We Will Rock You

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"We Will Rock You"
Single by Queen
from the album News of the World
A-side	We Are the Champions
Released	October 7, 1977
Format	12"
Genre	Hard rock
Length	2:02
Label	Elektra Records (US)
Writer(s)	Brian May
Producer	Queen, assisted by Mike Stone
Queen singles chronology
"Long Away" (1977) "We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You" (1977) "It's Late" (1978)

"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen. Due to its prevalence in popular culture, "We Will Rock You" has been recognized by various authorities as being quite influential, including Rolling Stone, which ranked it #330 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004^[1] , and also the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) which placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century.

Contents 1 History 2 Five + Queen version 2.1 Charts 2.2 Tracklist 3 Cover versions 4 Live cover performances 5 Remixes 6 Sampling 7 Parodies & References to song 8 Appearances in other media 9 References

[edit] History

One version was used as the opening track on their 1977 album News of the World. This version consists of a stamp-stamp-clap-pause beat, and a power chorus, being somewhat of an anthem. The stamping effects were created by the band overdubbing the sounds of themselves stomping and clapping many times and adding delay effects to create a sound like many people were participating. When performed live, this version is usually followed by "We Are the Champions", another of the album's hits, as they were designed to run together. The double A-side reached number 4 on the U.S. Billboard singles chart, becoming their second hit in the U.S. On the 45 of the song's original vinyl record release, the song was actually the flip side of "We Are the Champions" in Britain, however the American record company requested to put the two songs together as a "double A-side" because American radio stations were playing them back to back. This is a reason why the songs are often paired on the radio and at sporting events, where they are frequently played. The songs are also paired back to back on the album, and they are still played together to this day on American classic rock radio stations.

Queen also performed the song in another arrangement (known as the "fast version"), which featured a faster tempo and a full guitar, bass and drums backing track throughout. The band would often open their live sets in the late 1970s and early 1980s with this version, as captured on their 1979 Live Killers double album, on Queen Rock Montreal (2007), and on the Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl album released in 2004.

The "fast version" is available in a studio performance. In 1977, it was recorded for John Peel's show on BBC Radio 1. This version is on the 1992 Italian bootleg CD "Queen - We Will Rock You" (On Stage CD 12018). It is part of a longer cut that starts out with the slow version. In 2002, the fast version was officially released on a promo single distributed by the tabloid The Sun. The "fast" BBC studio version can also be found on King Biscuit Live: Best of, Vol. 4 and online at Wolfgang's Vault[1].

The "stomp, stomp, clap" sounds were later reused in the Queen + Paul Rodgers song "Still Burnin'".

[edit] Five + Queen version

"We Will Rock You"
Single by Five + Queen
from the album Invincible
B-side	"Keep on Movin'"
Released	July 17, 2000
Format	CD
Recorded	2000
Genre	Rock
Length	2:56
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Brian May
Producer	Richard Stannard, Julian Gallagher
Certification	Silver (UK) Gold (Australia)
Five singles chronology
"Don't Wanna Let You Go" (2000) "We Will Rock You" (2000) "Let's Dance" (2001)

"We Will Rock You (Five + Queen)" is a cover of "We Will Rock You" featured on the 5ive album Invincible, it features Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart during Summer 2000.

[edit] Charts

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	3
Austrian Singles Chart	2
Begium (Flanders) Singles Chart	17
Dutch Singles Chart	15
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	29
Swedish Singles Chart	35
Swiss Singles Chart	18
UK Singles Chart	1

[edit] Tracklist

CD 1

1. "We Will Rock You" (Radio Edit)
2. "Keep on Movin'" (Five-A-Side Mix)
3. "We Will Rock You" (Video - Enhanced Track)

CD 2

1. "We Will Rock You" (Radio Edit)
2. Megamix (Don't Wanna Let You Go/If Ya Gettin' Down/Keep on Movin'/We Will Rock You
3. Megamix Video (Enhanced Track)

