Killer Queen
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- For the Queen tribute album see Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen.
| "Killer Queen" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Queen | ||
| from the album Sheer Heart Attack | ||
| Released | 11 October 1974 | |
| Format | vinyl record (7") | |
| Recorded | 1974 | |
| Genre | Rock, Pop | |
| Length | 2:59 | |
| Label | EMI (UK), Elektra (US) | |
| Writer(s) | Freddie Mercury | |
| Producer(s) | Roy Thomas Baker and Queen | |
| Chart positions | ||
| Queen singles chronology | ||
| "Seven Seas of Rhye" (1974) |
"Killer Queen" (1974) |
"Now I'm Here" (1975) |
Killer Queen (30 second sample ) is a song by the English rock band Queen. It was featured on the Sheer Heart Attack album released in 1974, and was written by Queen pianist and lead singer Freddie Mercury. One of the songs, Killer Queen, has a double a-side, "Flick of the Wrist".
Mercury commented that the influences he received for the track included early Beatles records, Beach Boys and (lyrically) Noel Coward. He wrote the lyrics first before adding the complex yet catchy musical arrangements. The recording features elaborate 4-part vocal harmonies (particularly in the choruses, and also providing backing parts in the verses), and also an elaborate multitracked guitar solo by Brian May.
The song is about a female assassin who poses as a high-class prostitute. It mentions Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, as well as the popular politicians of the 1950s and '60s Khrushchev and Kennedy.
Paul Rodgers has stated that the song would not be played while Queen + Paul Rodgers is on tour, due to the fact that: "the melodies are just too on the spot".[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Recording sessions
Instead of using a 9 ft grand piano as he used to, Freddie Mercury recorded the song with an upright (credited as "jangle piano"), in order to give the track the appropriate vaudeville sound. Besides piano, bass, drums and guitar, there are several percussion instruments such as triangle and windchimes. [citation needed]
[edit] Queen on the record
Freddie Mercury:
| People are used to hard rock, energy music from Queen, yet with this single, you almost expect Noel Coward to sing it. It's one of those bowler hat, black suspender numbers - not that Noel Coward would wear that. It's about a high class call girl. I'm trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. That's what the song is about, though I'd prefer people to put their own interpretation upon it - to read what they like into it. |
Brian May:
| 'Killer Queen' was the turning point. It was the song that best summed up our kind of music, and a big hit, and we desperately needed it as a mark of something successful happening for us... I was always very happy with this song. The whole record was made in a very craftsmanlike manner. I still enjoy listening to it because there's a lot to listen to, but it never gets cluttered. There's always space for all the little ideas to come through. And of course I like the solo, with that three-part section, where each part has its own voice. What can say? It's vintage Queen. The first time I heard Freddie playing that song, I was lying in my room in Rockfield [a residential recording studio in Wales], feeling very sick. After Queen's first American tour I had hepatitis, and then I had very bad stomach problems and I had to be operated on. So I remember just lying there, hearing Freddie play this really great song and feeling sad, because I thought, 'I can't even get out of bed to participate in this. Maybe the group will have to go on without me.' No one could figure out what was wrong with me. But then I did go into the hospital and I got fixed up, thank God. And when I came out again, we were able to finish off 'Killer Queen.' They left some space for me and I did the solo. I had strong feelings about one of the harmony bits in the chorus, so we had another go at that too. |
[edit] Live recordings
- Live Killers (1979)
- We Will Rock You (1981)
[edit] Cover versions
- Sum 41 performed a tribute to this song on Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen (2005).
- A version of Killer Queen is playable in the games Guitar Hero and Taiko: Drum Master for the PlayStation 2, as well as in the games Guitar Freaks and Drummania for the arcade.
- Panic! At The Disco is performing Killer Queen Cover during their American Winter Tour. Videos of the Cover can be found on Youtube.com
[edit] Trivia
- Killer Queen, the UK's longest running Queen tribute band, took their name from the song and always cover the song in their set.
- "Killer Queen" is featured on the game Guitar Hero for PS2.
| Queen |
| John Deacon | Brian May | Freddie Mercury | Roger Taylor History | Live performances | Songs |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Queen | Queen II | Sheer Heart Attack | A Night at the Opera | A Day at the Races | News of the World | Jazz | The Game | Flash Gordon | Hot Space | The Works | A Kind of Magic | The Miracle | Innuendo | Made in Heaven |
| Live albums: Live Killers | Live Magic | Live at Wembley '86 | Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl | Return of the Champions |
| Compilation albums: Greatest Hits | At the Beeb | Greatest Hits II | Classic Queen | Queen Rocks | Greatest Hits III | Stone Cold Classics |
| DVDs: We Will Rock You | The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert | Greatest Video Hits 1 | Live at Wembley Stadium | Greatest Video Hits 2 | We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan | Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl | Return of the Champions | Super Live in Japan |
| Related Articles |
| Ibex | Larry Lurex | Smile | The Cross | Queen + Paul Rodgers |
