To mark 20 years since the death of Freddie Mercury, the flamboyant master of operatic pop singing, we wanted to pay our respects and pick our top ten Queen songs ever.
Mercury was born as Freddy Bulsara in 1946 in Zanzibar, and grew up in India before moving to Britain in his mid-teens. He joined Roger Walters and Brian May to start Queen in 1970, when he changed his name.
He eventually become recognised as one of the greatest singers in history, who would reportedly sing in tune so consistently that he would "phase out" an original take when placing backing vocals. And while this would have marked his place in the history books, he was also a stunning songwriter, performer and instrumentalist.
He died of an illness brought on by AIDs only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease, on 24 November 1991.
So what are our favorite Queen songs ever? They have quite a large discography, but we think we've whittled down a great playlist for your weekend. If you have Spotify, here's a link to play them in full quality, but there's a couple of great live performances on this post which are worth viewing.
Remember to discuss your favorite songs and pay your own respects to one of the masters of pop singing in the comments.
10. "Ogre Battle" from Queen II (1973)
Those with a fleeting knowledge of Queen tracks might not realise how heavy the band could be in their early years. Ogre Battle was a remarkably heavy track when it was written in 1972, but didn't make it to their debut album because they didn't have time to perfect the song. This is all about the fast-thrashing guitar, which plays out a metaphorical battle between ogres. Such was the energy that the band included it in every live set until the late 70s.
09. "Killer Queen" from Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
Their breakthrough hit single is classic Queen; firm drums and bass, phasing vocal experimentation and harmonies tighter than a nun's gardening schedule. Along with a grand piano, Mercury wanted to track a cheaper upright piano to give the verses jangle with that vaudeville sound. It oozes style and set the pace for the theatrical sense of humour that defined their careers.
08. "I Want To Break Free" from The Works (1984)
The famous transgender styling in the video was truly a classic moment in early music television, but was considered too controversial in the US and resulted in a ban on MTV. In turn, the US was the only country where the single wasn't a commercial hit, where the song entered the chart at number 45.
While the music didn't have the same scale of theatre as their other work, the mild soundtrack partly masks a very timely set of lyrics by bassist John Deacon (who quietly wrote some of the band's best loved hits) about sexism and women's rights.
07. "Don't Stop Me Now" from Jazz (1978)
Another classic which wasn't a commercial success but has been used next to footage of cars, planes and spaceships that is has become firmly baked into the public conscience. It was voted the Greatest Driving Song Ever by the car show Top Gear, though the award was mislabelled as 'Stop Me Now'. Never mind, Top Gear is s--t these days anyway.
06. "Fat Bottomed Girls" from Jazz (1978)
Guitarist Brian May knocked some classic blues into the Queen repertoire here, and helped evolve what we know today as hard rock with his guitar being tuned to drop D -- not a common occurrence in those days. Like "Ogre Battle", this is another great example of Queen playing heavy riffs that sound even better loud.
05. "We Are The Champions" from News Of The World (1977)
This anthem remains one of their best known songs, and 2005 poll even found it to be the world's favorite song. Easily earning a place in the Grammy Hall Of Fame, scientists later proved it to be the catchiest song in the history of pop music, so it's really no wonder that huge crowds know to stand, sing and wave when it plays at sporting events. Brian May admitted it was written with the audience in mind, but they hit the nail right on the head and we love it.
04. "Somebody To Love" from A Day At The Races (1976)
Aretha Franklin inspired this song in which Mercury begs God to find him someone to love. The only thing about this song which is as impressive as Mercury's performance is the efforts that Brian May and Roger Taylor went to for the simulated gospel choir in the background. The pair layered their voices over 100 times, which brings the song to its striking conclusion in the final build up -- one of the most wonderfully unique moments in music history.
This live version is magic, but make sure you check out the original to hear how those harmonies hit and sizzle that analog tape on the original.
03. "Under Pressure" from Hot Space (1982)
David Bowie joined Queen for one of the best collaborations in history, but it almost never happened. Bowie had come to Mountain Studios to contribute backing vocals to "Cool Cat" (which was later edited out anyway), but the group ended up completing a different idea called "Feel Like" which later became "Under Pressure" during a live jam between the musicians at Bowie's own studio in Switzerland.
Mercury and Bowie supposedly battled over the final mix of the album, but the result is a stunning array of delays and sharp finger clicks. The 2.30 mark is a particular highlight and example of Bowie's musical contribution.
