"Who Wants to Live Forever" is a song by the British rock band

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. A

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, it is the sixth track on the album ''

A Kind of Magic ''A Kind of Magic'' is the twelfth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 2 June 1986 by EMI Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US. It is based on the soundtrack to the film '' Highlander'', directed by Russell M ...

'', which was released in June 1986, and was written by lead guitarist

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

for the soundtrack to the film '' Highlander''.Who Wants To Live Forever
UltimateQueen.co.uk Queen was backed up by an orchestra, with orchestrations by film score composer

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. The song peaked at No. 24 in the UK charts. In 1991, it was included in the band's second compilation album, '' Greatest Hits II''. Since its release, the song has been

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by many artists, such as German band

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

in 1996, whose version peaked at number two in Germany. Five months after Mercury's death in November 1991,

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performed a live version of the song at

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, direc ...

in 1992. In 2014, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' readers voted it their fifth favourite song by Queen, and in 2018 it was listed at number 15 in "The top 20 Queen songs of all time" by Smooth Radio.

Recording

In the 1986 film '' Highlander'', the song is used to frame the scenes in the film where Connor MacLeod must endure his beloved wife

Heather MacLeod This is a list of characters from the ''Highlander (franchise), Highlander'' franchise. Major characters Major characters appear in more than one movie or series. Works are presented in chronological order. Films Introduced in ''Highlander' ...

growing old and dying while he, as an

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

, remains forever young. Brian May wrote the song in the backseat of his car after seeing a 20-minute first cut of the scene of Heather's death. It was later used in the ''Highlander'' television series episodes " The Gathering", " Revenge is Sweet", " The Hunters", " Line of Fire", and " Leader of the Pack". In the film version,

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

provides all the main vocals. On the album version, May sings lead vocals on the first verse before Mercury takes over, with May also singing "But touch my tears with your lips" during Mercury's verse and the closing line "Who waits forever anyway?". An

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

version of the song, entitled "Forever", was included as a bonus track on the CD version of the album. This instrumental featured only a guitar, with keyboard accompaniment during the chorus sections. The piano track was recorded solely by May. Queen were backed up by an orchestra arranged by

Critical reception

Upon its release, Robin Smith of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' praised "Who Wants to Live Forever" as "rather wonderful" and a "passionate epic, full to the brim with some glorious effects" and Mercury "bawl nghis little heart out". William Shaw, writing for ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'', stated, "What we have here is an enormous orchestra sawing away while Freddie croons with exceptional sensitivity, finally building up to a stupendous climax where they unleash Brian May to do one of his legendary but now sadly rare searing axe solos". Andrew Panos of '' Number One'' gave it a one out of five star rating, remarking that "a ballad it may be but subtle and tender it isn't". He called it "almost worthless apart from the rather spiffing classic 'Killer Queen' on the B-side".

Music video

The music video for "Who Wants to Live Forever" was directed by David Mallet and filmed in a (now demolished) warehouse at Tobacco Wharf at London's East End on 16 September 1986.Queen Promo Videos: Who Wants To Live Forever
Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 13 November 2019 It featured the National Philharmonic Orchestra with forty choirboys and several hundreds of candles which remain lit throughout filming as well as Mercury wearing a tuxedo suit. An alternate version with clips from the film ''Highlander'' (which the song appears in) appears on the video single with "A Kind of Magic" in October 1986 and later as a hidden music video on the '' Queen Greatest Video Hits II'' DVD in November 2003.

Live performances

The song was performed by Queen during the 1986 Magic Tour in a D minor key. Live, May would begin playing

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980s, th ...

) before moving to guitar halfway through the song. Also, the live versions feature Freddie Mercury singing the entirety of lead vocals, and John Deacon playing

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

(starting at the second verse)—with the song ending after the final lyrics (“Who waits forever anyway?”) without the orchestra-and-guitar flourish of the studio version.

