Mojo - The Music Magazine

Features Disc of the day

Queen
News Of The World



Thirty years ago Britain’s gleaming ‘70s rock sensations faced their most fearsome foe yet – punk…

Queen

Wessex Studios, summer 1977. Queen are hard at work on their sixth album. In a neighbouring studio, the Sex Pistols are putting together Never Mind The Bollocks.... "So you're the bloke that's supposed to be bringing ballet to the masses?" asks a sneering Sid Vicious during a brief encounter in the conjoining corridor. "Ah, Mr Ferocious!" pipes back Freddie Mercury, "well, we're trying our best!" When face-to-face with the grime of punk, Queen’s music - like their gregarious frontman - remained unruffled and joyous, their mantra of ‘the bigger, the better’ firmly intact. For proof, look no further than News Of The World’s opening double-whammy of We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You. Yet the real treasures of this record are found in the form of John Deacon’s surprising, soulful piano-ballad, Spread Your Wings and Brian May’s bluesy one–take jam, Sleeping On The Sidewalk. Scratch the surface and NOTW will delight you every time.

Ross Bennett

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 08/12/2007

Further Listening

QueenJazz (Parlophone, 1978)

Thin LizzyLive And Dangerous (Warner Bros, 1978)

Billy SquierTale Of The Tape (American Beat, 1980)


Related MOJO content:

Queen , Sex Pistols , Sid Vicious

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