toon86
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Post by toon86 on Jun 26, 2021 21:55:11 GMT
Hey all, just been listening to good old Alexa, and a few songs popped up that I can't help think should've been far bigger single hits. To clarify, these were all released as singles in the UK, otherwise I would've included POTU, but were not big hits really. My top 3:-
1. Spread Your Wings
2. Tie Your Mother Down
3. Breakthru
Cheers,
Al.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Jun 26, 2021 22:08:09 GMT
Hey all, just been listening to good old Alexa, and a few songs popped up that I can't help think should've been far bigger single hits. To clarify, these were all released as singles in the UK, otherwise I would've included POTU, but were not big hits really. My top 3:- 1. Spread Your Wings 2. Tie Your Mother Down 3. Breakthru Cheers, Al. They were all second singles, so people had already bought the albums when they came out. Maybe that's why they weren't as successful as the pre-album singles? |
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toon86
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Post by toon86 on Jun 26, 2021 22:17:01 GMT
Good point sir, or Lord  , was just thinking they deserved a wider audience than just the album buying public. Another One Bites the Dust was not the first single off The Game, but became the biggest selling single they ever had. Was IWTBF the 2nd or 3rd off The Works, but is now considered a classic, and same with WWTLF, something like the 4rd from AKOM, and while it did poorly in the charts at the time, is, and quite rightly, considered a classic song. I guess its difficult to predict what maintains longevity. |
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n39
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Post by n39 on Jun 26, 2021 22:49:09 GMT
TYMD should definitely have been higher in the charts, agreed on that.
TSMGO and TATDOOL were the 4th and 5th singles from Innuendo, I believe.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Jun 26, 2021 23:18:05 GMT
It doesn't always follow. Don't Stop Me Now did much better than Bicycle Race / FBG, and BR / FBG came out before the album. Guess it just depends on radio play, and a bit of luck with picking the right single at the right time.
I also wonder if b-sides mattered? Would a single have done better, perhaps, with an exclusive b-side rather than a b-side straight from the album?
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n39
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Post by n39 on Jun 27, 2021 0:02:17 GMT
It doesn't always follow. Don't Stop Me Now did much better than Bicycle Race / FBG, and BR / FBG came out before the album. Guess it just depends on radio play, and a bit of luck with picking the right single at the right time. I also wonder if b-sides mattered? Would a single have done better, perhaps, with an exclusive b-side rather than a b-side straight from the album? These are the singles that had exclusive B-sides: Seven Seas of Rhye Crazy Little Thing Called Love Save Me Play the Game Under Pressure Radio Ga Ga One Vision A Kind of Magic Who Wants to Live Forever I Want It All Breakthru The Invisible Man Scandal The Miracle I'm Going Slightly Mad Headlong The Show Must Go On 2 number ones there, but I don't really think the B-side makes any difference. The average consumer doesn't buy a single for its B-side. |
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Strange_frontier
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Post by Strange_frontier on Jun 27, 2021 3:35:40 GMT
I'm considering any song that has ever been issued as a single, so....
Headlong, SSOR, Scandal, You Don't Fool Me, I'm Going Slightly Mad, Pain is So Close to Pleasure, Flash, Calling All Girls, Keep Yourself Alive, Invisible Man.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jun 27, 2021 6:04:54 GMT
Good point sir, or Lord , was just thinking they deserved a wider audience than just the album buying public. Another One Bites the Dust was not the first single off The Game, but became the biggest selling single they ever had. Was IWTBF the 2nd or 3rd off The Works, but is now considered a classic, and same with WWTLF, something like the 4rd from AKOM, and while it did poorly in the charts at the time, is, and quite rightly, considered a classic song. I guess its difficult to predict what maintains longevity. ah, but you're comparing two very different periods for Queen.TYMD and SYW came from the 2-singles-per-LP era, while the others were from the 80s when bands released 4 or more singles per LP. hard to compare both, really. As for AOBTD: my understanding of its sales are that - outside of USA/Canada - it was a fairly typical top-10 seller and certainly not as big as seller as Bo Rhap, UP, CLTCL & WATC. so AOBTD's "biggest seller" label is probably due to distorted sales figures across a handful of territories, over-compensating for the less impressive sales across the wider globe. |
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pg
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Post by pg on Jun 27, 2021 7:22:03 GMT
Hey all, just been listening to good old Alexa, and a few songs popped up that I can't help think should've been far bigger single hits. To clarify, these were all released as singles in the UK, otherwise I would've included POTU, but were not big hits really. My top 3:- 1. Spread Your Wings 2. Tie Your Mother Down 3. Breakthru Cheers, Al. How different it might have been if the original title of Highlander had been kept. Ps Alexa is supposed to listen to you... |
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dysan
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Post by dysan on Jun 27, 2021 8:00:30 GMT
