I Was Born to Love You (song)
"I Was Born to Love You" | ||||
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Single by Freddie Mercury | ||||
from the album Mr. Bad Guy | ||||
B-side | "Stop All the Fighting" | |||
Released | 8 April 1985 | |||
Recorded | 1984 Musicland Studios, Munich | |||
Genre | Pop rock, disco | |||
Length | 3:37 (7" and album version) 7:03 (12" extended version) | |||
Label | CBS | |||
Songwriter(s) | Freddie Mercury | |||
Producer(s) | Freddie Mercury and Reinhold Mack | |||
Freddie Mercury singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"I Was Born to Love You" on YouTube |
"I Was Born to Love You" | ||||
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Single by Queen | ||||
from the album Made in Heaven | ||||
Released | 28 February 1996[1] (Japan only) | |||
Recorded | 1984, 1993-1995 | |||
Genre | Rock, dance-rock | |||
Length | 4:49 | |||
Label | EMI Hollywood (North America) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Freddie Mercury | |||
Producer(s) | Queen | |||
Queen singles chronology | ||||
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"I Was Born to Love You" is a 1985 song by Freddie Mercury, and was released as a single and on the Mr. Bad Guy album. After Mercury's death, Queen re-worked this song for their album Made in Heaven in 1995, by having the other members play their instrumental parts over the original track, transforming the song from a disco song to a rock song. The Queen version from the Made in Heaven album also includes samples of Mercury's ad-lib vocals taken from "A Kind of Magic" and from "Living on My Own".
The song received its live debut on the 2005 tour of Japan, given by Queen + Paul Rodgers. Brian May and Roger Taylor performed the song acoustically. The song was also performed during the concerts given by Queen + Adam Lambert in South Korea and Japan, which was the first time that a full live band was used for the performance.
Music videos
The video for the original Freddie Mercury version of the song was directed by David Mallet and filmed at the now demolished Limehouse Studios, London. The video was choreographed by Arlene Phillips and shows Freddie singing in front of a wall of mirrors, then running through a house with a woman (Debbie Ash of Hot Gossip), before dancing on a podium.
The video for the version used on Made in Heaven was directed by Richard Heslop for the British Film Institute, and included on Made in Heaven: The Films. It shows inhabitants of a block of council flats. Couples kiss, kids play, and teenagers steal and destroy a car in a monochrome film. The audio also uses the vinyl edit. This video is included on Queen Jewels, the 2004 Greatest Karaoke Hits DVD.
The Japanese release of the documentary Days of Our Lives mixes footage of Mercury's original solo video intercut with footage of Queen performing live at Wembley Stadium, "One Vision", "A Kind of Magic" and "Now I'm Here", plus his solo video "Living on My Own".
Appearances in other media
The song has appeared in the multiple television advertisements, mainly in Japan. The original version recorded by Mercury appeared in the TV commercial of Japanese cosmetics company Noevia in the mid 1980s. The Queen version was released as a single exclusively in Japan in February 1996, because the song was used in a TV ad for Kirin Ichiban Shibori,[1] one of the best-selling liquors of the country produced by the Kirin Brewery Company. The single became their first song that entered the Japanese chart since "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)", released in 1977.
In 2004, Queen's version was used as the theme for Pride, the successful Japanese drama starring Takuya Kimura and Yūko Takeuchi. Jewels, Queen's tie-in compilation album released only in Japan, includes "I Was Born to Love You".
The song was used in episode 29 of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, during a competitive game of gym-class volleyball.
In Malaysia, Mercury's version, using a different mix, was used by Astro in TV advertisements to promote their coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[2] The advertisement, commissioned by Astro through agency Dentsu LHS Malaysia and created by Pesona Pictures Indonesia, also have an unused version, which used Queen's version of the song.[3]
Cover versions were released by Hannah Jones (singer), Worlds Apart and Andrew W.K. in February 2011.
A cover version based on Queen's version is used in the fourth level of the Nintendo DS video game Elite Beat Agents
Personnel
- Original version
- Freddie Mercury - lead vocals, piano, synthesizer, Synclavier
- Fred Mandel - synthesizer, rhythm guitar
- Paul Vincent - lead guitar
- Curt Cress - drums
- Stephan Wissnet - bass guitar, Fairlight CMI
- Reinhold Mack - Fairlight CMI, Synclavier II
- Queen version
- Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano, keyboards
- Brian May - electric guitar, keyboards
- Roger Taylor - drums, percussion
- John Deacon - bass guitar
Chart history
- Freddie Mercury version
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
---|---|
German Media Control Chart | 10 |
UK Singles Chart | 11 |
Austrian Singles Chart | 20 |
Swiss Singles Chart | 24 |
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart | 55 |
South African Singles Chart [4] | 4 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 76 |
Chart (2016) | Peak position |
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[5] | 69 |
- Queen version
Year | Chart | Peak position |
---|---|---|
1996 | Japanese Oricon Chart | 45 |
2004 | 1 (Re-Entry) |
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
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Japan (Japan Hot 100)[6] | 63 |
References
- ^ a b "クイーン アイ・ワズ・ボーン・トゥ・ラヴ・ユー - goo 音楽 (Release information - Queen - I Was Born to Love You)". music.goo.ne.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
- ^ Astro Malaysia Facebook page
- ^ Hafiz Ibrahim : Astro World Cup 2018
- ^ http://rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(M).html Retrieved 6 January 2014
- ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ "Queen Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
External links
- Freddie Mercury songs
- Queen (band) songs
- 1985 singles
- 1985 songs
- 1996 singles
- 2004 singles
- Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles
- Songs written by Freddie Mercury
- Songs released posthumously
- Japanese television drama theme songs
- Dance-rock songs
- Hard rock ballads
- Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack
- Hollywood Records singles
- Music videos directed by David Mallet (director)
- Disco songs