| "Don't Stop Me Now" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK single picture sleeve | ||||
| Single byQueen | ||||
| from the albumJazz | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 26 January 1979[1] | |||
| Recorded | August 1978 | |||
| Studio | Super Bear Studios (Berre-les-Alpes, France) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Freddie Mercury | |||
| Producers |
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| Queen singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Don't Stop Me Now" onYouTube | ||||
"Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by the British rock bandQueen, featured on their 1978 albumJazz and released as a single on 26 January 1979. Written by lead singerFreddie Mercury, it was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios inBerre-les-Alpes (Alpes-Maritimes), France, and is the twelfth track on the album.[5]
The song also appeared on the band's 1981 compilation albumGreatest Hits. 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 remasteredJazz album.[6][7] Featuring in films, commercials, and television shows, the song has grown in popularity in the decades since its release.[8] Bobby Olivier ofBillboard attributes its initial rebirth to its appearance in the 2004 cult classic zombie apocalypse filmShaun of the Dead.[8] In 2014,Rolling Stone readers voted it their third-favourite song by Queen.[9]
The song was written by Freddie Mercury during the sessions forJazz. The band felt they were "getting better at having a good time" and the lyrics reflect this.[10] Musically, the song builds on Mercury's piano playing, withJohn Deacon andRoger Taylor providing a bass guitar and drums backing track. The song also provides an example of Queen'strademark style of multitrack harmony vocals for the chorus lines.[11]
An alternative version of the song, with a harder, guitar-driven arrangement, appeared onBohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack issued in 2018, billed as "Don't Stop Me Now... Revisited".[12]
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.[13][14][15] The song was voted as the third-best Queen song by readers ofRolling 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."[16] The single also has reachedplatinum status in the United Kingdom. In a March 2019Billboard article titled, "The Evolution of Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now': How a Minor Hit Became One of the Band's Most Beloved (And Inescapable) Songs", Bobby Olivier wrote,
"You might have noticed a new commercial promoting thenew season ofAmerican Idol. It was a 90-second music video featuring a dozen or so bright-eyed contestants, all of whom gleefully belted lines from a beloved song that has felt particularly ubiquitous as of late. No, it wasn't "Shallow," or "Thank U, Next"—it was Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now," a classic-rock energizer that has, in the last six months alone, also been featured in commercials forToyota,Silk almond milk,Amazon andL'Oreal. In the latter spot,Camila Cabello lip-syncs to the 41-year-old song as she dances and applies her lipstick. "Don't Stop Me Now" is not only one of the band's most treasured cuts, but one of the most popular songs of its entire era. On Sunday, March 3 [2019], it eclipsed 500 million plays onSpotify—nearly double that of anyRolling Stones,U2 orLed Zeppelin song on the service."[8]
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Alexis Petridis ofThe Guardian wrote that the "astonishing" song "may be Queen's greatest song of all". He felt it was "a direct product of [Mercury's] hedonism and promiscuity: an unrepentant, joyous, utterly irresistiblepaean to gay pleasure-seeking. You find yourself wondering if its title might not have been aimed at his censorious bandmates."[17] Mike Orme ofStylus Magazine ranked it the 7th-greatest penultimate track on an album, calling it Queen's "most flamboyant and energetic single" and commenting: "Essentially three and a half minutes of Freddie Mercury jacking the mike from the rest of the world, the song offers him a chance to let us know just how much fun he's having in the spotlight."[18]Billboard praisedBrian May'sguitar solo and also stated that the song was "less gimmick laden" than Queen's previous single fromJazz, "Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls", "while still retaining the brazen braggadocio of Freddie Mercury's lead vocals."[19]Cash Box said it has "vocal dramatics and varied arrangements by Mercury" and "beautifully layered vocals and regal guitar work fromMay".[20]Record World called it a "fast paced tune with that easily identifiable Freddie Mercury lead vocal and Brian May guitar."[21] The television showTop Gear voted it the Greatest Driving Song Ever.[22]
Despite its popularity, Brian May was not originally a fan of the song as he felt it was celebrating the hedonistic and risky lifestyle of Mercury, which he considered threatening.[10] He added that he struggled with the lyrics at the time, because it was about a difficult period in Freddie's life when the singer was "taking lots of drugs and having sex with lots of men".[23][24] However, after hearing the song being played at weddings, parties and funerals, he has come to appreciate it as representing "great joy".[25]
The video for the song was directed by J. Kliebenstein and filmed at theForest National, Brussels, Belgium on 26 January 1979.[26] The video was uploaded to Queen's officialYouTube channel on 1 August 2008.
