On this date in 1977, Queen’s We are the Champions was released by EMI Records. 10 facts about the song:
We Are the Champions is a song by the British rock band Queen, from the band's sixth album News of the World. It was written by Freddie Mercury.
Like the song it is often played alongside, We Will Rock You by Brian May, it was inspired by a concert Queen performed during the A Day at the Races Tour at Stafford's Bingley Hall. When the band left the stage, the audience chanted You'll Never Walk Alone rather than clapping. This got Mercury thinking about writing an audience participation song, rather like a Football chant but more theatrical.
Mercury stated that the "We" in the song's title refers to everyone who is singing it. A couple of cover versions have used “You” instead. In 2004, German rock band Scorpions released You Are the Champion in honour of Michael Schumacher winning his seventh F1 Formula One Championship. In 2020 Brian May, Roger Taylor and Adam Lambert recorded a new version of the song to honour frontline workers during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
The lead vocal is very demanding. The highest point is a C5 both belted and in falsetto.
This song and We Will Rock You, which preceded the song on the album are customarily played together on radio broadcasts. They are played together live, too, a notable example being to close the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with all the acts joining in behind Liza Minnelli on lead vocals.
There are two versions of the video for We Are the Champions, both filmed with fan club members at the New London Theatre on 6 October 1977, directed by Derek Burbridge. Mercury performs in a Harlequin outfit in front of a crowd of fans waving Queen scarves like football fans. One version which starts in monochrome before blasting into colour as the Drums and Guitars kick in.
We Are the Champions has become an anthem for victories at sporting events, including as an official theme song for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Donald Trump used this song at campaign rallies when he was running for the Republican nomination in 2016. This in no way indicates any support by Queen for Trump as, according to Brian May, "permission to use the track was neither sought nor given. We are taking advice on what steps we can take to ensure this use does not continue.”
Cover versions include Hank Marvin in 1992 (with Brian May on guitar and proceeds donated to the Terence Higgins Trust) and Crazy Frog, released on 5 June 2006, to coincide with the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
In 2009 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2005 it had been voted the world's favourite song in a 2005 Sony Ericsson world music poll. In 2011, a team of scientific researchers concluded it was the catchiest song ever in the history of pop music. Dr. Daniel Mullensiefen said "Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology; from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers which can add effects to make a song catchier. We've discovered that there's a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, math and cognitive psychology that can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song." We are the Champions had what it took, although it never reached number one in any major chart.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment