News of the World is the sixth studio album by Queen. It was released on 28 October 1977 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. It was the band's second album to be recorded at Sarm West and Wessex Sound Studios, London, and engineered by Mike Stone, and was co-produced by the band and Stone.
In 1977, punk rock acts, most notably the Sex Pistols, sparked massive backlash against progressive rock artists such as Queen, to which the band responded by simplifying their symphonic rock sound and gearing towards a more spontaneous hard rock sound. The band's more relaxed approach to recording would evolve on the band's 1980 album The Game, which would see even more commercial success.
It is estimated that the album has sold over 9 million copies worldwide.
The album went 4× platinum in the United States, reaching number 3 on the US Top Albums chart, number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and achieving high certifications around the world. It has sold over 4 million copies in United States. Its lead single, We Are The Champions, reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Critical reaction to News of the World was initially mixed, with many reviewers commenting on the band's change in musical style. However, it has since come to be regarded as one of Queen's greatest albums, while We Are the Champions and We Will Rock You have since become rock anthems.
History[]
Recording[]
After completing the "A Day at the Races Tour" in June 1977, the quartet re-entered the studio to begin work on their sixth studio offering in July 1977, enlisting Mike Stone as assistant producer at the Basing Street and Wessex studios in London. About 2 days before the sessions began (4 July), Taylor and Crystal Taylor arrived in a lorry at Basing. They were there with the intent of setting up his drum kit for the next two days. That Wednesday, on 6 July, the band arrived at Basing. They did backing track takes for "It's Late".
After recording all the backing tracks that July, worked moved to Wessex Sound Studios on 3 August. The same course of action would be taken for Taylor's drum kit at Wessex Sound. The lorry arrived on 1 August, and drum kit construction would continue well into 2 August. Andy Turner, a tea boy at Wessex, recalls thinking "You're being charged £200 an hour for this!" At Wessex, the band would start overdubbing onto the backing tracks. Some songs had been previously overdubbed songs like "It's Late", "Who Needs You", "All Dead All Dead", and "Sleeping On The Sidewalk" (which was recorded in one take). During the last few days of overdubbing, on 22 August, calls to the U.S. would be made regarding venues for the band's tour in November.
According to studio documentation, a lot of sessions had late arrivals, which were usually pre-arranged around an hour before the band would actually arrive. The median shift length is around 3pm - 11pm, but sometimes the band would stay in the studio until 4am if they were falling behind schedule. The last principal overdubbing session was on 23 August, approaching the first mixes the next day on 24 August. Occasional overdubbing would occur, as more mixing was done. On 26 August, "We Are The Champions" would be mixed. On 27 August, "Spread Your Wings", and "We Will Rock You" would also be mixed. On 28 August, Take 12 of "Sheer Heart Attack" would also be mixed.
After taking a day off for the Summer Bank Holiday, the band went to Leighton Mans Studios and Primrose Hill Studios on 30 August, not exactly for any known reason. They would also go to Olympic Studios on 31 August. Occasional overdubbing would still continue into September, the last overdubbing session being on 1 September. The band would continue mixing, but on 3 September there were technical faults at Wessex. Roger would appear on the last episode of the show "Saturday Scene". Once the technical issues were fixed, mixing continued on 4 September, before the mixes would be delivered back to Sarm West Studios on 5 September. They would be handed to an engineer for mastering, which would be completed on 16 September.
They scaled down their complex arrangements and focused on a "rootsier" sound (as Brian May put it). However, the staple of the Queen sound – multi-tracked harmonies and guitar orchestrations – still exist on this album, albeit more subtly than previously. Having received some criticism that their first completely self-produced album, A Day at the Races, was a "boring" album, Queen decided to shift their musical focus towards the mainstream but remain as the producers of the next album. Races garnered criticism as many critics felt that it was too similar to A Night at the Opera, something which the band members themselves acknowledged. In addition, the arrival of punk rock, led by the Sex Pistols, saw the mainstream shift away from progressive rock and more towards simpler rock music. Queen were seen as the antithesis of punk, particularly in their camp influences and elaborate production.
Brian May stated in an interview that “We'd already made a decision that...[after] A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races, we wanted to go back to basics for News of the World. But it was very timely because the world was looking at punk and things being very stripped down. So in a sense we were conscious, but it was part of our evolution anyway.”