Preceded by "Life Is a Rollercoaster" by Ronan Keating

UK number one single (5ive version) July 23, 2000 - July 30, 2000

Succeeded by "7 Days" by Craig David

[edit] Cover versions

"We Will Rock You"
Single by Britney Spears, Beyoncé & P!nk
from the album Pepsi Music 2004 CD
Released	December 26, 2004
Format	CD Single
Genre	Electronic dance
Length	2:56
Label	Jive (Britney) Columbia (Beyoncé) Arista (P!nk)
Writer(s)	Brian May
Producer	Pepsi-Cola
Britney Spears singles chronology
"Chris Cox Megamix (2004)	"We Will Rock You" (2004)	"Do Somethin'" (2005)
Beyoncé singles chronology
"Naughty Girl" (2004)	"We Will Rock You" (2004)	"Check on It" (2005)
Pink singles chronology
"God Is a DJ" (2004)	"We Will Rock You" (2004)	"Last to Know" (2004/2005)

• 1991: Italian band Kirlian Camera covered the song on their album Todesengel. The Fall of Life.
• 1992: Warrant covered the song for the film Gladiator.
• 1992: Brazilian band Viper covered the fast version of the song in their third album Evolution, and later in a 1993 live album Maniacs in Japan.
• 1996: Linda Ronstadt performed a soft lullaby version for her album Dedicated to the One I Love.
• 1997: El General remade the song in Spanish as "Nosotros Te Conmoveremos" for the compilation Tributo a Queen: Los Grandes del Rock en Espanol.
• 2000: DJ Hurricane and Scott Weiland collaborated on a cover of the song for the album Don't Sleep.
• 2000: Queen members May and Taylor recorded a rap-style version of the song with boy band 5ive.
• 2000: Actress Kimberly Williams performs an alternate version of the song for the television miniseries The 10th Kingdom.
• 2003: John Farnham performed a rendition for his Greatest Hits CD, featuring samples from the original recording. According to the liner notes for One Voice: The Greatest Hits, Brian May contributed an extended guitar solo.
• 2003: a remix by KCPK, sung by a chorus of children, was released in a series of animated Evian adverts which aired in France, Germany and Belgium. The remix was later released as a single and entered the local charts^[2].
• 2004: Houseboyz performed a cover version for the video game Dance Dance Revolution Extreme^[3].
• 2005: German band Pink Cream 69 covered the song in their album Food For Thought^[4].
• 2005: Nickelback covered the song as a bonus track, through a promotion with Wal-Mart, for their album All the Right Reasons.
• 2008: Japanese singer Kosaka Riyu recorded a trance music version of the song.

[edit] Live cover performances

• 1992: Queen with guest singer Axl Rose performed the song at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
• 1996: Alanis Morissette and her band ended the first encore of her "Can't Not" Tour (following the song, "You Learn") with a cover of the song. Drummer Taylor Hawkins took the microphone, while Morissette took to the drums.
• 2003: Robbie Williams covered the song at his Knebworth Park gig. The performance subsequently appears on his Live Summer 2003 album which was released in the same year.
• 2003: Anastacia performed a version with Queen members May and Taylor at the 46664 Mandela concert.
• 2007: Prince's performance at the Super Bowl XLI started with a rendition of the song.
• 2007: Japanese singer Kumi Koda covered the song in her a-nation '07 performance.
• 2007: Girl band Hope sang the song on series 4 of X Factor.
• 2008: Finnish band Sonata Arctica plays "We Will Rock You" in concerts of their 2008 tour, using the crowd as a human drum kit.
• 2008: KoRn plays "We Will Rock You" as medley with their Coming Undone at their live concerts.
• 2008: Celine Dion performed a cover of this song as The Show Must Go On for her world tour concerts.
• 2008: Stone Temple Pilots who recently reunited have played the song at many of their shows.
• 2008: New Kids On The Block interpolated this song with "Hangin' Tough in Live performances on their tour in support of their comeback album

[edit] Remixes

• 1991: Rick Rubin did some remixes of "We Will Rock You", released by Hollywood Records. The "Ruined Remix" also contains contributions by Flea and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
• 2003: Japanese techno artist Killingscum remixed 5ive's cover of the song in the track Morning Knifreak.
• Norman Cook performed a Fatboy Slim remix on "We Will Rock You".
• DJ Speedo has performed a gabber style remix for various compilation CDs.