02. "Bohemian Rhapsody" from Night At The Opera (1975)
Easily Queen's defining song and the most bombastic recording from their extensive catalogue. The subject of the lyrics which are said to be full of veiled references to Mercury's personal traumas, and continues to be hotly debated between fans, academics and journalists.
On the surface, it follows the story of a young man who commits a murder and expresses utter regret and describes a sense of their doomed fate. It is performed with such sincerity that few can deny its brilliance, and the song was also a technical achievement in the studio -- over 180 layers of audio were mixed through a 24 track tape machine, which meant constantly bouncing the audio to two tracks and continuing on the other 22 tracks while somehow retaining a flawless balance between instruments. After going through eight generations of analog tape over three weeks, they finally completed the most expensive recording in history -- and it sounds like it.
01. "You're My Best Friend" from A Night At The Opera (1975)
We know some of you will wonder why this beat Bohemian Rhapsody to the top spot, but we have a very good reason. To hear it, just play the song and hear the opening four bars. The magic and simplicity of that electric piano sparks memories of those loveable old TV shows with a yellow hue from your youth, when life was easy. In this sense, it is more powerful than Bohemian Rhapsody could ever be, even if this is also down to the contribution of TV producers who had to pick music to run to credits over the years.
It was written by the mild-mannered bassist Paul Deaon for his wife, where he sings about love without resorting to pained cliques of unbridled passion. Instead it talks of real friendship, enjoying life and the values that hold a relationship together for the long term. It is modest and eschews showmanship, but tops our chart because it simply what it is: a masterpiece in popular songwriting.
We loved going through the Queen catalogue for this chart, and recommend you dig through the full Queen collection on Spotify - or zoom straight to a playlist of this top ten to hear Spotify's full quality versions.
What would you add to our chart? Do you have a favourite story about one of these songs, and will you miss the talents of both Freddie Mercury and Paul Deacon? Share something in the comments and we'll browse them over the weekend.
saying that if you combine the first names of paul deacon and rodger walters you get paul rodgers who played with brian and taylor a few years ago, i cracked it!!! ahahah
Did a troll make this article? How can you get all of these songs together and not even get the names of the members of the band right? I mean shit, If you really didnt feel like doing research you could have just looked at the wikipedia page for their names. Ontop of that it looked like you insinuated that JOHN Deacon had passed away as well. Are you a complete idiot? Did you write this intoxicated? I never complain about the UG articles but this is ridiculous.
March of the Black Queen is a must have on the list. It's Bohemian Rhapsody before Bohemian Rhapsody was written and equally if not more inventive and creative.
Good list. I think it should also be acknowledged though that Eric Carr from KISS passed away on the same exact day as Freddie Mercury. Two great rock icons that will never be forgotten.
Oh my goodness, do the people who write these articles get paid for their contributions. I mean seriously, i'm not literary genius, but there are so many basic and blatant mistakes.
i thought we will rock you would've been number 1.
I'm glad to see that it wasn't even on the list.
But I'd replace Ogre Battle and Under Pressure with Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Stone Cold Crazy, and I'd probably shuffle the order around a little.
WTF Freddy Bulsara, Roger Walters... is this an inside joke? They already put a Roger Walters in there instead of Roger WATERS back when they had a Pink FLoyd article... lame
Hi, this is Tom who wrote the article. I had to sign up to apologise for the epic fails in the intro and outro, which are the result of rushing and relying on wikipedia. This is nothing to do with the regular UG staff.
Writers aren't perfect, and I spent so long trying to pick songs for a great track order that I ran out of time to fact check. Yep, pretty bad. Somehow I think a bad song order would result in worse flaming though.
The only one I can't explain is to say the bassist Paul ... uh, I mean, John died. There is no fair explanation for that. I really remember seeing the band reminisce about him on a documentary, saying the world lost a great songwriter.
Oh my goodness, do the people who write these articles get paid for their contributions. I mean seriously, i'm not literary genius, but there are so many basic and blatant mistakes.
Awful.
Ha, yes clearly you are not a literary genious because this article was aweful. But seriously I disregard this list entirely based on the clear fact that the author was not a true fan of the band.
UGtom wrote:
The only one I can't explain is to say the bassist Paul ... uh, I mean, John died. There is no fair explanation for that. I really remember seeing the band reminisce about him on a documentary, saying the world lost a great songwriter.
They speak that way because he refuses to play without Freddie. He retired from the business completely.
