In April 1984, it became number three in the United Kingdom, and was within the top 10 in many European and Latin American countries, but only peaked at number 45 on the US charts. The single was received very positively over most of the world except for North America. Smash Hits said, 'After the masterly pop production of ' Radio Ga Ga' comes a big, fat dud: an unfinished song (loosely borrowed from Shirley Bassey's ancient hit ' What Now My Love'), an absurd guitar solo and half-hearted performances from all bar Freddie.' Chart performance Reception Ĭash Box said that the refrain is 'catchy'.

The reverse side is the same – a photo of the group on a red background, except for CDs which had a white background and no pictures. The German 5-inch CD uses the cover for the 'Radio Ga Ga' single. I Want to Break Free' is red, white, gold or black and the frame is red or white. In countries where the single went in four different versions, each version has a picture of one Queen member, otherwise four images were placed together. Single covers feature pictures of the group from the cover of the album The Works. In Germany, the 5-inch CD single contains 'I Want to Break Free' and ' It's a Hard Life', as well as the video of 'I Want to Break Free'. The UK 3-inch CD single features 'I Want to Break Free' (album version), 'Machines' and 'It's a Hard Life'. In Argentina, the song was released as 'Quiero Ser Libre'. The US and Canadian releases feature an instrumental version of 'Machines' as the B-side, while Brazil features ' It's a Hard Life'. In most countries, the A-side features the extended version of 'I've Got to Break Free' while the B-side contains the album version of the song 'Machines (or 'Back to Humans')'. The 7-inch records were distributed in 16 countries. The single was released on 2 April 1984 on 7-inch and 12-inch records and later as 3-inch and 5-inch CDs. The song became the second single from the album The Works, after ' Radio Ga Ga'.

The extended version was mostly distributed as 12-inch vinyl records and then reissued on the CD of The Works in 1991.īesides The Works, the song was featured in the albums Greatest Hits II, Box of Tricks, Greatest Hits (1992 US 'Red' edition) and Absolute Greatest and in the box-sets The Complete Works and The Platinum Collection. It lasts until 6:04, and the remaining minute contains fragments of other songs from The Works. The extended version lasts 7 minutes 16 seconds and features a longer introduction and ending. For the Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack the single introduction is added to the album version creating a 3 minutes 43 seconds edit. The introduction is played on an electronic keyboard and is assisted by cymbals, drums and a guitar ( Red Special). The single version lasts 4 minutes 21 seconds and differs from the album version by the 40-second introduction and a longer synthesizer solo which starts at 2:33. īesides the album version, a single version and an extended version were released. The keyboard solo was done in one take on a Roland Jupiter-8 synthesizer, except the last note with a portamento down one octave, which was captured via punching in. The song features session musician Fred Mandel, who plays all of the keyboard parts he was involved with the song when it featured only a drum machine and a guitar part. It has three verses with one bridge, no chorus, and relatively little section repetition. Most of the song follows a traditional 12 bar blues progression in E major. The song was written in 1983 by John Deacon and released in April 1984. The song features on the band's compilation album, Greatest Hits II. It also topped the charts of Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The single reached only number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but reached number three in the UK and was certified Platinum with over 600,000 copies sold/equivalent streams. Īfter its release in 1984, the song was well received in Europe and South America and is regarded as an anthem of the fight against oppression. Whereas the parody was acclaimed in the United Kingdom, where cross-dressing is a popular trope in British comedy, it caused controversy in the United States. The second part of the video included a composition rehearsed and performed with the Royal Ballet and choreographed by Wayne Eagling. The song is largely known for its music video for which all the band members dressed in drag, a concept proposed by drummer Roger Taylor, which parodied the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street. The track became a staple of the bands during their 1984–85 Works Tour and their 1986 Magic Tour. It appears on the album The Works (1984), and was released in three versions: album, single and extended. ' I Want to Break Free' is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their bassist John Deacon.

I want to break free album