| "Who Wants to Live Forever" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK single picture sleeve | ||||
| Single byQueen | ||||
| from the albumA Kind of Magic | ||||
| B-side | "Killer Queen" | |||
| Released | 15 September 1986 | |||
| Studio | Abbey Road (London, England)[1] | |||
| Length |
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| Label | EMI | |||
| Songwriter | Brian May | |||
| Producers |
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| Queen singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Who Wants to Live Forever" onYouTube | ||||
"Who Wants to Live Forever" is a song by the British rock bandQueen. Apower ballad,[2] it is the sixth track on the albumA Kind of Magic, which was released in June 1986, and was written by lead guitaristBrian May for the soundtrack to the filmHighlander.[3] The band were backed by an orchestra conducted by film score composerMichael Kamen. The song peaked at No. 24 in the UK charts.[4] In 1991, it was included in the band's second compilation album,Greatest Hits II.[5]
Since its release, the song has beencovered by many artists, such as German bandDune in 1996, whose version peaked at number two in Germany. Five months afterMercury's death in November 1991,Seal performed a live version of the song atThe Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. In 2014,Rolling Stone readers voted it their fifth favourite song by Queen,[6] and in 2018 it was listed at number 15 in "The top 20 Queen songs of all time" bySmooth Radio.[2]
In the 1986 filmHighlander, the song is used to frame the scenes in the film whereConnor MacLeod must endure his beloved wifeHeather MacLeod growing old and dying while he, anImmortal, remains forever young. Brian May wrote the song in the backseat of his car after seeing a 20-minute first cut of the scene of Heather's death.[7] It was later used in theHighlander television series episodes "The Gathering", "Revenge is Sweet", "The Hunters", "Line of Fire", and "Leader of the Pack".
In the film version,Freddie Mercury provides all the main vocals. On the album version, May sings lead vocals on the first verse before Mercury takes over, with May also singing "But touch my tears with your lips" during Mercury's verse and the closing line "Who waits forever anyway?". Aninstrumental version of the song, entitled "Forever", was included as a bonus track on the CD version of the album. This instrumental featured only a piano, with keyboard accompaniment during the chorus sections. The piano track was recorded solely by May. Queen were backed up by an orchestra arranged byMichael Kamen.[3]
Upon its release, Robin Smith ofRecord Mirror praised "Who Wants to Live Forever" as "rather wonderful" and a "passionate epic, full to the brim with some glorious effects" and Mercury "bawl[ing] his little heart out".[8] William Shaw, writing forSmash Hits, stated, "What we have here is an enormous orchestra sawing away while Freddie croons with exceptional sensitivity, finally building up to a stupendous climax where they unleash Brian May to do one of his legendary but now sadly rare searing axe solos".[9]
The music video for "Who Wants to Live Forever" was directed byDavid Mallet and filmed in a (now demolished) warehouse at Tobacco Wharf at London'sEast End on 16 September 1986.[10] It featured theNational Philharmonic Orchestra with forty choirboys and several hundreds of candles which remain lit throughout filming as well as Mercury wearing a tuxedo suit.[10]
An alternate version with clips from the filmHighlander (which the song appears in) appears on the video single with "A Kind of Magic" in October 1986 and later as a hidden music video on theQueen Greatest Video Hits II DVD in November 2003.[10]
The song was performed by Queen during the 1986Magic Tour in a D minor key. Live, May would begin playingsynthesizer (aYamaha DX7) before moving to guitar halfway through the song.[11][12] Also, the live versions feature Freddie Mercury singing the entirety of lead vocals, and John Deacon playingbass guitar (starting at the second verse)—with the song ending after the final lyrics (“Who waits forever anyway?”) without the orchestra-and-guitar flourish of the studio version.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[22] sales since 2009 | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[23] sales since 2011 | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
In a 2005 poll conducted by digital television stationMusic Choice on what song Britons would most like played at theirfuneral, the song was voted the fifth most popular.[31]
| "Who Wants to Live Forever" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byDune | ||||
| from the albumForever | ||||
| Released | 23 October 1996 | |||
| Genre | Classical | |||
| Length | 3:54 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter | Brian May | |||
| Producers |
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| Dune singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Who Wants to Live Forever" onYouTube | ||||
German bandDune released their cover of "Who Wants to Live Forever" in October 1996 as the first single from their third album,Forever (1997). It is produced by Bernd Burhoff and Jens Oettrich, recorded inAbbey Road Studios inLondon, and features German singerVerena von Strenge and theLondon Session Orchestra. The single peaked at number two in Germany, receiving aplatinum certification after selling more than 500,000 copies in Germany alone.[32] It was also a top-10 hit in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, a top-20 hit in the Netherlands and a top-60 hit in Sweden. On theEurochart Hot 100, it reached number 13 in January 1997. "Who Wants to Live Forever" was nominated to the 1997Echo Awards for the most successful national dance single.[33]
The accompanying music video for "Who Wants to Live Forever" was directed by Swedish-based directorMatt Broadley[34] and was shot in theScottish Highlands. The video begins in an oldchurchyard, whereOliver Froning of Dune plays a man standing by a grave. He then sees Verena von Strenge appearing in ghost-like form, dressed in a white dress, singing to him. When Froning leaves the graveyard, he walks into the highlands. By a river, he stops for drinking some water, and again sees von Strenge standing in front of a waterfall, singing to him. In the end, he reaches the top of the mountains, where he is united with von Strenge.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany (BVMI)[32] | Platinum | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Who Wants to Live Forever" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single bySarah Brightman | ||||
| from the albumTimeless | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Genre | Operatic pop | |||
| Label | East West | |||
| Songwriter | Brian May | |||
| Producer | Frank Peterson | |||
| Sarah Brightman singles chronology | ||||
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British sopranoSarah Brightman released her cover of "Who Wants to Live Forever" as a single byEast West Records in 1997 from her fifth album,Timeless/Time to Say Goodbye (1997). It was produced byFrank Peterson and peaked at No. 45 in theUK Singles Chart.[47]
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scotland (OCC)[48] | 43 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[47] | 45 |
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