Greatest Hits is a 1981 Queen compilation. The record, released on November 2, 1981, is the UK's all-time best-selling album.^[1] Combined with Greatest Hits II, it became the definitive Queen compilation. While a domestic release with different tracks but the same cover art was available in the U.S. in 1981, the British release was available to United States customers only by import until the 1995 release of Greatest Hits I & II, which combined the two discs. The seventeen-track UK Greatest Hits disc was released in the U.S. on its own for the first time, with a few bonus tracks, in 2004 under the name Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You Edition. Image File history File links Queen_Greatest_Hits. ... For a list of albums known simply as Greatest Hits, see List of albums titled Greatest Hits. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1972 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the genre. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... For other uses, see EMI (disambiguation). ... Parlophone is a record label, founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1972 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. ... Flash Gordon is a 1980 album by English rock band Queen. ... Hot Space is an album by English rock band Queen, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... See also: Musical groups established in 1981 Record labels established in 1981 list of years in music // January 10 - Revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadways Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith February 14 - Billy Idol leaves the band Generation... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1972 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Template:!ReleasedTemplate:!colspan=2 Template:!October 28, 1991Template:!- Template:!GenreTemplate:!colspan=2 Template:!RockTemplate:!- Template:!LengthTemplate:!colspan=2 Template:!75:57 Template:!- Template:!style=padding-right: 1em; Template:!LabelTemplate:!colspan=2 Template:!ParlophoneTemplate:!- Greatest Hits II is a 1991 Queen compilation. ... See also: 1995 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1995 Record labels established in 1995 // January 18 - Jerry Garcia wrecks his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California. ... See also: 2004 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2004 Record labels established in 2004 2000s in music. ...

History

In 1981, Queen released Greatest Hits worldwide. However, there was no universal track listing or even cover art. Each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles were released there, and what tracks charted. In some cases, despite the band's popularity, not enough songs were issued as singles to fill a compilation album, and a few album tracks were used as filler. Some examples of these were "Sweet Lady" and "Love of My Life", neither were released as singles in any country, but appear on some regions' 1981 Hits release. In the UK and the U.S., where solid numbers could be collected, the standard was raised again by only including top twenty Hits. This rigid criterion was a trademark of Queen's desire to only market the best. Queen's official website queenonline.com (QOL) issued a "Greatest Video Hits 1 - Official Press Release on **Fri 20 Sep 02**" stating "Compiled directly from the band's phenomenally successful 'Greatest Hits "1"' album, which has to date sold in excess of 43 million copies worldwide".The hits on the album collectively sold over 110 million worldwide. In 2006, QOL informed that Greatest Hits 1 has sold in excess of 5.6 million in the UK, making it UK's best selling album ever.

The U.S. ended up with its original edit of Queen's first single release, "Keep Yourself Alive", which had been re-released in the U.S. in 1975 (original release was 1973) after the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody". Also, because of the delay in release dates between the UK (out first) and the U.S. (almost a month later), the U.S. was able to add "Under Pressure" (Queen's duet with David Bowie) to its Hits collection, as it was released during that interim.

In Argentina and Brazil, the edition included the same list of UK Greatest Hits minus "Seven Seas of Rhye", and including "Love of My life" (Live Killers version).

Jumping ahead to 1991, Queen sought to issue a second Greatest Hits collection worldwide, this time with a standard track listing. However, the band had just changed record labels in the US, from Capitol to Hollywood Records, who keen on a massive promotion of the band's back catalogue. The problem was that Elektra still held the US rights to that first 1981 collection (despite being Hollywood's US licencée). Hollywood Records decided to not release Greatest Hits II to the U.S. market, but instead created their own collection, Classic Queen (1992). This compilation was made up of tracks such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Under Pressure" (which had already appeared on the Elektra 1981 Hits collection) as well as newer tracks ("A Kind of Magic" and "Radio Ga Ga"). Some tracks were not even singles in the U.S. ("One Year of Love") or anywhere ("Stone Cold Crazy"). Though well received, this collection would eventually pose the problem of overlapping track lists in the future. Classic Queen is a 1992 compilation of songs by the British rock band Queen. ... See also: 1992 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1992 Record labels established in 1992 // 1992 was a pivotal year in the development of music. ...

Hollywood Records, later that year, re-released a companion collection Greatest Hits with similar artwork (on a red background, where Classic Queen was on royal blue). Commonly referred to as the Red Greatest Hits, it features most of the '70s tracks absent from "Classic Queen" (including "Another One Bites the Dust" [1980], "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Killer Queen").

In 2004, to promote the Las Vegas production of the musical "We Will Rock You", Hollywood Records released Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You Edition which was the UK Greatest Hits with three bonus tracks.

Track listing

This section includes the track listings for the original Greatest Hits and closely-related albums only. For other compilations, including the second and third Greatest Hits albums, see the relevant articles.

1981 UK edition

1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" – 5:55
   • From A Night at the Opera (1975) Mercury
2. "Another One Bites the Dust" – 3:36
   • From The Game (1980) Deacon
3. "Killer Queen" – 2:57
   • From Sheer Heart Attack (1974) Mercury
4. "Fat Bottomed Girls" – single version – 4:16
   • From Jazz (1978) May
5. "Bicycle Race" – 3:01
   • From Jazz (1978) Mercury
6. "You're My Best Friend" – 2:52
   • From A Night at the Opera (1975) Deacon
7. "Don't Stop Me Now" – 3:29
   • From Jazz (1978) Mercury
8. "Save Me" – 3:48
   • From The Game (1980) May
9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" – 2:42
   • From The Game (1980) Mercury
10. "Somebody to Love" – 4:56
    • From A Day at the Races (1976) Mercury
11. "Now I'm Here" – 4:10
    • From Sheer Heart Attack (1974) May
12. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" – 2:54
    • From A Day at the Races (1976) Mercury
13. "Play the Game" – 3:33
    • From The Game (1980) Mercury
14. "Flash" – single version – 2:48
    • From Flash Gordon (1980) May
15. "Seven Seas of Rhye" – 2:47
    • From Queen II (1974) Mercury
16. "We Will Rock You" – 2:01
    • From News of the World (1977) May
17. "We Are the Champions" – 2:59
    • From News of the World (1977) Mercury

  is a song written by Freddie Mercury and originally recorded by the band Queen for their 1975 album A Night at the Opera. ... For other uses, see A Night at the Opera (disambiguation). ... Another One Bites the Dust is a 1980 funk/rock song from the English rock band Queen, written by bassist John Deacon and was a worldwide crossover hit (hitting number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, hitting #2 on the R&B charts, and the Disco Top 100). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Killer Queen is a song by the English rock band Queen. ... For the Queen song of the same name, see News of the World (album). ... Fat Bottomed Girls ( ) is a hit single by the English rock band Queen. ... Jazz is a 1978 album by English rock band Queen. ... For the sport, see Bicycle racing. ... Youre My Best Friend is a song penned by John Deacon and performed by Queen. ... Dont Stop Me Now ( ) is a 1979 hit single by Queen, from their 1978 album Jazz. ... Save Me is a song by English rock band Queen. ... Crazy Little Thing Called Love is a song performed by the English rock band Queen, written by singer Freddie Mercury. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Now Im Here is a song by the British rock band Queen. ... Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy ( ) is the fourth single (Queens First EP) from and eighth track on the British rock group Queens 1976 album A Day at the Races, written by Freddie Mercury. ... Play the Game is a song by Freddie Mercury and recorded and performed by his band Queen. ... Flash is a song by Queen. ... Flash Gordon is a 1980 album by English rock band Queen. ... Seven Seas Of Rhye is a song performed by British rock group Queen and written by Freddie Mercury. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... We Are The Champions is a power ballad written by Freddie Mercury, recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. ...

1981 U.S. edition

1. "Another One Bites the Dust"
2. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
3. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
4. "Killer Queen"
5. "Fat Bottomed Girls"
6. "Bicycle Race"
7. "Under Pressure"
   • From Hot Space (1982) Queen and David Bowie
8. "We Will Rock You"
9. "We Are the Champions"
10. "Flash"
11. "Somebody to Love"
12. "You're My Best Friend"
13. "Keep Yourself Alive"
    • From Queen (1973) May
14. "Play the Game"

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hot Space is an album by English rock band Queen, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music). ... David Bowie (pronounced ) (born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, producer, arranger, and audio engineer. ... Keep Yourself Alive was the first track on the British rock group Queens debut album, written by Brian May. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

1992 U.S. edition

This version was released with a red cover.

1. "We Will Rock You" – 2:01
2. "We Are the Champions" – 3:00
3. "Another One Bites the Dust" – 3:37
4. "Killer Queen" – 3:00
5. "Somebody to Love" – 4:53
6. "Fat Bottomed Girls" – 3:02
7. "Bicycle Race" – 2:59
8. "You're My Best Friend" – 2:50
9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" – 2:41
10. "Now I'm Here" – 4:12
11. "Play the Game" – 3:31
12. "Seven Seas of Rhye" – 4:47
13. "Body Language" – 4:29
14. "Save Me" – 3:48
15. "Don't Stop Me Now" – 3:29
16. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" – 2:53
17. "I Want to Break Free" – 4:18

Body Language is a 1982 disco/rock hit from the English rock band Queen. ...

2004 U.S. edition

Released as Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You Edition, this edition has the same track listing as UK 1981 edition, with three bonus tracks at the end.

18. "I'm in Love with My Car"
    • From A Night at the Opera (1975) Taylor
19. "Under Pressure"
    • From Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl (1982)
20. "Tie Your Mother Down"
    • From Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl (1982) May

Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl is a double compact disc live album by English band Queen released on October 25, 2004 in Europe and on November 9, 2004 in the US. It was recorded live at the National Bowl, Milton Keynes, England, on June 5, 1982 during the...

Charts

Release history

is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see EMI (disambiguation). ... Parlophone is a record label, founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company. ... is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, and today operates under Atlantic Records Group. ... is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Hollywood Records is a record label owned by Disney. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Queen head all-time sales chart, BBC, 2006-11-16, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6151050.stm>
2. ^ Whitburn, Joel, The Billboard Albums, Record Research
3. ^ Certified Awards, Recording Industry Association of America, <http://riaa.com/gp/database/>
4. ^ Roberts, David (2006), British Hit Singles & Albums, London: Guinness World Records Limited
5. ^ Certified Awards, British Phonographic Industry, <http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinum.html>
6. ^ Queen, Swiss Charts, <http://swisscharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Queen>
7. ^ Queen, Finnish Charts, <http://finnishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Queen>