was produced by Brian May. Brian May and Roger Taylor both make guest appearances in the ad, which was shown on TV in the United Kingdom, Finland, Brazil, Malaysia, Romania, Philippines, India, Mexico, and Latin America.

2. We Are The Champions

"We Are the Champions" is a power ballad written by Freddie Mercury, recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. One of their most famous and popular songs, it has since become an anthem for sporting victories and has been often used or referenced in popular culture (see below). The song has been covered by many artists.

Musically, it is based around Mercury's piano part, with Roger Taylor and John Deacon providing a drums and bass guitar backing. Brian May overdubbed some guitar sections, initially subtle, but building to a 'solo' played simultaneously with the last chorus. Mercury employed many jazz chords (major and minor 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th harmonies), and the choruses featured these voiced as 4 and 5-part vocal harmonies. The lead vocal is very demanding and strident (highest point is a C5), and in live performances, Mercury often deferred to let Taylor handle the highest parts of the melody. An exception to this was Mercury's performance of the song at the Live Aid concert in 1985.

The single featured "We Will Rock You" as a B-side, and preceded the song on the album. The two songs were often played consecutively at the close of Queen concerts, and are customarily played together on radio broadcasts (in album order). Keeping with tradition, it was also used to close the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with all the show's acts joining in behind the lead vocal of Liza Minnelli.

In 1977-1978, "We Are the Champions" was released as a single for the time in many countries, including U.S. where it reached number 4 on the Billboard Pop Singles, UK, Ireland and Norway where it reached the top ten, and Germany, Austria and Sweden where it was a top 15 hit.

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. The song has thus its greatest success during the 1998 World Cup because the French team was the winner arnas.

"We Are the Champions" was also covered by Crazy Frog under the title "We Are the Champions (Ding a Dang Dong)". It was released as a single on June 5, 2006. A cover of the 1977 Queen song of the same name, it was released to coincide with the 2006 World Cup, but Queen's vocals are featured in the song.

The single had its greatest success in France. It went straight to #1 on June 10, 2006, and stayed at this position for five weeks. Then, it kept on dropping in the chart. It remained for 9 weeks in the top 10, 17 weeks in the top 50 and 25 weeks in the chart. On August 30, 2006, it was certified Gold disc two months after its release by SNEP, the French certificator, and became the 15th best selling single in 2006 in that country.

Other cover versions:

* The song was covered by Live 2 Love as a dance track, where it appeared in the Japanese version of Dance Dance Revolution Extreme.
* Scatman John did a cover of this song along with Invisible Man.
* Era has also covered this song.
* Das Oath covered the song and has had it featured on more than one CD, including Dynamite with a Laserbeam: Queen as Heard Through the Meat Grinder of Three One G.
* La Unión, from Spain perform the song as "Somos Campeones" in Spanish on the 1996 album Tributo A Queen: Los Grandes Del Rock En Español.
* Queen (May/Taylor) re-recorded this song for the soundtrack of the 2001 film A Knight's Tale with Robbie Williams on vocals. Williams also made a music video for the song.
* William Hung covered this song for his 2004 album Hung for the Holidays.
* Gavin DeGraw covered this song for the 2005 album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen.
* In addition to performing the song live in a medley with "We Will Rock You" during the show's seventh season, American Idol contestant Michael Johns also recorded a studio version of the medley.
* Jean-Sébastien Lavoie, a contestant of French TV show Nouvelle Star, covered the song in 2003. His version, released as a single, reached #38 in France and #53 in Switzerland.[23]
* A sound-alike cover appears on the 1977 album Top of the Pops, Volume 62. When the album was re-issued in 2008 on iTunes, it was credited to Top of the Poppers.
* Florent Pagny covered the song as duet with David Hallyday on his 2001 album 2.
* The song has also been performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. [1]
* Green Day covers the song in most of their live sets.
* Jonathan Coulton has covered the song, along with We Will Rock You, as part of his Thing a week project.