These are the singles that had exclusive B-sides: Crazy Little Thing Called Love Save Me These B-sides were taken from Live Killers. These were from the CD of AKOM and Rare Live respectively but I get your point of versions being easily available on the 7" format for the first time though even if it is just having the crowd fade out at the end. Add to that A Winter's Tale with Rock In Rio Blues. Nice discussion. Might also be worth folding in to the thread those singles versions that are markedly different from the album version like FBG, IWTBF, BC, HTF. I'd happily swap some of them out on the album for the album version! I guess even the double A Side Flick Of The Wrist is a unique standalone version. Same I guess with 12" mixes but to a lesser extent. In the 70s the flip was important as B-sides would generally be played to death in jukeboxes and on the radio too. It wasn't unknown for the old album cut on the flipside to get a renewed lease of life and sometimes even get flipped over and become the lead track. Would be interesting to see how those 70s B-side rules would effect chart position these days with downloads being king. The other side of the coin is those singles from FWBF onwards that had previous hit singles on the B-Side of some formats. I've seen people in shops buy new singles off MIH due to the presence of big hits on the flip 'for the car'. |
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Post by pimderks on Jun 27, 2021 8:07:07 GMT
I've always considered Breakthru to be underrated. Definitely one of my post-1980 Queen-tracks. To me it falls in the same category as I Want To Break Free, Radio Ga Ga, A Kind Of Magic etc - extremely well done pop. Stuff like Invisible Man, Friends Will Be Friends, Scandal etc hasn't dated well IMO.
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n39
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Post by n39 on Jun 27, 2021 12:40:04 GMT
These are the singles that had exclusive B-sides: Crazy Little Thing Called Love Save Me These B-sides were taken from Live Killers. These were from the CD of AKOM and Rare Live respectively but I get your point of versions being easily available on the 7" format for the first time though even if it is just having the crowd fade out at the end. Add to that A Winter's Tale with Rock In Rio Blues. Nice discussion. Might also be worth folding in to the thread those singles versions that are markedly different from the album version like FBG, IWTBF, BC, HTF. I'd happily swap some of them out on the album for the album version! I guess even the double A Side Flick Of The Wrist is a unique standalone version. Same I guess with 12" mixes but to a lesser extent. In the 70s the flip was important as B-sides would generally be played to death in jukeboxes and on the radio too. It wasn't unknown for the old album cut on the flipside to get a renewed lease of life and sometimes even get flipped over and become the lead track. Would be interesting to see how those 70s B-side rules would effect chart position these days with downloads being king. The other side of the coin is those singles from FWBF onwards that had previous hit singles on the B-Side of some formats. I've seen people in shops buy new singles off MIH due to the presence of big hits on the flip 'for the car'. Fair point of Live Killers, was half asleep when typing that! Forever didn't appear on the LP version, so I think it's fair to include it as a B-side that didn't make the album. Stone Cold Crazy (live) is valid, as Rare Live was not an album release. |
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jeroeng
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Post by jeroeng on Jun 27, 2021 15:09:15 GMT
These B-sides were taken from Live Killers. These were from the CD of AKOM and Rare Live respectively but I get your point of versions being easily available on the 7" format for the first time though even if it is just having the crowd fade out at the end. Add to that A Winter's Tale with Rock In Rio Blues. Nice discussion. Might also be worth folding in to the thread those singles versions that are markedly different from the album version like FBG, IWTBF, BC, HTF. I'd happily swap some of them out on the album for the album version! I guess even the double A Side Flick Of The Wrist is a unique standalone version. Same I guess with 12" mixes but to a lesser extent. In the 70s the flip was important as B-sides would generally be played to death in jukeboxes and on the radio too. It wasn't unknown for the old album cut on the flipside to get a renewed lease of life and sometimes even get flipped over and become the lead track. Would be interesting to see how those 70s B-side rules would effect chart position these days with downloads being king. The other side of the coin is those singles from FWBF onwards that had previous hit singles on the B-Side of some formats. I've seen people in shops buy new singles off MIH due to the presence of big hits on the flip 'for the car'. Fair point of Live Killers, was half asleep when typing that! Forever didn't appear on the LP version, so I think it's fair to include it as a B-side that didn't make the album. Stone Cold Crazy (live) is valid, as Rare Live was not an album release. Actually, the B-side to Who Wants To Live Forever was not Forever but Killer Queen. Forever only appeared on the 12" (and as a substitute B-side in the Singles Collection boxset) |
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n39
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Post by n39 on Jun 27, 2021 15:42:48 GMT
Fair point of Live Killers, was half asleep when typing that! Forever didn't appear on the LP version, so I think it's fair to include it as a B-side that didn't make the album. Stone Cold Crazy (live) is valid, as Rare Live was not an album release. Actually, the B-side to Who Wants To Live Forever was not Forever but Killer Queen. Forever only appeared on the 12" (and as a substitute B-side in the Singles Collection boxset) It was one of the B-sides to a version of the single release of WWTLF, so yes, it does count as a B-side. |
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Post by macduff77 on Jun 28, 2021 4:18:59 GMT
Have always been surprised that Tie Your Mother Down did not chart that high. As an aside, I would have released “You and I” over “Good Old Fashioned Loverboy.”
