Don't Stop Me Now#McFly version

The song was written by Freddie Mercury during the sessions for Jazz. The band felt they were "getting better at having a good time" and the lyrics reflect this.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=223}} 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.

An alternative version of the song, with a harder, guitar-driven arrangement, appeared on Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack issued in 2018, billed as "Don't Stop Me Now... Revisited".{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bohemian-rhapsody-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mw0003208138|title=Bohemian Rhapsody [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]|website=AllMusic|accessdate=7 December 2022}}

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.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6736491/Official-Top-25-karaoke-songs.html Official: Top 25 karaoke songs] The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 May 2011[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHm2UG1YYMU Queen interview: Brian May on Don't Stop Me Now] Absolute Radio. Retrieved 21 December 2011[http://queenonline.com/en/news-archive/press-release-dont-stop-me-now-top-hmv-lyric-poll/ Don't Stop Me Now Tops HMV Lyric Poll] Queen Online. Retrieved 21 December 2011 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."{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-10-greatest-queen-songs-20140312/3-dont-stop-me-now-0785478 | title= Readers Poll: 10 Greatest Queen Songs | magazine=Rolling Stone | access-date=1 April 2018}} The single also has reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. In a March 2019 Billboard 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,

{{blockquote|"You might have noticed a new commercial promoting the new season of American 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 for Toyota, Silk almond milk, Amazon and L'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 on Spotify—nearly double that of any Rolling Stones, U2 or Led Zeppelin song on the service."{{cite magazine |title=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 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8501348/queen-dont-stop-me-now-biggest-hits |access-date=22 August 2019 |magazine=Billboard}}}}

File:Brian May (NHQ201812310024) (cropped).jpg

Alexis Petridis of The 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 irresistible paean to gay pleasure-seeking. You find yourself wondering if its title might not have been aimed at his censorious bandmates."{{cite web |last1=Petridis |first1=Alexis |title=Guaranteed to blow your mind: the real Freddie Mercury |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/24/real-freddie-mercury-bohemian-rhapsody |website=The Guardian |access-date=25 October 2018 |date=24 October 2018}} Mike Orme of Stylus 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."{{cite web |last1=Orme |first1=Mike |title=Top Ten Favorite Penultimate Songs |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-favorite-penultimate-songs.htm |website=Stylus Magazine |access-date=24 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205004857/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-favorite-penultimate-songs.htm |archive-date=5 December 2008 |date=27 April 2007}} Billboard praised Brian May's guitar solo and also stated that the song was "less gimmick laden" than Queen's previous single from Jazz, "Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls", "while still retaining the brazen braggadocio of Freddie Mercury's lead vocals."{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard Magazine|title=Top Single Picks|access-date=2020-07-09|page=86|date=February 3, 1979|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-02-03.pdf}} Cash Box said it has "vocal dramatics and varied arrangements by Mercury" and "beautifully layered vocals and regal guitar work from May".{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=February 3, 1979|page=18|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=2022-01-01|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-02-03.pdf}} Record World called it a "fast paced tune with that easily identifiable Freddie Mercury lead vocal and Brian May guitar."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=February 3, 1979|accessdate=2023-02-12|title=Record World Single Picks|page=84|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/79/RW-1979-02-03.pdf}} The television show Top Gear voted it the Greatest Driving Song Ever.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=225}}

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.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=223}} 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".{{cite web |last1=Eames |first1=Tom |title=The Story of... 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen |url=https://www.smoothradio.com/features/the-story-of/queen-dont-stop-me-now-lyrics-meaning-facts/ |website=Smooth Radio |access-date=10 May 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Poisuo |first1=Pauli |title=True stories behind popular Queen songs |url=https://www.grunge.com/143963/true-stories-behind-popular-queen-songs/ |website=Grunge |date=28 January 2019 |access-date=10 May 2019}} However, after hearing the song being played at weddings, parties and funerals, he has come to appreciate it as representing "great joy".{{cite magazine|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/brian-may-why-hated-the-queen-song-dont-stop-me-now/|title=Brian May on why he hated the Queen song "Don't Stop Me Now"|magazine=Far Out|date=22 September 2022|accessdate=7 December 2022}}

