Headlong (song)

The song was written by Queen guitarist Brian May, who intended to record it for his then-upcoming solo album Back to the Light (1992), but when he heard Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury sing the track, he allowed it to become a Queen song.

The song was the first single to be released in the United States under their contract with Hollywood Records on 14 January 1991, though it was not released in the United Kingdom for another four months (the first single in the United Kingdom was "Innuendo", which Hollywood eventually released in the US as a promotional single for radio stations). The song charted on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States at #3. The line "And you're rushin' headlong" from the chorus is somewhat lifted from the second verse of "Breakthru", a single from Queen's previous album The Miracle, which contains the lyrics "I wanna rush headlong into this ecstasy".

The cover of one of the CD singles is inspired by Grandville illustrations, as are all of the other singles from the album.

Promotional video

The music video for "Headlong" was one of the final Queen videos shot with lead singer Freddie Mercury, some 12 months before his death from AIDS, though it was actually shot before the "I'm Going Slightly Mad" video (released as the second single in the UK). The video showed the band in the studio performing the song (in a stage-like setup), as well as shots of the band working in the studio. The version of the song in the video includes an extra short section after the second chorus not released in any audio format to date.

The performance footage (Mercury wearing a yellow sweater) and the studio footage (of Mercury wearing two different blue shirts) were shot in late 1990 at Metropolis Studios in London (the exterior of which is shown at the beginning and the end of the video). The footage were part of the Innuendo EPK filmed at Metropolis Studios at the end of 1990. This is also the last colour video of Freddie Mercury, whose health was declining due to the HIV virus which would claim his life on 24 November the following year. The next videos, I'm Going Slightly Mad and These Are the Days of Our Lives were recorded during February and May 1991 respectively, both in black-and-white.

Like all other videos for the Innuendo album, the "Headlong" clip was directed by Austrian director team DoRo, consisting of Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher, who had been regularly working for Queen since the video for the 1986 single "Friends Will Be Friends". They also directed the video to the only new output of the group as a three-piece, "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)", released in 1997.

Personnel

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals
Brian May - electric guitar, piano, keyboards, drum programming, backing vocals
Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar

Chart performance

Chart (1991)	Peak position	Total weeks
Canadian Singles Chart^[1]	25	11
Dutch Singles Chart^[2]	43	8
Irish Singles Chart^[3]	25	2
UK Singles Chart^[4]	14	4
U.S. Mainstream Rock Charts^[5]	3	10

References

↑ "Bienvenue au site Web BIBLIOTHÈQUE ET ARCHIVES CANADA | Welcome to the LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA website". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Queen - Headlong". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
↑ Jaclyn Ward (1962-10-01). "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
↑ "UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
↑ "AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-20.

External links

"Queen - Headlong (single) (1991)". Paulmcgarry.com.

Queen singles discography

Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"

Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"

Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen"/"Flick of the Wrist" "Now I'm Here" "Lily of the Valley" "Stone Cold Crazy"

A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Love of My Life"

A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Long Away" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"

News of the World	"We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late"

Jazz	"Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Jealousy" "Mustapha"

Live Killers	"Love of My Life" (Live) "We Will Rock You" (Live)

The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"

Flash Gordon	"Flash"

Hot Space	"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat"

The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall"

A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"

The Miracle	"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"

Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "I Can't Live with You" "The Show Must Go On" "These Are the Days of Our Lives"

Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "I Was Born to Love You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me"

Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"/"Tie Your Mother Down"

Greatest Hits III	"Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"

Non-album singles	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Another One Bites the Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)" "We Will Rock You" (with Five) "We Are the Champions" (with Robbie Williams) "Flash (Vanguard Mix)" "Another One Bites the Dust (The Miami Project Remixes)" "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with The Muppets)

Other songs	"See What a Fool I've Been" "Death on Two Legs" "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "Seaside Rendezvous" "The Prophet's Song" "Good Company" "Sheer Heart Attack" "Is This the World We Created...?" "Ride the Wild Wind" "Delilah" "Made In Heaven" "Mother Love" "Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More To Life Than This"

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