The Queen song Brian May said had “never been done” before
Queen revolutionised the music scene in many ways during their career. First off, they brought a unique and quirky energy to rock ‘n’ roll that hadn’t been seen before. Secondly, amid a big transformation in sound and feel, they created one of the most unforgettable rock soundtracks ever.
In the 1980s, Queen continued to bask in the glory of their previous successes. The launch of three pivotal Queen albums – A Night at the Opera, News of the World, and The Game – firmly established them as a powerhouse in the music world. Hits like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ reshaped how radio stations viewed song possibilities, leaving a lasting impact for decades to come.
At the start of the decade, however, the band sought out to venture into relatively untouched territory with their first-ever movie soundtrack, Flash Gordon. The film, based on the comic strip character of the same name, follows the adventures of Flash Gordon as he battles the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless.
Queen’s involvement in creating the soundtrack was a departure from their typical studio albums, which saw the band craft a dynamic and electrifying collection of songs that perfectly complemented the adventurous and fantastical themes of the movie. The soundtrack features some of Queen’s most memorable tracks, including the pulsating title track ‘Flash’ and the anthemic ‘The Hero’.
The song ‘Flash’ featured a duet between Freddie Mercury and Brian May, while drummer Roger Taylor provided the high harmonies. At the time, each member knew they were onto something great. “We wanted to write the first rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack to a non-music film,” Taylor told Mojo. “At the time, rock ‘n’ roll was not used in movies unless they were specifically about music.”
May added: “We wanted a soundtrack album that made you feel like you’d watched the film so we shipped in all the dialogue and effects and wove it together like tapestry.”
Although this is now regarded as one of the band’s most revolutionary contributions to the realm of rock music, May once recalled to The Independent that not everybody enjoyed their recording. When they first arrived at the studio ready to play Mike Hodges and Dino De Laurentiis their demo, Hodges thought it sounded “brilliant”, while Laurentiis’ feedback was, “It’s very good but it is not for my movie.”
Nonetheless, May suspected his reluctance was due to the risk factor. “It had never been done,” he said. He suspected that, following their meeting, Hodges encouraged Laurentiis to be more open and to take the risk, which worked because, according to May, “Dino did come around and was very supportive.”
Queen’s approach to crafting the Flash Gordon soundtrack became a notable template in the music industry. While it wasn’t the norm back then, it’s now commonplace for songs to incorporate movie dialogue, a trend initially popularised by Queen’s soundtrack. Examples of this can be seen in contemporaries like Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Pulp Fiction, and Reservoir Dogs.
