Friends Will Be Friends

"Friends Will Be Friends" is a song performed by Queen, written by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon, released on 9 June 1986 as a single for the album A Kind of Magic.[1] It was the band's 30th single in the UK upon its release, reaching number 14 in the UK.

"Friends Will Be Friends"
UK single picture sleeve
Single by Queen
from the album A Kind of Magic
B-side"Seven Seas of Rhye"
Released9 June 1986
Recorded1985–1986
Genre
Length
  • 4:07 (7" album version)
  • 5:58 (Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends version)
  • 6:15 (12" extended version)
  • 4:14 (promo video version)
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Queen singles chronology
"One Year of Love"
(1986)		 "Friends Will Be Friends"
(1986)		 "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure"
(1986)
Music video
"Friends Will Be Friends" on YouTube

"Friends Will Be Friends" was performed live on The Magic Tour. It is remarkable in that it was the first and only song that was sung at the end of concerts between "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" since the News of the World Tour in 1977.[2]

The song was included in various greatest hits compilations by Queen such as Greatest Hits II, Greatest Flix II and Greatest Video Hits II.

Musical arrangement

The song's key signature is G major, and makes heavy use of Brian May's melodic guitar playing style. The song was debuted on the second show of The Magic Tour (Leiden). Queen played the complete version of the song for the first two Leiden shows then the arrangement was shortened on 14 June (Paris). The shorter version is featured on the Live At Wembley release. On all live versions, the song was performed in F major, modulated down a tone.

Music video

The video was directed by DoRo and filmed at JDC Studios, Wembley in May 1986 and features the band performing the song in front of fan club members. During the show, Freddie Mercury "high fives" audience members, and at the end cuts the mic and sings along with them, letting them lead. Because of this, this performance was nicknamed "Queen's Greatest Show Never Performed".

Track listings

7" Single

A Side. "Friends Will Be Friends" (Album Version) - 4:07

B Side. "Seven Seas Of Rhye" - 2:46[3]

12" Single

A Side. "Friends Will Be Friends" (Extended Version) - 6:15

B1. "Friends Will Be Friends" (Album Version) - 4:07

B2. "Seven Seas Of Rhye" - 2:46

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1986) Peak
position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[4] 17
Dutch Singles Chart[5] 16
German Singles Chart[6] 20
Irish Singles Chart[7] 4
New Zealand Singles Chart[8] 50
Swiss Singles Chart[9] 19
UK Singles Chart[10] 14

References
  1. Yonemochi, Tak (March 1986). "Brian May". Young Guitar Magazine (in Japanese).
  2. Information about Queen's concerts with typical setlists Archived 7 September 2012 at archive.today
  3. "Queen "Queen II" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  4. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Queen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  5. Dutchcharts.nl Archived 5 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Musiconline.de
  7. Irishcharts.ie
  8. Charts.org.nz
  9. Swisscharts.com Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  10. OfficialCharts.com
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