Queen Song of the Week: We Will Rock You & We are the Champions

The next song in the set list of Queen's 1982 concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl is Sheer Heart Attack. Read my review of that song here.

Following Sheer Heart Attack, the band launched into the two songs which ended their concerts for nearly thirty years: We Will Rock You and We are the Champions. These songs are played together, not only in concert, but on most radio stations as well!

We Will Rock You was written by Dr. May and appeared on the band's 1977 album News of the World. The song was the B-side to the We are the Champions single in the U.K. and released as a double A-side in the U.S.. I've already written about the fast version of the song here and, of course, all of the details about the song's inspiration and recording remain the same.

Video courtesy of queenofficial.

Perhaps one of the most recognizable songs in history, and a stadium favorite to this day, We Will Rock You has certainly taken on a life of it's own, both within Queen fandom and with the general public.

We are the Champions was written by Freddie Mercury. It also appeared on the band's 1977 album News of the World. It was released as a single in the U.K. and the U.S., charting at #2 and #4, respectively.

Video courtesy of queenofficial.

Freddie also was looking to write an anthem-type song, though he specifically had football in mind. Despite the slightly ego-centric theme, the song became the band's third biggest hit (after Bohemian Rhapsody and Another One Bites the Dust). Though I've personally never been a huge fan of this song, being able to sing it on Rock Band 3 has brought me newfound appreciation for this song, particularly Freddie's vocals.

Ironically though the songs became staples at the end of the band's set lists, the songs actually lead off the News of the World album.

So with that, we end the set list of the 1982 Milton Keynes concert. I've just acquired the second (and hardest to find) CD by The Cross, RT's side project, so perhaps we'll spend some time on solo CDs next.

Happy Listening!