Too Much Love Will Kill You

"Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by Queen guitarist Brian May, Frank Musker, and Elizabeth Lamers.^[1] The song was recorded by Queen around 1988 or before, and was intended to be on the band's The Miracle album in 1989, but did not make the cut. After Freddie Mercury's death in 1991, May arranged a solo version, which he performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992,^[2] and subsequently included on his solo album Back to the Light that same year. Released as a single, it reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart. Because it was first played publicly at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, a common misconception is that it was written as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, although it had actually been written several years before he died.

The song also appeared on Now That's What I Call Music! 23.

Sales and certifications


Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)^[3]	Silver	200,000^{^}
^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

Queen version

In 1995, the remaining members of Queen elected to include the original recording of "Too Much Love Will Kill You", with Mercury on vocals, on the Made in Heaven album, released four years after Mercury's death.^[4] Queen's version is a power ballad characteristic of the late 1980s time period in which it was recorded, with heavy use of keyboards and electric guitar. It reached #15 on the UK Singles Chart in 1996. Although it failed to duplicate the chart success of May's solo version, Queen's version of the song has since come to be regarded as the definitive version, after being awarded "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" at the 1997 Novello Awards (May said later that if there was one song that he would have wanted to win an award for, it was this one^[1]), and being included on Queen's Greatest Hits III.^[5]

The Queen version of the song appears as the opening track on Now That's What I Call Music! 33.

Music video

The video for the Brian May version of the song was directed by David Mallet and features Brian singing the song to the camera, and is intercut with footage from various home movies. The video for the Queen version of the song was directed by DoRo and is a montage-style video of clips mainly from live performances and promo videos, and uses the Promo Edit version of the song.

Personnel

Original version

Brian May - lead and backing vocals, electric grand piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar

Queen version

Freddie Mercury - lead vocals
Brian May - lead guitar, piano, backing vocals
Roger Taylor - drums
John Deacon - bass guitar
David Richards - keyboards

Other versions

In 2003, May and Luciano Pavarotti performed a rendition of "Too Much Love Will Kill You", at the tenor's benefit concert held in Modena, Italy.^[6]

Myleene Klass, Jovit Baldivino, Katie Melua, Claire Sweeney and Arnel Pineda of Journey have also performed the song.

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 Billboard 21 Jun 1997 Billboard. Retrieved 16 January 2011
↑ The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: Too Much Love Will Kill You Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 2 July 2011
↑ "British single certifications – Too Much Love Will Kill You". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Too Much Love Will Kill You in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
↑ Made in Heaven (Track 8) Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 2 July 2011
↑ Brian May interview. BBC Radio 2. Broadcast 12 September 2005.
↑ Pavarotti and Friends 2003; Press and News Retrieved 21 January 2011

External links

Official YouTube videos of Queen version: music video based on short film "Heart-Ache", at Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert
Lyrics at Queen official website

Brian May

Studio albums	Back to the Light Another World Furia

EPs	Star Fleet Project Red Special

Live albums	Live at the Brixton Academy Acoustic by Candlelight (with Kerry Ellis)

Singles	"Star Fleet" "Driven by You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Last Horizon" "Save The Badger Badger Badger"

Related articles	Brian May discography Queen Queen + Paul Rodgers Smile The Brian May Band Red Special Deacy Amp 52665 Brianmay

Queen singles discography

Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"

Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"

Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen" / "Flick of the Wrist" "Now I'm Here" "Lily of the Valley"

A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Love of My Life"

A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Long Away" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"

News of the World	"We Are the Champions" / "We Will Rock You" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late"

Jazz	"Bicycle Race" / "Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Jealousy" "Mustapha"

Live Killers	"Love of My Life" (Live) "We Will Rock You" (Live)

The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"

Flash Gordon	"Flash"

Hot Space	"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) "Back Chat" "Las Palabras de Amor" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Body Language"

The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall"

A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"

The Miracle	"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"

Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "I Can't Live With You" "The Show Must Go On" "These Are the Days of Our Lives"

Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "I Was Born to Love You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me"

Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" / "Tie Your Mother Down"

Greatest Hits III	"Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"

Non-album singles	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Another One Bites the Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)" "We Will Rock You" (with Five) "We Are the Champions" (with Robbie Williams) "Flash (Vanguard Mix)" "Another One Bites the Dust (The Miami Project Remixes)" "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with The Muppets)

Other songs	"Doing All Right" "White Queen (As It Began)" "Ogre Battle" "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" "Nevermore" "The March of the Black Queen" "See What a Fool I've Been" "Brighton Rock" "Stone Cold Crazy" "Death on Two Legs" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "The Prophet's Song" "Good Company" "Is This the World We Created...?" "Ride the Wild Wind" "Delilah" "Made In Heaven" "Mother Love" "Let Me in Your Heart Again"

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