Friends Will Be Friends
| "Friends Will Be Friends" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Queen | ||||
| from the album A Kind of Magic | ||||
| B-side | "Friends Will Be Friends (Extended Version)"/"Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" | |||
| Released | 9 June 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1985 – 1986 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 4:07 (album version) 5:58 (CD bonus track: "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends") 6:15 (12" extended version) 4:14 (video version) | |||
| Label | EMI, Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Queen singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Friends Will Be Friends" on YouTube | ||||
"Friends Will Be Friends" is a song performed by Queen and written by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon, included on the album A Kind of Magic. It was the band's 30th single in the UK upon its release on 9 June 1986, reaching number 14 in the UK.
"Friends Will Be Friends" was performed live on The Magic Tour. It is remarkable in that it was the first and only song that was sung at the end of concerts between "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" since the News of the World Tour in 1977.[1]
The song was included in various greatest hits compilations by Queen such as Greatest Hits II, Greatest Flix II and Greatest Video Hits II.
Musical arrangement
The song's key signature is G major, and makes heavy use of Brian May's melodic guitar playing style. The song was debuted on the second show of The Magic Tour (Leiden). Queen played the complete version of the song for the first two Leiden shows then the arrangement was shortened on 14 June (Paris). The shorter version is featured on the Live At Wembley release. On all live versions, the song was performed in F major, modulated down a tone.
Music video
The video was directed by DoRo and filmed at JVC Studios, Wembley in May 1986 and features the band performing the song in front of fan club members. During the show, Freddie Mercury "high fives" audience members, and at the end cuts the mic and sings along with them, letting them lead. Because of this, this performance was nicknamed "Queen's Greatest Show Never Performed".
Personnel
- Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano, synthesizer
- Brian May - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals
- John Deacon - bass guitar, rhythm guitar
- Spike Edney - synthesizer
Chart performance
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Singles Chart[2] | 16 |
| German Singles Chart[3] | 20 |
| Irish Singles Chart[4] | 4 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[5] | 50 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[6] | 19 |
| UK Singles Chart[7] | 14 |
References
- ^ Information about Queen's concerts with typical setlists Archived 7 September 2012 at archive.today
- ^ Dutchcharts.nl Archived 5 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Musiconline.de
- ^ Irishcharts.ie
- ^ Charts.org.nz
- ^ Swisscharts.com Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ OfficialCharts.com
