"A Kind of Magic"
UK single picture sleeve
Single by Queen
from the album A Kind of Magic
B-side
Released17 March 1986 (UK)
4 June 1986 (US)
RecordedSeptember 1985 – January 1986
GenreRock
Length
  • 4:25 (7" album version)
  • 3:37 (A Kind of A Kind of Magic version)
  • 6:23 (12" extended version)
  • 4:10 (original Highlander version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Roger Taylor
Producer(s)
Queen singles chronology
"One Vision"
(1985)		 "A Kind of Magic"
(1986)		 "Princes of the Universe"
(1986)
Music video
"A Kind of Magic" on YouTube

"A Kind of Magic" is the title track of the 1986 album of the same name by the British rock band Queen. It was written by the band's drummer, Roger Taylor, for the film Highlander and featured as the ending theme. The single reached number three in the UK Singles Chart, top ten in a number of European countries, and #42 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[1] The song is the opening track on the band's compilation albums, Greatest Hits II, and Classic Queen.[2]

Recording

Highlander

The phrase "a kind of magic" is used in Highlander by Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) as a description of his immortality. Roger Taylor liked the phrase so much that he used it as inspiration for the song. There are references to the film in the lyrics: "one prize, one goal"; "no mortal man"; and "there can be only one". The single's cover art features an image of Clancy Brown in character as the film's villain, The Kurgan.

Composition

Taylor wrote the song, which originally appeared in the movie Highlander. Brian May described this original version as "quite lugubrious and heavy".[3] For the album version, Freddie Mercury created a new bass line, added instrumental breaks, and changed the song's order to make it more chart friendly. Mercury and David Richards produced this new version.

In a radio interview in September 2017, Chris Rea claimed that he performed the finger clicks with which the song opens.[4]

Live performances

The song was a live favourite on The Magic Tour of the same year, which proved to be Queen's last tour before the death of Freddie Mercury.

Taylor often included the song in solo set lists, and those with his band The Cross. On the Rock the Cosmos Tour of Europe, Taylor took lead vocals for the song at some concerts.

Music video

The music video for this song was directed by Russell Mulcahy, director of Highlander. Brian May did not use his famous Red Special guitar in the music video, but instead a 1984 copy. In the video, Mercury is dressed as a magician type figure. He enters an abandoned theatre (The Playhouse Theatre in London) where May, Taylor and John Deacon (all dressed as stereotypical tramps) are asleep until awakened by Mercury's entrance. Mercury transforms the hobos into the Queen members, dressed regularly with their instruments, then back to hobos again as he leaves. Throughout the video, cartoon images dance to the beat of the song which were produced by The Walt Disney Company.As May later remembered, the theater was old and derelict, and lacking central heating, so the band were quite cold during the March filming.

Legacy

The single was certified platinum in Brazil for more than 100,000 digital downloads of the single.[5]

Queen's compilations The Platinum Collection, Classic Queen, and Greatest Hits II all make an unsubstantiated claim that the song reached #1 in 35 countries around the world,[6] but it reached number one in Spain in 1986, the only country where it topped the charts.[7]

Musical theatre actress Elaine Paige recorded the song on her album of Queen covers The Queen Album in 1988.[8]

In May 2022, South Korean boy group Enhypen was chosen as the 2022 Coke summer campaign artist for the brand's "Coke x Music. Engrave the Magic of Summer" message. The group performed the song on June 8 through Coke Studio and the result was released digitally on streaming platforms.[9]

Chart positions

Sales and certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[14] Platinum 60,000*
Italy (FIMI)[15]
sales since 2009 		Gold 35,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]
sales since 2011 		Platinum 600,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Queen

with

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 684.
  2. ↑ Queen Album: Classic Queen Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine MTV. Retrieved 2 July 2011
  3. ↑ Purvis, Georg (2011). Queen Complete Works. London: Titan Books. p. 209.
  4. ↑ "Chris Rea about finger clicks in 'A Kind Of Magic'. Bob Fischer Sits In, BBC Tees, 12.09.2017 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  5. ↑ ABPD | Associaçăo Brasileira de Produtores de Disco Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Jenkins, Jim; Smith, Jacky; Davis, Andy; Symes, Phil (2000). The Platinum Collection (CD booklet). Queen. Parlophone. p. 11. 7243 5 29883 2 7.
  7. ↑ "Números 1 de 1986". Los 40. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "The Queen Album". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "ENHYPEN、Coke Summerキャンペーンアーティストに Queen名曲カバー6・8配信". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  11. ↑ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "SloTop50: Slovenian official singles weekly chart" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "Brazilian single certifications – Queen – A Kind of Magic" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
  15. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Queen – A Kind of Magic" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 26 November 2020. Select "2020" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "A Kind of Magic" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  16. ↑ "British single certifications – Queen – A Kind of Magic". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  1. "A Kind Of Magic by Queen Songfacts". Songfacts. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
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