"Radio Ga Ga"
Single by Queen
from the album The Works
B-side(s)	I Go Crazy
Released	23 January 1984
Format	vinyl record (7", 12")
Recorded	1983
Genre	Pop rock
Length	5:49 (Album Version) 6:53 (12" Extended Version)
Label	EMI / Capitol
Writer(s)	Roger Taylor
Producer(s)	Queen and Mack
Peak chart positions
#1 (Belgium; Ireland; Italy; Netherlands; Portugal; Sweden) #2 (Australia[citation needed]; Austria; Germany; Norway; Poland; UK: silver) #3 (Switzerland) #4 (South Africa) #6 (Spain) #11 (Canada) #16 (US) #89 (Japan)
Queen singles chronology
"Back Chat" (1982) "Radio Ga Ga" (1984) "I Want to Break Free" (1984)

Radio Ga Ga is a song performed and recorded by the band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. The song was a commentary of the invention of television overtaking radio's popularity, and how one would listen to radio for their favorite comedy, drama, sci-fi programs and so on as well as the advent of the music video and MTV. (Althought ironically the video would become a regular staple on the channel in 1984.) Taylor originally conceived it as "Radio Ca-Ca" (apparently from something his toddler son once said), a slam against radio for the decrease in variety of programming and the type of music being played. It was eventually changed to "Radio Ga Ga", because it sounded better, clearer, and rolled off the tongue easier. There are rumours that the publishers objected to the original title because the word "caca" means "crap" in Spanish, Russian and French, with much the same cultural connotations. Image File history File linksMetadata Radiogaga. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, with John Deacon joining the following year. ... The Works is a 1984 pop/rock album by English band Queen. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ... A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For Japanese racehorse, see Pop Rock (horse). ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The EMI Group (LSE: EMI) is a British music company comprising of the major record company EMI Music which operates several labels, based in Kensington in London, England, and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York. ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 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. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, with John Deacon joining the following year. ... Reinhold Mack (aka Mack) is a German record producer. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, with John Deacon joining the following year. ... Back Chat is a song by English rock band Queen. ... I Want to Break Free ( ) is a song performed by Queen, which was written exclusively by bassist John Deacon. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, with John Deacon joining the following year. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... MTV (Music Television) is an American cable television network based in New York City. ... ...

Taylor began writing the song in Los Angeles when he locked himself in a room with a synthesiser and a drum machine. He thought it would fit his solo album, but when the band heard it, John Deacon wrote a bass-line and Freddie Mercury reconstructed the track, thinking it could be a big hit. Taylor then took a skiing holiday and let Mercury polish the lyrics, harmony, and arrangements of the song. Recording sessions began at Record Plant Studios and included session keyboardist Fred Mandel, who later on would work with Supertramp and Elton John. Mandel programmed the synth-bass parts. The recording features prominent use of the Roland VP330+ vocoder. The bassline was produced by a Roland Jupiter 8, using the built-in arpeggiator.[1] Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... A Boss DR-202 Drum Machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums and/or other percussion instruments. ... For the medieval chroniclers named John, deacon of. ... Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British musician and songwriter, best known as the frontman and pianist of the rock band Queen. ... Record Plant Studios (also known as just The Record Plant) is a famous recording studio, first opening in New York City at 321 West 44th Street map, in 1968. ... Supertramp is a British progressive rock band that had a series of top-selling albums in the 1970s and 1980s. ... Sir Elton Hercules[1] John CBE [2] (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is a multiple Grammy and Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist. ... Roland Corporation TYO: 7944 is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. ... A vocoder (name derived from voice encoder, formerly also called voder) is a speech analyzer and synthesizer. ... A Sythesizer made br Roland. ...

It was released as a single and was included on the album The Works. The single was an enormous worldwide success for the band. It reached number 2 in the UK and 16 in the USA. The Works is a 1984 pop/rock album by English band Queen. ...

