Flick of the Wrist

"Flick of the Wrist" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as a Double A-side with "Killer Queen" in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States and most other territories. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack.

Background

Freddie Mercury never explained whether the unpleasant character in the song was based on anyone in particular. It has been speculated that the lyrics describe manager Norman Sheffield, based on the fact that the song "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)", written the next year in 1975, was confirmed to be about Sheffield and what Mercury perceived as his unfair treatment of the group. While "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" was written after the band's contract with Sheffield and Trident Studios had ended, "Flick of the Wrist" was written and recorded amid this strained relationship. The song includes Freddie Mercury singing octave vocals throughout the verses, and the chorus features a call and response style section between the backing and lead vocal parts. When Brian May returned to work having recovered from his hepatitis, he had not heard the song before he recorded his guitar and backing vocals.

Album version

As it appears on the album, "Flick of the Wrist" is the middle song of a three-track series of songs which seamlessly overlap, segueing from one to the next: "Tenement Funster", "Flick of the Wrist" and "Lily of the Valley. Each song was recorded separately and later mixed together to form the unbroken stretch of music. Because of this structure, the record company had to select points to separate each track on CD re-issues of the album. "Flick of the Wrist," in this way, starts with the crescendo ending of "Tenement Funster" and ends abruptly before the last line of the song "...baby, you've been had." This last lyric appears at the beginning of the next CD track, "Lily of the Valley".

The original, non-segued master recordings of "Tenement Funster," "Flick of the Wrist" and "Lily of the Valley" were used for certain single releases, such the Japanese 3-inch CD single re-issue of Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy ("Tenement Funster"), the Dutch AA-side version of "Flick of the Wrist" (see below) and the 1975 US-only re-issue of "Keep Yourself Alive" ("Lily of the Valley"). Thus, a standalone version of "Flick of the Wrist" is available.

Single versions

All the single versions and edits are from the original album recording.

The Dutch AA-side version features the complete song without the seguing, overlapping sections from "Tenement Funster" and "Lily of the Valley".^[4]

The UK AA-side version features almost the same complete version as the Dutch version, but with a few notes edited at the beginning. This version also features on the 1991 Japanese 3-inch CD single of "Killer Queen"/"Flick of the Wrist."

The US AA-side version (the same as issued in Canada) has a much more pronounced edit at the beginning, with the first 18 seconds of the song absent. It ends with a fade-out over the segue into "Lily of the Valley," where the latter's opening piano is heard.^[4]

The UK's 1987 3-inch CD single re-issue starts with the crescendo segue which ends "Tenement Funster." It ends with a fade-out before the song is properly over, missing the last line "Baby, you've been had."

BBC Version

On 16 October 1974, Queen recorded a BBC session at Maida Vale 4 Studios in London, England. One of the songs recorded was "Flick of the Wrist". This performance features parts of the original album backing track with new vocals by Freddie Mercury and a new guitar solo by Brian May, differing entirely from that which appears on the album.

Personnel

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano
Brian May - electric guitar, backing vocals
Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar

Cover versions

Dream Theater covered the entire three-song arc ("Tenement Funster," "Flick of the Wrist" and "Lily of the Valley") for the Special Edition of their album Black Clouds & Silver Linings.

References

External links

Lyrics at Queen official website

Queen singles discography

Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"

Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"

Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen"/"Flick of the Wrist" "Now I'm Here" "Lily of the Valley" "Stone Cold Crazy"

A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Love of My Life"

A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Long Away" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"

News of the World	"We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late"

Jazz	"Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Jealousy" "Mustapha"

Live Killers	"Love of My Life" (Live) "We Will Rock You" (Live)

The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"

Flash Gordon	"Flash"

Hot Space	"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat"

The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall"

A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"

The Miracle	"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"

Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "I Can't Live with You" "The Show Must Go On" "These Are the Days of Our Lives"

Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "I Was Born to Love You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me"

Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"/"Tie Your Mother Down"

Greatest Hits III	"Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"

Non-album singles	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Another One Bites the Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)" "We Will Rock You" (with Five) "We Are the Champions" (with Robbie Williams) "Flash (Vanguard Mix)" "Another One Bites the Dust (The Miami Project Remixes)" "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with The Muppets)

Other songs	"See What a Fool I've Been" "Death on Two Legs" "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "Seaside Rendezvous" "The Prophet's Song" "Good Company" "Sheer Heart Attack" "Is This the World We Created...?" "Ride the Wild Wind" "Delilah" "Made In Heaven" "Mother Love" "Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More To Life Than This"

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