Live cover performances:

* Green Day covered the song at Live 8 in 2005. Also, they have often covered the song at their shows.
* The Bad Plus performs a jazz cover of this song in Blunt Object: Live in Tokyo (2005).
* Japanese singer-songwriter Angela Aki performs the song along with "We Will Rock You" in her live concert (2006).
* The Jonas Brothers, Rooney, and the entire tour crew performed the song at their final concert for the 'When You Look Me In The Eyes' tour. The brothers pulled their entire family onstage and sang with the fans.

Uses in popular culture:

* The song is a playable song in the music video game Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, which is unlockable in the U.S. and U.K. versions of the game by completing career mode on lead guitar.
* The song is featured as end credits song in Pro Evolution Soccer 2, We Will Rock You being the opening song of the same game.
* The song has been played in 2002, UEFA Champions League Cup Final, after Real Madrid beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen(2-1) at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland.
* The song was used in South Park: Undeniable and Eric Cartman's Greatest Hits.
* The song has been used together with "We Will Rock You" in The Mighty Ducks' trilogy.
* The song has been sampled by Dame Dash, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Young Chris, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron & Twista for their song, "Champions".
* The song appears in three episodes of The Simpsons - in "War of the Simpsons," Homer sings "I Am the Champions" after catching a legendary catfish, General Sherman. In "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken," Homer, Lenny, Carl, and Barney sing it after the Springfield Isotopes win the pennant. In "She Used To Be My Girl," it was played by the Fox News truck during the media circus followed by Major Quimby's paternaty scandal.
* The song appears in Season 5 of The Sopranos as the character Tony Blundetto's ring tone on his cell phone.
* The song was used in Drawn Together episode, "Spanky's Cup", the song plays after Spanky beats Cartman at his field, the entire cast celebrate the champions. It also plays in "The Chronicles of Leap", "Ice Skating", "Toot Goes Bollywood", and "Merry Christmas".
* At the end of the AFL Grand Final in Australia, the song is played over the stadium as the Premiership team does a lap of honor.
* The song is used as the entrance music of professional wrestling tag team The Kings of Wrestling.
* The song was used in the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Hal shows his skating abilities.
* The song has been played to celebrate numerous sports championships. It was played at the finals of 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, after Italy won the cup. Usually, the winner of the German soccer championship plays the song during the celebration.
* The song was used during the end cutscene for The Matrix: Path of Neo.
* The song was used at the end of the South Park episode "Stanley's Cup" for someone else's happy ending, rather then the protagonist's.
* The song marked the climax of the ending of the 1984 hit comedy Revenge of the Nerds.
* The song was televised locally right after Sri Lanka won the 1996 Cricket World Cup on March 17, 1996.
* John Cusack dances to this song after he finds out that his ex-girlfriend has not had sex with his hated neighbor in the 2000 film High Fidelity.
* This song was the closing credits song for the movie 'A Knight's Tale' (2001.)
* Fernando Alonso sung the song after winning the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix, securing the Contructors' title for his team, Renault. The team later released an MP3 of the song being "played" by the engine they had used in that season, with the different notes played by changing engine speeds to adjust the pitch of the engine sound and exhaust note.
* The song was in the 2005 film, Kicking & Screaming.
* An Australian dart team - the Warilla Bowls All-Nighters adopted it as their 'team song' after winning back-to-back premierships in 2005.
* In the film Chicken Little (2005), Chicken Little sings the song after winning the big baseball game, but improvises the lyrics ("I Am The Champion" instead of "We Are the Champions"). Pro wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin also altered the song in this fashion in 2001.
* Liberal talk-radio personality Randi Rhodes used the song after the 2006 midterm elections to celebrate Democratic victories in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
* It was used as a musical extract for which to answer questions on in the 2006 Level One NCEA Music Exam
* It was used as the introductory music prior to Prince's halftime TV performance at Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007 in Miami, Florida.
* It was used after the Boston Celtics won the 2008 NBA finals
* On an episode of So You Think You Can Dance in 2007, Danny Tidwell performed a solo to Gavin DeGraw's version.
* A grunt sings a line of the chorus in Halo: Combat Evolved after you get killed by one.
* The song was used in JJB Stadium after Manchester United won the league there in the 2007-08 season. It was used again the following season at Old Trafford Stadium when Manchester United retained the title in 2008-09.
* The song was used in the movie What Happens in Vegas when Jack wins the jackpot in the casino.
* It was featured at the end an episode of The Big Bang Theory when the Perpetual Motion Squad won a science match.
* In the series Angel, Cordy, Wes, and Gunn sing the song in a karaoke bar after getting fired.
* In an episode of Phineas and Ferb, after winning at the baseball game, Phineas begins to sing "I Am the Champion" instead of "We Are the Champions".
* In the May 20, 2009 Season 8 finale of American Idol, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen performed the song with Queen.
* In the June 2, 2009 RoboTech Fiesta held in Suntec City Singapore,the song was played when Admiralty Secondary School won the Grand Championship Title.
* In an episode of WarioWare, Inc., Dr. Crygor sings "I Am the Champion" after catching a East Asian Catfish. Wario, Jimmy, Dribble, 9-Volt, and Orbulon sing it after Dr. Crygor quits his job. In "War of the Volts", 18-Volt sings "I Am the Champion" after catching a legendary dogfish, General.