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 theCrazy Tour.[27] On the studio version,Brian May's only guitar playing is in his guitar solo, but on live versions performed on the band's 1979Jazz andCrazy tours, May would also play rhythm guitar throughout the rest of the song to give more of arock feel. A live version of the song features in the band's 1979 albumLive Killers.[28]
Queen reintroduced the track to their set in the 2010s withAdam Lambert and it is now a popular live favourite.[25][11]
Queen:
| Chart | Peak position | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[29] | 23 | 1979 |
| Germany (GfK)[30] | 35 | |
| Ireland (IRMA)[31] | 10 | |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[32] | 14 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] | 16 | |
| UK Singles (OCC)[34] | 9 | |
| USBillboard Hot 100[35] | 86 | |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[36] | 37 | 2009 |
| Portugal Digital Songs (Billboard)[37] | 7 | 2014 |
| France (SNEP)[38] | 68 | 2015 |
| Australia (ARIA)[39] | 53 | 2018 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[40] | 38 | |
| Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[41] | 13 | |
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[42] | 15 | |
| Italy (FIMI)[43] | 54 | |
| Japan (Japan Hot 100) (Billboard)[44] | 37 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] | 97 | |
| Portugal (AFP)[45] | 65 | |
| Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[46] | 27 | |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[47] | 77 | |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[48] | 52 | |
| UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[49] | 1 | |
| USHot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[50] | 7 | |
| Japan (Japan Hot 100) (Billboard)[51] | 32 | 2019 |
| Chart (2019) | Position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[52] | 134 |
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[53] | 81 |
| Portugal (AFP)[54] | 166 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[55] | 99 |
| US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[56] | 25 |
| Chart (2022) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[57] | 99 |
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[58] | 30 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[59] | 5× Platinum | 350,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[60] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[61] | 3× Platinum | 270,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[62] | 3× Gold | 900,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[63] Sales since 2009 | 4× Platinum | 400,000‡ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[64] 2011 release | Gold | 100,000* |
| Portugal (AFP)[65] | 3× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[66] | 4× Platinum | 240,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[67] | 5× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[68] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Don't Stop Me Now" / "Please, Please" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byMcFly | ||||
| from the albumMotion in the Ocean | ||||
| Released | 17 July 2006 (2006-07-17)[69] | |||
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| McFly singles chronology | ||||
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In 2006, English bandMcFly covered "Don't Stop Me Now" and released it as adouble A-side single with original track "Please, Please". The release, titled "Don't Stop Me Now" / "Please, Please", was the first single from their third album,Motion in the Ocean. It premiered onBBC Radio 1 on 7 June 2006. The double A-side entered theUK Singles Chart at number one on 23 July 2006, knocking "Smile" byLily Allen off the top spot. It also reached number 15 in Ireland.
Some of the money from any version of the single went toSport Relief and as a result their version of "Don't Stop Me Now" was played across theBBC's sport programmes, including highlights from the2006 FIFA World Cup. It also was the theme for the "Sport Relief Mile", which McFly also took part in. Judd also travelled to India forSport Relief with a collection of other British celebrities including presenter and comedianNick Hancock and radio DJ and presenterChris Evans. Whilst out in India, Harry took part in a cricket tournament, travelling across India's poorest areas and playing with everyone from the kids to the professionals, all in aid ofSport Relief.
UK CD1[70]
UK CD2[71]
UK DVD single[72]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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Cover versions include:
...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...