In contrast to "Races", which had taken five months to record, only two months were booked to record at Sarm West and Wessex Sound Studios. Most of the recording sessions took place in Wessex Studios, which was also where the Sex Pistols were busy recording Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. As such, the two groups had several interactions, including the famous meeting between Mercury and Sid Vicious. Vicious, upon stumbling into Queen's recording studio, asked "Have you succeeded in bringing ballet to the masses yet?" in response to a comment the singer had made in an interview with NME, to which Mercury called him "Simon Ferocious" and replied "We're doing our best, dear." Johnny Rotten also expressed a desire to meet with Mercury. According to Bill Price, who engineered Never Mind the Bollocks, Rotten crawled on all fours across Queen's studio to Mercury, who was playing piano, and said "Hello Freddie" before leaving. May also recalled bumping into Rotten in the corridors and having several conversations about music. Queen's history with the Sex Pistols dated back to December 1976, in which Queen were set to appear on Bill Grundy's Today show. However, Mercury had a toothache, and was forced to schedule a dentist appointment on the same day, his first one in 15 years. As a replacement, EMI offered the Sex Pistols instead, which led to their now famous appearance on the Today show.
The group completed recording and production of the album two months later in September, and released the album on 28 October 1977.
Track Listings[]
Original release[]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "We Will Rock You" | Brian May | 2:01 | |
2. | "We Are the Champions" | Freddie Mercury | 2:59 | |
3. | "Sheer Heart Attack" | Roger Taylor | Mercury and Roger Taylor | 3:26 |
4. | "All Dead, All Dead" | May | Brian May | 3:10 |
5. | "Spread Your Wings" | John Deacon | 4:34 | |
6. | "Fight from the Inside" | Taylor | Taylor | 3:03 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
7. | "Get Down, Make Love" | Mercury | 3:51 | |
8. | "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" | May | May | 3:06 |
9. | "Who Needs You" | Deacon | 3:05 | |
10. | "It's Late" | May | 6:26 | |
11. | "My Melancholy Blues" | Mercury | 3:29 | |
Total length: | 39:10 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "We Will Rock You" (1991 bonus remix by Rick Rubin) | 4:58 |
Total length: | 44:08 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Feelings Feelings" (Take 10, July 1977) | May | 1:54 |
2. | "Spread Your Wings" (BBC session, October 1977) | Deacon | 5:25 |
3. | "My Melancholy Blues" (BBC session, October 1977) | Mercury | 3:12 |
4. | "Sheer Heart Attack" (Live in Paris, France, 28 February 1979) | Taylor | 3:34 |
5. | "We Will Rock You" (Fast) (Live in Tokorozawa, Japan, November 1982) | May | 2:54 |
Total length: | 16:59 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "My Melancholy Blues" (live at the Summit, 1977) | 3:54 |
7. | "Sheer Heart Attack" (live at Hammersmith, 1979) | 3:13 |
8. | "We Will Rock You" (Queen Rocks version, 1998) | 2:04 |
Total length: | 25:30 |
40th anniversary edition[]
The multi-format deluxe box set, released in 2017, contains previously unreleased outtakes and rarities from the band's archives, as well as a newly created "alternative" version of the entire album, dubbed Raw Sessions. The box set includes a pure analogue vinyl LP, cut from the original analogue master mix tapes, and a brand new one-hour DVD documentary created from backstage material filmed during the North American leg of Queen's 1977 News of the World tour.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "We Will Rock You" | 2:01 |
2. | "We Are the Champions" | 2:59 |
3. | "Sheer Heart Attack" | 3:26 |
4. | "All Dead, All Dead" | 3:10 |
5. | "Spread Your Wings" | 4:34 |
6. | "Fight from the Inside" | 3:03 |
7. | "Get Down, Make Love" | 3:51 |
8. | "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" | 3:06 |
9. | "Who Needs You" | 3:05 |
10. | "It's Late" | 6:26 |
11. | "My Melancholy Blues" | 3:29 |
Total length: | 39:10 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "We Will Rock You" | 2:01 |
2. | "We Are the Champions" | 2:59 |
3. | "Sheer Heart Attack" | 3:26 |
