"I Want to Break Free" is a song by the 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 their bassist
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 ...
. It appears on the album ''
The Works'' (1984), and was released in three versions: album, single and extended. The track became a staple of the bands during their 1984-85
The Works Tour
The Works Tour was the tenth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen to promote their successful 1984 album '' The Works''. During the tour, Queen participated in the Rock in Rio festival in 1985; the concert was released on VHS. ...
and their 1986
Magic Tour.
The song is largely known for its music video for which all the band members dressed in
drag, a concept proposed by drummer
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 ...
, which parodied the long-running
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
soap opera ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
''. The second part of the video included a composition rehearsed and performed with the
Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
and choreographed by
Wayne Eagling
Wayne Eagling (born 27 November 1950) is a Canadian ballet dancer, now retired. After more than twenty years as a popular member of The Royal Ballet in London, he became well known as an international choreographer and company director.
Early li ...
. Whereas the parody was acclaimed in the United Kingdom, where
cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself.
Cross-dressing has play ...
is a popular trope in British comedy, it caused controversy in the United States.
After its release in 1984, the song was well received in Europe and South America and is regarded as an anthem of the fight against oppression. The single reached only number 45 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, but reached number three in the UK and was certified silver with over 200,000 copies sold. It also topped the charts of Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The song features on the band's compilation album, ''
Greatest Hits II''.
Composition and background
The song was written in 1983 by John Deacon and released in April 1984.
[ Most of the song follows a traditional 12 bar blues progression in ]E major
E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...
. It has three verses with one bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, no chorus, and relatively little section repetition.
The song features session musician Fred Mandel
Frederick Lawrence Mandel (born 1953) is a Canadian session musician, keyboard player and guitarist.
Career
Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Mandel became involved in music from an early age. He started playing the piano at four and picked up t ...
, who plays all of the keyboard parts; he was involved with the song when it featured only a drum machine and a guitar part. The keyboard solo was done in one take on a Roland Jupiter-8
The Jupiter-8, or JP-8, is an eight-voice polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizer introduced by Roland Corporation in early 1981.
The Jupiter-8 was Roland's flagship synthesizer for the first half of the 1980s. Approximately 3300 units have ...
synthesizer, except the last note with a portamento
In music, portamento (plural: ''portamenti'', from old it, portamento, meaning "carriage" or "carrying") is a pitch sliding from one note to another. The term originated from the Italian expression "''portamento della voce''" ("carriage of the v ...
down one octave, which was captured via punching in.
Besides the album version, a single version and an extended version were released.
The single version lasts 4 minutes 21 seconds and differs from the album version by the 40-second introduction and a longer synthesizer solo which starts at 2:33. The introduction is played on an electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument, an electronic derivative of keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs an ...
and is assisted by cymbal
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
s, drums and a guitar (Red Special
The Red Special is the electric guitar designed and built by Queen's guitarist Brian May and his father, Harold, when Brian was a teenager in the early 1960s. The Red Special is sometimes referred to as the Fireplace or the Old Lady by May and ...
). For the ''Bohemian Rhapsody'' soundtrack the single introduction is added to the album version creating a 3 minutes 43 seconds edit.
The extended version lasts 7 minutes 16 seconds and features a longer introduction and ending. It lasts until 6:04, and the remaining minute contains fragments of other songs from '' The Works''. The extended version was mostly distributed as 12-inch vinyl records
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...
and then reissued on the CD of ''The Works'' in 1991.
Besides ''The Works'', the song was featured in the albums '' Greatest Hits II'', '' Box of Tricks'', ''Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' (1992 US 'Red' edition) and ''Absolute Greatest
''Absolute Greatest'' is a 2009 compilation album by the British rock band Queen. The album contains 20 of their most famous songs, and is available in several formats, including the single CD edition, a 2 CD special edition featuring audio com ...
'' and in the box-sets ''The Complete Works
The complete works of an artist, writer, musician, group, etc., is a collection of all of their cultural works. For example, '' Complete Works of Shakespeare'' is an edition containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. A ''Complete ...
'' and '' The Platinum Collection''.
Distribution
The song became the second single from the album ''The Works'', after "Radio Ga Ga
"Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with " I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included on the album '' The Works'' ...
". The single was released on 2 April 1984 on 7-inch and 12-inch records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
and later as 3-inch and 5-inch CDs.[I WANT TO BREAK FREE as an a-side]
Pcpki.com. Retrieved 13 October 2013.[Single covers from various countries]
Web.archive.org (10 June 2008). Retrieved 13 October 2013.
