As well as his work with Queen, Freddie Mercury released one solo album, one collaborative album, and several singles. Although his solo work was not as commercially successful as most Queen albums, the two off-Queen albums and several of the singles debuted in the top 10 of the UK Music Charts. Following Mercury's death in 1991, several posthumous box sets and compilation albums have been released.
Mercury's first solo effort goes back to 1972 under the pseudonym Larry Lurex, when Trident Studios' house engineer Robin Geoffrey Cable was working in a musical project, at the time when Queen were recording their debut album; Cable enlisted Mercury to perform lead vocals on the songs "I Can Hear Music" and "Goin' Back", both were released together as a single in 1973. Eleven years later, Mercury contributed to the soundtrack for the restoration of the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis. The song "Love Kills" was written for the film by Giorgio Moroder in collaboration with Mercury, and produced by Moroder and Mack; in 1984 it debuted at the number 10 position in the UK Singles Chart..
Mercury's two full albums outside the band were Mr. Bad Guy (1985) and Barcelona (1988). His first album, Mr. Bad Guy, debuted in the top ten of the UK Album Charts. In 1993, a remix of "Living on My Own", a single from the album, posthumously reached number one on the UK Singles Charts. The song also garnered Mercury a posthumous Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.. AllMusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes Mr. Bad Guy as "outstanding from start to finish" and expressed his view that Mercury "did a commendable job of stretching into uncharted territory". In particular, the album is heavily synthesiser-driven; that is not characteristic of previous Queen albums.
His second solo-effort album outside of Queen, Barcelona, recorded with Spanish soprano vocalist Montserrat Caballé, combines elements of popular music and opera. Many critics were uncertain what to make of the album; one referred to it as "the most bizarre CD of the year". The collaborative album was a commercial success,Larkin, Colin (1998) The encyclopedia of popular music: Louvin, Charlie – Paul, Clarence, Volume 5. Macmillan. p. 3633. and the album's title track debuted at No. 8 in the UK and was also a hit in Spain.. The title track received massive airplay as the official anthem of the 1992 Summer Olympics (held in Barcelona one year after Mercury's death). Caballé sang it live at the opening of the Olympics with Mercury's part played on a screen, and again before the start of the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich in Barcelona.
In addition to the two solo albums, Mercury released several singles, including his own version of the hit "The Great Pretender" by the Platters, which debuted at No. 5 in the UK in 1987. In September 2006 a compilation album featuring Mercury's solo work was released in the UK in honour of what would have been his 60th birthday. The album debuted in the UK top 10.Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited In 2012, Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender, a documentary film directed by Rhys Thomas on Mercury's attempts to forge a solo career, premiered on BBC One.
In 1981–1983 Mercury recorded several tracks with Michael Jackson, including a demo of "State of Shock", "Victory", and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". None of these collaborations were officially released at the time, although bootleg recordings exist. Jackson went on to record the single "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory. Mercury included the solo version of "There Must Be More To Life Than This" on his Mr. Bad Guy album. "There Must Be More to Life Than This" was eventually reworked by Queen and released on their compilation album Queen Forever in 2014. In addition to working with Michael Jackson, Mercury and Roger Taylor sang on the title track for Billy Squier's 1982 studio release, Emotions in Motion and later contributed to two tracks on Squier's 1986 release, Enough Is Enough, providing vocals on "Love is the Hero" and musical arrangements on "Lady With a Tenor Sax". In 2020, Mercury's music video for "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" was nominated for Best Animation at the Berlin Music Video Awards. Woodlock studio is behind the animation.
Albums Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions CertificationsUKAUS N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.AUTGERNLDNORSWESWI Mr. Bad GuyReleased: 29 April 1985 Label: Columbia 6 38 23 11 17 13 20 14 UK: Gold
Collaborative albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions CertificationsUKAUSAUTGERITANLDNZSWESWI Barcelona(with Montserrat Caballé)Released: 10 October 1988 Label: Polydor 15* 200 24 41 52 10 13 37 18UK: Silver SWI: Platinum Barcelona 1992 chart position. It originally charted at number 25 in the UK in 1988.
Compilation albums YearTitlePeak chart positionsCertifications(sales thresholds)UKAUTGERITANLDNZNORSWESWIFRA1992The Freddie Mercury Album Released: 16 November 1992 Label: Parlophone 4 2 3 1 9 4 12 35 8 6UK: 2× Platinum ARG: Platinum AUT: Platinum FIN: Gold FRA: 2× Platinum GER: Platinum SWE: Gold SWI: PlatinumThe Great Pretender Released: 24 November 1992 (US) Label: Hollywood — — — — — — — — — —1993Remixes Released: December 1993 Label: Parlophone — 25 22 2 83 — — — 18 —2000Solo Released: 7 November 2000 Label: Parlophone 13 36 55 — 21 — — — 42 —UK: Gold2006Lover of Life, Singer of Songs — The Very Best of Freddie Mercury Solo Released: 4 September 2006 Label: Parlophone 6 7 13 1 30 — 8 14 16 —UK: Gold2012Barcelona: Special Edition Released: 11 September 2012 Label: Island 129 — — — — — — — — —2016Messenger of the Gods: The Singles Released: 2 September 2016 Label: Mercury 31 24 33 — 27 — — — 53 —2019Never Boring Released: 11 October 2019 Label: Mercury 18 21 23 — 54 — — — 9 — "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
Box sets Year Album details NotesThe Solo CollectionReleased: 23 October 2000 Label: Parlophone Format: 10 CD / 2 DVDThe box set includes Freddie Mercury's both studio albums, The Great Pretender compilation, singles, rarities and interviews. DVDs include music videos and interviews.Never BoringReleased: 11 October 2019 Label: Parlophone Format: 3 CD / 1 BDThe box set includes special editions of Freddie Mercury's studio albums, Mr. Bad Guy, Barcelona, compilation album Never Boring and a Blu-ray-disc with music videos.
Singles YearSongPeak chart PositionsCertifications(sales thresholds)AlbumUKAUSAUTGERIRENLDBELNZSWIUS1973"I Can Hear Music" / "Goin' Back" (as Larry Lurex) — — — — — — — — — 115Non-album single1984"Love Kills" 10 56 9 25 4 24 17 — 27 69Metropolis: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack1985"I Was Born to Love You" 11 19 20 17 7 22 35 — 24 76Mr. Bad Guy"Made in Heaven" 57 98 — 60 30 — 36 — — —"Living on My Own" 50 — — — — — — — — —"Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" 76 — — — — — — — — —1986"Time" 32 — — — 12 — — — — —Dave Clark's "Time": The Album1987"The Great Pretender" 4 54 — 26 2 11 6 1 — —Non-album single"Barcelona" (with Montserrat Caballé) 8 85 — 47 8 37 — — — —Barcelona1988"The Golden Boy" (with Montserrat Caballé) 86 — — — — — — — — —1989"Guide Me Home/How Can I Go On" (with Montserrat Caballé) 95 — — — — — — — — —1992"Barcelona" [re-release] (with Montserrat Caballé) 2 42 — 32 3 2 21 2 8 —Barcelona / The Freddie Mercury Album "Guide Me Home/How Can I Go On" [re-release] (with Montserrat Caballé) — — — — — — — — — —Barcelona"In My Defence" 8 — — — 12 — — — — —The Freddie Mercury Album1993"The Great Pretender" [re-release] 29 127 26 38 — 21 — 36 15 —"Living on My Own" (Remix) 1 115 2 2 1 2 2 — 2 —UK: GoldRemixes2000"Guide Me Home" (with Montserrat Caballé) — — — — — 70 — — — —Barcelona / Solo2006"Love Kills" (Sunshine People Remix) — — — 83 — 49 — — 98 —Lover of Life, Singer of Songs2019"Time Waits for No One" — — — — — — — — — —Never Boring "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Collaborations and guest appearances 1975: All four members of Queen helped produce a session with the soul band Trax. Nothing was ever released. 1976: "Man from Manhattan" by Eddie Howell – Mercury sang backing vocals, played piano and produced this track. Brian May also played guitar. 1976: "You Nearly Did Me In" by Ian Hunter – Mercury sang backing vocals on this song, from the album All-American Alien Boy. 1978: "Never Let Her Slip Away", a UK top five hit for Andrew Gold, saw Mercury perform harmony vocals as an uncredited background singer. 1982: "Emotions in Motion" by Billy Squier – Mercury sang backing vocals on this song, from album of same name. Also on the 1996 Billy Squier anthology Reach for the Sky. 1983: "Victory", "There Must Be More to Life Than This" and "State of Shock" were recorded by Mercury and Michael Jackson, but their original takes were never released. Demos and samples from the latter two have, however, turned up on bootlegs. Later, Mercury reworked "There Must Be More to Life Than This" into his solo album Mr. Bad Guy, and Jackson re-recorded "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger. Popular rumours dictate that a Queen version of "Victory" exists, but this has not surfaced anywhere yet. Queen's 2014 compilation Queen Forever included a brand new arrangement of "There Must Be More to Life Than This" featuring cuts from Jackson's vocal track. 1986: "Love Is the Hero" by Billy Squier – Mercury sang backing vocals on this song from the album Enough Is Enough. Mercury sings the intro on the 12" single, and also co-wrote and co-produced the track "Lady with a Tenor Sax", from the same album. Both also appear on the 1996 Billy Squier anthology Reach for the Sky. 1987: "Hold On", duet with Jo Dare – Mercury co-wrote this song from the German soundtrack of . 1988: "Heaven for Everyone" by The Cross – Mercury sang lead vocals on the LP version, backing vocals on the single version (or the version on the US album) from the album Shove It.
Videos Video albums Year Video details2012Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender Released: September 2012 Format: DVD, Blu-ray, Digital download
Music videos Year Title Director Album 1985 "I Was Born to Love You" David Mallet Mr. Bad Guy "Made in Heaven" "Living on My Own" Hannes Rossacher and Rudi Dolezal 1986 "Time"/"Time Waits for No One" Dave Clark Time/Never Boring 1987 "The Great Pretender" (Original and extended versions) David Mallet non-album "Barcelona" (with Montserrat Caballé) (2 versions) Barcelona 2019 "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" Esteban Bravo and Beth David Mr. Bad Guy
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