Now I'm Here
{{Short description|1975 single by Queen}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Now I'm Here
| cover = Now I'm Here (1975 single).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Belgian picture sleeve
| type = single
| artist = Queen
| album = Sheer Heart Attack
| B-side = Lily of the Valley
| released = *17 January 1975 (UK)
- May 1975 (Japan)
| recorded = September 1974
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Hard rock{{cite web|url=https://www.queensongs.info/song-analysis/songwriting-analyses/no-synth-era/sheer-heart-attack/now-i-m-here|title=Now I'm Here :: Queen Songs|website=Queen Songs|access-date=January 10, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.treblezine.com/10-best-glam-rock-albums/|title=10 Essential Glam Rock Albums|last=Terich|first=Jeff|last2=Karman|first2=Chris|date=June 6, 2012|website=Treblezine|access-date=January 10, 2019|quote=and hard rocking riff-fests ('Stone Cold Crazy,' 'Now I’m Here').}}{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-50-best-queen-songs-of-all-time|title=The 50 best Queen songs of all time|date=November 20, 2018|website=Classic Rock|access-date=February 10, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/26/queen-freddie-mercury-50-uk-singles-ranked|title=Queen's 50 UK singles – ranked!|last=Simpson|first=Dave|date=October 26, 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=February 10, 2019|issn=0261-3077}}
| length = 4:12
| label = *EMI (UK)
- Elektra (Japan)
| writer = Brian May
| producer = {{hlist|Roy Thomas Baker|Queen}}
| prev_title = Killer Queen
| prev_title2 = Flick of the Wrist
| prev_year = 1974
| next_title = Bohemian Rhapsody
| next_year = 1975
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|3OSd17ko3O4|"Now I'm Here"}}}}
}}
"Now I'm Here" is a song by British rock band Queen, released on their third studio album, Sheer Heart Attack (1974). Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is noted for its gritty guitar riffs and vocal harmonies. In the UK, the song reached #11 on the charts when released as a single in 1975.Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited The song was a live favourite, performed at virtually every concert from late 1974 to 1986.[http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen.html Queen on tour] Queen Concerts. Retrieved 10 July 2011
Details
The song draws on May's fond experiences of the band's US tour earlier in 1974. Mott the Hoople, whom Queen was supporting, are referenced in the line: Down in the city, just Hoople and me.
It also appeared on the 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits and the 1997 compilation album Queen Rocks.[http://www.allmusic.com/album/rocks-vol-1-r325812/review Queen Rocks, Vol. 1] Allmusic. Retrieved 10 July 2011 In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Now I'm Here" at number 33 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060224054627/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage3.htm#Guitar Tracks 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!]}} Q Magazine. Retrieved 10 July 2011
Live performances
"Now I'm Here" was a fixture of Queen's setlists, being performed on every concert tour from 1974 until the band's final tour in 1986. It was first performed on the Sheer Heart Attack Tour in Manchester on 30 October 1974.
On the Sheer Heart Attack Tour, Mercury would be seen singing the line "Now I'm here" on one side of the stage amidst the darkness and dry ice, and a few bars later, at "Now I'm there," he would "appear" on the other side of the stage, an illusion created by an identically dressed stagehand.{{Cite book|title=Queen: Complete Works (revised and updated)|last=Purvis|first=Georg|publisher=Titan Books|year=2018|isbn=9781789090499|location=US, CA}}
The liner notes of Live Killers (1979), Queen's first live album, say that the song was dropped from the setlist for some time, but had recently been reintroduced. The song was rearranged to allow Mercury to interact with the audience in a "call and response" sing along.{{Cite AV media notes|title=Live Killers|publisher=EMI|id=EMSP 330|year=1979}} It is unclear when the song was dropped and for how long.
May continued to perform the song as a solo artist following Mercury's death in 1991. At The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, May joined Def Leppard on stage to perform the song, which went on to become the B-side to Def Leppard's single "Tonight" and would also make it onto the deluxe edition of their Adrenalize album. It was used as the opening song on the American, Asian and Australian legs of the Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015.
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1975)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Wallonia|29|song=Now I'm Here|artist=Queen|rowheader=true|access-date=2 August 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch40|32|artist=Queen|song=Now I'm Here|rowheader=true|access-date=21 August 2020}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch100|29|song=Now I'm Here|artist=Queen|rowheader=true|access-date=2 August 2020}} |
| {{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|11|song=Now I'm Here|artist=Queen|artistid=21275|rowheader=true|access-date=2 August 2020}} |
| {{single chart|West Germany|25|song=Now I'm Here|artist=Queen|songid=11807|year=1975|rowheader=true|access-date=2 August 2020}} |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Queen|title=Now I'm Here|award=Silver|relyear=2011|certyear=2022|id=18579-1614-1|access-date=16 December 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
Personnel
= Queen =
- Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, Hammond organ
- Brian May – guitars, piano, backing vocals
- Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- John Deacon – bass
Live recordings
- Live Killers (1979)
- Concerts for the People of Kampuchea (1979) (recorded at their Christmas concert in Hammersmith Odeon, London)
- Queen Rock Montreal (1981)
- Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (1982)
- Live at Wembley '86 / Live at Wembley Stadium (1986)
- Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest ’86 (1986)
- The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (1992) (played by Def Leppard and Brian May)
- Live at the Brixton Academy (Brian May album) (1993)
- Live at the Rainbow '74 (2014)
- A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975 (2015)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- Official YouTube videos: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OSd17ko3O4 original music video], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JihrwmnN_bg Live at the Bowl] (and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o0mNN0nyUo reprise]), [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_g5SWui864 Live at the Bowl: "Dragon Attack"/"Now I'm Here" (reprise)]
- [http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/sheer-heart-attack/#lyrics Lyrics at Queen official website]
{{Queen singles}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Brian May
Category:Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers
Category:Song recordings produced by Roy Thomas Baker
Category:Songs about New York (state)
Category:Elektra Records singles