These Are the Days of Our Lives
Encyclopedia
"These Are the Days of Our Lives" is a song by English
rock
band Queen
. It was written largely by their drummer Roger Taylor, and is the eighth track on the band's 1991 album Innuendo
. It is harmonically and structurally one of the simplest songs of the band's catalogue. Keyboards were programmed by the four band members in the studio, and conga percussion (a synthesised conga) was recorded by their producer David Richards
(although it was mimed in the video by Roger Taylor).It was on the radio on the morning of Tuesday 29 November 2011.
It was issued as a single in the United States on Freddie Mercury
's 45th birthday, 5 September 1991, and as double A-side
single in the UK three months later on 9 December, in the wake of Mercury's death, with the seminal Queen track "Bohemian Rhapsody
". The single debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and remained at the top for five weeks. The song was awarded a BRIT Award for "Best Single" in 1992
.
"These Are the Days of Our Lives" harks back to similarly themed 1975 Queen song "Love of My Life", twice using the line "I still love you". At the end of the song, Mercury simply speaks the words, as he would often do in live versions of "Love of My Life."
. The majority of the footage used in the video was filmed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions
on 30 May 1991.
For the promotional video, Mercury, Taylor and John Deacon
were present at the shoot, with additional footage of guitarist Brian May
filmed some weeks later and edited into the footage, as he was out of the country on a radio promotional tour at the time of the principal film shoot. The video was shot in black and white to hide the full extent of Mercury's faltering condition from AIDS, following rumours about his health had been at the centre of much media and public speculation for over a year, following on from its use in the video for "I'm Going Slightly Mad
" earlier in 1991.
Colour footage of the band filming the video later emerged, showing just how frail Mercury really looked, and justifying the band's decision to film in black and white out of respect for him. In this music video, Mercury is wearing a waistcoat with pictures of cats that was made for him by a close friend, and which he loved. With his knowing farewell look straight at the camera, Mercury whispers "I still love you" at the end of the song, which are his last words on camera.
The version of the finished video serviced to the U.S. market also featured some animated footage produced by animators for the Walt Disney Studios, as Queen's North American record label, Hollywood Records
, is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
. In Europe, a different, 'clean' version of the video without the animated sequences was released. Then another video version was released in 1992 to promote the Classic Queen
compilation album in the US, combining old footage of the band from 1973 to 1991 plus the performances of the band from the US aired video.
and Lisa Stansfield
. This live version was later included in the 1993 "Five Live (EP)
", credited to 'George Michael with Queen & Lisa Stansfield', but mostly featuring George Michael live songs plus Dear Friends, a short track sung by Freddie Mercury taken from the 1974 Sheer Heart Attack
album, closing the EP
.
The song was played on the 2005/06 Queen + Paul Rodgers
tours with vocals by Roger Taylor. On stage the song was accompanied by a video of the band in their early days in Japan
.
The song was used on July 1, 2007, at the Concert for Diana
. It was a concert held at the new Wembley Stadium
in London
, England
, United Kingdom
in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales
, who had died 10 years earlier
. At the end of the performances, a video montage of Diana as a child was presented and this song was playing in the background.
A cover version
by Petula Clark
is included on her 2008 compilation album
Then & Now
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Queen
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...
. It was written largely by their drummer Roger Taylor, and is the eighth track on the band's 1991 album Innuendo
Innuendo (album)
Innuendo is the fourteenth studio album by British rock band Queen. Released in February 1991, it was the final studio album to be released in Freddie Mercury's lifetime and is the last to be composed entirely of new material...
. It is harmonically and structurally one of the simplest songs of the band's catalogue. Keyboards were programmed by the four band members in the studio, and conga percussion (a synthesised conga) was recorded by their producer David Richards
David Richards (record producer)
David Richards is an English-born Swiss-based record producer, engineer and musician. In the Mountain Studios in Montreux, owned by the rock band Queen, and in Attalens he engineered and co-produced many albums by Queen, David Bowie and other artists. Richards also played keyboards on some records...
(although it was mimed in the video by Roger Taylor).It was on the radio on the morning of Tuesday 29 November 2011.
It was issued as a single in the United States on 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...
