On this day (April 29) in 1985, Freddie Mercury released his first and only solo album, Mr. Bad Guy. The 11-track collection allowed the Queen frontman to explore musical ideas that wouldn’t fit with his band. The album was a hit in the UK, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.
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Mercury and producer Reinhold Mack began working on Mr. Bad Guy in 1983. The singer/songwriter had just finished massive tours across North America, Europe, and Japan. Mack co-produced three previous Queen albums–Flash Gordon, The Game, and Hot Space–and, as a result, had a working relationship with Mercury.
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Mercury didn’t just write and sing all of the songs on Mr. Bad Guy. He also played the piano and synthesizer on the album, arranged the orchestration, and worked with sound engineers to get the sound he wanted on the songs. He also co-produced the album with Mack.
Freddie Mercury on Mr. Bad Guy
Freddie Mercury was happy to break away from Queen for a moment to fully express himself. “I’ve put my heart and soul into this album. It has some very moving ballads–things to do with sadness and pain, but at the same time, they’re frivolous and tongue-in-cheek because that’s my nature,” he said. “I’ve wanted to do a solo album for a long time, and the rest of the band has encouraged me to do it. I wanted to cover such things as reggae rhythms, and I’ve done a couple of things with a symphony orchestra,” he added.
Mercury went on to say that he didn’t see releasing a solo album as starting a new career. Instead, he saw it as going off on a tangent. “It’s like painting a picture. You have to step away from it to see what it’s like. I’m stepping away from Queen, and I think it’s going to give everybody a shot in the arm,” he explained. “But of course I’ll be working wth Queen again, there’s no doubt about that.”
Featured Image by David Plastik/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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