"Love Kills" is a song by Freddie Mercury, and his first song released as a solo artist, though the other members of Queen appeared on the song - initially uncredited. Written by Mercury and Giorgio Moroder, it was originally used in Moroder's 1984 restoration and edit of

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

's 1927 silent film ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

'', as part of the film's new soundtrack. In 1985, the film was nominated at the 5th Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Musical Score, and the song itself was nominated for Worst Original Song. Nevertheless, the single reached number ten on the

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. Officially, the single has only ever been credited to Freddie Mercury, despite it being a collaboration with Moroder. In 2000, the liner notes of the Freddie Mercury boxset ''

The Solo Collection ''The Solo Collection'' is a compilation album, compilation box set detailing the solo career of Freddie Mercury; it includes the material Mercury recorded before joining up with Queen (band), Queen, up through the 1993 No More Brothers remixes ...

'' confirmed that

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. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

and Roger Taylor contributed guitar and drums to the track, and many years later, the 2019 compilation '' Never Boring'' confirmed that the fourth member of Queen,

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 Bite ...

also performed on the song, contributing additional guitar parts.''Never Boring''
/ref> There has been no confirmation as to why the track was released credited solely to Mercury and not as a Queen single, but the band's contract with EMI Records worldwide (and Capital Records in the USA) may have contributed to this, as the Metropolis soundtrack was released on CBS Records, who would go on to sign Freddie as a solo artist for the 1985 album '' Mr. Bad Guy''. The song was never performed live in any concert or event.

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performed the song live for the very first time on the North American leg of their tour in 2014 as a ballad. That version was later reworked by Brian May & Roger Taylor with the original vocals by Mercury for the album '' Queen Forever'' in 2014. A remix of "Love Kills" was also used for the closing credits of the 1993 film '' Loaded Weapon 1''. This version was the Richard Wolf Mix as found on the compilation album ''

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''. In 2009, a cover version by English synthpop singer

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was included on her extended plays ''

'' and ''

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''. The B-side, "Rotwang's Party (Robot Dance)" was written and performed by Moroder. Although used in his rendition of ''Metropolis'', it was not included in the film's soundtrack album.

Track listings

Personnel

* Freddie Mercury – vocals, synthesizers *

Reinhold Mack Reinhold Mack (also known as Mack, born 25 August 1949) is a German record producer and engineer. Mack is best known for his collaborations with Electric Light Orchestra, Queen, and Sparks. Biography Early life and education Mack grew up in Mu ...

– synthesizers, programming * Giorgio Moroder – synthesizers, programming *

- lead guitar *

- additional guitar * Roger Taylor - percussion

Queen version

A previously unreleased ballad version of the song was reworked by Brian May and Roger Taylor for the compilation '' Queen Forever''. The Queen version is a stripped-down ballad version, while Mercury's version is a high energy track. "Love Kills" was considered for inclusion on the occasion of Queen's eleventh studio album '' The Works'', but was not used.

Personnel

* Freddie Mercury – lead vocals, keyboards * Giorgio Moroder - keyboard *

–

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bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Roger Taylor – drums *

– additional guitars

Remixes

* "Love Kills (Wolf remix)" was found in a promotional CD issued only in the United States in 1992. * "Love Kills (Pixel '82 remix)" and "Love Kills (More Oder Rework by The Glimmers)" can both be found in the UK double-CD release of the 2006 compilation album '' Lover of Life, Singer of Songs: The Very Best of Freddie Mercury Solo'' * Several remixes of the track are found in the 2006 ''Love Kills (remix)'' singles released in various European countries, with different track lists: ** "Love Kills (Sunshine People Radio remix)" ** "Love Kills (Star Rider remix)" ** "Love Kills (

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Radio remix)" ** "Love Kills (Sunshine People Club remix)"

Charts

;Sunshine People Remix 2006 version

References

{{authority control 1984 debut singles 1984 songs CBS Records singles Virgin EMI Records singles Freddie Mercury songs Little Boots songs Song recordings produced by Giorgio Moroder Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack Songs written for films Songs written by Freddie Mercury Songs written by Giorgio Moroder Works based on Metropolis (1927 film)