The video for the song was directed by J. Kliebenstein and filmed at the Forest National, Brussels, Belgium on 26 January 1979.{{cite web|url=http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/videos/promo-videos.htm |title=Queen Promo Videos |website=Ultimatequeen.co.uk |access-date=14 October 2016}} The video was uploaded to Queen's official YouTube 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 the Crazy Tour.[http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/crazy.html Queen live on tour: Crazy tour] Queen Concerts. Retrieved 2 July 2011 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 rock feel. A live version of the song features in the band's 1979 album Live Killers.[http://www.allmusic.com/album/r15976/review Live Killers] Allmusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011

Queen reintroduced the track to their set in the 2010s with Adam Lambert and it is now a popular live favourite.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/dont-stop-me-now-mt0041537417|title=Don't Stop Me Now|website=AllMusic|accessdate=7 December 2022}}

Queen:

• Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, piano
• Brian May – guitars, backing vocals
• Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, tambourine, triangle, backing vocals
• John Deacon – bass guitar

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{{certification Table Entry|region=Australia|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=1979|certyear=2020|access-date=25 April 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1979|certyear=2024|access-date=March 13, 2024}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Platinum|number=2|id=11448|relyear=1979|certyear=2022|access-date=July 7, 2022}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Gold|number=3|relyear=1979|certyear=2024|access-date=December 20, 2024}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=1979|certyear=2024|access-date=15 July 2024|id=7245|note=Sales since 2009}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=Japan|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Gold|certmonth=11|relyear=2011|certyear=2021|digital=true|note=2011 release|access-date=20 December 2021}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=Portugal|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1979|certyear=2023|id=file_2023-08-11-15-58-12.pdf|access-date=16 September 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=1979|certyear=2024|access-date=September 30, 2024}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Queen|title=Don't Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=2011|certyear=2024|id=1906-1614-1|accessdate=April 12, 2024}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Queen|title=Stop Me Now|type=single|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=2003|certyear=2022|access-date=29 August 2022}}

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{{Infobox song

| name = Don't Stop Me Now" / "Please, Please

| cover = Pleaseplease.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = McFly

| album = Motion in the Ocean

| released = {{start date|2006|7|17|df=y}}{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=23|date=15 July 2006}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre =

| length =

• 3:20 ("Don't Stop Me Now")
• 3:09 ("Please, Please")

| label =

• Island
• Universal

| writer =

• Freddie Mercury ("Don't Stop Me Now")
• Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, Harry Judd, Jason Perry, Tom Fletcher ("Please, Please")

| producer =

• Jason Perry
• Julian Emery

| prev_title = Ultraviolet/The Ballad of Paul K

| prev_year = 2005

| title = Don't Stop Me Now

| title2 = Please, Please

| next_title = Star Girl

| next_year = 2006

}}

In 2006, English band McFly covered "Don't Stop Me Now" and released it as a double 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 on BBC Radio 1 on 7 June 2006. The double A-side entered the UK Singles Chart at number one on 23 July 2006, knocking "Smile" by Lily Allen off the top spot. It also reached number 15 in Ireland.

Some of the money from any version of the single went to Sport Relief and as a result their version of "Don't Stop Me Now" was played across the BBC's sport programmes, including highlights from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It also was the theme for the "Sport Relief Mile", which McFly also took part in. Judd also travelled to India for Sport Relief with a collection of other British celebrities including presenter and comedian Nick Hancock and radio DJ and presenter Chris 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 of Sport Relief.

UK CD1{{cite AV media notes|title=Don't Stop Me Now / Please, Please|others=McFly|year=2006|type=UK CD1 liner notes|publisher=Island Records, Universal Records|id=1703585}}

1. "Don't Stop Me Now"
2. "Please, Please" (radio version)

UK CD2{{cite AV media notes|title=Please, Please / Don't Stop Me Now|others=McFly|year=2006|type=UK CD2 liner notes|publisher=Island Records, Universal Records|id=1703586}}

1. "Please, Please" (single version)
2. "Don't Stop Me Now"
3. "5 Colours in Her Hair" (US version)
4. "5 Colours in Her Hair" (live from Arena Tour)
5. "5 Colours in Her Hair" (live video)
6. "Harry in India for Sport Relief"