's 45th birthday, 5 September 1991, and as double A-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
single in the UK three months later on 9 December, in the wake of Mercury's death, with the seminal Queen track "Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
". The single debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and remained at the top for five weeks. The song was awarded a BRIT Award for "Best Single" in 1992
1992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
.
"These Are the Days of Our Lives" harks back to similarly themed 1975 Queen song "Love of My Life", twice using the line "I still love you". At the end of the song, Mercury simply speaks the words, as he would often do in live versions of "Love of My Life."
Music video
The accompanying video was the last to feature front man Freddie Mercury as he was in the final stages of his battle with AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. The majority of the footage used in the video was filmed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions
DoRo Productions
DoRo Produktion Ges.mbH aka DoRo Productions is a film company based in Vienna, Austria. DoRo was named after the surnames of founders Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher.- History :...
on 30 May 1991.
For the promotional video, Mercury, Taylor and John Deacon
John Deacon
John Richard Deacon is a retired English multi-instrumentalist and song writer, best known as the bassist for the rock band Queen. Of the four members of the band, he was the last to join and also the youngest, being only 19 years old when he was recruited by the other members of the band...
were present at the shoot, with additional footage of guitarist Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
filmed some weeks later and edited into the footage, as he was out of the country on a radio promotional tour at the time of the principal film shoot. The video was shot in black and white to hide the full extent of Mercury's faltering condition from AIDS, following rumours about his health had been at the centre of much media and public speculation for over a year, following on from its use in the video for "I'm Going Slightly Mad
I'm Going Slightly Mad
"I'm Going Slightly Mad" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury, it was released as the second single from the band's 1991 album Innuendo...
" earlier in 1991.
Colour footage of the band filming the video later emerged, showing just how frail Mercury really looked, and justifying the band's decision to film in black and white out of respect for him. In this music video, Mercury is wearing a waistcoat with pictures of cats that was made for him by a close friend, and which he loved. With his knowing farewell look straight at the camera, Mercury whispers "I still love you" at the end of the song, which are his last words on camera.
The version of the finished video serviced to the U.S. market also featured some animated footage produced by animators for the Walt Disney Studios, as Queen's North American record label, Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
, is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. In Europe, a different, 'clean' version of the video without the animated sequences was released. Then another video version was released in 1992 to promote the Classic Queen
Classic Queen
-Charts:...
compilation album in the US, combining old footage of the band from 1973 to 1991 plus the performances of the band from the US aired video.
Tributes
The song was played live in April 1992 at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, sung by George MichaelGeorge Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
and Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield is an English singer and songwriter.-Early years:Stansfield was born to Marion and Keith Stansfield in Heywood, Lancashire, in England, where she attended Redbrook School, Rochdale. Her first television appearance was on a talent programme in the Granada TV area in 1982...
. This live version was later included in the 1993 "Five Live (EP)
Five Live (EP)
Five Live, released in 1993, features five tracks, performed by George Michael, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield...
", credited to 'George Michael with Queen & Lisa Stansfield', but mostly featuring George Michael live songs plus Dear Friends, a short track sung by Freddie Mercury taken from the 1974 Sheer Heart Attack
Sheer Heart Attack
Sheer Heart Attack is the third album by the British rock group Queen, released in November 1974. It was produced by Queen and Roy Thomas Baker and distributed by EMI in the United Kingdom, and Elektra in the United States....
album, closing the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
.
The song was played on the 2005/06 Queen + Paul Rodgers
Queen + Paul Rodgers
Queen + Paul Rodgers was a supergroup collaboration between Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen and Paul Rodgers...
tours with vocals by Roger Taylor. On stage the song was accompanied by a video of the band in their early days in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The song was used on July 1, 2007, at the Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana was a concert held at the then new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of her death...
. It was a concert held at the new Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, who had died 10 years earlier
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Fayed's...
. At the end of the performances, a video montage of Diana as a child was presented and this song was playing in the background.
A cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
is included on her 2008 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Then & Now
Then & Now: The Very Best of Petula Clark
Then & Now: The Very Best of Petula Clark is a compilation album by British singer Petula Clark that was released on June 16, 2008. It's a collection of greatest hits, four newly-recorded tracks, and a previously unreleased recording....
.