[edit] Sampling

• 1999: The "stomp-clap" is sampled as Juvenile is introduced on the track 'You Dig' from The Hot Boys album Guerrilla Warfare.
• 2002: Eminem sampled the "stomp-clap" on his album The Eminem Show for the song Till I Collapse.
• 2003: Kid Rock samples the song on "Hillbilly Stomp" from his self titled album. The song uses banjos, dobros and slide guitar to make it sound unique.
• 2007: Bon Jovi use the song as intro of their song "Summertime" in all the Lost Highway Tour.
• 2008: Detroit rapper Pick Up used this song as a sample for the track, "Like Me Or Not," off his debute album 8 Milez North.

[edit] Parodies & References to song

• 1987: Henry Rollins did a parody of "We Will Rock You" titled "I Have Come to Kill You".
• 2003: Blondie's song Good Boys uses the line "You got me on your face/A big disgrace."
• 2004: Scum of the Earth did a cover version on their debut album Blah...Blah...Blah...Love Songs for the New Millennium. However, the song title was changed to "Pornstar Champion" with modified lyrics.

[edit] Appearances in other media

• We Will Rock You was a featured song on the game Donkey Konga.
• 2004: The song featured in a global Pepsi-Cola TV ad campaign performed by Beyoncé Knowles, Pink and Britney Spears, and was produced by Brian May. Brian May and Roger Taylor both make guest appearances in the ad, which was shown on TV in the United Kingdom, Finland, Brazil, Malaysia, Romania, Philippines, India, Mexico, and Latin America.

[edit] References

Preceded by "Life Is a Rollercoaster" by Ronan Keating

UK number one single (5ive version) July 23, 2000

Succeeded by "7 Days" by Craig David

v • d • e Queen singles discography 1970s 1973: "Keep Yourself Alive" • 1974: "Liar" • "Seven Seas of Rhye" • "Killer Queen" • 1975: "Now I'm Here" • "Bohemian Rhapsody" • 1976: "You're My Best Friend" • "Somebody to Love" • 1977: "Tie Your Mother Down" • "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" • "Long Away" • "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" • "We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You" • 1978: "Spread Your Wings" • "It's Late" • "Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" • 1979: "Don't Stop Me Now" • "Jealousy" • "Mustapha" • "Love of My Life" • "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 1980s 1980: "Save Me" • "Play the Game" • "Another One Bites the Dust" • "Need Your Loving Tonight" • "Flash" • 1981: "Under Pressure" (w/ David Bowie) • 1982: "Body Language" • "Las Palabras de Amor" • "Calling All Girls" • "Staying Power" • "Back Chat" • 1984: "Radio Ga Ga" • "I Want to Break Free" • "It's a Hard Life" • "Hammer to Fall" • "Thank God It's Christmas" • 1985: "One Vision" • 1986: "A Kind of Magic" • "Princes of the Universe" • "Friends Will Be Friends" • "Who Wants to Live Forever" • "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" • "One Year of Love" • 1989: "I Want It All" • "Breakthru" • "The Invisible Man" • "Scandal" • "The Miracle" 1990s 1991: "Innuendo" • "I'm Going Slightly Mad" • "Headlong" • "The Show Must Go On" • "These Are the Days of Our Lives" • 1995: "Heaven for Everyone" • "A Winter's Tale" • "Too Much Love Will Kill You" • 1996: "You Don't Fool Me" • "I Was Born to Love You" • "Let Me Live"  • 1997: "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"  • 1999: "Under Pressure (Rah Mix)" (w/David Bowie)