UK DVD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Please, Please / Don't Stop Me Now|others=McFly|year=2006|type=UK DVD single liner notes|publisher=Island Records, Universal Records|id=1703675}}

1. "Please, Please" (audio)
2. "Don't Stop Me Now" (audio)
3. "I've Got You" (US version)
4. "I've Got You" (US movie video)
5. "Please, Please" (video)
6. Behind the scenes at the "Please, Please" video shoot

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

Cover versions include:

• Foxes covered the song on the 11 October 2014 episode of Doctor Who, "Mummy on the Orient Express". A music video was subsequently released by the BBC to publicise series 8 of the rebooted show.{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-10-11/foxes-sings-queens-dont-stop-me-now-in-doctor-who-episode-mummy-on-the-orient-express/|title=Foxes sings Queen's Don't Stop Me Now in Doctor Who episode Mummy on the Orients Express|work=Radio Times}}
• The Vandals, on their 2004 album Hollywood Potato Chip.{{cite web |last=Prindle |first=Mark |title=Interview with Warren Fitzgerald of The Vandals |website=Citizine |date=2004-06-11 |url=http://www.citizinemag.com/music/music-0501_vandals_warrenf.htm |access-date=2010-04-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608053326/http://www.citizinemag.com/music/music-0501_vandals_warrenf.htm |archive-date=2011-06-08 }}

• The song was used in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise: the 2020 film of the same name, and a launch trailer for the 2022 game Sonic Frontiers, as well as other promotional material.{{Cite web |last=Malliaros |first=Matt |date=2022-11-09 |title=Sonic Meets Queen in the Action-Packed 'Sonic Frontiers' Launch Trailer |url=https://www.cinelinx.com/news/sonic-frontiers-launch-trailer/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=Cinelinx {{!}} Movies. Games. Geek Culture. |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=rawmeatcowboy |date=2022-11-23 |title=Check out the latest commercial for Sonic Frontiers |url=https://gonintendo.com/contents/12755-check-out-the-latest-commercial-for-sonic-frontiers |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=GoNintendo |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Moran |first=Sarah |date=2020-02-15 |title=Every Song On The Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Soundtrack |url=https://screenrant.com/sonic-hedgehog-movie-soundtrack-songs/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}} It was also featured in the official trailer for Pixar's Elio.{{Cite news |date=19 March 2025 |title=‘Elio’ Trailer Teases Finding Friendship Among the Stars |url=https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2025/03/19/elio-trailer-teases-finding-friendship-among-the-stars/ |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=The Nerds of Color}}
• The song and its associated Wikipedia page feature in Hank Green's debut novel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.{{Cite web |last=Janet_Lin |date=2018-12-24 |title=2018, an Absolutely Remarkable Green Year |url=https://crgardenjoe.wordpress.com/2018/12/23/2018-an-absolutely-remarkable-green-year/ |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=CRgardenJoe's Blog |language=en}}
• The song was also used in the 2019 film Shazam! and the 2024 film Venom: The Last Dance.

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|last=Blake|first=Mark|year=2010|title=Is This The Real Life? The Untold Story of Queen|publisher=Arum Press|isbn=978-1-84513-713-7}}

{{refend}}

• {{YouTube|id=HgzGwKwLmgM|title=Official music video}}
• [https://www.wow-vinyl.com/thesingle.asp?c=1&d=51 Don't Stop Me Now – The Story Behind The Song at Wow-Vinyl]

{{Queen singles}}

{{McFly}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1978 songs

Category:1979 singles

Category:2006 singles

Category:Queen (band) songs

Category:The Vandals songs

Category:McFly songs

Category:Songs written by Freddie Mercury

Category:Song recordings produced by Roy Thomas Baker

Category:EMI Records singles

Category:Elektra Records singles

Category:Hollywood Records singles

Category:British power pop songs

Category:Gay-related songs

Category:Charity singles

Category:Comic Relief singles

Category:Island Records singles

Category:Number-one singles in Scotland

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles

Category:Universal Records singles