Killer Queen

Killer Queen

Queen

“Killer Queen” was the breakthrough song that turned Queen into worldwide rock stars. Peaking at #2 in the UK, the song became a hit in seven other European countries as well. “Killer Queen” was the first Queen single to successfully ‘cross the pond’, becoming a top 20 hit in the U.S. and Canada, as well as a top 30 hit in Australia.

In the New Musical Express of November 2, 1974, the song’s writer and Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury elucidates on this song: “It’s about a high class call girl. I’m trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. That’s what the song is about, though I’d prefer people to put their interpretation upon it – to read into it what they like.”

While it may seem like a typical popular song, the structure utilised in the song is quite unusual. There are 4 bar phrases immediately followed by 5 bar phrases and then 2 bar phrases, with tempo changing from 12/8 to 6/8 and vice versa.

The main key being Eb major is very unorthodox for Rock music, as guitars don’t usually play flats. Brian May, who pioneered a heavier hard rock sound, had been struck with hepatitis during the majority of the recording. Upon initially hearing the song, Brian was shocked over the more progressive, lighter sound. Nevertheless, the rest of the band left space for Brian to record his own iconic guitar melodies.

The song includes prominent uses of multi-tracking, not just on the vocals, but also in the guitar solo. Other effects used include the flanger (pitch bends), panning (sound moving from the left ear to the right), portamento/glissando (sliding from one note to another), distortion (giving a creamy feel), wah-wah on the guitar, string bending and sliding.

The band had decided not to use the ubiquitous synthesiser, as they thought it was superfluous. Instead, instrumentation utilised includes a jangle piano (detuned), drum kit, bass guitar, electric guitar and vocals.

The song “Killer Queen” may also be recognized by fans of the Japanese manga series “JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable” by Hirohiko Araki, in which a character named Yoshikage Kira has a spiritual manifestation called a “Stand” named “Killer Queen”. To avoid copyright issues, most American publications of the series renamed the Stand “Deadly Queen”.