Track listing

* 7-inch single :A1. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Single Version) – 4:01 :B1. "Killer Queen" – 2:59 * 12-inch single :A1. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Single Version) – 4:01 :A2. "Killer Queen" – 2:59 :B1. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Album Version) – 5:15 :B2. "Forever" – 3:20

Personnel

;Queen *

– lead and backing vocals *

– lead and backing vocals, synthesiser, guitars, orchestral arrangements * Roger Taylor – drums, drum machine, backing vocals ;Additional musicians *

– orchestral arrangements, conductor * National Philharmonic Orchestra – strings,

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and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Legacy

Tributes

performed a live version of this song at

held at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in April 1992 five months after Mercury's death. He said the song made him cry when he first heard it. Thomas Curtis-Horsfall of Smooth Radio stated Seal's performance of the song was "one of the standout moments" from the concert, adding "his spine-tingling rendition of the Queen classic had everyone in the arena close to tears." * The song serves as the opening track for '' Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute'', a double CD released on 2 December 1997 in memory of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

three months after her death. * Closing the

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in England on 12 June 2016,

Queen + Adam Lambert Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * ...

performed the song as a tribute to the victims of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida earlier that day. * The song serves as the closing track of Episode 3 of

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...

' AIDS drama ''

It's a Sin "It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, '' Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's ...

'' (set in 1986). * The animated television series ''

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'' uses the song during the post-credits scene for the Season 5 episode "Mortyplicity".

Funeral music

In a 2005 poll conducted by digital television station

Music Choice Music Choice (abbreviated as MC) is an American television music service that digitally broadcasts audio-based music channels and video-related content to cable television providers in the United States. In 2019, it reached 65 million household ...

on what song Britons would most like played at their

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

, the song was voted the fifth most popular.

Dune version

German band

released their cover of "Who Wants to Live Forever" in October 1996 as the first single from their third album, ''

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume * '' ...

'' (1997). It is produced by Bernd Burhoff and Jens Oettrich, recorded in

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and features German singer Verena von Strenge and the London Session Orchestra. The single peaked at number two in Germany, receiving a

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

certification after selling more than 500,000 copies in Germany alone. It was also a top-10 hit in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, a top-20 hit in the Netherlands and a top-60 hit in Sweden. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, it reached number 13 in January 1997. "Who Wants to Live Forever" was nominated to the 1997 Echo Awards for the most successful national dance single.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Who Wants to Live Forever" was directed by Swedish-based director Matt Broadley and was shot in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. The video begins in an old

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, where Oliver Froning of Dune plays a man standing by a grave. He then sees Verena von Strenge appearing in ghost-like form, dressed in a white dress, singing to him. When Froning leaves the graveyard, he walks into the highlands. By a river, he stops for drinking some water, and again sees von Strenge standing in front of a waterfall, singing to him. In the end, he reaches the top of the mountains, where he is united with von Strenge.

Track listing

# "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Sixtysix radio mix) (3:54) # "Who Wants to Live Forever" (South Bound mix) (3:58) #''Highland Trilogy:'' One Day in Glencoe (4:49) #''Highland Trilogy:'' Valley of Tears (4:58) #''Highland Trilogy:'' In the Air, Part 2 (10:29)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Sarah Brightman version

British soprano

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

released her cover of "Who Wants to Live Forever" as a single by

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York City. History After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...

in 1997 from her fifth album, '' Timeless/Time to Say Goodbye'' (1997). It was produced by Frank Peterson and peaked at No. 45 in the UK Singles Chart.

Track listing

* CD single #"Who Wants to Live Forever" (Album version) #"Who Wants to Live Forever" ( Xenomania club mix) * Maxi CD single #"Who Wants to Live Forever" #" A Question of Honour" #" Heaven Is Here" #"I Loved You" * 12" vinyl #"Who Wants to Live Forever (Trouser Enthusiasts 'Cybernetic Odalisque' Mix)" #"Who Wants to Live Forever (Xenomania Club Mix)" #"Who Wants to Live Forever (Xenomania Dub Mix)" #"Who Wants to Live Forever (X-Citing Mix)

Charts

Other notable covers

*In 2002, Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever recorded a cover of the song as the B-side of their second single "Emphasis". The track can be found as a bonus track on the band's second studio album "

Decipher DECIPHER is a web-based resource and database of genomic variation data from analysis of patient DNA. It documents submicroscopic Chromosome abnormality, chromosome abnormalities (Deletion (genetics), microdeletions and Gene duplication, duplic ...

". *In 2009, Welsh singer

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns."Believe".

References

* * §

External links

* A Kind of Magic

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* with

009 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Who Wants To Live Forever 1986 songs 1986 singles 1980s ballads 1997 singles Queen (band) songs Dune (band) songs EMI Records singles East West Records singles Hollywood Records singles Music videos directed by David Mallet (director) Music videos directed by Matt Broadley Music videos shot in the United Kingdom Rock ballads Sarah Brightman songs Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack Songs about death Songs from Highlander (franchise) Songs written by Brian May Virgin Records singles