IMHO, “Don’t Stop Me Now” should have been a #1. I would have led off with that as a lead single, followed by “Fat Bottomed Girls” as an A-side release.
Always surprised “Hammer To Fall” didn’t make Top 10. I would have released that before “It’s A Hard Life.”
One of my all-time favourites, “The Show Must Go On” should have been released after “Innuendo.” I’ve always felt that should have been a #1 hit.
Finally, I would have chosen “Let Me Live” as the lead single for Made In Heaven. Never been a fan of “Heaven for Everyone” - it would have been a ballsy move to release LML with all 3 sharing the lead vocals.
but, these are all just my opinions though. I’m sure we all have differing opinions!
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Post by The Fairy King on Jun 28, 2021 6:39:02 GMT
Have always been surprised that Tie Your Mother Down did not chart that high. As an aside, I would have released “You and I” over “Good Old Fashioned Loverboy.” IMHO, “Don’t Stop Me Now” should have been a #1. I would have led off with that as a lead single, followed by “Fat Bottomed Girls” as an A-side release. Always surprised “Hammer To Fall” didn’t make Top 10. I would have released that before “It’s A Hard Life.” One of my all-time favourites, “The Show Must Go On” should have been released after “Innuendo.” I’ve always felt that should have been a #1 hit. Finally, I would have chosen “Let Me Live” as the lead single for Made In Heaven. Never been a fan of “Heaven for Everyone” - it would have been a ballsy move to release LML with all 3 sharing the lead vocals. but, these are all just my opinions though. I’m sure we all have differing opinions! Was surprised LML got released as a single in the first place. Remember MiH and HFE was released with a lot of hoopla as THE FINAL ALBUM FROM QUEEN and Freddie Mercury's final album etc etc I think releasing LML as the lead single, it would've been too confusing for the general public. Heaven For Everyone faired pretty well on the charts, but it isn't regarded as one of their big hits with longevity. |
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jun 28, 2021 8:18:16 GMT
Have always been surprised that Tie Your Mother Down did not chart that high. i think that TYMD's failure wasn't really a surprise. the "rock" bands having big hits in 1977 were, Eagles, ELO, Fleetwood Mac etc. The general public's music buying tastes were very different. Rock bands were releasing softer airplay friendly singles. One of the biggest rock LPs of all time (Bat out of Hell) was released in '77 - but it was only the ballad (Two Out of Three Ain't Bad) that was a significant chart hit that year. Was there anything as heavy as TYMD near the top of either UK/US charts, in '77? |
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Post by The Fairy King on Jun 28, 2021 9:02:15 GMT
Have always been surprised that Tie Your Mother Down did not chart that high. i think that TYMD's failure wasn't really a surprise. the "rock" bands having big hits in 1977 were, Eagles, ELO, Fleetwood Mac etc. The general public's music buying tastes were very different. Rock bands were releasing softer airplay friendly singles. One of the biggest rock LPs of all time (Bat out of Hell) was released in '77 - but it was only the ballad (Two Out of Three Ain't Bad) that was a significant chart hit that year. Was there anything as heavy as TYMD near the top of either UK/US charts, in '77? Take a look: www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19770313/7501/www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1977-03-19 |
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jun 28, 2021 9:14:53 GMT
i think that TYMD's failure wasn't really a surprise. the "rock" bands having big hits in 1977 were, Eagles, ELO, Fleetwood Mac etc. The general public's music buying tastes were very different. Rock bands were releasing softer airplay friendly singles. One of the biggest rock LPs of all time (Bat out of Hell) was released in '77 - but it was only the ballad (Two Out of Three Ain't Bad) that was a significant chart hit that year. Was there anything as heavy as TYMD near the top of either UK/US charts, in '77? Take a look: www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19770313/7501/www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1977-03-19 Boston, 10cc, Fleetwood Mac, ELO, Eagles, Manfred Mann's Earthband, Wings, Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs, Jackson Browne, Bob Seger, Kansas - with only a handful actually cracking the top-10. and...certainly nothing that would ever compare to TYMD - with regard to "heaviness". that's pretty conclusive, then. |
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Post by ThomasQuinn on Jun 28, 2021 11:27:54 GMT
And *that* raises the question why Spread Your Wings didn't do better. It should have fit in with the times extremely well. Could fairly poor promotion for the single be to blame?
