"Play the Game" is a song by British rock band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, written by

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

. It is the first track on the first side of their 1980 album '' The Game''. It also appears on their album '' Greatest Hits''. The single was a hit in the UK, reaching #14 in the charts, and in the US, peaking at #42.

Composition

The song commences with a series of overlapping rushing noises on an Oberheim OB-X synthesiser, heralding the band's acceptance of electronic instruments into their once explicitly "no synths" sonic repertoire. They played it in their live shows from 1980–82. The song features a soft vocal by Mercury, ending with a strong A4 rising in pitch all the way to C5 in chest voice (contrary to the other C5s being hit in

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

). Mercury also played piano on the track. ''

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'' considered "Play the Game" to be a return to Queen's traditional "epic, rather grand sound" after deviating from that sound with the

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of their prior single " Crazy Little Thing Called Love." ''

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'' similarly said that this is a return to Queen's "patented high tech, progressive pop sound" and they commented on "Freddie Mercury's breathless falsetto and sweet piano work" and "Brian May’s soaring lead guitar." Later singles "

It's a Hard Life "It's a Hard Life" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was featured on their 1984 album '' The Works'', and it was the third single from that album. In 1991 it was included in the band’s second ...

" and " You Don't Fool Me" revisit the theme presented in "Play the Game", with Mercury writing from the same lover's perspective years later in the former song, and reflecting on the memories of the failed relationship in the latter. Both "Play the Game" and "It's a Hard Life" are of a similar structure, revolving around Mercury's piano playing and the band's multi-layered harmonies.

Music video

The cover of the single, as well as its promotional video directed by Brian Grant,Brian and Roger talk. ''

Greatest Video Hits 1 ''Greatest Video Hits 1'' was the first Queen video collection on DVD. Most of the content was released previously on VHS and the long defunct CED Videodisc format as Greatest Flix in 1981. It was released in October 2002, and included video h ...

''. October 2002. marked the first time Mercury appeared in either format with what later became his trademark moustache. Brian May did not use his trademark Red Special guitar, instead using a Fender Stratocaster replica made by Satellite. This was likely due to the risk of damage involved in the shot in which Mercury snatches the guitar from May, then appears to throw it back to him which was played back in reverse so that it would be easier for May to play the solo after "catching" the guitar in the video. A shot of the band in the unedited blue screen set for the video was later used for the cover of the "

Another One Bites the Dust "Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album '' The Game'' (1980). It was a worldwide hit, charting number one on the US ''Billb ...

" single release.

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals, piano, synthesiser * Brian May – electric guitar, backing vocals *

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

– drums, backing vocals *

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", " Another One Bit ...

– bass guitar

Charts

Beach House version

The

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duo Beach House recorded a cover of "Play the Game" that was contributed for the

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release of the

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's 2009 compilation, ''

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''. The track was released as an iTunes only bonus track. On June 30, 2017, the band released their '' B-Sides and Rarities'' compilation album, which includes the cover.

Downloadable content for ''Rock Band''

The song was made available to download on 7 December 2010 for use in the ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'' music video game in both basic rhythm, and PRO mode which allows use of a real guitar/bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits/keyboards in addition to vocals.

References

External links

*Official

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videos
original music videoLive at the BowlLyrics at Queen official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Play The Game (Song) Queen (band) songs 1980 singles 1980 songs EMI Records singles Elektra Records singles Hollywood Records singles Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack Songs written by Freddie Mercury