Queen: Soundtrack of my teenage life

Queen was an iconic rock band in the 1970s and 1980s.

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The last seconds had ticked down on the Grey Cup, the Edmonton Eskimos had won another title, and this song began to play that seemed so boastful.

It was called “We are the Champions”, and really wasn’t bragging as much as celebrating, and really not about football anyway.

That was my introduction to Queen, beginning a long association that ended when I played a night-long tribute to their lead singer Freddie Mercury when he died in 1991.

Awhile back, I saw the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” about Queen, and last week saw that a Queen tribute band is coming to Lethbridge and Calgary.

Those two things just reinforced some great memories I have of Queen.

The years before
Queen had built quite a reputation by the dawn of the 1980s.

“Bohemina Rhapsody” in 1975 was their first top 10 song on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number nine. There was also “You’re my Best Friend” and “Somebody to Love” in 1976.

“Tie Your Mother Down” came in 1977. That song has a special place in my heart because it was on a mixed tape my brother made me for Christmas one year. He was trying to expose me to a variety of music, so he made these mixed tapes with music from bands such as Boston, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple – and Queen.

That year Queen also had their biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 to that point with “We Are the Champions”, which peaked at number four. “Fat Bottomed Girls” followed in 1978; then in 1979 they released “We Will Rock You”.

They wrapped up the decade in 1979 with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, their first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Queen was picking up steam as they entered a new decade.

Playing “The Game”
They had released their album “The Game” in 1979, which had “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” on it.

In 1980, “The Game” produced “Another One Bites the Dust”, Queen’s second number one single on the Billboard Hot 100.

This was where I first heard about Queen. My friend and neighbour Mike, talked about “Another One Bites the Dust” on the bus and at school. His older siblings listened to a lot of music, and he got it from them. I remember him singing the song while we played soccer and football at recess at St. Joe’s School in Coaldale.

Movie Music, part one
Queen closed out 1980 with a single called “Flash”. It was the theme song and part of the soundtrack for a big picture remake of the science fiction classic “Flash Gordon”. According to Wikipedia, the movie tells the story of star quarterback Flash Gordon and his allies Dale Arden and Hans Zarkov as they unite the warring factions of the planet Mongo against the oppression of Ming the Merciless who is intent on destroying the Earth

I never did the see the movie, but always wanted to.

It would not be the last time Queen ventured into the world of movie music.

Hot topic
Queen’s next album “Hot Space” came out in 1981.

The first single was “Under Pressure”, a duet with David Bowie, that became a rock anthem. It is an unbelievable song that showcases the lyrical talent of both Bowie and Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury. The song hit number one in the United Kingdom and 10 other countries and peaked at number three in Canada. Strangely, it peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song would also get ripped off by Vanilla Ice who, after a successful lawsuit, had to credit Bowie and Queen.

“Body Language,” the next single from “Hot Space”, fared much better on the Billboard Hot 100, hitting number 11 in 1982.

Cruising with “The Works”
I used to spend a couple weeks every summer with my cousins in Brooks, and they in turn would come to the farm. By the summer of 1984, my cousin Fred not only had got into music but got his licence and the use of a car.

So, we spent hours cruising the streets of Brooks and going out to Kinbrook Island to hang out on the beach. While we drove, Fred had a constant stream of songs playing. I recall really getting into albums such as “Sports” by Huey Lewis and the News; “Into the Gap” by the Thompson Twins; and “The Works” by Queen.

“The Works” in particular resonated with me because I had heard the first single, “Radio Ga-Ga” on “Solid Gold” on a Saturday night a few weeks before that. It would be Queen’s last top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100 before Mercury’s death in November of 1991, peaking at number 16.

“The Works” had a lot of memorable songs for me including “I Want to Break Free”, “Hammer to Fall”, and my personal favourite, “Is This the World we Created…?”, written after they saw a piece on the news about the poverty in Africa. “Is This the World we Created…?” would also be performed as an encore at Live Aid.

Live Aid
Queen’s performance at LiveAid in the summer of 1985, which is highlighted in the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”, is considered one of the greatest performances in rock history. It relied heavily on songs from their most recent album to that point, “The Works”.

The songs Queen played were “Bohemian Rhapsody”; “Radio Ga-Ga”; “Ay Oh/Hammer to Fall”; “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”; “We Will Rock You”; “We Are the Champions”; and “Is This the World We Created…?”

Movie Music, Part two
In the Spring of 1986, I went to see a movie with some friends including my friend and neighbour Mat. It was a fantasy called “Highlander”, about an immortal man named Connor McLeod who is being hunted by another immortal named the Kurgan. Immortals can be slain if their heads are cut off, and the last surviving immortal will receive the ultimate reward.

I loved the movie, and considered it part of a medieval trilogy of movies that I loved and influenced me to write my own fantasy. The others are “Ladyhawke” and “Willow”, with “The Princess Bride” an adjunct member.

Not as many others loved the movie as we did, because when the show ended and we were standing there reading the credits, led by another friend named Mike Kozbial, there were 13 people in the theatre. I know, because I counted, and no one had passed us to leave yet.

“Highlander” was full of songs that sounded like Queen. The one I recognized was “Hammer to Fall”. The others I recall are “Princes of the Universe” and “Who Wants to Live Forever”.

Later that year, my friend Dave Perlich went on a school trip to Europe. When he was in England, he bought a tape by Queen that he said was the soundttack to “Highlander”. After he came back, we were driving somewhere in his vehicle playing this tape, and I said I loved this song. It was “Hammer to Fall”. He asked how, because this was a new tape. I told him they were using some stuff Queen recorded previously, and proceeded to sing along to “Hammer to Fall”. Dave was surprised by that.

It turns out, that tape must have been Queen’s 1986 album “A Kind of Magic”, because Wikipedia reveals there never was an actual “Highlander” soundtrack released.

Still, the music was perfect for the movie.

End of the decade
The last single I recall hearing of Queen’s in the decade was “I Want it All” released in 1989, from their album “The Miracle”.

The years after
Freddie Mercury would leave Queen, then return. Sadly, he contracted AIDS and died in 1991. In tribute, I did a 24-hour tribute to him in The Dungeon, which was the wing I lived in student residence. I also caught the tail end of a tribute concert to him broadcast live from Wembley Stadium in April of 1992.

Mercury's death was a great loss to the music world.

Queen continued to stay in the public consciousness, through movies such as “Wayne’s World”, and through the TV show “Glee.”

Parting thoughts
Watching “Bohemian Rhapsody” just reinforced how much a part of growing up Queen was in my life. From my introduction to them on the school bus, and hearing their music at sporting events, to enjoying their songs while cruising the streets of Brooks, and listening to them as two immortals did battle, Queen was always there.

They were an essential part of the soundtrack of my teenage life.