"Scandal" 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 ...
. It was released as the fourth single from their 1989 album ''
The Miracle'' and peaked at #25 in the UK.
The single was released in the United States but failed to chart.
Composition
"Scandal", written by
Brian May, but credited to Queen, is about the unwanted attention May and lead singer
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 ...
received from the press in the late 1980s, involving May's divorce from his first wife, Chrissie Mullen, and his relationship with actress
Anita Dobson and growing media speculation about Mercury's health. Mercury was
diagnosed with
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
in April 1987; he did not reveal his condition until the day before his death in November 1991. However, changes in his appearance, particularly his weight loss and rather gaunt look, helped fuel speculation that he was seriously ill.
Recording
May recorded the keyboards and guitars in one take. Mercury's vocal was also done in one take.
Music video
The video for the song featured the band performing on a stage designed to look like a newspaper - it was filmed at
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...
on 27 September 1989 and is notable for Mercury's "gaunt" appearance.
In the audio commentary included with the video in ''
Queen: Greatest Video Hits 2'',
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 ...
admitted his dislike for it, stating it was “not one of my favourite songs. One of the most boring videos we ever made."
B-sides
The original version of the song "My Life Has Been Saved" was featured on the B-Side of the single, before May, Taylor, Deacon and Richards reworked the track for their fifteenth and final studio album ''
Made in Heaven''. The 1995 version replaced the original guitar intro with keyboards played by 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 ...
. The 12" and CD singles include the extended version of "Scandal" on the A-Side, while the B-Sides are both "My Life Has Been Saved" and the album version of "Scandal".
Track listings
7" Single
# "Scandal" (Album Version) - 4:43
# "My Life Has Been Saved" - 3:15
12"/CD Single
# "Scandal" (Extended Version) - 6:23
# "My Life Has Been Saved" - 3:15
# "Scandal" (Album Version) - 4:43
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 - guitars, keyboards
*
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,
vibraslap
*
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
*
David Richards -
synth bass
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
,
sampler
Sampler may refer to:
* Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal
* Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework
* Sampler (surna ...
Charts
References
External links
*
Lyrics at Queen official website
Queen (band) songs
1989 singles
Parlophone singles
Songs written by Brian May
Songs about the media
EMI Records singles
Capitol Records singles
Hollywood Records singles
1989 songs
{{1980s-single-stub