Scandal (song)
| "Scandal" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Queen | ||||
| from the album The Miracle | ||||
| B-side | "My Life Has Been Saved" | |||
| Released | 9 October 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Rock, electro-rock | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Parlophone, EMI, Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Queen (Brian May) | |||
| Producer(s) | Queen and David Richards | |||
| Queen singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Scandal" on YouTube | ||||
"Scandal" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released as the fourth single from their 1989 album The Miracle and peaked at #25 in the UK.[1] The single was released in the United States but failed to chart.
Composition
"Scandal", written by Brian May, but credited to Queen, is about the unwanted attention May and lead singer Freddie Mercury received from the press in the late 1980s, involving May's divorce from his first wife, Chrissie Mullen, and his relationship with actress Anita Dobson and growing media speculation about Mercury's health. Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in April 1987; he did not reveal his condition until the day before his death in November 1991. However, changes in his appearance, particularly his weight loss and rather gaunt look, helped fuel speculation that he was seriously ill.[2]
Recording
May recorded the keyboards and guitars in one take. Mercury's vocal was also done in one take.[2]
Music video
The video for the song featured the band performing on a stage designed to look like a newspaper - it was filmed at Pinewood Studios in September 1989, and is notable for Mercury's "gaunt" appearance.
In the audio commentary included with the video in Queen: Greatest Video Hits 2, Roger Taylor admitted his dislike for it, stating it was “not one of my favourite songs. One of the most boring videos we ever made."
B-sides
The original version of the song "My Life Has Been Saved" was featured on the B-Side of the single, before May, Taylor, Deacon and Richards reworked the track for their fifteenth and final studio album Made in Heaven. The 1995 version replaced the original guitar intro with keyboards played by bassist John Deacon.
Personnel
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2017) |
- Freddie Mercury - vocals
- Brian May - guitars, keyboards
- Roger Taylor - drums, vibraslap
- John Deacon - bass guitar
- David Richards - synth bass, sampler
Chart performance
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[3] | 29 |
| Irish Singles Chart[4] | 14 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[5] | 16 |
| Netherlands Singles Chart (Single Top 100[6] | 12 |
| UK Singles Chart[1] | 25 |
References
- ^ a b "Queen - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Scandal - Queenpedia". Queenpedia.com/. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
- ^ "Queen – Scandal" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ http://www.irishcharts.ie
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Queen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ "Queen - Scandal - Dutchcharts". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
External links
 | This 1980s single–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |