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The Invisible Man (song)

FieldValue
nameThe Invisible Man
coverQueen The Invisible Man.png
borderyes
captionArtwork for UK release
typesingle
artistQueen
albumThe Miracle
B-side*"Hijack My Heart"
released7 August 1989
recorded1988
genre*Electro-funk
*pop<ref>{{cite weblastPratofirst=Gregurl=title=The Miracle – Queenpublisher=AllMusicdate=6 June 1989access-date=12 August 2011}}
length{{plainlist
label{{flatlist
writerQueen
(Roger Taylor)
producer{{flatlist
prev_titleBreakthru
prev_year1989
next_titleScandal
next_year1989
misc

the Queen song

| B-side = *"Hijack My Heart"

  • pop
  • 3:57 (album version)
  • 5:04 (early version with guide vocal)
  • 4:17 (video version)
  • 5:28 (12" extended version)
  • Parlophone
  • EMI (Roger Taylor)
  • Queen
  • David Richards

"The Invisible Man" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by drummer Roger Taylor but credited to Queen. The song is sung mostly by Freddie Mercury, with vocal contributions from Taylor. The song was released in August 1989 as the third single from the band's album The Miracle. Taylor said that he got the inspiration to create the song while reading a book, and the bassline instantly came to his imagination. The song title was inspired by the H. G. Wells novel of the same name.

This song contains a distinction whereby all four band members' names are mentioned in the lyrics. The first being Freddie Mercury, followed by John Deacon. Brian May's name is then said twice (just before his guitar solo starts), and while saying "Roger Taylor", the first "r" is rolled to emulate the drums at the end of the verse. Mercury's name is announced by Taylor, and the other three by Mercury.

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, David Giles of Music Week described "The Invisible Man" as a "somewhat watered-down effort to create a modern dancefloor frenzy [that] is enhanced by a Brian May guitar solo". Ian Broudie, as guest reviewer for Number One, rated the song two out of five stars and said that "aside from a good rhythm this doesn't have much going for it". Kerrang! wrote, "Yes, it has no substance, you can see straight through it. No, of course it won't flop, it's bound to be a hit."

Music video

In the music video, a video game called "The Invisible Man" plays a large part, as a young boy is playing a game while the band (all dressed in black) are the "bad guys" and Freddie Mercury (who wears a pair of virtual reality goggles, while the rest of the band wear black shades instead) enters the real world and performs the song in his room. As they perform, the boy tries to shoot them with the game controller.

Mercury appears in various places in the child's room, vanishing before the boy can shoot him with the video controller. After Mercury emerges from the child's closet with his band in tow, John Deacon removes his cowboy hat and throws it to the floor. In perhaps a futile attempt to emulate him, the boy removes his baseball cap, and dons the other. The screen then shows an image of the band in the game once more, Deacon without a hat, and the child walks underneath them, with a "Game Over" message appearing.

A then-15-year-old Danniella Westbrook, who joined soap opera EastEnders the following year, appears in the video as the boy's sister.

Freddie Mercury's eyewear and John Deacon's cowboy hat were also used in the cover of their next single "Scandal".

Track listings

7" single :A. "The Invisible Man" (album version) – 3:57 :B. "Hijack My Heart" – 4:11

12"/CD single :1/A. "The Invisible Man" (extended version) – 5:28 :2/B1. "Hijack My Heart" – 4:11 :3/B2. "The Invisible Man" (album version) – 3:57

Personnel

  • Freddie Mercury – lead vocals
  • Brian May – lead guitar
  • Roger Taylor – drums, synthesizer, sampler, electric guitar, backing vocals, co-lead vocals
  • John Deacon – bass guitar, rhythm guitar
  • David Richards – synthesizer, sequencer, programming

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1989)Peak
positionFlanders13artist=Queensong=The Invisible Manaccessdate=2 August 2020}}Ireland (IRMA)Italy (Musica e Dischi)Italy Airplay (Music & Media)Dutch404year=1989week=40accessdate=16 August 2021}}Dutch1006artist=Queensong=The Invisible Manaccessdate=16 August 2021}}New Zealand15artist=Queensong=The Invisible Manaccessdate=16 August 2021}}Switzerland30artist=Queensong=The Invisible Manaccessdate=16 August 2021}}UKsinglesbyname12artist=Queenaccessdate=16 August 2021}}West Germany31songid=2029artist=Queensong=The Invisible Manaccessdate=16 August 2021}}
10
14
4

Year-end charts

Chart (1989)PositionBelgium (Ultratop Flanders)Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)Netherlands (Single Top 100)
98
72
57

References

References

  1. August 2016, Malcolm Dome29. (29 August 2016). "Queen albums ranked from worst to best".
  2. Prato, Greg. (6 June 1989). "The Miracle – Queen". AllMusic.
  3. (2007). "Queen: Complete Works". Reynolds & Hearn.
  4. Giles, David. (12 August 1989). "A&R: Singles".
  5. Broudie, Ian. (16 August 1989). "Singles".
  6. (19 August 1989). "Singlez".
  7. "Queen "The Miracle" album and song lyrics".
  8. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know".
  9. "Classifiche". [[Musica e Dischi]].
  10. (7 October 1989). "Playlist Report: Italy".
  11. "Jaaroverzichten 1989". Ultratop.
  12. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1989". Dutch Top 40.
  13. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1989".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1989-songs 1989-singles queen-(band)-songs parlophone-singles songs-written-by-roger-taylor-(queen-drummer) capitol-records-singles hollywood-records-singles songs-about-fictional-male-characters music-based-on-novels
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