Flash (Queen song)

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". "Flash" is a song by British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, "Flash" is the theme song of the 1980 film Flash Gordon.

There are two versions of the song. The album version ("Flash's Theme") is in fact the start to the film, with all the dialogue from the first scene. The single version contains dialogue cut from various parts of the film, most memorably, Brian Blessed's character exclaiming "Gordon's alive?!" This version was also included on the Greatest Hits compilation from 1981.[1]

The song's lead vocals are shared by May and Freddie Mercury, with Roger Taylor adding high harmonies. May plays most of the instruments, except for the bass guitar and drums. He used an Imperial Bösendorfer piano (with 97 keys instead of 88, having an extra octave on the low range), an Oberheim OB-X synthesizer (as seen in the song's music video), and his homemade Red Special electric guitar.

The song reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number three in Germany. On the U.S. charts, "Flash's Theme aka Flash" reached number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number 39 on the Cash Box Top 100.[2]

Record World described the single version as a "supersonic cut with a chorus hook guaranteed to rescue tired holiday ears."[3]

Music video

The music video was filmed at Advision Studios, London, in November 1980 and directed by Don Norman and shows the band performing the song to a screen showing clips from the film.[4] An alternative version broadcast during the Concert for Kampuchea in 1981 with different clips included on the Flash Gordon 2011 iTunes edition.

Personnel

Charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart
Chart (1980–1981) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 16
Canada RPM Top Singles[6] 24
Italy (Musica e dischi)[7] 14
US Cash Box Top 100[2] 39

Sales and certifications

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Vanguard remix

Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". German producers Vanguard released a cover of "Flash", credited to "Queen + Vanguard", on 10 February 2003.[8] The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, number two on the UK Dance Chart, and number 17 in Germany.

Charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9] 44

Live recording

In other media

The song is played during an ice dancing routine in the 2007 film Blades of Glory.[10]

The song is played in The Flash episode "Into the Void" where Cisco Ramon plays it when Barry Allen / The Flash enters a black hole to save Chester P. Runk, mentioning that he has been saving the song "for the right moment".[11]

In 2016, a re-recording of the song was used to advertise Flash Multi Surface Concentrated Cleaner in the UK.[12] It has since been used to promote other Flash products. In 2022, the song appeared in a Toyota Corolla Cross commercial in Australia but it used "Cross" instead of "Flash".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

References

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  1. ↑ "Queen: Greatest Hits". Allmusic. Retrieved 12 May 2012
  2. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Queen".
  8. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Cbignore
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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