Good list. I think it should also be acknowledged though that Eric Carr from KISS passed away on the same exact day as Freddie Mercury. Two great rock icons that will never be forgotten.
You're gonna put Eric Carr in the same breath as Freddie Mercury? I bet if you went out of the street and asked 100 people who Eric Carr was you'd be lucky if one of them knew. To say call Eric Carr a "great rock icon(s) that will never be forgotten" is a bit of a stretch
Good list. I think it should also be acknowledged though that Eric Carr from KISS passed away on the same exact day as Freddie Mercury. Two great rock icons that will never be forgotten.
You're gonna put Eric Carr in the same breath as Freddie Mercury? I bet if you went out of the street and asked 100 people who Eric Carr was you'd be lucky if one of them knew. To say call Eric Carr a "great rock icon(s) that will never be forgotten" is a bit of a stretch
I agree too not to sound ignorant but ive no idea who eric carr is either.Freddie Mercury on the other hand well you know.Who wouldnt know who he was.
March of the Black Queen would be on top of my list, and I think it at least should be somewhere on this one too. That song has one of the highest ratios of awesomeness/time (ex: 5 unbelievable moments in 10 seconds)I know of.
I think 'The Prophet's Song' should definitely be on this list. It's one of Freddie's most impressive vocal songs...Well, all his vocals are impressive.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and Stone Cold Crazy, IMO should have been on that list.
Agree, but also Don't stop me now.Dont stop me now is on the list.
Surprised at this list - thought it would be a 'greatest hits' kinda thing. Not sure if I'd put You're My Best Friend at number 1, but I'm pleased at its inclusion. I wouldn't have included Fat Bottomed Girls or I Want to Break Free personally and I'm a bit annoyed '39 isn't on there. Pleased at Killer Queen, pleasantly surprised at Ogre Battle, even though I think there are better songs on Queen II. Also, Too Much Love Will Kill You should be there and Somebody to Love should be higher.
But meh, there are mountains of great Queen songs and everyone will have different opinions. A good list overall.
10. Ogre Battle
9. Seven Seas of Rhye
8. Save Me
7. Play The Game
6. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
5. Bohemian Rhapsody
4. Somebody To Love
3. Under Pressure
2. I Want to Break Free
1. Innuendo
i didn't realize how many queen songs i knew, but seeing this list made me realize i'm a ****ing queen fan.
Everyone is a Queen fan, they just don't know it. Pick up "Greatest Hits" and I'll guaruntee you know at least five of the songs, if that little!
As for my list, being UG's self-proclaimed biggest Queen fan and founder of the UG Queen fan club:
1.Bohemian Rhapsody (no doubt about it)
2.March of the Black Queen (A long version of Bo Rhap)
3.You Take my Breath Away (Their most beautiful song)
4.Liar (Their first epic song recorded)
5.Don't Stop Me Now (Upbeat, just awesome in general)
6.Death on Two Legs (more "real" than any rapper)
7.Rock You/Champions (the greatest song combo ever)
8.Another...Dust (Funk ass bass rhythm)
9. Too Much Love... (The defining final Queen song)
10. Father to Son (Moving song, Brian's greatest solo)
It's not easy making a best of Queen list, but ranking albums would be easier than songs.
Wow. The amount of errors in this article astounds me...Not good enough UG. If you're going to be writing things like this at least make sure it's correct.
How about "The Show Must Go On" especially considering how much more sick Freddie was when he recorded the vocals, not to mention the context of the lyrics.
Also am I the only one that noticed the change in tone (not to mention the knowledge level of the band) during the actual song descriptions. Almost as if this "author" were just copy and pasting descriptions he found.
Cool idea. Good songs. Still wish you would have taken more time and researched a little more to get the names right. Freddies real name was "Farrokh Bulsara." And he started the band with Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Brian May. Still, good article though. And for a good purpose. Thanks!
the talents of both Freddie Mercury and Paul Deacon
He joined Roger Walters and Brian May to start Queen
Please, UG, PLEASE do some research, or at the very least, reread what you've written. This is painful.
Also, my top 10 (not really in order though) would be:
The Prophet's song
March of the Black Queen
The Millionaire Waltz
Liar
Bohemian Rhapsody
It's Late
Father to Son
Under Pressure
Mustapha
Innuendo
Who wants to live Forever is one of the most powerful pieces of music I've ever had the pleasure of hearing, whenever I think of the great man, that's the song that comes to mind.I would've also thought that we will rock you would be on a top ten list..
My top 10 Queen songs are
10.Bohemian Rhapsody
9.Killer Queen
8.Somebody To Love
7.Stone Cold Crazy
6.Fat Bottomed Girls
5.Crazy Little thing Called Love
4.Another One Bites The Dust
3.We Will Rock You
2.One Vision
1.Tie Your Mother Down
Where are The Show Must Go On and Tie Your Mither Down?
I defy any one to listen to Show Must Go On and not hear the passion and pain in Freddy's voice, it truly was Queens swan song. The only other song I've heard sung with such a level of investment is Johnny Cash's cover of NINs Hurt.
No offense to the person who wrote this article but their obviously not that much of a Queen fan.
As for the bass player comments its well known that Paul, I mean John has not played bass in well over a decade now. Perhaps that what the writer meant by missing him?
Surprised by the lack of love for One Vision and Radio Ga Ga in peoples top 10's
Mine:
1 Somebody To Love
2 Innuendo
3 Show Must Go On
4 One Vision
5 Headlong
6 Stone Cold Crazy
7 Bohemian Rhapsody
8 Made In Heaven
9 Another One Bited The Dust
10 Killer Queen
Surprised by the lack of love for One Vision and Radio Ga Ga in peoples top 10's
Mine:
1 Somebody To Love
2 Innuendo
3 Show Must Go On
4 One Vision
5 Headlong
6 Stone Cold Crazy
7 Bohemian Rhapsody
8 Made In Heaven
9 Another One Bited The Dust
10 Killer Queen
Tho I couldn't fit Radio Ga Ga in mine either! Too many amazing songs...
I Want It All...if you're going to mention the hard rocking side to Queen, that is a staple song.
It's so hard to make this kind of list for Queen because every time you think of 10 songs more come to mind that you would like to include. Truly one of the greatest bands ever. Amazing song-writers. There are few bands in histroy that can match Queen for purely anthemic tunes. Also it's amazing how they seem to have a song to fit any occasion.
Dammit, it's just impossible for me to come up with a legitamate list for Queen. They're just too diverse. You'd probably have to organize them into rock, ballad,etc. And just MAYBE you could go from there, but I'm still a little ashamed of my list, I tried to diversify.
The article asks if the reader will miss the talents of both Freddie Mercury and "Paul" Deacon as if they've both only recently departed. Yeah dude, I'm sure fans have MISSED both for years now. Also, am I the only one bothered the the typo 'AIDs'? With a lower case 's' on the end? Maybe it was an accident, but it makes the writer seem like he doesn't really know anything about this disease that has killed millions of people, including the singer of the band he's talking about, and continues to kill people all over the world today.
Anyway, one of my favorites (like many posted before i see) is Innuendo. Really a great @!$%#@#$ song! He sings that one so powerfull. Cant believe all the reviewers were bashing the album back then... Has some other great tunes on it aswell.
Also like The Prophet's song alot and A Winter's tale is a lovely slow song.
i didn't realize how many queen songs i knew, but seeing this list made me realize i'm a ****ing queen fan.
Everyone is a Queen fan, they just don't know it. Pick up "Greatest Hits" and I'll guaruntee you know at least five of the songs, if that little!
As for my list, being UG's self-proclaimed biggest Queen fan and founder of the UG Queen fan club:
1.Bohemian Rhapsody (no doubt about it)
2.March of the Black Queen (A long version of Bo Rhap)
3.You Take my Breath Away (Their most beautiful song)
4.Liar (Their first epic song recorded)
5.Don't Stop Me Now (Upbeat, just awesome in general)
6.Death on Two Legs (more "real" than any rapper)
7.Rock You/Champions (the greatest song combo ever)
8.Another...Dust (Funk ass bass rhythm)
9. Too Much Love... (The defining final Queen song)
10. Father to Son (Moving song, Brian's greatest solo)
It's not easy making a best of Queen list, but ranking albums would be easier than songs.
IMO it's really hard to make a "perfect" list of Queen's greatest songs because they've made so many different kind of songs in so many different genres! Two Queen fans could sit down at a table and have two completely different lists of their favourtie songs. Queen is some kind of an "allround band" making soft ballads and actually some pretty rocking stuff too - they're just great.
I find this to be a very good list. Probably my favorite song isnt on here though, "who wants to live forever". Also the information in the article is awful x) good list though, Queen has too many good songs to make it just a top 10.
Um didn't JOHN Deacon write You're My Best Friend?