Queen played a shorter, uptempo version of "Radio Ga Ga" at the Live Aid charity event in 1985. It became a live favourite thanks largely to the audience participation potential of the clapping sequence prompted by the rhythm of the chorus (copied from the video). Paul Young performed the song with Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. At the "Party at the Palace" concert, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee in 2002, "Radio Ga Ga" opened up Queen's set. This song was played on the Queen + Paul Rodgers tours in 2005/2006, and sung by Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers. Ethiopia, as its borders were in 1985. ... See also: other events of 1985 Musical groups established in 1985 Record labels established in 1985 list of years in music 1980s in music // January 28 - Various artists, including Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry, Kenny Loggins, Willie Nelson, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny... Paul Antony Young, better known as Paul Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English pop artist. ... An open air concert on Easter Monday, April 20th 1992 at Londons Wembley Stadium, televised live to over one billion people. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... The Party at the Palace was a pop concert held in London in 2002. ... The Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration began in late 2004 when Queen were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. ... Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949, in Middlesbrough) is an English singer/songwriter known chiefly as a member of the bands Free in the 1960s and Bad Company in the 1970s. ...

Video

David Mallet's music video for the song features scenes from the film Metropolis—Freddie Mercury's solo song "Love Kills" was used in Giorgio Moroder's restored version of the film, and in exchange Queen were granted the rights to use footage from it in their "Radio Ga Ga" video. However, Queen had to buy performance rights to the film from the communist East German government, which was the copyright holder at the time. Critics said that the video looked like a "Nuremberg Rally" much to the anti-Nazi Roger Taylor's dislike. In the video there is a part where they list some of their earlier videos in a photo album, illustrating the changes and the influence videos received through the years. David Mallet is a director particularly noted for his work on music videos, including David Bowies innovative Ashes to Ashes. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... Metropolis is a very early science fiction film that was produced in Germany during the brief years of the Weimar Republic. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... GDR redirects here. ... The Nuremberg Rally (officially, Reichsparteitag, literally reich party day) was the annual rally of the NSDAP (Nazi Party) in the years 1923 to 1938 in Germany. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In filming the "clap" sequence, the extras got the beat down perfectly; the band members, however, needed some practice before they got it right.

All the extras in the "clap" sequence were recruited from the band's official fan club.

In the video Roger tries to turn right in the vehicle but the vehicle moves to his left, he quickly tries to correct this but the video still shows the error.

Cover versions

• A heavily modified version of the song serves as the introductory number for We Will Rock You, a musical composed of Queen songs.
• The song was covered in 2004 by Electric Six. The video depicts Electric Six frontman, Dick Valentine, as the ghost of Freddie Mercury dancing on his own grave. Roger Taylor has said the video is tasteless and that he will "wait for the royalties". On the other hand, Brian May reportedly enjoyed the video.
• Sophie Ellis-Bextor has made a live-cover of this single at the Al Murray's Happy Hour, on ITV.

We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Electric Six is a six-piece Detroit-based band that plays an energetic[2] and unique[3] brand of rock music infused with elements of garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal. ... Brian Harold May CBE (born July 19, 1947) is an English guitarist best known as the lead guitarist and backing (sometimes lead) vocalist for the English rock band Queen. ... Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is a multi-platinum selling English pop singer and songwriter. ... Al Murrays Happy Hour is a chat show presented by Al Murray. ... Independent Television (generally known as ITV but also as ITV Network or Channel 3) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990...

Trivia

• "Radio Ga Ga" is also the name of a radio station in Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely), Romania, in 88 FM (in the region).[2]
• Roger Taylor performed the song with Spike Edney's SAS Band.
• The song makes a reference to Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcasting, in the verse "through wars of worlds/invaded by Mars".

Spike Edney (born December 11, 1951) is a British musician who has appeared as part of numerous bands. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The War of the Worlds is a novel written by H.G. Wells in 1898 depicting an alien invasion of the earth. ...

External links

• Video of Queen's performance in Live Aid (at AOL Music)
• Radio Ga Ga performed by Prisoners in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitational Centre