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jun 28, 2021 12:26:32 GMT
And *that* raises the question why Spread Your Wings didn't do better. It should have fit in with the times extremely well. Could fairly poor promotion for the single be to blame? undoubtedly. of all of Queen's 70s songs, SYW was far and away the most AOR, 70s USA-radio-friendly - yet they opted for It's Late in the US, which yielded equally disappointing sales in America, as SYW did in other territories. |
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oreno
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Post by oreno on Jun 28, 2021 13:28:47 GMT
Interesting stuff.
Apart from "I Want It All", the big rockers never charted as high as the pop singles. Roger was very astute on this, talking about Now I'm Here, how difficult it was to have a big hit with a heavier number.
It also perhaps explains (along with the 'sharing' of royalties) one reason why WWRY and FBG were paired with more instant/poppy/catchy songs on double a-sides. I suppose also the idea being that different djs had a choice as to what best suited the specific time slot or audience (Queen hedging their bets in other words).
Spread Your Wings is a surprise low seller for me, but perhaps it was just too laid back, not insistent enough as a Queen single. No wall of vocals to bolster the chorus, no big guitar parts etc. Great for what it is but not really anything that would particularly stand out on the radio.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jun 28, 2021 13:39:42 GMT
It also perhaps explains (along with the 'sharing' of royalties) one reason why WWRY and FBG were paired with more instant/poppy/catchy songs on double a-sides. I suppose also the idea being that different djs had a choice as to what best suited the specific time slot or audience (Queen hedging their bets in other words). and almost immediately (after LP release) most rock/pop USA radio stations started playing WWRY/WATC as one (5 min) song. bizarre really - as the gap between both on the LP feels awkward - when you hear them played as one. |
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n39
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Post by n39 on Jun 28, 2021 14:00:26 GMT
Have always been surprised that Tie Your Mother Down did not chart that high. As an aside, I would have released “You and I” over “Good Old Fashioned Loverboy.” IMHO, “Don’t Stop Me Now” should have been a #1. I would have led off with that as a lead single, followed by “Fat Bottomed Girls” as an A-side release. Always surprised “Hammer To Fall” didn’t make Top 10. I would have released that before “It’s A Hard Life.” One of my all-time favourites, “The Show Must Go On” should have been released after “Innuendo.” I’ve always felt that should have been a #1 hit. Finally, I would have chosen “Let Me Live” as the lead single for Made In Heaven. Never been a fan of “Heaven for Everyone” - it would have been a ballsy move to release LML with all 3 sharing the lead vocals. but, these are all just my opinions though. I’m sure we all have differing opinions! Heaven for Everyone should never have been the lead single, or a single at all IMO. It's not strong enough in comparison to other tracks. I would've picked the singles in the following order: 1) Made in Heaven 2) Too Much Love Will Kill You 3) I Was Born to Love You 4) Let Me Live |
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jun 28, 2021 14:24:41 GMT
Heaven for Everyone should never have been the lead single, or a single at all IMO. It's not strong enough in comparison to other tracks. Heaven For Everyone stands up (sales-wise) against the lead singles from the previous three Queen LPs - One Vision, I Want It All and Innuendo. So I think it was the perfect choice - commercially, musically, and lyrically. i think there's something counter-intuitive to releasing any of the other singles as "lead single", when lyrically they set such an initially negative tone (bearing in mind the person singing this is 4-years past): I'm taking my ride with destiny - ouch! didn't turn out "happy ever after" though, did it? I'm just the pieces of the man I used to be - f**king hell, morbid in the extreme - let's promote the LP by depressing everyone? I was born to love you, With every single beat of my heart - Yes, I was born to take care of you - albeit very briefly, eh? Take a piece of my heart, Take a piece of my soul, Let me live - just no. great tune, but not as a lead single an album's lead single is everything, first impressions and all that... the opening of Heaven For Everyone strikes a more positive note: This could be heaven, This could be heaven, This could be heaven for everyone |
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Post by macduff77 on Jun 28, 2021 15:46:19 GMT
Yeah, that's a good point. I guess "Let Me Live" probably would, in hindsight, sound a bit insensitive as the first new single post-Freddie. Hadn't thought that deep about the songs, lyrically.
