Don't Stop Me Now

"Don't Stop Me Now"
Single by Queen
from the album Jazz
B-side
Released 5 January 1979
Format 7"
Recorded August 1978 at Super Bear Studios (Berre-les-Alpes, France)
Genre Rock, pop[1]
Length
  • 3:29 (7" / Album version)
Label
Songwriter(s) Freddie Mercury
Producer(s)
Queen singles chronology
"Bicycle Race" / "Fat Bottomed Girls"
(1978)		 "Don't Stop Me Now"
(1979)		 "Mustapha"
(1979)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

"Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by the British rock band Queen, featured on their 1978 album Jazz that was released as a single in 1979. Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios in Berre-les-Alpes (Alpes-Maritimes), France, and is the twelfth track on the album.[2]

Musically the song builds on Mercury's piano playing, with John Deacon and Roger Taylor providing a bass guitar and drums backing track. The song also provides an example of Queen's trademark style of multitrack harmony vocals for the chorus lines.[3]

The song also appears in the band's 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits, and in June 2011, as part of Queen's 40th anniversary celebrations, an old take of the song containing more guitar parts was included on the bonus EP of the re-released and remastered Jazz album.[4][5]

Reception

The single reached number 9 in the UK charts but only number 86 in the US; as the album was a top-10 hit, the song got some airplay on U.S. album-oriented rock stations despite its low chart ranking as a single. Despite this the song has grown in stature with time and has been popularised not only by consistent airplay, but by its use in advertisements, television programmes and films, and through cover versions. It has subsequently become one of Queen's most popular songs.[6][7][8] The song was voted as the third best Queen song by readers of Rolling Stone, who noted that "time has also been very kind to it and it's widely seen now as one of the group's best works."[9] The single also has reached Platinum status in the United Kingdom.

Music video

The video for the song was directed by J. Kliebenstein and filmed at the Forest National, Brussels, Belgium on 26 January 1979.[10]

Live performances

Viewed at the time of release as one of the lesser songs in the Queen canon, it was only performed live during 1979, with the last performance in the Crazy Tour.[11]On the studio version, Brian May's only guitar playing is in his guitar solo, but on live versions performed on the band's 1979 Jazz and Crazy tours, May would also play rhythm guitar throughout the rest of the song to give more of a feel of rock music. A live version of the song features in the band's 1979 album Live Killers.[12]

Single

On the Japanese, USA, Canadian and Australian release, "More Of That Jazz" was the B-side.

  • In 2005, this song was voted as "The Greatest Driving Song Ever" by viewers of the BBC television program Top Gear.[13]
  • This song was included in the list of songs for use in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, and it was released in the Soviet Union that same year alongside Queen's Jealousy single.
  • In 2015, the electronics company Alba conducted a survey of 2000 UK adults, which asked respondents to name their favourite uplifting song, and 'Don't Stop Me Now' was the most popular response.[14]

Usage in media

  • The song's use in a scene for the zombie/comedy film Shaun of the Dead, where the main characters attack a zombie to the song's beat was well received by critics.[15][16]
  • The song was used as part of the climatic fight scene in the movie "Hardcore Henry".[17]
  • The song was also used in numerous commercials through the years spanning from Visa to Heineken.
  • The song and this Wikipedia page is an important plot point in Hank Green's book An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. [18]

Sales and certifications

Region Certification
Italy (FIMI)[19] Gold
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Platinum
United States (RIAA)[21] Platinum

Personnel


Queen

Cover versions

Notable cover versions include:

Chart positions

  • United Kingdom – #9
  • Ireland – #10
  • Netherlands – #14
  • Germany – #35
  • Sweden – #37
  • United States – #86
  • Australia (2008) – #85[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Don't Stop Me Now - Queen". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 April 2018. ...it starts with Mercury singing over flowery piano lines and soon builds into stomping pop-rocker anchored by rumbling piano lines ... The end result was a smart fusion of pop hooks and rock energy...
  2. ↑ Jazz - Don't Stop Me Now Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 2 July 2011
  3. ↑ Donald A. Guarisco, "Don't Stop Me Now". Allmusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011
  4. ↑ Queen Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 Allmusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011
  5. ↑ Jazz (Remastered) Queen Archived 17 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. iTunes. Retrieved 12 July 2011
  6. ↑ Official: Top 25 karaoke songs The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 May 2011
  7. ↑ Queen interview: Brian May on Don't Stop Me Now Absolute Radio. Retrieved 21 December 2011
  8. ↑ Don't Stop Me Now Tops HMV Lyric Poll Queen Online. Retrieved 21 December 2011
  9. ↑ "Readers Poll: 10 Greatest Queen Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Queen Promo Videos". Ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Queen live on tour: Crazy tour Queen Concerts. Retrieved 2 July 2011
  12. ↑ Live Killers Allmusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011
  13. ↑ Queen win Top Gears Best Driving Song ever poll Archived 30 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Queen Zone. Retrieved 28 May 2011
  14. ↑ "Science Unveils Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' As The Most Feel-Good Song Of All Time". Huffington Post. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  15. ↑ Delingpole, James (30 March 2004). "Masters of the comic horror". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  16. ↑ Knapp, Alex (13 January 2012). "The Geek Playlist: Fight Songs!". Forbes. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  17. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mapshm7oPoc. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ Green, Hank (25 September 2018). An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Dutton. ISBN 978-1-5247-4344-4.
  19. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Don't Stop Me Now" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
  20. ↑ "British single certifications – Don't Stop Me Now". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Don't Stop Me Now in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  21. ↑ "American single certifications – Don't Stop Me Now". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 25 May 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  22. ↑ Unstoppable McFly top music chart BBC News. Retrieved 28 May 2011
  23. ↑ "Foxes sings Queen's Don't Stop Me Now in Doctor Who episode Mummy on the Orient Express". Radio Times.
  24. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
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