Scandal (song)

1989 single by Queen

This article is about the 1989 song and single by Queen. For other songs and records, see Scandal (disambiguation).

"Scandal"

Artwork for UK release

Single by Queen
from the album  The Miracle
B-side|

* "My Life Has Been Saved"

Released| 9 October 1989
Recorded| 1988
Genre| Electro-rock
Length|

* 4:43 (Album version)
* 6:23 (12" extended version)

Label| Parlophone, EMI, Capitol
Songwriter(s)| Queen
(Brian May)
Producer(s)| Queen and David Richards
Queen singles chronology
| "The Invisible Man"
(1989)  | "Scandal"
(1989)  | "The Miracle"
(1989)

|
|

Music video
"Scandal" on YouTube

"Scandal" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released as the fourth single from their 1989 album The Miracle and peaked at #25 in the UK.[1] The single was released in the United States but failed to chart.

## Composition

[edit]

"Scandal", written by Brian May, 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 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.[2]

## Recording

[edit]

May recorded the keyboards and guitars in one take. Mercury's vocal was also done in one take.[2]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Upon its release, pan-European magazine Music & Media described "Scandal" as a "medium-paced track with a catchy beat and a dramatic build up".[3] Selina Webb of Music Week remarked that, while there were "no surprises here", Mercury's "turbo-whine is in fine fettle" and the band's backing has "lost nothing of its orchestral impact".[4] William Shaw of Smash Hits called it "marvellous stuff" with its "thumping synths" and a "perky Brian May guitar bit". He added that, although the lyrics "deservedly lash the press for their tendency to make up fibs in their quest for smut, due to the sheer sensibleness of its theme, it lacks the usual over-the-topness that makes a good Queen single great".[5]

Rebel MC and Michael Menson of Double Trouble, as guest reviewers for Number One, felt the song was more of an "album track" and one that was probably "rushed off the album" as a single. They concluded that chartwise it would "surface then sink like the Titanic".[6] Phil Wilding of Kerrang! was negative in his review, calling it "such an unprecedented turd of a song that it's really not worth going on about".[7] Muff Fitzgerald of Record Mirror was also critical, describing it as "terrible".[8]

## Music video

[edit]

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.[citation needed]

In the audio commentary included with the video in Queen: Greatest Video Hits 2, drummer 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

[edit]

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. The 1995 version replaced the original guitar intro with keyboards played by bassist John Deacon. 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".[9]

## Track listings

[edit]

7" Single

1. "Scandal" (Album Version) – 4:43
2. "My Life Has Been Saved" – 3:15[10]

12"/CD Single

1. "Scandal" (Extended Version) – 6:23
2. "My Life Has Been Saved" – 3:15
3. "Scandal" (Album Version) – 4:43

## Personnel

[edit]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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* Freddie Mercury – vocals
* Brian May – guitars, keyboards
* Roger Taylor – drums, vibraslap
* John Deacon – bass guitar
* David Richards – synth bass, sampler

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1989)  | Peak
position

|

Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] | 29
Irish Singles Chart[12] | 14
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] | 16
Netherlands Singles Chart (Single Top 100)[14] | 12
UK Singles Chart[1] | 25

## Cover versions

[edit]

* The Dutch symphonic metal band Delain covered the song on their album Moonbathers.[15][16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Queen - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
2. ^ a b "Scandal - Queenpedia". Queenpedia.com/. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
3. ^ "Previews: Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 43\. 28 October 1989. p. 24\. OCLC 29800226.
4. ^ Webb, Selina (14 October 1989). "A&R: Singles". Music Week. p. 25\. ISSN 0265-1548.
5. ^ Shaw, William (31 October 1989). "Review: Singles". Smash Hits. Vol. 11, no. 21\. p. 77\. ISSN 0260-3004.
6. ^ Rebel MC; Michael Menson (11 October 1989). "Singles". Number One. No. 329\. p. 43.
7. ^ Wilding, Phil (14 October 1989). "Singlez". Kerrang!. No. 260\. p. 19\. ISSN 0262-6624.
8. ^ Fitzgerald, Muff (14 October 1989). "Singles". Record Mirror. p. 14\. ISSN 0144-5804.
9. ^ "Queen UK Singles Discography 1984-1991". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
10. ^ "Queen "The Miracle" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
11. ^ "Queen – Scandal" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
12. ^ "Home". irishcharts.ie.
13. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Queen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
14. ^ "Queen - Scandal - Dutchcharts". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
15. ^ "Scandal". Retrieved 27 November 2017 - via YouTube.
16. ^ "Moonbathers - Delain - Album - Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Official music video on YouTube
* Lyrics at Queen official website

* v
* t
* e

Queen songs

Queen|

* "Keep Yourself Alive"
* "Liar"

Queen II|

* "Seven Seas of Rhye"

Sheer Heart Attack|

* "Killer Queen"
* "Now I'm Here"
* "Flick of the Wrist"
* "Lily of the Valley"
* "Stone Cold Crazy"
* "Brighton Rock"

A Night at the Opera|

* "Bohemian Rhapsody"
* "You're My Best Friend"
* "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)"
* "I'm in Love with My Car"
* "'39"
* "Sweet Lady"
* "The Prophet's Song"
* "Love of My Life"
* "Good Company"
* "God Save the Queen"

A Day at the Races|

* "Somebody to Love"
* "Tie Your Mother Down"
* "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)"
* "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"
* "Long Away"

News of the World|

* "We Will Rock You"
* "We Are the Champions"
* "Spread Your Wings"
* "It's Late"
* "Sheer Heart Attack"

Jazz|

* "Bicycle Race"
* "Fat Bottomed Girls"
* "Don't Stop Me Now"
* "Mustapha"
* "Jealousy"

The Game|

* "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
* "Save Me"
* "Play the Game"
* "Another One Bites the Dust"
* "Need Your Loving Tonight"

Flash Gordon|

* "Flash's Theme"

Hot Space|

* "Under Pressure"
* "Body Language"
* "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)"
* "Calling All Girls"
* "Staying Power"
* "Back Chat"

The Works|

* "Radio Ga Ga"
* "I Want to Break Free"
* "It's a Hard Life"
* "Hammer to Fall"
* "Is This the World We Created...?"

A Kind of Magic|

* "One Vision"
* "A Kind of Magic"
* "Princes of the Universe"
* "Friends Will Be Friends"
* "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure"
* "Who Wants to Live Forever"
* "One Year of Love"

The Miracle|

* "I Want It All"
* "Breakthru"
* "The Invisible Man"
* "Scandal"
* "The Miracle"

Innuendo|

* "Innuendo"
* "I'm Going Slightly Mad"
* "Headlong"
* "These Are the Days of Our Lives"
* "The Show Must Go On"
* "I Can't Live with You"
* "Ride the Wild Wind"

Made in Heaven|

* "Heaven for Everyone"
* "A Winter's Tale"
* "Too Much Love Will Kill You"
* "I Was Born to Love You"
* "Let Me Live"
* "You Don't Fool Me"
* "Made in Heaven"
* "Mother Love"

Queen Rocks|

* "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"

Queen Forever|

* "Let Me in Your Heart Again"
* "Love Kills"
* "There Must Be More to Life Than This"

Other songs|

* "Thank God It's Christmas"
* "Face It Alone"

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work
* MusicBrainz release group

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