music.wikisort.org - Composition

"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 March 20, 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 June 2, 1986.[3] In 1999 it was included in Queen’s compilation album Greatest Hits III.[4]

"Princes of the Universe"
Australian single picture sleeve
Single by Queen
from the album A Kind of Magic
B-side	"A Dozen Red Roses for My Darling" (US) "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Japan) "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" (Australia) "Was It All Worth It" (2000 Dutch CD single)
Released	20 March 1986 (1986-03-20) (US) 6 October 1986 (Japan)
Recorded	1985–1986
Genre	Hard rock[1] heavy metal[2]
Length	3:32
Label	Capitol (US) EMI (Japan)
Songwriter(s)	Freddie Mercury
Producer(s)	Queen Reinhold Mack
Queen singles chronology
"A Kind of Magic" (1986) "Princes of the Universe" (1986) "One Year of Love" (1986)
Music video
"Princes of the Universe" on YouTube

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.[5][6]

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.[7] It is played over the film's opening credits, and was later used as the opening theme for Highlander: The Series.[8] 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. In the movie, the guitar solo is not present as it was not yet created.

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.[6] Christopher Lambert reprises his role as Connor MacLeod for a brief appearance in the video, where he swordfights Freddie Mercury, who uses his microphone stand as a sword.[5] 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).[9]

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[10]	32

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11]	45

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

• 1986 in music
• Queen discography

References

External links

• Official music video on YouTube

На других языках

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[de] Princes of the Universe

Princes of the Universe ist ein Lied der britischen Rockgruppe Queen, das von Freddie Mercury für die Musik des Filmes Highlander geschrieben wurde. Es wurde 1986 auf dem Album A Kind of Magic und als Single veröffentlicht.

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- [en] Princes of the Universe

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[es] Princes of the Universe

«Princes of the Universe» (en español: Príncipes del Universo) es una canción compuesta y escrita por Freddie Mercury e interpretada por la banda de rock británica Queen, que se utilizó en la banda sonora de Highlander. La canción fue escrita para la película Highlander, y lanzada en el álbum A Kind of Magic, que también presentó otras selecciones de la partitura de Highlander, en 1986. La canción nunca salió a la venta como un sencillo individual en el Reino Unido; sin embargo, debido a su vinculación con la película está considerada como una de las canciones de culto de Queen. La canción (como todo el álbum) forma parte de la banda sonora de Highlander y se encuentra en el álbum A Kind of Magic en 1986. También fue usada como cabecera de la serie sobre Highlander, protagonizada por Adrian Paul.

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[ru] Princes of the Universe

«Princes of the Universe» (с англ. — «Принцы Вселенной») — песня английской рок-группы Queen из альбома A Kind of Magic, вышедшего в 1986 году. Написана солистом группы и композитором Фредди Меркьюри. Используется в фильме «Горец» и в начальных титрах телесериала «Горец».

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