And I absolutely agree with that song being #1, I find myself growing weary of Bohemian Rahapsody a lot, and this song is always a nice change.
Also, woulnd't have minded seeing I'm In Love With My Car somewhere on there :P
Without Freddie we wouldn't have alot of great bands like Protest The Hero, thank you Queen. I never realized how important they were to Metal until i began studying music.
all i can say is these are the days of our lives just due to 2 things and that is the it was the last song freddie done so a good tribute and the last words he says cause he knew her was gonna die and so he says to all us fans i still love you
all i can say is these are the days of our lives just due to 2 things and that is the it was the last song freddie done so a good tribute and the last words he says cause he knew her was gonna die and so he says to all us fans i still love you
Actually the last song he did was Mother Love. But yeah, These are the Days of our Lives should be on here, although it's kind of impossible to have a top 10 list for Queen because when you put 10 songs in, you think of more that you should have put in.
I think its funny as hell that all these ppl are like "oh ur not a true Queen fan" then say "where's we will rock you?" yo dumbasses, "we are the champions" is the we will rock you song
I think its funny as hell that all these ppl are like "oh ur not a true Queen fan" then say "where's we will rock you?" yo dumbasses, "we are the champions" is the we will rock you song
Lily of the Valley is absolutely amazing... Actually the few songs from the Sheer Heart Attack that follow eachother (Tenement Funster, Flick of the Wrist and Lily of the Valley) are completely amazing!
Lily of the Valley is amazing, has one of the most perfect melodies I've ever heard, just such a shame it's so short!
And Flick of the Wrist is totally a predecessor to hard rock/metal, that vocal line underlined by the distorted guitar!
yup... right down to the "controversial" Bohemian Rhapsody being number 2... some Queen songs are always gonna be excellent... some are a little over-played, to the point where even the musical genius of the composition & execution begin to pale with over-familiarity.
1. The Prophet's Song
2. Bohemian Rhapsody
3. Innuendo
4. March of the Black Queen
5. Liar
6. Radio Ga Ga
7. The Show Must Go On
8. The Miracle
9. Scandal
10. Back Chat
Pretty solid list. im glad youre my best friend, one of my personal favorites and a song that has bring me a tear to my eye more than once, topped the list, bohemian would be too obvious
I think its funny as hell that all these ppl are like "oh ur not a true Queen fan" then say "where's we will rock you?" yo dumbasses, "we are the champions" is the we will rock you song
I think its funny as hell that all these ppl are like "oh ur not a true Queen fan" then say "where's we will rock you?" yo dumbasses, "we are the champions" is the we will rock you song
what?
I think he means that they are the same song. "We are the Champions" is like the second part of "We will Rock You"
i didn't realize how many queen songs i knew, but seeing this list made me realize i'm a ****ing queen fan.
Everyone is a Queen fan, they just don't know it. Pick up "Greatest Hits" and I'll guaruntee you know at least five of the songs, if that little!
As for my list, being UG's self-proclaimed biggest Queen fan and founder of the UG Queen fan club:
1.Bohemian Rhapsody (no doubt about it)
2.March of the Black Queen (A long version of Bo Rhap)
3.You Take my Breath Away (Their most beautiful song)
4.Liar (Their first epic song recorded)
5.Don't Stop Me Now (Upbeat, just awesome in general)
6.Death on Two Legs (more "real" than any rapper)
7.Rock You/Champions (the greatest song combo ever)
8.Another...Dust (Funk ass bass rhythm)
9. Too Much Love... (The defining final Queen song)
10. Father to Son (Moving song, Brian's greatest solo)
It's not easy making a best of Queen list, but ranking albums would be easier than songs.
You couldn't be more wrong. You say everyone is a Queen fan, but I'm sure not one of them. I can't stand Queen, the only song I ever liked was Bohemian Rhapsody, and only because of Wayne's World. Never have liked Queen.
i thought this was gonna be some awesome list that made me like queen. i tried, i bought their albums but i still cant get into it. actually tie your mother down is the only song i really like of theirs.
Firstly, the drummer is called Roger Taylor (not Roger Walters) and the mild mannered bassist is John Deacon - who the hell are Paul Deaon and Paul Deacon?
Another accurate UG article brought to you by Stevie Wonder.
Firstly, the drummer is called Roger Taylor (not Roger Walters) and the mild mannered bassist is John Deacon - who the hell are Paul Deaon and Paul Deacon?
Another accurate UG article brought to you by Stevie Wonder.
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