Queen never made music that could be defined within a particular genre. However, when viewed periodically, it is possible to see that Queen in the ’70s was a little more rock and roll. As for the ’80s, Freddie’s performances, which had become thoroughly capturing, followed a slightly more pop and mainstream sound. Justin Hawkins revealed his favorite album from this second term on Justin Hawkins Rides Again channel.
“I personally love ‘A Kind Of Magic’ and the works,” he replied when asked about his favorite Queen album in the ’80s. “Well, when I was 14, the ‘Miracle’ came out. That was a big album for me, but I don’t actually listen to it that much now. I think of the ’80s efforts. I would say that ‘A Kind Of Magic’ is the one I’ve listened to the most.”
He continued, “But it’s also ‘Live Magic,’ isn’t it? That was a great, I think it must be recorded at Nebworth or something like that. It’s the one that’s got the helicopter with the Queen ‘Live Magic’ livery on it, looking from the top [to an] enormous throng of people and a brilliant performance. So that’s probably my favorite one. Yeah, that one.”
‘A Kind of Magic’ was Queen’s twelfth studio album. It was also their first album after 1985 Live Aid, where they proved to millions who Queen was. With the acclaim they received from that concert, the album became a hit in the UK as soon as it was released, selling around 100,000 copies in its first week.
The album is also the unofficial soundtrack album of the 1986 movie ‘Highlander.’ There are six songs from the album in the film. The album’s title comes from a line from a character in that movie, from the sequence Connor MacLeod describes his immortality.
This song, as well as all the other tracks of Queen, also has that special touch of Freddie’s ‘terrifically fertile brain,’ as Roger calls it. In fact, David Richards, with whom they worked on this album, also had also explained how difficult it was to follow his mind sometimes.
For instance, during the recording of the album’s self-titled single, Freddie said that he wanted to hear a ‘herd of wildebeests swinging from left to right,’ and it took them a long time to realize what he wanted. But in the end, they understood he wanted some kind of stereo effect, which is now credited as one of the primary reasons the track achieved such success.