The 7-inch records were distributed in 16 countries. In most countries, the A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
features the extended version of "I've Got to Break Free" while the B-side contains the album version of the song "Machines (or 'Back to Humans')". The US and Canadian releases feature an instrumental version of "Machines" as the B-side, while Brazil features "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 ...
". In Argentina, the song was released as "Quiero Ser Libre".[
The UK 3-inch CD single features "I Want to Break Free" (album version), "Machines" and "It's a Hard Life". In Germany, the 5-inch CD single contains "I Want to Break Free" and "]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 ...
", as well as the video of "I Want to Break Free".[
Single covers feature pictures of the group from the cover of the album ''The Works''. In countries where the single went in four different versions, each version has a picture of one Queen member, otherwise four images were placed together. The inscription "Queen. I Want to Break Free" is red, white, gold or black and the frame is red or white. The German 5-inch CD uses the cover for the "Radio Ga Ga" single. The reverse side is the same – a photo of the group on a red background, except for CDs which had a white background and no pictures.][
]
Reception
''Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said that the refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...
is "catchy."
''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 fo ...
'' said, "After the masterly pop production of "Radio Ga Ga
"Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with " I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included on the album '' The Works'' ...
" comes a big, fat dud: an unfinished song (loosely borrowed from Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
's ancient hit " What Now My Love", an absurd guitar solo and half-hearted performances from all bar Freddie."
Chart performance
The single was received very positively over most of the world except for North America. In April 1984, it became number three in the United Kingdom, and was within the top 10 in many European and Latin American countries, but only peaked at number 45 on the US charts. The single was certified platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
in the UK. MTV and some other US stations' minimal airing of the video played a role in the low US ranking.[ Sutcliffe, p. 180] The video was included in 1991 on VH1's ''My Generation'' two-part episode devoted to Queen hosted by guitarist Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...
. According to May in an interview about Queen's ''Greatest Hits'', whereas the video was understood and taken as a joke in the UK, the US audience failed to see the soap-opera connection.Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
Chapter 8
/ref> According to Taylor, MTV "was a very narrow-minded station then. It just seemed to be all fucking Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...
". "It was a measure of the...thinking, MTV, that they...thought it was disgraceful, and didn't show it, and banned it".
In some other countries, such as South Africa and in South America, the song was highly praised because it was seen as an anthem of the fight against oppression, whereas the reaction to the video was mixed.Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
Chapter 3
/ref>
Live performances
After the release of ''The Works'', the song was performed at almost all of Queen's live concerts. Live recordings of the song appeared on the concert albums ''Live Magic
''Live Magic'' is the second live album by British rock band Queen. It was recorded at various live shows during ''The Magic Tour'' and was released on 1 December 1986. However, it was not released in the United States until August 1996. It r ...
'', ''Live at Wembley '86
''Live at Wembley '86'' is a double live album by the British rock band Queen. It was recorded live on Saturday 12 July 1986 during The Magic Tour at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The album was released on 26 May 1992, with a companion ...
'' and ''Return of the Champions
''Return of the Champions'' is a double live album by English rock band Queen + Paul Rodgers. It was recorded in May 2005 during the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England (except for "Imagine", which was perform ...
''. In addition, the song was performed at several concerts which were then included in Queen's videos such as ''Queen at Wembley
''Queen Live at Wembley'' ''Stadium'', also referred to as ''Queen Live At Wembley'', ''Queen At Wembley'', ''Queen Live At Wembley '86'', ''Live At Wembley'' and ''Live At Wembley '86'', is a recording of a concert at the original Wembley Stad ...
'', '' We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan'', ''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, United Kingdom for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, d ...
'' and ''Return of the Champions
''Return of the Champions'' is a double live album by English rock band Queen + Paul Rodgers. It was recorded in May 2005 during the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England (except for "Imagine", which was perform ...
''.
Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...
led the song in The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. The song was also performed in many concerts of the project Queen + Paul Rodgers, where Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...
took vocals, Danny Miranda played bass guitar and Spike Edney
Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) is an English musician who, since the 1960s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably with Queen in their live concerts, where his participation started in 1984 during Queen's The Works to ...
was at the keyboard.
Music video
Following in the tradition of cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself.
Cross-dressing has play ...
in British comedy, the music video for "I Want to Break Free" sees the members of Queen in a suburban house dressed as women, a parody of the characters from the ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
soap opera ''Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
''.
