Barcelona (Freddie Mercury song)
Encyclopedia
"Barcelona" is a single released by Queen
vocalist Freddie Mercury
and operatic
soprano
Montserrat Caballé
. A part of their collaborative album Barcelona
, it also appeared on Queen's Greatest Hits III.
The song reflects Mercury's love of opera with his high notes and Caballé's operatic vocals, backed by a full orchestra. Originally released in 1987, it was one of the biggest hits of Mercury's solo career, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart
. After Mercury's death in 1991, it was featured at the 1992 Summer Olympics
, after which the track climbed even higher, peaking at number 2 in the UK, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
In 2004, BBC Radio 2
listed Barcelona at #41 in its Sold On Song Top 100.
, Caballé, a native of the city, was asked to assist with producing a song for the games. She summoned Mercury for the task. Mercury became enthusiastic about the project and instead of recording a single, he proposed to make an album, which Caballé agreed on. The song "Barcelona" had to be its opening song, to be completed by 1988, and to be submitted as a candidate for the 1992 Olympic theme (the selection was scheduled for 1988, 4 years before the Games). The recording was complicated by the tight schedule of Caballé. Thus to spare her time, Mercury recorded the song, also singing her part in falsetto
. He would then send a tape to Caballé to prepare her for the joint studio sessions.
"Barcelona" and a few other parts for the studio version, Mercury dubs over his voice in his usual multi-tracking style. Mercury leads the song whereas Caballé provides a powerful "background" soprano. Since Caballé covers the soprano part, Mercury sings in his natural baritone voice rather than forced tenor, which was common in his other recordings.
The song has been described as a rare textbook example of a combination of pop and opera singing which accentuated their differences. Whereas Mercury articulates his every word, Caballé focuses on the tone; her lines are much harder to comprehend, and further, she uses both English and Spanish languages. Consequently, she keeps her part melodic throughout all the song at the expense of the text, whereas Mercury has to resort from singing to nearly shouting at the crescendo
part in order to deliver his words. Mercury was reportedly amazed by the legendary ability of Caballé to control her voice; for example, in the fadeout, he had to step away from the microphone to decrease his voice intensity, whereas she didn't move at all.
The song was performed live for the first time in May 1987, at the Ibiza
festival, held at the Ku nightclub (now Privilege Ibiza
, the "world's largest nightclub"). Its next important performance occurred on 8 October 1988, at the open air La Nit festival in Barcelona, which was staged on the occasion of the arrival of the Olympic Flag from Seoul
. Together, Mercury and Caballé sang three tracks from the forthcoming album Barcelona, namely "Barcelona", "How Can I Go On" and "The Golden Boy". This was the last live performance of Mercury who was already beginning to suffer from AIDS. Mercury died in 1991, and the recording of the song was played over a travelogue of the city at the start of the international broadcast of the 1992 Olympics opening ceremony.
Prior to the start of the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final
between Manchester United and Bayern Munich held at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Caballé performed "Barcelona" live, accompanied with a recording by Mercury who also appeared on the stadium's electronic screen.
and 3" and 5" CDs, all with Polydor labels. The 5" CD and 7" record, but not the 12" record, were reissued in 1992; the 3" CD was issued only in Japan in 1992. The B-side of nearly all records contained "Exercises In Free Love" from The Freddie Mercury Album
. The 1992 version of the 7" Spanish record had another version of "Barcelona" on the B-side, and the rare 1987 12" Hong Kong record was one-sided and had a unique sleeve. Most 5" CDs contained two or three versions of "Barcelona" and "Exercises In Free Love". Most 7" record and 5" CD covers featured Mercury and Caballé singing on a stage with an orchestra on the background, though the Portuguese version pictured them in a static studio photo. The 1992 reissue 7" records contained another version of the singing artists, with no orchestra.
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
vocalist Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
and operatic
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi....
. A part of their collaborative album Barcelona
Barcelona (album)
Barcelona is an album recorded by Freddie Mercury, the front-man of the popular British rock band Queen, and operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé. The album was recorded in 1987 and 1988, and released in 1988...
, it also appeared on Queen's Greatest Hits III.
The song reflects Mercury's love of opera with his high notes and Caballé's operatic vocals, backed by a full orchestra. Originally released in 1987, it was one of the biggest hits of Mercury's solo career, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. After Mercury's death in 1991, it was featured at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, after which the track climbed even higher, peaking at number 2 in the UK, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
In 2004, BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
listed Barcelona at #41 in its Sold On Song Top 100.
History
Mercury had been a long-time fan of opera, especially favouring Montserrat Caballé. In 1986, he mentioned on Spanish television that he would be glad to see her in person. They had a friendly initial meeting in Barcelona in February 1987. Later, when the city had been chosen for the 1992 Summer Olympics1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, Caballé, a native of the city, was asked to assist with producing a song for the games. She summoned Mercury for the task. Mercury became enthusiastic about the project and instead of recording a single, he proposed to make an album, which Caballé agreed on. The song "Barcelona" had to be its opening song, to be completed by 1988, and to be submitted as a candidate for the 1992 Olympic theme (the selection was scheduled for 1988, 4 years before the Games). The recording was complicated by the tight schedule of Caballé. Thus to spare her time, Mercury recorded the song, also singing her part in falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
. He would then send a tape to Caballé to prepare her for the joint studio sessions.
