A Kind of Magic

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A Kind of Magic is a 1986 album by British rock band Queen. It was the band's twelfth studio album, and was based on the soundtrack to the film Highlander, the first in a series directed by Russell Mulcahy. Though the album hit #46 in the United States, it rocketed to #1 in the United Kingdom, remaining in the charts for sixty-three weeks and spawning 3 hit singles with A Kind Of Magic going to number one in over 30 countries around the world. Bizarrely the single failed to chart in the USA top75 despite being heavily featured in Highlander. The album eventually went Gold in the US in 2002.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Credits 3 Singles 4 Album trivia

Track listing

Side 1

1. "One Vision" (Queen) 5:10 *
2. "A Kind Of Magic" (Roger Taylor) 4:24 *
3. "One Year Of Love" (John Deacon) 4:26 *
4. "Pain Is So Close To Pleasure" (Freddie Mercury, Deacon) 4:21 *
5. "Friends Will Be Friends" (Mercury, Deacon) 4:07 *

Side 2

1. "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Brian May) 5:15 *
2. "Gimme The Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" (May) 4:34
3. "Don't Lose Your Head" (Taylor) 4:38
4. "Princes Of The Universe" (Mercury) 3:32 *

CD bonus tracks

1. "A Kind Of 'A Kind Of Magic'" (Taylor)
2. "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends..." (Mercury, Deacon)
3. "Forever" (May) 3:20 - piano version of 'Who Wants To Live Forever'

(* singles)

1991 Hollywood Records bonus tracks (US re-release):

1. "Forever" (May) 3:20
2. "One Vision (Extended Vision)" (Queen) 6:23

Credits

• Lead vocals by Freddie Mercury except:

• 'One Vision': Mercury & Brian May.
• 'Don't Lose Your Head': Mercury, Roger Taylor & Joan Armatrading.
• 'Who Wants To Live Forever': Mercury & May.

• Backing vocals by Mercury, Taylor and May except:

• 'One Vision': Mercury.
• 'One Year Of Love': Mercury.
• 'Pain Is So Close To Pleasure': Mercury.

• Bass guitars by John Deacon.
• Guitars by Brian May & John Deacon.
• Synths by Queen & Spike Edney.
• Pianos by Freddie Mercury.

Singles

• Queen recorded One Vision, released in the UK on November 4, 1985, directly after their much-lauded appearance at the Live Aid concert; the single was criticized for being no more than a means of cashing in on a charity event. It did, in fact, do well on the charts, reaching seventh in the UK and making top ten throughout Europe. The song appeared in the film Iron Eagle.
• A Kind Of Magic, released in the UK on March 17, 1986, reached #3 on its home chart but was a #1 hit in thirty-five other countries. While charting well everywhere else, it peaked at #42 in the USA and has been played on radios mostly in New England (Similar to their first single Keep Yourself Alive). Russell Mulcahy, director of Highlander, directed the song's accompanying video.
• Friends Will Be Friends, released on June 9, 1986, reached 14th in the UK and made the top forty throughout Europe.
• Who Wants To Live Forever, released on September 15, 1986, reached 24th in the UK. The National Philharmonic Orchestra featured in the song's video, along with forty choirboys and two thousand candles.
• Pain Is So Close To Pleasure, released in the US and parts of Europe only.
• One Year Of Love, released in France and Spain only.
• Princes Of The Universe, was never released as a single in the UK. While not a hit, it is a cult favorite due to the 1986 film Highlander in the USA. It was also used as the theme music for the Highlander television show which followed the movie in 1992-1998. The music video featured Christopher Lambert and the band on part of the film set, and is cleverly cut with scenes from the film. The song appears on Greatest Hits III.

Album trivia

• Six songs from the album appeared in the 1986 film Highlander, albeit in different versions. Regrettably, no standalone soundtrack for the movie was ever released, but according to Brian May on his commentary for the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD, he mentioned a desire to work on such a release in the future.
• The songs that didn't appear in Highlander were: 'One Vision', 'Pain Is So Close To Pleasure' and 'Friends Will Be Friends', although 'One Vision' was later featured in the film Iron Eagle.
• For the first time in their career, the band allowed cameras to film them while they were in the studio. The video for 'One Vision' shows them in various stages of writing and recording the song.
• A different version of 'A Kind Of Magic' appears in the film Highlander. It is in fact the original version.
• The saxophone solo that featured in 'One Year Of Love' was played by Steve Gregory, who also played saxophone on George Michael's first solo single, 'Careless Whisper'.
• The video for 'Friends Will Be Friends' marked the second occasion where the band invited fans from their fanclub to appear as a concert audience, the first time being 'We Are The Champions'.
• A different version for 'Who Wants To Live Forever' appears in the film Highlander. Where guitarist Brian May sings the first verse on the album version, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury sings the entire song in the movie.
• 'Gimme The Prize' was director Russel Mulcahy's 'least favourite' Queen song to appear in Highlander.
• A remixed instrumental version of 'Don't Lose Your Head' appeared as the b-side of the single 'A Kind Of Magic'. Retitled 'A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling', it more resembled the version that appeared in Highlander.
• The video for 'Princes Of The Universe' is considered by many a fan's favourite video. Directed by Russel Mulcahy and shot on a set used in his film Highlander, it features a 'sword fight' between Christopher Lambert and Freddie Mercury, although some would question the fairness of the battle as while Lambert was armed with a katana, Freddie was armed with his signature microphone stand.

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