The video opens with a scene of typical British residential streets in the morning, intercut with shots of a teasmade
A teasmade is a machine for making tea automatically, which was once common in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries. Teasmades generally include an analogue alarm clock and are designed to be used at the bedside, to ensure tea is ...
waking Brian May's character up. The terraced houses are located in Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, in the neighbourhood Harehills
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 (towards Wetherby) and the A64 (towards York). It sits in the Gipton & Ha ...
. The roof of a terrace, most likely between Sandhurst Terrace and Dorset Rd, can be seen in the opening shot. In the second scene the camera pans along a terrace and stops at the house where the action supposedly happens. It is located on 41 Dorset Mount in real life and has a slightly different floor plan than the set used in the video. A part of the Dorset Mount street name plate can be seen on its wall just a second before Brian May gets out of bed.
Mercury vacuums the floor and sings the first verse. He opens a door leading to a dark space, where the group appear surrounded by figures wearing miner's helmets. Mercury dances to a glowing box and reappears with several dancers dressed in spotted leotards, and perform a dance. In the house, Mercury sings and goes upstairs. The group appear in the dark space again.
Production
The "I Want to Break Free" music video was directed by David Mallet. It was shot on 22 March and 4 May 1984 at Limehouse Studios.
The ''Coronation Street'' spoof was " ggested by Roger's then-girlfriend Dominique". Recounts Roger Taylor: "We had done some really serious, epic videos in the past, and we just thought we'd have some fun. We wanted people to know that we didn't take ourselves too seriously, that we could still laugh at ourselves. I think we proved that." "I thought what character to make Fred? And I thought Liverpudlian slag is the answer".
The video depicts Mercury as a Liverpudlian slag, loosely based on Bet Lynch, who wants to "break free" from his life. Although Lynch was a blonde, Mercury thought he would look too silly as a blonde and chose a dark wig. He wears a black wig, pink earrings, pink blouse with sizable false breasts, black leather miniskirt
A miniskirt (sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, separated as mini skirt, or sometimes shortened to simply mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a ...
, knee-high stockings, and heeled shoes. During rehearsals, Mercury realised that he could not walk freely in high-heeled shoes and settled on 2-inch ones. May plays a more relaxed housewife based on Hilda Ogden
Hilda Ogden (also Crabtree) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the serial, whose name became synonymous with a classic hard-working Northern ...
. Deacon appears as a conservative "grandma", while Taylor plays a schoolgirl, who like Mercury wants a different life.[ Freestone, p. 119]
The composition was choreographed by Wayne Eagling
Wayne Eagling (born 27 November 1950) is a Canadian ballet dancer, now retired. After more than twenty years as a popular member of The Royal Ballet in London, he became well known as an international choreographer and company director.
Early li ...
, a friend of Mercury who had helped him with the choreography of "Bohemian Rhapsody". Eagling was then a leader of the Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
which was involved in the video. Mercury shaved his moustache in reference to Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...
as the faun
The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology.
Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...
in the ballet '' L'après-midi d'un faune''. The shooting took much practice, especially the conveyor rolling part.Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
Chapter 4
/ref> According to Eagling, despite being a natural performer on stage, Mercury could not stand performing any choreographed act himself, which is why he was mostly picked up and moved around in the ballet part of the video. The rehearsals with the Royal Ballet were organised by Eagling secretly from his superiors, something that placed him in serious trouble when discovered later.
Track listings
7" single
*A side. "I Want to Break Free" (single version) – 4:18
*B side. "Machines (or 'Back to Humans')" – 5:07
12" single
*A side. "I Want to Break Free" (extended version) – 7:14
*B side. "Machines (or 'Back to Humans')" – 5:07
Personnel
*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 ...
– vocals
*Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...
– electric lead guitar
*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 ...
– electronic drums
*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, electric and acoustic rhythm guitars
*Fred Mandel
Frederick Lawrence Mandel (born 1953) is a Canadian session musician, keyboard player and guitarist.
Career
Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Mandel became involved in music from an early age. He started playing the piano at four and picked up t ...
– synthesizers[
]
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
* Official YouTube videos
original music video
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Want To Break Free
Queen (band) songs
1984 singles
1984 songs
British synth-pop songs
Capitol Records singles
Coronation Street
Songs about cross-dressing
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
EMI Records singles
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Hollywood Records singles
LGBT-related songs
Music video controversies
Music videos directed by David Mallet (director)
Number-one singles in Austria
Number-one singles in Belgium
Number-one singles in South Africa
Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack
Songs written by John Deacon