The song
The song was co-written by Mercury with Mike Moran, who also appeared in the song's video and played a piano accompaniment for the studio recording. The song starts with an orchestral introduction, which fades and is followed by Mercury and Caballé singing alternately their solo lines, sometimes merging into a duet. When singing the chorusRefrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
"Barcelona" and a few other parts for the studio version, Mercury dubs over his voice in his usual multi-tracking style. Mercury leads the song whereas Caballé provides a powerful "background" soprano. Since Caballé covers the soprano part, Mercury sings in his natural baritone voice rather than forced tenor, which was common in his other recordings.
The song has been described as a rare textbook example of a combination of pop and opera singing which accentuated their differences. Whereas Mercury articulates his every word, Caballé focuses on the tone; her lines are much harder to comprehend, and further, she uses both English and Spanish languages. Consequently, she keeps her part melodic throughout all the song at the expense of the text, whereas Mercury has to resort from singing to nearly shouting at the crescendo
Crescendo
-In music:*Crescendo, a passage of music during which the volume gradually increases, see Dynamics * Crescendo , a Liverpool-based electronic pop band* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", one of Duke Ellington's longer-form compositions...
part in order to deliver his words. Mercury was reportedly amazed by the legendary ability of Caballé to control her voice; for example, in the fadeout, he had to step away from the microphone to decrease his voice intensity, whereas she didn't move at all.
Charts and live performance
| Country | Peak position |
Period | Total weeks |
Peak position |
Period | Total weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 42 | 16–23 Aug 1992 | 2 | |||
| France | 6 | 29 Aug – 5 Sep 1992 | 9 | |||
| Germany | 47 | 25–31 Jan 1988 | 5 | |||
| Ireland | 8 | 3 | 8 | 3 | ||
| The Netherlands | 37 | 28 Nov – 5 Dec 1987 | 9 | 2 | 29 Aug – 12 Sep 1992 | 16 |
| New Zealand | 2 | 9–16 Aug 1992 | 7 | |||
| Sweden | 15 | 20 Jan – 3 Feb 1988 | 3 | 12 | 19 Aug – 2 Sep 1992 | 4 |
| Switzerland | 8 | 30 Aug – 6 Sep 1992 | 13 | |||
| UK | 8 | 14–21 Nov 1987 | 9 | 2 | 15–29 Aug 1992 | 8 |
The song was performed live for the first time in May 1987, at the Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
festival, held at the Ku nightclub (now Privilege Ibiza
Privilege Ibiza
Privilege Ibiza is the "world's largest nightclub" according to the Guinness Book of Records, with a capacity of 10,000 people. It is located not far from San Rafael, Ibiza, less than 1 km from the nightclub Amnesia. For fourteen years, Privilege hosted Manumission, one of the island's most famous...
, the "world's largest nightclub"). Its next important performance occurred on 8 October 1988, at the open air La Nit festival in Barcelona, which was staged on the occasion of the arrival of the Olympic Flag from Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
. Together, Mercury and Caballé sang three tracks from the forthcoming album Barcelona, namely "Barcelona", "How Can I Go On" and "The Golden Boy". This was the last live performance of Mercury who was already beginning to suffer from AIDS. Mercury died in 1991, and the recording of the song was played over a travelogue of the city at the start of the international broadcast of the 1992 Olympics opening ceremony.
Prior to the start of the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final
1999 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1999 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 26 May 1999. The match was played at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, to determine the winner of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. The final was contested by Manchester United and Bayern Munich...
between Manchester United and Bayern Munich held at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Caballé performed "Barcelona" live, accompanied with a recording by Mercury who also appeared on the stadium's electronic screen.
Distribution
The single was distributed on 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl recordsGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
and 3" and 5" CDs, all with Polydor labels. The 5" CD and 7" record, but not the 12" record, were reissued in 1992; the 3" CD was issued only in Japan in 1992. The B-side of nearly all records contained "Exercises In Free Love" from The Freddie Mercury Album
The Freddie Mercury Album
The Freddie Mercury Album is a posthumous solo project with material from Queen frontman and vocalist Freddie Mercury released in 1992. The album is mainly made up of remixes from his past releases, as well as the original versions of "Barcelona", "Love Kills", "Exercises in Free Love", and "The...
. The 1992 version of the 7" Spanish record had another version of "Barcelona" on the B-side, and the rare 1987 12" Hong Kong record was one-sided and had a unique sleeve. Most 5" CDs contained two or three versions of "Barcelona" and "Exercises In Free Love". Most 7" record and 5" CD covers featured Mercury and Caballé singing on a stage with an orchestra on the background, though the Portuguese version pictured them in a static studio photo. The 1992 reissue 7" records contained another version of the singing artists, with no orchestra.