Mr. Bad Guy

Mr. Bad Guy is the first solo album from Queen singer Freddie Mercury. Released in 1985, during a period in which Queen were on hiatus from recordings, the album contains eleven songs, all written by Mercury.

The song "Living on My Own" was re-released in 1993 in a remixed form by No More Brothers, while "I Was Born to Love You" and "Made in Heaven" were later re-worked by the surviving three Queen members and included in the 1995 curtain-call Made in Heaven. The album was originally planned to be called Made in Heaven.^[3]

Track listing

All songs by Freddie Mercury.

Side 1

1. "Let's Turn It On" – 3:42
2. "Made in Heaven" – 4:05
3. "I Was Born to Love You" – 3:38
4. "Foolin' Around" – 3:29
5. "Your Kind Of Lover" – 3:32

Side 2

1. "Mr. Bad Guy" – 4:09
2. "Man Made Paradise" – 4:08
3. "There Must Be More to Life Than This" – 3:00
4. "Living on My Own" – 3:23
5. "My Love Is Dangerous" – 3:42
6. "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" – 3:46

Songs

"Let's Turn It On" was recorded in April 1984. Mercury sang a high B♭ (the same note Roger Taylor reaches in the operatic section of Bohemian Rhapsody) and played the bassline using a synthesizer. The bass riff was recycled later and slightly modified for the coda of Queen's 1989 song "The Miracle", also composed by Mercury.

"Made in Heaven" was the working title of the album, and a song Mercury had a particular fondness of. He recorded his piano parts on 31 May 1984 and added vocals shortly afterwards. After Mercury's death, Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Brian May took Mercury's piano and vocals and added their own instrumentation to form the title track of Queen's final studio album.

"I Was Born to Love You" was composed in New York City. Mercury recorded his piano and vocals on 25 May 1984. He wasn't entirely pleased with it but the record company pressured him to release it as a dance song. Years later Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon re-worked it adding their instruments and re-mixing it as a Queen number on Made in Heaven.

"Foolin' Around" originated at the same sessions as "Made in Heaven", but was re-worked several times later until the final version was completed in January 1985.

"Your Kind Of Lover" was begun in March 1984 and features some very low vocals by Mercury.

"Mr. Bad Guy" was recorded in May 1984 and is the only track on the album featuring an orchestra, which is something Mercury had been meaning to do for a long time.

"Man Made Paradise" was supposed to close Queen's album The Works, but was dropped when Mercury and May composed "Is This The World We Created?".

"There Must Be More to Life Than This" began in 1981 as part of the Hot Space sessions. It is an anti-war and anti-racism song and was also to be recorded by Michael Jackson. A demo version of Jackson singing and Mercury playing the piano exists, as well as a fanmade duet remix combining both Jackson and Mercury's version into a duet. It is unknown if the two ever recorded the song as a duet.

"Living on My Own" was recorded between April and May 1984, and was re-mixed and re-released in 1993 earning Mercury his only solo #1 single. To this day, he's the only Queen member who has released a solo #1 hit and won a solo Ivor Novello award. Fred Mandel, who has also worked with Supertramp, Elton John and Queen, plays piano on this track.

"My Love Is Dangerous" comes from a session on 29 May 1984 (the same as "Living on My Own" and the first version of "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow").

Personnel

• Freddie Mercury – vocals, piano, synthesizer
• Fred Mandel – additional piano, synthesizer, guitar
• Paul Vincent – lead guitar
• Curt Cress – drums
• Stephan Wissnet – bass guitar
• Jo Burt – fretless bass on "Man Made Paradise"
• Rainer Pietsch – arrangement for "Mr. Bad Guy"
• Mack and Stephan Wissnet – Fairlight CMI, drum programmes
• Mack, assisted by Stephan Wissnet – engineering
• The Artful Dodger – artwork
• A. Sawa – photographs

Chart performance

References