Princes of the Universe
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".
"Princes of the Universe" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and performed by the British rock band Queen, originally released as a single in the United States on 12 March 1986 via Capitol Records. The song was written for the film Highlander, and released on the album A Kind of Magic, which also featured other selections from the Highlander song score on 2 June 1986.[1] In 1999 it was included in Queen's compilation album Greatest Hits III.[2]
In terms of musical style, the song is notable for being one of the most hard-edged tracks performed by the band, featuring a bombastic sound reminiscent of contemporary hard rock and heavy metal and vocals by Mercury akin to opera. A music video for the song, which featured Mercury briefly re-enacting the film's sword-fighting scene with the titular character, achieved some notoriety.[3][4]
Background
"Princes of the Universe", written and composed for Highlander, is the only song on the album for which Mercury receives sole credit. The song's name comes from the original working title of the film.[5] It is played over the film's opening credits, and was later used as the opening theme for Highlander: The Series.[6] The song was never released as a single in the United Kingdom, and while it never truly charted, it is considered a cult favourite because of its relation to the film.
Music video
The music video was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and was shot on 14 February 1986 at Elstree Studios, near London, on the Silvercup rooftop stage used for the film. It consists mostly of Queen performing the song, intercut with scenes from Highlander.[4] Christopher Lambert reprises his role as Connor MacLeod for a brief appearance in the video, where he sword fights Freddie Mercury, who uses his microphone stand as a sword.[3] Brian May is seen playing a Washburn RR11V instead of his Red Special. The video was regularly played on MTV. It was released on Greatest Flix III (VHS, 1999) and Greatest Video Hits 2 (DVD, 2003).[7]
Charts
Template:Single chart| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|
Personnel
- Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, synthesizer
- Brian May – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
- Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals
- John Deacon – bass guitar
See also
Script error: No such module "Portal".
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Freestone, Peter (2001) Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best p.96.Omnibus Press, Retrieved 22 January 2011
- ↑ "Queen - Greatest Hits III". Allmusic. Retrieved 25 April 2021
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Bartkowiak, Mathew J. (2010) Sounds of the Future: Essays on Music in Science Fiction Film p.19. Retrieved 22 January 2011
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Template:Trim Template:Replace on YouTubeScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Template:Queen singles Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Authority control
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with hAudio microformats
- Music infoboxes with malformed table placement
- Queen (band) songs
- 1986 singles
- 1986 songs
- Film theme songs
- Songs about princes
- Songs from Highlander (franchise)
- Songs written by Freddie Mercury
- Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack
- Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy
- EMI Records singles
- Capitol Records singles
- Hollywood Records singles
- British hard rock songs
- British heavy metal songs