4. | "All Dead, All Dead" | 3:10 |
5. | "Spread Your Wings" | 4:34 |
6. | "Fight from the Inside" | 3:03 |
7. | "Get Down, Make Love" | 3:51 |
8. | "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" | 3:06 |
9. | "Who Needs You" | 3:05 |
10. | "It's Late" | 6:26 |
11. | "My Melancholy Blues" | 3:29 |
Total length: | 39:10 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "We Will Rock You" (Alterative Version) | 2:26 |
2. | "We Are the Champions" (Alternative Version) | 4:33 |
3. | "Sheer Heart Attack" (Original Rough Mix) | 4:17 |
4. | "All Dead, All Dead" (Original Rough Mix) | 3:08 |
5. | "Spread Your Wings" (Alternative Take) | 4:56 |
6. | "Fight from the Inside" (Demo Vocal Version) | 3:08 |
7. | "Get Down, Make Love" (Early Take) | 4:02 |
8. | "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" (Live in Boston, November 1977) | 3:49 |
9. | "Who Needs You" (Acoustic Take) | 2:49 |
10. | "It's Late" (Alternative Version) | 6:44 |
11. | "My Melancholy Blues" (Original Rough Mix) | 3:36 |
Total length: | 50:38 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Feelings Feelings" (Take 10, July 1977) | 1:55 |
2. | "We Will Rock You" (BBC Session) | 1:36 |
3. | "We Will Rock You (Fast)" (BBC Session) | 2:52 |
4. | "Spread Your Wings" (BBC Session) | 5:33 |
5. | "It's Late" (BBC Session) | 6:39 |
6. | "My Melancholy Blues" (BBC Session) | 3:13 |
7. | "We Will Rock You" (Backing Track) | 2:03 |
8. | "We Are the Champions" (Backing Track) | 2:59 |
9. | "Spread Your Wings" (Instrumental) | 4:23 |
10. | "Fight from the Inside" (Instrumental) | 3:02 |
11. | "Get Down, Make Love" (Instrumental) | 3:49 |
12. | "It's Late" (USA Radio Edit 1978) | 3:52 |
13. | "Sheer Heart Attack" (Live in Paris, February 1979) | 3:35 |
14. | "We Will Rock You (Fast)" (Live in Tokorozawa, November 1982) | 2:59 |
15. | "My Melancholy Blues" (Live in Houston, December 1977) | 4:11 |
16. | "Get Down, Make Love" (Live in Montreal, November 1981) | 4:35 |
17. | "Spread Your Wings" (Live in Europe, February 1979) | 5:20 |
18. | "We Will Rock You" (Live at the Milton Keynes Bowl, June 1982) | 2:08 |
19. | "We Are the Champions" (Live at the Milton Keynes Bowl, June 1982) | 3:32 |
Total length: | 1:08:16 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Back into the Studio" | |
2. | "We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions" | |
3. | "Taking Control" | |
4. | "Sheer Heart Attack" | |
5. | "The American Tour" | |
6. | "It's Late" | |
7. | "Spread Your Wings" | |
8. | "My Melancholy Blues" | |
9. | "Get Down, Make Love" | |
10. | "We Are the Champions" |
Charts and certifications[]
Chart performances[]
Chart (1977-78) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) | 8 |
Austria | 9 |
Canada (RPM) | 2 |
France (SNEP) | 1 |
Netherlands | 1 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) | 15 |
Norway (VG-lista) | 4 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) | 9 |
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) | 4 |
United States (Billboard) | 3 |
West Germany (Media Control Charts) | 7 |
Certifications[]
Country | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) | 3x Platinum | 300,000 |
France (SNEP) | Gold | 553,600 |
Germany (BVMI) | Platinum | 500,000 |
Netherlands (NVPI) | Platinum | 100,000 |
Poland (ZPAV) | Platinum | 20,000 |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) | Platinum | 50,000 |
United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 100,000 |
United States (RIAA) | 4x Platinum | 4,000,000 |
Gallery[]
Main article: News of the World/Gallery
Trivia[]
- The album's cover was a painting by American sci-fi artist Frank Kelly Freas. Taylor had an issue of Astounding Science Fiction (October 1953) whose cover art depicted a giant intelligent robot holding the dead body of a man. The caption read: "Please... fix it, Daddy?" to illustrate the story "The Gulf Between" by Tom Godwin. The painting inspired the band to contact Freas, who agreed to alter the painting for their album cover, by replacing the single dead man with the four "dead" band members (with Taylor and Deacon falling to the ground, and Taylor only visible on the back cover).
References[]
Studio Albums by Queen |
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