"Princes of the Universe" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and performed by the British rock band Queen, originally released as a single in the United States on March 12, 1986, via Capitol Records. The song was written for the film Highlander, and released on the album A Kind of Magic, which also featured other selections from the Highlander song score on June 2, 1986.[4] In 1999 it was included in Queen's compilation album Greatest Hits III.[5]
| "Princes of the Universe" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australian single picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Queen | ||||
| from the album A Kind of Magic | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released |
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| Recorded | 1985–1986 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:32 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Freddie Mercury | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Queen singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Princes of the Universe" on YouTube | ||||
In terms of musical style, the song is notable for being one of the most hard-edged tracks performed by the band, featuring a bombastic sound reminiscent of contemporary hard rock and heavy metal and vocals by Mercury akin to opera. A music video for the song, which featured Mercury briefly re-enacting the film's sword-fighting scene with the titular character, achieved some notoriety.[6][7]
Background edit
"Princes of the Universe", written and composed for Highlander, is the only song on the album for which Mercury receives sole credit. The song's name comes from the original working title of the film.[8] It is played over the film's opening credits, and was later used as the opening theme for Highlander: The Series.[9] The song was never released as a single in the United Kingdom, and while it never truly charted, it is considered a cult favourite because of its relation to the film.
Music video edit
The music video was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and was shot on 14 February 1986 at Elstree Studios, near London, on the Silvercup rooftop stage used for the film. It consists mostly of Queen performing the song, intercut with scenes from Highlander.[7] Christopher Lambert reprises his role as Connor MacLeod for a brief appearance in the video, where he sword fights Freddie Mercury, who uses his microphone stand as a sword.[6] Brian May is seen playing a Washburn RR11V instead of his Red Special. The video was regularly played on MTV. It was released on Greatest Flix III (VHS, 1999) and Greatest Video Hits 2 (DVD, 2003).[10]
Charts edit
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[11] | 32 |
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 45 |
Personnel edit
- Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, synthesizer
- Brian May – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
- Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals
- John Deacon – bass guitar
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Queen singles".
- ^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Princes of the Universe - Queen | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ "Queen Interviews - A Kind of Magic". Queen Archives. The Times. 21 June 1986. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ Freestone, Peter (2001) Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best p.96.Omnibus Press, Retrieved 22 January 2011
- ^ "Queen - Greatest Hits III". Allmusic. Retrieved 25 April 2021
- ^ a b "17 Music Videos Starring Movie Characters". Townsquare Media. Screen Crush. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ a b Chantler, Chris (5 July 2016). "The Top 10 Best Queen Videos". Louder. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Brooks, Greg; Taylor, Gary. "Album Details: A Kind of Magic". queenonline.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Bartkowiak, Mathew J. (2010) Sounds of the Future: Essays on Music in Science Fiction Film p.19. Retrieved 22 January 2011
- ^ Purvis, Georg (2007). Queen: Complete Works. Reynolds & Hearn. p. 360.
- ^ "Queen – Princes of the Universe". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Queen – Princes of the Universe" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 October 2021.