Living on My Own
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"Living on My Own" is a song by British 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 ...
, originally included on his first solo album, '' Mr. Bad Guy'' (1985). It was released as a single (backed with "My Love Is Dangerous") in September 1985 in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 50. The July 1985 release in the United States had "She Blows Hot and Cold" as its
B-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 compan ...
. Eight years later, in 1993, "Living on My Own" was remixed and re-released to widespread chart success. The song's lyrics reflect Mercury's longstanding admiration for
Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...
, whose quotations are featured prominently in the lyrics.


1993 No More Brothers' Mix version

On 19 July 1993, almost two years after Mercury's death, the No More Brothers Mix of "Living on My Own" was released. This remix reached number one in the UK, Ireland, and France (for 15 weeks), becoming Mercury's first solo number-one hit. Meanwhile, in the United States, the 1993 version was not officially released.Roberts, David (2006).
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. London: Guinness World Records Limited
It remained at the top for two weeks on the British charts.


Critical reception

Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger felt that Mercury "sounds terrific over
house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
." Pan-European magazine ''
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'' wrote that the Belgian dance producers "picked up a Mercury vocal track, put it on top of sequencers—with surprising results—and made a local top 10 hit out of it." John Kilgo from ''The Network Forty'' said that "hitting you over the head like a hammer, the harmony-laden hook compliments (sic) an uptempo groove". A reviewer from ''Sandwell Evening Mail'' declared it as "a stunning Euro-style remix".


Chart performance

The 1993 No More Brothers Mix of "Living on My Own" was very successful in Europe. It made it to number one in Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as 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 ...
. In the UK, it hit the top spot in its third week on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, on 8 August 1993; the single spent two weeks at the top of the chart. Additionally, it reached number two in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. In these countries, it was held off reaching number one by 4 Non Blondes' " What's Up". "Living on My Own" earned a
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in the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK, while it earned a
platinum record 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 Austria and Germany.


Music video

The accompanying
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for both the original 1985 and the 1993 remix versions of "Living on My Own" show footage of Mercury's 39th birthday celebration on 5th September 1985 at the
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nightclub ''Old Mrs. Henderson'' in
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, where Mercury lived from 1979 to 1985. The theme of the birthday party was "A Black and White Drag Ball." Because of the garishly costumed
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and
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celebrating a decadent raucous party in the video clip, the British broadcaster
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
long refused to broadcast the music video on its channels. The video was directed by
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and
Rudi Dolezal Rudi Dolezal ( sl, Doležal, born 5 February 1958) is an Austrian film producer and film director best known for his music videos. He has directed and produced videos for artists such as Tom Waits, the Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, M ...
, and received
heavy rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely sh ...
on
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. It was later published on Mercury's official
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channel in November 2012, and as of December 2022, the video had generated more than 97 million views.


Track listings


1985 edition

* 7-inch :A. "Living on My Own" (single version) :B. "My Love Is Dangerous" (album version) – 3:41 * 12-inch :A. "Living on My Own" (extended version) – 6:42 :B. "My Love Is Dangerous" (extended version) – 6:28


1993 edition

* 7-inch/cassette :A. "Living on My Own" (radio mix) :B. "Living on My Own" (1992 album remix) * 12-inch :A1. "Living on My Own" (extended mix) :A2. "Living on My Own" (club mix) :B1. "Living on My Own" (dub mix) :B2. "Living on My Own" (LA mix) * CD single # "Living on My Own" (radio mix) # "Living on My Own" (extended mix) # "Living on My Own" (club mix) # "Living on My Own" (1992 album remix)


Personnel

* Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals * Colin Peter – additional production / remix * Carl Ward – additional production / remix * Serge Ramaekers – additional production / remix


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Sales and certifications


See also

*
List of posthumous number ones on the UK Singles Chart The death of a popular musician, and likewise, the use of a dead musician's work in advertising, often causes a sharp increase in sales of the musician's recordings and associated products; this has led to a number of posthumous number one single ...


References


External links

* (from '' Greatest Hits III'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Living on My Own 1985 songs 1985 singles 1993 singles EMI Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Freddie Mercury songs Hollywood Records singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Sweden Parlophone singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Songs about loneliness Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack Songs written by Freddie Mercury UK Singles Chart number-one singles