Queen release previously unheard song with Freddie Mercury
November 18, 2022
It's the kind of news that makes the hearts of music fans beat faster when old recordings of an already deceased idol surface and are finally released.
There are various reasons for songs from these recording sessions to not make it to the finished album; some tracks are simply better than others.
In the case of Queen, that is up to the fans to decide for themselves. In mid-October, British radio host Ken Bruce presented a new, old song by the band in his program on BBC Radio 2 — in the original line-up with Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, on the microphone: "Face it Alone."
A short time later, the band presented the song on their YouTube channel.
"Face it Alone" goes back to recording sessions for the 1989 "The Miracle" album. From that album, the singles "I Want it All," "Breakthru" and "The Invisible Man" climbed the charts. The album contained 10 songs, but a total of 30 were reportedly created in the studio at the time.
Material for a new edition
Unreleased material has a lot of marketing potential. "The Miracle Collector's Edition," which contains "Face it Alone" and five other previously unreleased tracks and demo takes, is released on November 18. "Face it Alone" was also released as a 7" vinyl edition.
The real gemstones from the sessions are the spoken segments that bookend the musical takes, according to a press release on Queen guitarist Brian May's website. "As the studio tape keeps rolling in London and Montreux, the four members are caught at their most candid, giving listeners the uncanny fly-on-the wall experience of standing amongst Freddie, Brian, John and Roger as they banter, debate, swap jokes and show both joy and occasional frustration."
Freddie Mercury died in November 1991 of AIDS-related complications. The album "Innuendo," released just a few months earlier, in February 1991, was the last to be released during his lifetime.
In 1995, the band released the last album recorded with Mercury, "Made in Heaven."
Bassist John Deacon left the band in 1997. Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor continue to perform under the Queen name to this day, most recently with singer Adam Lambert.
This article was originally written in German.