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Post by macduff77 on Jun 28, 2021 15:48:58 GMT
Here in Canada, from Made In Heaven I heard "Heaven for Everyone" a little bit on the radio, but "Too Much Love Will Kill You" receive heavy airplay and charted quite well, from what I remember. It was even included in some compilations, too.
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n39
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Post by n39 on Jun 28, 2021 16:32:02 GMT
Heaven for Everyone should never have been the lead single, or a single at all IMO. It's not strong enough in comparison to other tracks. Heaven For Everyone stands up (sales-wise) against the lead singles from the previous three Queen LPs - One Vision, I Want It All and Innuendo. So I think it was the perfect choice - commercially, musically, and lyrically. i think there's something counter-intuitive to releasing any of the other singles as "lead single", when lyrically they set such an initially negative tone (bearing in mind the person singing this is 4-years past): I'm taking my ride with destiny - ouch! didn't turn out "happy ever after" though, did it? I'm just the pieces of the man I used to be - f**king hell, morbid in the extreme - let's promote the LP by depressing everyone? I was born to love you, With every single beat of my heart - Yes, I was born to take care of you - albeit very briefly, eh? Take a piece of my heart, Take a piece of my soul, Let me live - just no. great tune, but not as a lead single an album's lead single is everything, first impressions and all that... the opening of Heaven For Everyone strikes a more positive note: This could be heaven, This could be heaven, This could be heaven for everyoneCommercially, yes, primarily (I think) due to marketing and the fact that it was the first new Queen song in 4 years (and the first since Freddie's death). Musically, all of the above songs are stronger, in my opinion. Do you think you're better every day? No, I just think I'm two steps nearer to my graveI will destroy any man who dares abuse my trustI sometimes wish I'd never been born at allYou say coke, I say 'caineInsanity laughs under pressure we're breakingFirst impressions and all that... |
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jun 28, 2021 16:41:31 GMT
Commercially, yes, primarily (I think) due to marketing and the fact that it was the first new Queen song in 4 years (and the first since Freddie's death). Musically, all of the above songs are stronger, in my opinion. Do you think you're better every day? No, I just think I'm two steps nearer to my graveI will destroy any man who dares abuse my trustI sometimes wish I'd never been born at allYou say coke, I say 'caineInsanity laughs under pressure we're breakingFirst impressions and all that... i don't understand your point. you've selected random lyrics from songs. mine were ALL opening lines - ie first impressions - as in the first words you hear. |
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n39
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Post by n39 on Jun 28, 2021 17:08:00 GMT
Commercially, yes, primarily (I think) due to marketing and the fact that it was the first new Queen song in 4 years (and the first since Freddie's death). Musically, all of the above songs are stronger, in my opinion. Do you think you're better every day? No, I just think I'm two steps nearer to my graveI will destroy any man who dares abuse my trustI sometimes wish I'd never been born at allYou say coke, I say 'caineInsanity laughs under pressure we're breakingFirst impressions and all that... i don't understand your point. you've selected random lyrics from songs. mine were ALL opening lines - ie first impressions - as in the first words you hear. Ok, fair point, It didn't click that they were opening lines. |
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, was just thinking they deserved a wider audience than just the album buying public. Another One Bites the Dust was not the first single off The Game, but became the biggest selling single they ever had. Was IWTBF the 2nd or 3rd off The Works, but is now considered a classic, and same with WWTLF, something like the 4rd from AKOM, and while it did poorly in the charts at the time, is, and quite rightly, considered a classic song. I guess its difficult to predict what maintains longevity. 
