![]() ![]() I’m not being conceited or anything, but it just fell into place. Well, ‘Killer Queen’ I wrote in one night. “Flick of the Wrist” is more obtuse, a dramatized extrapolation mish-mash of words, but when Freddie sings “cross-collateralized”, you know he didn’t get the term from art school. “A Night at the Opera” was a game-changer, of course, and “Death On Two Legs (Dedicated to …)” was the more obvious and retaliation against their previous management, who I believe sued Queen for slander. But what makes her classy, and why is she “whoring” herself? Freddie’s anger and the band’s, remaining in relative poverty even after the success of “Sheer Heart Attack” led the band to break the contract, but at a high price: Queen were literally bankrupt, in debt to Trident (they weren’t signed to EMI/Elektra, Trident was the middleman that changed after the success of album #3, and thanks to their new manager, John Reid, who also managed Elton John). This opinion is a stretch because the song really is about a “classy” call girl. It’s my opinion the song is driven by Freddie’s view that Queen were a band with “class”, well-educated, branding themselves as rock stars (it worked, eventually), hiding their poverty, and dealing with the constraints of a contract with the two Sheffield Brothers, owners of Trident Studios, apparently quite rich at the time. Killer Queen’s B-side (it was meant to be a double-A side) was “Flick of the Wrist”, clearly aimed at a bad financial deal (with their management? yes). To avoid copyright issues, most American publications of the series renamed the Stand “Deadly Queen”.Ī well-to-do escort, or expensive woman of the evening.įreddie noted “classy” people can be “whores” as well. The song “Killer Queen” may also be recognized by fans of the Japanese manga series “JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable” by Hirohiko Araki, in which a character named Yoshikage Kira has a spiritual manifestation called a “Stand” named “Killer Queen”. Instead, instrumentation utilised includes a jangle piano (detuned), drum kit, bass guitar, electric guitar and vocals. The band had decided not to use the ubiquitous synthesiser, as they thought it was superfluous. Other effects used include the flanger (pitch bends), panning (sound moving from the left ear to the right), portamento/glissando (sliding from one note to another), distortion (giving a creamy feel), wah-wah on the guitar, string bending and sliding. The song includes prominent uses of multi-tracking, not just on the vocals, but also in the guitar solo. ![]() ![]() Nevertheless, the rest of the band left space for Brian to record his own iconic guitar melodies. Upon initially hearing the song, Brian was shocked over the more progressive, lighter sound. Brian May, who pioneered a heavier hard rock sound, had been struck with hepatitis during the majority of the recording. The main key being Eb major is very unorthodox for Rock music, as guitars don’t usually play flats. There are 4 bar phrases immediately followed by 5 bar phrases and then 2 bar phrases, with tempo changing from 12/8 to 6/8 and vice versa. While it may seem like a typical popular song, the structure utilised in the song is quite unusual. That’s what the song is about, though I’d prefer people to put their interpretation upon it – to read into it what they like.” I’m trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. In the New Musical Express of November 2, 1974, the song’s writer and Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury elucidates on this song: “It’s about a high class call girl. and Canada, as well as a top 30 hit in Australia. “Killer Queen” was the first Queen single to successfully ‘cross the pond’, becoming a top 20 hit in the U.S. Peaking at #2 in the UK, the song became a hit in seven other European countries as well. “Killer Queen” was the breakthrough song that turned Queen into worldwide rock stars. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |