Radio Ga Ga
{{About|the Queen song|the Norwegian comic strip|Radio Gaga|the Australian radio station|Radio Gaga (radio station)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Radio Ga Ga
| cover = Radiogaga.jpg
| alt =
| caption = UK single picture sleeve
| type = single
| artist = Queen
| album = The Works
| A-side = "Radio Ga Ga" (extended version){{cite web|title= Queen UK Singles Discography (1984–1991) |website= Ultimate Queen |access-date= 3 January 2021 |url= http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/discography/singles-2.htm#Radio%20Ga%20Ga}}
| B-side = "Radio Ga Ga" (instrumental)
| released = 23 January 1984 {{cite web |url=http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/discography/singles-2.htm#Radio%20Ga%20Ga/ |title=Queen UK Singles Discography 1984-1991 |website=ultimatequeen.co.uk |access-date=14 September 2024}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = * Synth-pop{{cite book|title= Stereo Review |year= 1984 |publisher= CBS Publications |volume= 49 |page= 76 |quote= Radio Gaga (the single), a skillful merger of contemporary synth-pop and old-time Brill Building panache}}{{cite web | url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/behind-the-albums/queen-the-works/ | title= 'The Works': Giving Their All In The 80s, Queen Dominated The Stadiums
| date= 27 February 2024 | publisher=udiscovermusic.com}}
- stadium rock{{cite book|first= Matters |last= Furniss |year= 2012 |title= Queen – Uncensored on the Record |page= 71 |publisher= Coda Books Ltd. |isbn= 978-1-9085-3884-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BCeTqWXP6eoC&q=%22radio+ga+ga%22&pg=PT71}}
- pop rock
| length = *5:48 (7" album version)
- 4:23 (USA radio edit)
- 6:53 (12" extended version)
- 6:01 (12" instrumental version)
| label = *EMI (UK)
- Capitol (US)
| writer = Roger Taylor
| producer = *Queen
| prev_title = Back Chat
| prev_year = 1982
| next_title = I Want to Break Free
| next_year = 1984
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|azdwsXLmrHE|"Radio Ga Ga"}}}}
}}
"Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with "I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included as the opening track on the album The Works and is also featured on the band's compilation albums Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen.{{cite web|title= Classic Queen by Queen |publisher= MTV |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.mtv.com/artists/queen/discography/72769/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121107082253/http://www.mtv.com/artists/queen/discography/72769/|url-status= dead|archive-date= 7 November 2012}}
The song, which makes a nostalgic defence of the radio format, was a worldwide success for the band, reaching number one in 19 countries, number two on the UK Singles Chart and the Australian Kent Music Report and number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's final original single to reach the US top 40 in Freddie Mercury's lifetime on that chart (whereas their follow-up singles would give them frequent top 40 appearances on the Mainstream Rock chart).{{cite news |title=10 things you may not know about Queen's biggest 80s hits |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4C6GqGSRcDydqhJNh5xpgyZ/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-queens-biggest-80s-hits |access-date=1 July 2022 |publisher=BBC}}{{cite book|first= Barry |last= Lazell |year= 1989 |title= Rock movers & shakers |publisher= Billboard Publications, Inc. |page= 404 |isbn= 978-0-8230-7608-6}}{{cite web|title= Queen Biography for 1984 |website= QueenZone.com |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.queenzone.com/biography/queen-biography-for-1984.aspx}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/queen/chart-history/rtt/|title = Queen|magazine = Billboard}} The band performed the song at every concert from 1984 to their last concert with lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1986, including their performance at Live Aid in 1985.{{cite news|first= Peter |last= Stanford |title= Queen: their finest moment at Live Aid |newspaper= The Daily Telegraph|location=London |date= 24 September 2011 |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/8785536/Queen-their-finest-moment-at-Live-Aid.html}}{{cite web|title= Queen live on tour: The Works 1985 |work= Queen Concerts |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/works1985.html}}{{cite web|title= Queen live on tour: Magic tour |work= Queen Concerts |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/magic.html}}
The music video for the song uses footage from the 1927 silent science fiction film Metropolis. It received heavy rotation on music channels and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1984.{{cite web|first= Jeff |last= Giles |title= That Time Classic Rock Cleaned Up at the First-Ever MTV Video Music Awards |website= Ultimate Classic Rock |date= 14 September 2015 |access-date= 26 May 2018 |url= http://ultimateclassicrock.com/classic-rock-mtv-video-music-awards/}}
Meaning
"Radio Ga Ga" was released in 1984. A nostalgic defence of radio, it was a commentary on television overtaking radio's popularity and how one would listen to radio in the past for a favourite comedy, drama, or science fiction programme. It also addressed the advent of the music video and MTV, which was then competing with radio as an important medium for promoting records. At the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards the video for "Radio Ga Ga" would receive a Best Art Direction nomination.{{cite web|title= 1984 MTV Video Music Awards |website= Rock on the Net |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1984/mtvvmas.htm}} Roger Taylor was quoted:
{{blockquote|That's part of what the song's about, really. The fact that they [music videos] seem to be taking over almost from the aural side, the visual side seems to be almost more important.{{cite web|title= Roger Taylor & John Deacon – 1984 Breakfast Time Interview |date= 10 March 2008 |via= YouTube |access-date= 22 November 2013 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUbA3AgzPUQ}}}}
The song refers to two important radio events of the 20th century: Orson Welles' 1938 broadcast of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds in the lyric "through wars of worlds/invaded by Mars", and Winston Churchill's 18 June 1940 "This was their finest hour" speech from the House of Commons, in the lyric "You've yet to have your finest hour".{{cite book|first= Todd |last= Avery |year= 2006 |title= Radio Modernism: Literature, Ethics, and the BBC 1922-1938 |publisher= Ashgate Publishing |page= 137 |isbn= 978-0-7546-5517-6}}
Recording
Image:The Plant - Sausalito - front door 2.jpg Studios, Los Angeles through August and early September 1983]]
The inspiration for this song came when Taylor heard his son utter the words "radio ca-ca" while listening to a bad song on the radio while they were in Los Angeles.Roger Taylor speaking in the documentary Queen – Days of Our Lives After hearing the phrase, Taylor began writing and developing the song when he locked himself in a studio for three days with a synthesizer and a LinnDrum drum machine.{{cite book|first=Mick|last=St. Michael|title=Queen|date=1995|publisher=Bison Group (London)|page=51|isbn=1858411475}} He thought it would fit his solo album, but when the band heard it, John Deacon wrote a bassline and Freddie Mercury reconstructed the track, thinking it could be a big hit. Taylor then took a skiing holiday and let Mercury polish the song's lyrics, harmony, and arrangements. Recording sessions began at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles in August 1983 – the band's only time recording in North America.{{cite book|first= Georg |last= Purvis |year= 2007 |title= Queen: Complete Works |publisher= Reynolds & Hearn |page= 236}} It included Canadian session keyboardist Fred Mandel. Mandel programmed the Jupiter's arpeggiated synth-bass parts. The recording features prominent use of the Roland VP330+ vocoder. The bassline was produced by a Roland Jupiter-8, using the built-in arpeggiator.{{cite web|title= Instruments on Queen and solo tours |publisher= Queen Concerts |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.queenconcerts.com/instruments/1985-works.html}}
Track listings
Music video
Image:Shepperton Studios.jpg, Surrey, where the video was shot by David Mallet in November 1983]]
David Mallet's music video for the song features scenes from Fritz Lang's 1927 German expressionist science fiction film Metropolis and also includes footage of the band traveling through Metropolis and singing the song in a stylized re-creation of its underground machine rooms, which is interconnected with people donning gas masks and taking shelter in their homes during wartime and of one such family passing the time in various ways that include listening to the radio.{{cite book |title=Englishness, Pop and Post-War Britain |date=2016 |publisher=Intellect Books}} The video also features footage from earlier Queen promo videos. At the end of the music video, the words "Thanks To Metropolis" appear.
The video was filmed at Carlton TV Studios and Shepperton Studios, London, between 23 and 24 November 1983 and January 1984.{{cite web|title= Queen Promo Videos |website= Ultimate Queen |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/videos/promo-videos.htm}} It led to a 1984 re-release of the film with a rock soundtrack.{{cite book|first= Douglas |last= Brode |year= 2015 |title= Fantastic Planets, Forbidden Zones, and Lost Continents: The 100 Greatest Science-Fiction Films |publisher= University of Texas Press |page= 6 |isbn= 9780292739192 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RhFmCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA6}} Mercury's solo song "Love Kills" was used in Giorgio Moroder's restored version of the film, and in exchange, Queen was granted the rights to use footage from it in their "Radio Ga Ga" video. However, Queen had to buy performance rights to the film from the communist East German government, which was the copyright holder at the time.{{cite web|first1= Greg |last1= Brooks |first2= Gary |last2= Taylor |title= The Works – Album Details |website= Queenonline.com |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/works/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705103031/http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/works/|archive-date=5 July 2017}}
Critical reception
Upon its release as a single, Phil McNeill of Number One believed that "Radio Ga Ga" would be a hit (and accurately predicted it reaching number 2 in the UK) as "no DJ can resist a record with 'radio' in the title" and the music video "pulls out enough expensive stops to push [it] to the top".{{cite magazine |last=McNeill |first=Phil |title=Singles |magazine=Number One |date=28 January 1984 |issue=39 |page=30}} Stewart Copeland of Record Mirror commented on how Queen had adopted the current "synthesiser sound" rather than remain "true to their form". He remarked that "it's hard to know whether this is a Duran Duran or a Japan clone" and added that Mercury's singing was reminscient of Bryan Ferry.{{cite magazine |last=Copeland |first=Stewart |title=Singles |magazine=Record Mirror |date=28 January 1984 |page=14 |issn=0144-5804}} Charles Shaar Murray, writing for NME, noted that the song "just sounds like a lot of old noises borrowed from newer groups".{{cite magazine |last=Murray |first=Charles Shaar |title=Singles |magazine=New Musical Express |date=28 January 1984 |page=18 |issn=0028-6362}}
Live versions
Queen finished their sets before the encores on The Works Tour with "Radio Ga Ga" and Mercury would normally sing "you had your time" in a lower octave and modify the deliveries of "you had the power, you've yet to have your finest hour" while Roger Taylor sang the pre-chorus in the high octave. Live versions from the 1984/85 tour were recorded and filmed for the concert films Queen Rock in Rio 1985 and Final Live in Japan 1985.{{cite book|first= Georg |last= Purvis |year= 2007 |title= Queen: Complete Works |publisher= Reynolds & Hearn |page= 321 |isbn= 978-1-90528-733-8}} As heard on bootleg recordings, Deacon can be heard providing backing vocals to the song; it is one of the very few occasions he sang in concert.
{{Quote box
|quote = "I remember thinking 'oh great, they've picked it up' and then I thought 'this is not a Queen audience'. This is a general audience who've bought tickets before they even knew we were on the bill. And they all did it. How did they know? Nobody told them to do it."
|source= —Brian May on the audience participation in clapping to "Radio Ga Ga" at Live Aid.{{cite magazine|first= David |last= Thomas |title= Their Britannic Majesties Request |magazine= Mojo Magazine |date= August 1999 |issue= 69 |page= 87 |issn= 1351-0193}}
|width = 25%
|align = left
|style = padding:10px;
}}
Queen played a shorter, up-tempo version of "Radio Ga Ga" during the Live Aid concert on 13 July 1985 at Wembley Stadium, where Queen's "show-stealing performance" had 72,000 people clapping in unison.{{cite web|title= Queen win greatest live gig poll |publisher= BBC News |access-date= 24 July 2013 |date= 9 November 2005 |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4420308.stm}}{{cite web|author= Ryan Minchin, dir. |title= Queen Voted Best Gig-Live Aid |year= 2005 |via= YouTube |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob5NpdkH5Dw}} It was the second song the band performed at Live Aid after opening with "Bohemian Rhapsody".{{cite web|title= Queen live on tour: Festivals, parties, TV |work= Queen Concerts |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.queenconcerts.com/live/queen/other.html}} "Radio Ga Ga" became a live favourite thanks largely to the audience participation potential of the clapping sequence prompted by the rhythm of the chorus (copied from the video). Mercury sang all high notes in this version. The song was played for the Magic Tour a year later, including twice more at Wembley Stadium; it was recorded for the live album Live at Wembley '86, VHS Video and DVD on 12 July 1986, the second night in the venue.
Paul Young performed the song with Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert again at Wembley Stadium on 20 April 1992.{{cite web|title= The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert |website= Ultimate Queen |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/videos/the-freddie-mercury-tribute-concert-10th-anniversary-reissue.htm#radio}} At the "Party at the Palace" concert, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee in 2002, "Radio Ga Ga" opened up Queen's set with Roger Taylor on vocals and Phil Collins on the drums.{{cite web|title= Queen Miscellaneous Live Song Lyrics |website= Ultimate Queen |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url= http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/songs/miscellaneous-live.htm#radiopp}}
This song was played on the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour in 2005–2006 and sung by Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers. It was recorded officially at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield on 5 May 2005. The result, Return of the Champions, was released on CD and DVD on 19 September 2005 and 17 October 2005. It was also played on the Rock the Cosmos Tour during late 2008, this time with only Rodgers on lead vocals. The concert album Live in Ukraine resulted from this tour, yet the song is not available on the CD or DVD versions released on 15 June 2009. This "Radio Ga Ga" performance is only available as a digital download from iTunes. It was again played on the Queen + Adam Lambert Tour with Lambert on lead vocals,{{cite news|first= Dave |last= Simpson |title= Queen and Adam Lambert review – an unlikely union, but it works |newspaper= The Guardian |date= 14 January 2015 |access-date= 23 June 2021 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/14/queen-adam-lambert-live-review-arena-newcastle}}{{cite magazine|first= Ellise |last= Shafer |title= Queen and Adam Lambert Play the Hits, Pay Tribute to Freddie Mercury at L.A. Concert |magazine= Billboard |date= 21 July 2019 |access-date= 23 June 2021 |url= https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/pride/8523130/queen-and-adam-lambert-concert-recap}} and again during the Rhapsody Tour of 2019–2024.
Cover versions
Electric Six performed a cover version of "Radio Ga Ga" on their 2005 second album Señor Smoke.{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/queen-cover-songs/|title=25 Times Queen Were Covered by Other Artists|author=Irwin, Corey|date=January 22, 2021|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock}}
Brian May was reportedly a fan of the Electric Six version.
Personnel
=Queen=
- Freddie Mercury – lead vocals, synthesiser, sampler
- Brian May – guitars, backing vocals
- Roger Taylor – acoustic and electronic drums, Linndrum drum machine, vocoder, backing vocals, sampler, synthesizer
- John Deacon – bass guitar, backing vocals
=Additional personnel=
- Fred Mandel – synthesizer arrangement, synthesizer programming, synthesizer
- Reinhold Mack – recording engineer
- Mike Beiriger – additional recording engineer
- Eddie DeLena – additional recording engineer
- Stefan Wissnet – additional recording engineer
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Chart performance for "Radio Ga Ga" upon release of the film Bohemian Rhapsody !Chart (2018) !Peak |
| scope="row"|Canada (Hot Canadian Digital Songs){{cite magazine|title= Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales |magazine= Billboard |date= 24 November 2018 |access-date= 24 November 2018 |url-access= subscription |url= https://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2018-11-24/hot-canada-digital-song-sales}}
|align="center"|25 |
|---|
| {{single chart|France|164|artist=Queen|song=Radio Ga Ga|access-date=3 August 2020|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Italy|80|artist=Queen|song=Radio Ga Ga|access-date=3 August 2020|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardjapanhot100|37|artist=Queen|access-date=4 August 2020|rowheader=true}} |
| scope="row"|US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|title= Queen Chart History (Hot Rock Songs) |magazine= Billboard |access-date= 5 December 2018 |url= https://www.billboard.com/artist/queen/chart-history/ark/}}
|align="center"|17 |
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Weekly chart performance for Live Aid version of "Radio Ga Ga" !Chart (2019) !Peak |
| scope="row"|US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)
|align="center"|23 |
|---|
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+2019 year-end chart performance of "Radio Ga Ga" !Chart (2019) !Position |
| scope="row"|US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|title= Year-End Charts: Hot Rock Songs |magazine= Billboard |access-date= 19 March 2020 |url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2019/hot-rock-songs}}
