Credits

• Written by: Freddie Mercury
• Produced by: Queen and Roy Thomas Baker
• Musicians:

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano, jangle piano, finger snaps

Brian May - guitars, backing vocals

John Deacon - bass guitar

Roger Taylor - drums, triangle, Aeolian chimes, backing vocals

• Length: 2:59

Discography

Albums:

	Sheer Heart Attack, 1974
	Live Killers, 1979
	Greatest Hits, 1981
	Greatest Hits, 1992 USA

Singles:

	Killer Queen / Flick Of The Wrist, 1974 Double A-side
	Who Wants To Live Forever, 1986 B-side
	Killer Queen, 1988 3" CD Single
	Heaven For Everyone, 1995 CD Single

Compilations:

Top Gear, CD, 1994, MOOD CD 33

Alternate Versions:

• KEWB FM US Radio 2:53
• Guitar Solo Guitar Techniques November 2001
• Backing Track 1 - Guitar Techniques November 2001
• Backing Track 2 - Guitar Techniques November 2001
• 7" Acetate (0:10 Finger Click Intro) - Unreleased

Queen Talks

"Well, 'Killer Queen' I wrote in one night. I'm not being conceited or anything, but it just fell into place. Certain songs do. Now, March Of The Black Queen, that took ages. I had to give it everything, to be self indulgent or whatever. But with 'Killer Queen', I scribbled down the words in the dark one Saturday night and the next morning I got them all together and I worked all day Sunday and that was it. I'd got it. It gelled. It was great. Certain things just come together, but other things you have to work for. The whole band is very particular. We don't go in for half measures and I'm very hard with myself. There're no compromises. If I thought a song wasn't quite right, I'd discard it. I'm very intricate and delicate. You can see that in my paintings. I love painters like Richard Dadd, Mucha and Dali, and I love Arthur Rackham."

Freddie Mercury - 21/12/1974, Melody Maker

"It's about a high class call girl. I'm trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. That's what the song is about, though I'd prefer people to put their interpretation upon it - to read into it what they like."

Freddie Mercury - 02/11/1974, NME

"We're very proud of that number. It's done me a lot of proud. It's just one of the tracks I wrote for the album to be honest. It wasn't written as a single. I just wrote a batch of songs for the Sheer Heart Attack album and when I finished writing it, and when we recorded it, we found it was a very, very strong single. It really was. At that time it was very, very unlike Queen. They all said: 'Awwwwwww.' It was another risk that we took you know. Every risk we've taken so far has paid off."

Freddie Mercury - 21/05/1976, Record Mirror

Covers

Cover Versions

Chords & Tabs

• chords

Lyrics