Sampling and parodies:

* Producer Rick Rubin remixed the song (along with "We Will Rock You") for Hollywood Records. (This mix also samples James Brown's "Funky Drummer".)
* The song has been sampled by Dame Dash, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Young Chris, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron & Twista for their song, "Champions".
* J.B.O. released a spoof version, “Wir sind die Champignons” (We Are the Mushrooms), in 1997.
* David Strassman parodied it on the Teddy's Farewell Tour, making his puppets mock him by singing, "We are the Voices, in his Head."




“ Certainly it's a relationship that could be, but I was thinking about football [soccer] when I wrote it. I wanted a participation song, something that the fans could latch on to. It was aimed at the masses; I thought we'd see how they took it. It worked a treat. When we performed it at a private concert in London, the fans actually broke into a football chant between numbers. Of course, I've given it more theatrical subtlety than an ordinary football chant. You know me. I certainly wasn't thinking about the press when I wrote it. I never think about the British music press these days. It was really meant to be offered the musicians the same as the fans. I suppose it could also be construed as my version of "I Did It My Way." We have made it, and it certainly wasn't easy. No bed of roses as the song says. And it's still not easy. -Freddie Mercury (1978)”

“ I have to win people over, otherwise it's not a successful gig. It's my job to make sure people have a good time. That's part of my duty. It's all to do with feeling in control. That song "We Are the Champions" has been taken up by football fans because it's a winners' song. I can't believe that somebody hasn't written a new song to overtake it.” -Freddie Mercury (1985)

3. Sheer Heart Attack

"Sheer Heart Attack" was half-finished at the time of the eponymous album. Roger Taylor sang lead on the demo but for the definitive version the band decided Mercury should sing lead vocals (probably based on the fact that May had already sung two songs and Taylor one). Guitars[citation needed] and bass were played by Taylor, apart from some guitar "screams" by May during the instrumental section.

During this time, the punk rock movement went into full effect, and this song was viewed as something of a jab at the musicians who felt bands like Queen were too self-indulgent. Of note is the lyric "I feel so inarticulate", and the fact that Taylor stated in interviews that he thought many of the 1970s punk bands had very little talent.

German Heavy metal band Helloween covered the song. The cover can be heard as a B-side for their single "Just a Little Sign".

4. All Dead, All Dead

"All Dead, All Dead" was written and sung by May, and features Mercury on backing vocals; May also plays piano. Lyrically, the song deals with May's experiences following the death of his childhood pet cat.

5. Spread Your Wings

"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 sweeping the floor at Emerald Bar. The narrator (Mercury) of the song encourages Sammy to pursue his dreams, telling him to "spread your wings and fly away".

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.

6. Fight from the Inside

"Fight from the Inside" was written and sung by Roger Taylor. In addition to the drums, Taylor also plays rhythm and bass guitar, the latter borrowed from Deacon himself.

The track is built around a jangly guitar riff and is amongst the first in the Queen catalogue to focus predominantly on the drums and bass, as opposed to the lead guitars. Lyrically, the song can be interpreted as an expression of scorn directed at punk rock fans which at the time had lambasted Queen ([1]).

Guitarist Slash has cited the guitar riff to this song as one of his favourite riffs of all time.