"Scandal" is a song by the British rock band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. It was released as the fourth single from their 1989 album '' The Miracle'' and peaked at #25 in the UK. The single was released in the United States but failed to chart.

Composition

"Scandal", written by

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

, 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 Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Si ...

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.

Recording

May recorded the keyboards and guitars in one take. Mercury's vocal was also done in one take.

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 on 27 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 ''Made in Heaven'' is the fifteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 6 November 1995 by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and by Hollywood Records in the United States. It was the band's first and only release s ...

''. The 1995 version replaced the original guitar intro with keyboards played by bassist

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bite ...

. The 12" and CD singles include the extended version of "Scandal" on the A-Side, while the B-Sides are both "My Life Has Been Saved" and the album version of "Scandal".

Track listings

7" Single # "Scandal" (Album Version) - 4:43 # "My Life Has Been Saved" - 3:15 12"/CD Single # "Scandal" (Extended Version) - 6:23 # "My Life Has Been Saved" - 3:15 # "Scandal" (Album Version) - 4:43

Personnel

* Freddie Mercury - vocals *

- guitars, keyboards * Roger Taylor - drums,

vibraslap The vibraslap is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire (bent into a U-shape) connecting a wooden ball to a hollow box of wood with metal “teeth” inside. The percussionist holds the metal wire in one hand and strikes th ...

- bass guitar * David Richards - synth bass, sampler

Charts

References

External links

*
Lyrics at Queen official website
Queen (band) songs 1989 singles Parlophone singles Songs written by Brian May Songs about the media EMI Records singles Capitol Records singles Hollywood Records singles 1989 songs {{1980s-single-stub