Sheer Heart Attack (song)
| "Sheer Heart Attack" | |
|---|---|
Back side of the US vinyl for the "It's Late" single release | |
| Song by Queen | |
| from the album News of the World | |
| A-side |
|
| Released |
|
| Recorded | July – September 1977 |
| Studio |
|
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:27 |
| Label | EMI, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (US) |
| Songwriter(s) | Roger Taylor |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Music video | |
| "Sheer Heart Attack" on YouTube | |
"Sheer Heart Attack" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released on their sixth studio album News of the World in 1977.[4][5] It is one of two songs on the album entirely written by Roger Taylor, the other being "Fight from the Inside".The song contains a music video shot in 1997 for the Queen Rocks compilation album. The video contains footage from the video for the song Liar, Under Pressure, Who wants to live forever, footage from the performance at Earls court in 1977, at the rainbow theatre in 1974, footage from the performance at the Hammersmith odeon in 1975 and 1979, footage from the performance in Tokyo with the song we will rock you (fast) (1979), footage from performances in Tokyo (1979), Paris(1979), Rotterdam (1979), Buenos Aires (1981), Milton Keynes (1982), Madison Square Garden (1980), Houston (1977), Brussels (1984) with the song crazy little thing called love, footage from various Japanese TV shows, horror films, rallies in Japan, Japanese shows, tragedies in Japan. Many Japanese fans say they were pleased to see their country in the video.
Background
"Sheer Heart Attack" was originally written as the title track for the album Sheer Heart Attack in 1974, but was not included. It was finished for News of the World in 1977, and is characterized by its fast, even tempo throughout its length, with the raw simplicity and traditionalism of punk rock including an abrupt ending.
Roger Taylor sang lead vocals and backing vocals. Freddie Mercury also sang lead and backing vocals. Taylor plays almost every instrument on the finished track, with some help from Brian May on lead guitar and "screams". This is one of the few original Queen recordings that does not feature bass guitarist John Deacon.
The song was the B-side of the Deacon-penned single "Spread Your Wings" in February 1978. It was also the B-side of the single "It's Late", written by May, which was released only in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Japan in April 1978.
Live performances
The song was performed live from 1977 to 1984. It has been released on three live albums: Live Killers in 1979, Queen Rock Montreal in 1981, and Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl in 1982.
Personnel
Information is based on the album's liner notes[6]
- Roger Taylor – lead and backing vocals, drums, rhythm guitar, bass guitar
- Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals
- Brian May – lead guitar
References
- ^ House, Denis (23 November 2018). "The Show Must Go On". The Sentinel-Echo. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Testa, Bart (9 February 1978). "News of the World". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Chiu, David (24 June 2015). "How Queen Embraced Disco, Conquered America, Then Bit The Dust". Medium. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Epstein, Dan (28 October 2017). "Queen's 'News of the World': 10 Things You Didn't Know". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Easlea, Daryl. "Music – Review of Queen – News of the World". BBC. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Queen. "News of the World" (Album Notes). EMI. 1977.