Killer Queen

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Lore & Background

Mercury commented he wrote the lyrics before the melody and music, whereas normally he would do the opposite. He stated that the song was about a high-class call girl. The song's first verse quotes a phrase traditionally but falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette: "'Let them eat cake,' she says, Just like Marie Antoinette." Unlike the first two Queen albums, this song was partly recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales. The recording features elaborate four-part harmonies (particularly in the choruses, and also providing backing parts in the verses), and also a multitracked guitar solo by Brian May which makes use of the bell effect. At one point, there are two distinct bass guitar lines, one of which diverges into a descending run. Brian May said, "'Killer Queen' was the turning point. It was the song that best summed up our kind of music, and a big hit, and we desperately needed it as a mark of something successful happening for us... I was always very happy with this song."

In Their Own Story

When released as a single, "Killer Queen" was Queen's breakthrough hit, reaching number two in the United Kingdom and number twelve in the United States. It was released as a double A-side in the UK, the US, and Canada (where it reached number 15 in the RPM 100 national singles chart), with the song "Flick of the Wrist." Several different versions of "Flick of the Wrist" were used on different releases. In 1986, "Killer Queen" featured as the B-side to "Who Wants to Live Forever." The song was regularly performed between 1974 and 1981 as part of a medley. In 1974–1975, the song was played following "In the Lap of the Gods", and in 1975–76, the song followed "Bohemian Rhapsody". In 1984 and 1985, during The Works Tour, it was reintroduced in a medley following a truncated version of "Somebody to Love".

Reader's Guide

Freddie Mercury said of the song: "People are used to hard rock, energy music from Queen, yet with this single you almost expect Noël Coward to sing it. It's one of those bowler hat, black suspender belt numbers – not that Coward would wear that. ... It's about a high class call girl. I'm trying to say that classy people can be whores as well." Brian May recalled: "The first time I heard Freddie playing that song, I was lying in my room in Rockfield [a residential recording studio in Wales], feeling very sick. After Queen's first American tour, I had hepatitis, and then I had very bad stomach problems and I had to be operated on. So I remember just lying there, hearing Freddie play this really great song and feeling sad, because I thought, 'I can't even get out of bed to participate in this.' But then I got fixed up, thank God. And when I came out again, we were able to finish off 'Killer Queen.' They left some space for me and I did the solo." On the single's release, *Cash Box* said that it had "fine lead vocals, solid harmonies and an inventive production" and that "this song is bound to make you smile with its lighthearted whimsy and confident approach." *Record World* described it as "a cross between Bowie and Wings." Retrospectively, "Killer Queen" was described by AllMusic as the true beginning of Queen's "radio sound" and "recalls the cabaret songs of yesteryear, but also shows how Queen was fast becoming a master of power pop." Rock historian Paul Fowles wrote that "Killer Queen", with its "sleazy Parisian imagery", allowed "free rein" to Mercury's "unique brand of rock theater." American pop singer Katy Perry cited "Killer Queen" as an important influence on her, saying it "made me discover music and helped me come into my own at the age of 15."

Did You Know?

• Freddie Mercury wrote the lyrics before the melody and music, which was the opposite of his usual process.
• The song's first verse quotes a phrase traditionally but falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette: "'Let them eat cake,' she says, Just like Marie Antoinette."
• Brian May recorded his guitar solo while recovering from hepatitis and stomach surgery, after hearing Freddie play the song from his sickbed at Rockfield Studios.
• "Killer Queen" was Queen's breakthrough hit, reaching number two in the UK and number twelve in the US.
• American pop singer Katy Perry said the song "made me discover music and helped me come into my own at the age of 15."