Sheer Heart Attack (song)

"Sheer Heart Attack"
Song by Queen from the album News of the World
Released	1977
A-side	"Spread Your Wings"
Recorded	July - September 1977 at Basing Street and Wessex Studios
Genre	Heavy metal, punk rock^[1]
Length	3:27
Label	EMI, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (US)
Writer(s)	Roger Taylor
Producer(s)	Queen, assisted by Mike Stone

"Sheer Heart Attack" is a song by the British rock band Queen, originally released on their sixth studio album News of the World in 1977. It is one of only two songs on the album entirely written by Roger Taylor.

Background

"Sheer Heart Attack" is a song by Queen. It was originally written for the album of the same name in 1974, but was not included on the album for several reasons. The song was finished for News Of The World in 1977.

Roger Taylor plays almost every instrument on the finished track, with some help from Brian May on guitar. This is one of the few Queen recordings that does not feature bassist John Deacon.

The song was the B-side of the Deacon-penned single "Spread Your Wings" in February 1978. It was also the B-side of the single "It's Late", written by May, which was released only in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Japan in April 1978.

Live performances

The song was first performed live in 1977. It was usually performed in some sort of medley, and is one of the few Queen songs for which drummer Taylor would perform lead vocals on stage. It has been released on three live albums: Live Killers in 1979, Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl in 2004 and Queen Rock Montreal in 2007.

Comments

“	[“Sheer Heart Attack”] was written in essence, not completely, wasn’t finished at the time of recording Sheer Heart Attack, but really we didn’t have room, and it wasn’t quite finished and for a number of reasons it didn’t get on. But now, it lives again, and actually I’m quite pleased with it. It’s really pure energy, and it’s one of my contributions to News of the World. It has no weaknesses.	”
	— Roger Taylor, 1977

“	We came up with the title for the Sheer Heart Attack album, and it was a song that I had an idea for, but I hadn't actually finished the song, yet. By the time I had finished the song, we were two albums later, so it just struggled out on the News of the World album. It's quite interesting, because we were making an album next-door to a punk band, the Sex Pistols, and it really fit into that punk explosion that was happening at the time, which was happening right then. It was actually better that it happened that it came out on the News of the World album.	”
	— Roger Taylor, 1991

^[2]

Personnel

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals
Brian May - electric guitars
Roger Taylor - lead and backing vocals, drums, rhythm guitar, bass guitar

References

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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