2. Queen - Thank God It's Christmas
A rare writing collaboration between Brian May and Roger Taylor this could have literally been the last thing Queen ever wrote or recorded, as reports at the time of this song's release indicated the band was close to breaking up. The song was released in 1984 a few months after the band's studio album 'The Works' - on which it was not included - cited by many members of Queen as the hardest album the band ever had to create. In 2011 the song was repacked along with 'The Works' on a bonus EP contained with a special edition remaster of the album. Shortly after this single - which reached No 21 in the UK charts - the band spoke about appearing at an event being organised in London called Live Aid. This event - and their performance - apparently gave them the inspiration to continue together as a band and boosted their sales figures and popularity in the UK after a general decline. The song cracked the top 10 in Ireland - reaching number 8 - despite no music video ever being made for the single, which was to greatly impact its success.
Wayne Madden
Contributor
First studied Journalism in Ireland in 2003, returning to Sunderland University on the tenth anniversary of my first studies in the subject to continue towards an MA. Interested in all sorts including WWE, Music, Film, TV and Games. Has travelled around a bit to places like California, Ontario and Mexico and plans to do more of the same soon again.
Recently I've been writing pieces on my favourite topics which have included obscure theme music from nostalgic shows, Guns N' Roses and a few other surprises I'll be happy to share in time!
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Wayne