Top 20 Classic Queen Tracks

2. I Want To Break Free

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Mc-NYPHaQ Perhaps the most iconic video Queen ever produced, which included the band members dressed in women's clothing and apparently parodying the likes of 'Coronation Street' (for US audiences), the video was banned by MTV due to the number of complaints from viewers. For a band that had previously released music like 'Body Language' (which was also banned from MTV) and had a lead singer who was extremely extrovert and flamboyant, US audiences objected outright to the video which they said sent "mixed messages" and blurred the lines of sexuality. Ironically it was Roger Taylor and not Freddie Mercury who suggested the idea of dressing up as women for the band. 'I Want To Break Free' was one of the most successful singles ever released by the band. Written by John Deacon, it was about freedom, expression and falling in love. The song was also taken €“ much in the same way as the later release 'I Want It All' €“ and used as an anti-apartheid song by protest groups in South Africa. The song was notably absent from the 'Classic Queen' compilation released to American audiences in 1991 on Hollywood Records. The song is also unusually written as it has three verses but no chorus, one bridge and a traditional 12 bar blues progression in E major. Despite protest in the US against the song and little promotion in support the single still reached no. 45 on the basis of Queen's popularity alone. The song is also particularly interesting for its choreographed ballet section which features Mercury being passed across a number of ballet performers in unison. A common story from the video recording (purported by Richard O Brien) suggests that Mercury actually had an orgasm while filming these scenes.