Bicycle Race
"Bicycle Race" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Queen | ||||
from the album Jazz | ||||
A-side | “Fat Bottomed Girls" (double A-side)[1] | |||
Released | 13 October 1978 | |||
Recorded | June–July 1978 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 3:01 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Freddie Mercury | |||
Producer(s) | Queen and Roy Thomas Baker | |||
Queen singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Bicycle Race" on YouTube |
"Bicycle Race" is a song by the British rock band
The song is notable for its video featuring a bicycle race with nude women at Wimbledon Stadium. The controversial video was edited or even banned in several countries. The song itself has appeared in various media with a bicycle theme.[4]
Composition
The song was written by Freddie Mercury and was inspired by watching the 18th stage of the
Reception
Lyrics
The lyrics are topical for the time and contain social, political, and pop culture references, such as
Brian May has said that the song was not an autobiographical portrait of Mercury and that Mercury did not particularly enjoy bicycling, also noting that despite the lyric "I don't like Star Wars", Mercury was a Star Wars fan.[10]
The song references the band's song "
Music video
Filmed by Denis de Vallance, the promotional video featured 65 nude women, all professional models, bicycle racing at Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, southwest London. The group rented the stadium and several dozen bicycles for one day for filming the scene; however, when the renting company became aware of the way their bikes were used, they requested that the group purchase all the bicycle seats.[5][11] The original video used special effects to hide the nudity.[12] However, due to the nudity, the video is age-restricted on YouTube and banned in several countries, including China.
Distribution
The song was released as a single and is also included in the following albums and box sets: Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, 15 Of The Best, Queen Live In Concert, Greatest Hits and The Singles Collection Volume 1.[13]
The single was mostly distributed in 1978, on 7-inch
Personnel
- Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, piano, bicycle bells
- Brian May – electric guitar, backing vocals, bicycle bells
- Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals, bicycle bells
- John Deacon – bass guitar, bicycle bells
Chart performance
Country | Peak position |
Held during | Charted for (weeks) |
---|---|---|---|
Australia[18] | 28 | 9 | |
Austria[19] | 21 | Jan 1979 | 4 |
Belgium[19] | 15 | Jan 1979 | 5 |
France[20] | 7 | November – December 1978 | 11 |
Germany[21] | 27 | 11–18 Dec 1978 | 12 |
Ireland[22] | 10 | 7 | |
New Zealand[19] | 20 | 8 | |
The Netherlands[23] | 5 | 25 Nov – 2 Dec 1978 | 11 |
Norway[23] | 7 | 9 | |
Portugal[24] | 9 | 3 February 1979 | 2 |
UK[18][25] | 11 | 25 Nov – 9 Dec 1978 | 11 |
US Billboard[18][26] | 24 | Jan 1979 | 12 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[27] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Sample
The song's chorus was sampled by Eminem in "C'mon Let Me Ride" by Skylar Grey.[28]
Alternate artwork
A bicycle race with nude women was held to promote the Jazz album, the single and the "Fat Bottomed Girls" single. This photo was included as a fold-out poster with the album Jazz. It was also included as an alternate single cover.[29]
References
- ^ "Bicycle Race - Queen | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited.
- ^ "Victoria Pendleton back on her bike for Strictly Come Dancing". The Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
She and professional partner Brendan Cole are due to perform a paso doble to the Queen hit Bicycle Race. Her arrival is expected to be reminiscent of the flying bike scene in movie hit ET
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7603-3719-6.. Sutcliffe counters a popular belief that Mercury was inspired by seeing the Tour through a hotel window in Nice by that the Tour did not pass through Nice that year.
- ISBN 978-88-09-02418-2. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
- ^ "Queen Songs – The Book: Bicycle Race". Queensongs.info. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
- ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 4 November 1978. p. 26. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 11 November 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Van Luling, Todd (5 September 2014). "5 Things You Didn't Know About Queen, Even If You Know Every Word Of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
- ^ Queen Promo Videos – Bicycle Race Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
- ^ Queen Non-UK Albums Discography. Ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-02-20.
- ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ "BBC Two – Queen – Days of Our Lives, Episode 1". Bbc.co.uk. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ BICYCLE RACE as an a-side, pcpki.com
- ^ "Bicycle Race (Велогонка) — Queen : Интересные факты о песне". Music-facts.ru (in Russian). 30 May 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ a b c "Queen International Singles Chart Positions". Pcpki.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ a b c Steffen Hung. "Queen - Bicycle Race". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par Q". www.infodisc.fr.
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets". Musicline.de. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ "The Irish Charts". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
- ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Queen - Bicycle Race". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 3 February 1979. p. 78. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
- ^ "American single certifications – Queen – Bicycle Race". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Eminem Sings Classic Queen Hook on Skylar Grey's New Single". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Sixty-five naked women were perched atop bicycles rented from Halford's Cycles and sent racing around Wimbledon Stadium". Queenpedia.com. Retrieved 25 December 2012.