Too Much Love Will Kill You

"Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers.[2] The song reflected the breakdown of May's first marriage and attraction to his future wife, Anita Dobson.[3] It was first recorded by Queen around 1988 or before, and was intended to be on the band's The Miracle album in 1989, but did not make the cut due to legal disputes following the band's decision that all songs on the album would be written by the group as opposed to individuals.

"Too Much Love Will Kill You"
Single by Brian May
from the album Back to the Light
B-side"I'm Scared"
Released24 August 1992 (1992-08-24)[1]
Recorded1988–1992
Length4:26
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Brian May
  • Justin Shirley-Smith
Brian May singles chronology
"Driven by You"
(1991)		 "Too Much Love Will Kill You"
(1992)		 "Back to the Light"
(1992)

After Freddie Mercury's death in 1991, May arranged a solo version, which he performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992,[4] and subsequently included on his solo album Back to the Light that same year. When released as a single, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, number two in Belgium, and topped the charts in the Netherlands. Because it was first played publicly at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, a common misconception is that it was written as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, although it had actually been written several years before he died, and he sang lead vocal on the Queen version.

Track listings
  • 7-inch and cassette single[5][6]
A. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" – 4:29
B. "I'm Scared" – 4:00
  • UK CD single[7]
  1. "Too Much Love Will Kill You"
  2. "I'm Scared"
  3. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" (guitar version)
  4. "Driven by You" (new version)

Personnel
  • Brian May – lead and backing vocals, piano, keyboard, acoustic and electric guitar

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[26] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Queen version
"Too Much Love Will Kill You"
Artwork for UK release
Single by Queen
from the album Made in Heaven
B-side
Released26 February 1996 (1996-02-26)[29]
Recorded1988–1989
Length4:20
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Queen
Queen singles chronology
"I Was Born to Love You"
(1996)		 "Too Much Love Will Kill You"
(1996)		 "Let Me Live"
(1996)

A version of this song recorded in 1989, with Mercury on vocals and in 1995, the remaining members of Queen elected to include the original recording of "Too Much Love Will Kill You", with Mercury on vocals, on the Made in Heaven album, released four years after Mercury's death.[30] Queen's version reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 19 on Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart whilst the song failed to chart on Billboard Hot 100, only to chart at #18 on the chart's extension Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

Although it failed to duplicate the chart success of May's solo version, Queen's version of the song has since come to be regarded as the definitive version, after being awarded "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" at the 1996 Novello Awards (May said later that if there was one song that he would have wanted to win an award for, it was this one[2]), and being included on Queen's Greatest Hits III.[31]

Critical reception

Steve Baltin from Cash Box wrote, "One of the last remnants of the late, great Freddie Mercury, the first single from the band’s new Made In Heaven album is vintage Mercury. After the wimpy opening that could’ve come from Styx or Chicago, Mercury's grandiose vocals kick in, eclipsing the lame melody. Hearing Mercury again, especially in such fine form vocally, is a surprisingly touching experience."[32]

Track listings
  • 7-inch single
A1. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" – 4:20
B1. "We Will Rock You" – 2:00[33]
B2. "We Are the Champions" – 3:00[34]
  • CD single
  1. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" – 4:20
  2. "Spread Your Wings" – 4:32[34]
  3. "We Will Rock You" – 2:00
  4. "We Are the Champions" – 3:00
  • US single
A. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" – 4:20
B. "Rock in Rio Blues" (live in Rio, January 1985) – 4:29[35]

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1995–1997) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[36] 10
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[37] 19
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[38] 25
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[39] 41
Ireland (IRMA)[40] 28
Scotland (OCC)[41] 11
UK Singles (OCC)[42] 15
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[43] 18

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[44]
Sales since 2004 		Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Music videos

The video for the Brian May version of the song was directed by David Mallet and features May singing the song to the camera, and is intercut with footage from various home movies. The video for the Queen version of the song was directed by DoRo and is a montage-style video of clips mainly from live performances and promo videos, and uses the Promo Edit version of the song.

Other versions

In 2003, May and Luciano Pavarotti performed a rendition of "Too Much Love Will Kill You", at the tenor's benefit concert held in Modena, Italy.[45]

References
  1. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 22 August 1992. p. 19. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. Billboard 21 Jun 1997 Billboard. Retrieved 16 January 2011
  3. Purvis, Georg (24 August 2012). Queen: Complete Works. Titan Books. pp. 869–871. ISBN 9781781162873. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  4. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: Too Much Love Will Kill You Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 2 July 2011
  5. Too Much Love Will Kill You (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Brian May. Parlophone. 1992. R 6320, 7243 8 80199 7 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. Too Much Love Will Kill You (UK cassette single sleeve). Brian May. Parlophone. 1992. TCR 6320, 7243 8 80199 4 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. Too Much Love Will Kill You (UK CD single liner notes). Brian May. Parlophone. 1992. CDR 6320, 7243 8 80199 2 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  9. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  10. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  11. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 39. 26 September 1992. p. 19. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  12. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Too Much Love Will Kill You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 39, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  15. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  16. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  17. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You". VG-lista. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  18. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 42. 17 October 1992. p. 28. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  19. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  20. "Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  21. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  22. "Jaaroverzichten 1992" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  23. "1992 Year-End Sales Charts" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 51/52. 19 December 1992. p. 17. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  24. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1992" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  25. "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. 16 January 1993. p. 8.
  26. "Dutch single certifications – Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 13 July 2020. Enter Too Much Love Will Kill You in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1992 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  27. "British single certifications – Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  28. "Queen UK Singles Discography 1992–2017". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  29. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 February 1996. p. 31. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  30. Made in Heaven (Track 8) Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 2 July 2011
  31. Brian May interview. BBC Radio 2. Broadcast 12 September 2005.
  32. Baltin, Steve (2 December 1995). "Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 11. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  33. "Queen "News of the World" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  34. "Queen "News of the World" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  35. "Live Solos and Improvisations". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  36. "Queen – Too Much Love Will Kill You" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  37. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2892." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  38. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2879." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  39. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 11. 16 March 1996. p. 21. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  40. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Too Much Love Will Kill You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  41. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  42. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  43. "Queen Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  44. "British single certifications – Queen – Too Much Love Will Kill You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  45. Pavarotti and Friends 2003; Press and News Retrieved 21 January 2011
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