|align="center"|55 |
|---|
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+2019 year-end chart performance of Live Aid version of "Radio Ga Ga" !Chart (2019) !Position |
| scope="row"|US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)
|align="center"|53 |
|---|
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Radio Ga Ga"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|artist=Queen|title=Radio Ga Ga|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=2005|certyear=2021|id=10166|access-date=25 April 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=Queen|title=Radio Ga Ga|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=2005|certyear=2019|access-date=18 November 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Queen|title=Radio Ga Ga|type=single|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=2024|relyear=2011|id=5322-1614-1|access-date=2 August 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Queen|title=Radio Ga Ga|type=single|award=Platinum|certyear=2020|relyear=1992|access-date=2 November 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|noshipments=true|nosales=true}}
Influences
American pop singer Lady Gaga credits her stage name to this song.{{cite news|first= Gavin |last= Martin |title= Lady GaGa the new Princess of Pop |date= 8 January 2009 |newspaper= Daily Mirror |access-date= 16 March 2009 |url= https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv-entertainment/music/2009/01/08/lady-gaga-the-new-princess-of-pop-115875-21026283/}}{{cite news|first= Lisa |last= Rose |title= Lady Gaga's outrageous persona born in Parsippany, New Jersey |publisher= NJ.com |date= 21 January 2010 |access-date= 23 January 2010 |url= http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2010/01/lady_gaga_her_outrageous_perso.html}} She stated that she "adored" Queen, and that they had a hit called "Radio Ga Ga". "That's why I love the name".{{cite news|first= John |last= Dingwall |title= The Fear Factor; Lady Gaga used tough times as inspiration for her new album |newspaper= Daily Record |pages= 48–49 |date= 27 November 2009 |access-date= 25 January 2011 |url= http://www.thefreelibrary.com/THE+FEAR+FACTOR%3B+Lady+Gaga+used+tough+times+as+inspiration+for+her...-a0213005824}}
In Slovenia, the song was used as the opening and ending of a radio show with the same name, radio GA-GA – a satirical show with host Sašo Hribar – from the first broadcast in 1989 until the final on Friday, 8 September 2023 before the host's sudden death.{{cite news|last= L. P. |title= Legendary radio personality Sašo Hribar dies aged 63 |date= 9 September 2023 |newspaper= RTV SLO |access-date= 25 September 2023 |url= https://www.rtvslo.si/radio-si/news/legendary-radio-personality-saso-hribar-dies-aged-63/680879}}
In January 2023, singer Che Lingo sampled "Radio Ga Ga" for his single "My Radio". The song credits Queen and Roger Taylor as co-lead artists on the single.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/che-lingo-shares-queen-inspired-my-radio-featuring-roger-taylor-radar-3383880|title=Che Lingo shares Queen-inspired 'My Radio' featuring Roger Taylor|website=NME|last=Wilkes|first=Emma|date=19 January 2023|access-date=5 September 2024}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- Official YouTube videos: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azdwsXLmrHE original music video], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNRE0oHRSX8 Big Spender/ Radio Ga Ga (Live At Wembley)], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRw9CW7iMZk Queen + Paul Rodgers], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3sHGOfo_vM at Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert]
- Lyrics from Queen official site: [http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/live-magic/#lyrics lyrics] from Live Magic version, [http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/live-wembley-86/#lyrics lyrics] from Live at Wembley '86 version.
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAVVVMcTShQ Radio Ga Ga performed by Prisoners in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitational Centre]
{{Queen singles}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:British synth-pop songs
Category:Capitol Records singles
Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Category:Hollywood Records singles
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Denmark
Category:Number-one singles in Finland
Category:Number-one singles in Italy
Category:Number-one singles in Poland
Category:Number-one singles in Portugal
Category:Number-one singles in Sweden
Category:Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack
Category:Songs written by Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)
Category:Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles