No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)

"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"
Single by Queen
from the album Queen Rocks
B-side Tie Your Mother Down, We Will Rock You 'The Rick Rubin 'Ruined' Remix, Gimme The Prize 'Instrumental Remix For 'The Eye'
Released 1997 (Europe, Japan, US),
January 5, 1998 (1998-01-05) (UK)
Format CD
Vinyl record (7")
Cassette tape
Recorded August, 1997
Genre Rock
Length 4:13
Label Parlophone
Writer(s) Brian May
Producer Queen
Queen singles chronology
"You Don't Fool Me"
(1996)
"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"
(1997)
"Another One Bites The Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)"
(1998)

"No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young)" is a song recorded by the remaining three members of the British rock band Queen following the death of singer Freddie Mercury. Guitarist Brian May – the writer of the song – and drummer Roger Taylor share lead vocals. The song was released on the album Queen Rocks and it was also released as a single.

The impetus for the song came after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997, but is largely a eulogy to Freddie Mercury. It was originally written for a potential Brian May solo project, which eventually evolved into the album Another World. He sent the demo of the song to Roger Taylor who according to Taylor himself put it in a drawer and forgot about it.[1] After eventually hearing it Taylor suggested that it could be turned into a Queen song. Roger Taylor's contribution was to change the tempo and make the lyrics less specific to Mercury.

The song features only the remaining three members of Queen, the final new recording to be released under the Queen name alone. This is also the last new recording to feature John Deacon, who subsequently retired from public life.

Contents

Music Video

The music video was directed by the DoRo and filmed at Bray Studios, London on 29 November 1997, the home of Hammer Horror in the 1960s and also where the Rocky Horror Picture Show was shot. It was shot in black and white lifted by excellent lighting and a high-class sheen on the finished article. There are two versions of the promo video. The black and white promo video which was shown across the world featured only the three remaining members of Queen in the studio. The second version is a completely different edit and featured a new ending and also sepia tinted footage of Freddie through all his years with the band. This version was featured on Queen Rocks: The Video in 1998 and on Greatest Flix III VHS in 1999.

Personnel

Chart position

Kerry Ellis version

"No-One but You"
Single by Kerry Ellis
from the album Wicked in Rock
Released 19 March 2005
Format digital download
Recorded 2002
Genre Orchestral
Length 5:20
Label Duck Productions
Writer(s) Brian May
Producer Brian May, Steve Sidwell, Justin Shirley-Smith
Kerry Ellis singles chronology
"No-One but You"
(2005)
"Defying Gravity"
(2008)

In 2002, Brian May worked with stage actress and singer, Kerry Ellis, to record an orchestral version of the song as it appears in the musical, We Will Rock You, where Ellis played the role of Meat. In the musical, it is sung by a female, who after the ensemble have recalled the names of a number of musicians who died young, will culminate in saying the name "Freddie" as a tribute to Freddie Mercury. This version of the song was made only available to download on the official Queen website on 19 March 2005 and failed to chart. However, it was later included on her extended play Wicked in Rock and subsequently featured on her debut album Anthems.

In 2004, the Spanish stage actress and singer Eva María Cortés recorded the same orchestral version in Spanish to promote the Original Madrid Cast Recording of We Will Rock You.

Credits and personnel

Track recorded at Sphere Studios, Olympic Studios and Allerton Hill

Orchestra recorded at Air Studios, Lydhurst Hall

References

  1. ^ Queen Rocks EPK