Don't Stop Me Now
| "Don't Stop Me Now" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Don't Stop Me Now" () is a 1979 hit single by Queen, from their 1978 album Jazz. Words and music were by Freddie Mercury. It was recorded in August/September 1978 in Nice, France.
Musically, the song is based around Mercury's piano playing, with John Deacon and Roger Taylor providing a bass guitar and drums backing track. On the studio version, Brian May's only guitar playing is in his guitar solo, however on live versions performed on the band's 1978 and 1979 tours, May would also play rhythm guitar throughout the rest of the song to add a rockier feeling to it. The song also provides an example of Queen's trademark style of multitrack harmony vocals for the chorus lines. Several recordings were laid over each other to achieve the final sound.
The lyrics have cosmic imagery describing feelings of power and exhilaration, for example "I'm gonna go, go, go there's no stopping me / I'm burning through the sky yeah 200 degrees…".
The single reached #9 in the UK charts but only #86 in the US.
In popular culture
- The song was played at the funeral of Jonny Kennedy, who suffered from Epidermolysis bullosa and was the subject of the documentary The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off.
- The song is used, in a cut-down version, in the opening credits of Al Murray's Happy Hour. It is sung by Murray as he 'drives' though London on his ride-on bar. Murray also has a band on each week, who have to sing a Queen song at the end of the show, in the fourth show McFly sang "Don't Stop Me Now".
- In 2005, this song was voted as "The Greatest Driving Song Ever" by viewers of the BBC television program Top Gear, but the trophy given to Roger Taylor (probably intentionally) was mis-engraved, reading Stop Me Now.
- In 2006, the song was used as a score for Kirin Nuda (Japanese beverage) televised commercial featuring model Rinka or a breakdancing Takashi Okamura.
- In 2006, the song was played on American Dad! in the episode, Roger 'n' Me, when Stan and Roger were in Atlantic City.
- The 2004 horror/comedy Shaun of the Dead featured the song near the end of the movie. The song is played on a jukebox in the Winchester pub as three of the main characters circle around the zombie former landlord while hitting him over the head with pool cues in rhythm with the song, leading Shaun to utter the memorable line; "David, kill the Queen!"
- In mid-2006, UK supermarket Asda advertised their George back to school range used school children singing an a cappella version with handclaps on a school bus.
- Throughout the first half of 2006, Spanish communications operator Telefonica advertised their ADSL internet connection using this song as a praise for the data-transmission speed (as to the reprise, "Don't Stop me Now") offered.
- The song was also featured in the European version of Donkey Konga
- David Morrissey and Steve Pemberton sang it on Blackpool.
- At the end of his First Class Scamp DVD, Harry Hill dressed up like Freddie Mercury (yellow jacket and tracksuit) and sang this song.
- The song can clearly be heard blaring over the Shea Stadium speakers as replays are shown of Endy Chavez's miraculous catch in the 6th inning of Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series.
- The song is also in a scene of the National Lampoon film Blackball.
- The song was used in Dancing with the Stars, season 4, along with the professional dancers of the show while they danced "The Jive."
- The song was also used on VH1 Latin American ads, featuring a collage of various videos, with the music partially synchronized with them.
- The song was used during the performance of the 17-year-old baton twirler Craig Womersley on his first audition in the Britain's Got Talent.
- The song is the first track on the soundtrack played in the casino of the Carnival Destiny cruise ship, which leads to it being played ad nauseum in the casino
Cover versions
Notable cover versions include:
- The Vandals, 2004 (punk)
- Fobia (in Spanish)
- In the European release of the drumming game Donkey Konga (2004)
- McFly, the cover is the official song for Sport Relief 2006. It reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 29 July, 2006.
Chart positions
- #9 (UK)
- #10 (Ireland)
- #14 (Netherlands)
- #35 (Germany)
- #86 (US)
