Brighton Rock (song)

Last updated
"Brighton Rock"
Song by Queen
from the album Sheer Heart Attack
PublishedQueen Music Ltd.
Released8 November 1974 (1974-11-08)
RecordedJuly–September 1974
Studio
Genre Hard rock [1]
Length5:11
Label
Songwriter(s) Brian May
Producer(s)

"Brighton Rock" is a song by British rock band Queen, written by lead guitarist Brian May. The song is the opening track on their 1974 third studio album Sheer Heart Attack . The song features one of Queen's longest guitar solos which is more than three minutes long. The solo has been performed live by Brian May at most concerts since its release. The song gained popularity after its prominent use in the 2017 Edgar Wright film Baby Driver . [2]

Contents

History

May wrote the song shortly before the completion of Queen II in 1973, but because the band did not have enough time to record it, it was not included. Before the song was recorded in 1974, variations of the solo were part of "Son and Daughter". [3]

The song, the first track on the 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack , tells the story of two young lovers named Jenny and Jimmy meeting in Brighton on a public holiday. [4] Jenny cannot linger because she is afraid her mother will find out "how I spent my holiday", but afterwards "writes a letter every day"; Jimmy, who was eager on the day, responds that he is afraid of discovery by "my lady". [5]

The song samples the track "Carnival Midway" from stock sound effect library series titled Authentic Sound Effects compiled by Jac Holzman who signed Queen to Elektra Records in the US. [6] [7] During the sound effect, it features the song "I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside" whistled by Roy Thomas Baker, which goes back to the previous song "Seven Seas of Rhye" at the end of Queen II.

The song was listed among Guitar World's Top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, ranking at #41. [8]

The song was prominently featured in two scenes in the 2017 Edgar Wright film Baby Driver : early in the film, when Baby (portrayed by Ansel Elgort) and Buddy van Horn (portrayed by Jon Hamm) discuss it and Baby describes it as "his killer track", and during the climactic face-off between Baby and Buddy, who plays the song on his car stereo because of the earlier conversation. The song's usage in the film and its soundtrack led to a resurgence of popularity for the track. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Live performances

The song is probably best known for its lengthy guitar solo interlude. [4] This featured May's technique of using multiple echoes used to build up guitar harmony and contrapuntal melodic lines. The studio version only contains one "main" guitar and one "echoed" guitar for a short section, but live, he would usually split his guitar signal into "main" and two "echoed", with each going to a separate bank of amplifiers.

The live piece is often between 9 and 13 minutes long. May performed part of the "Brighton Rock" solo at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. [15]

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian May</span> English musician (born 1947)

Sir Brian Harold May is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysicist. He achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen, which he co-founded with singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor. His guitar work and songwriting contributions helped Queen become one of the most successful acts in music history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlene Love</span> American singer and actress (born 1941)

Darlene Wright ,[a] also known by the stage name Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and a solo recording artist.

"Echoes" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, and the sixth and last track on their 1971 album Meddle. It is 23+1⁄2 minutes long, the second longest of their discography, eight seconds shorter than Atom Heart Mother Suite, and takes up the entire second side of the original LP. The track evolved from a variety of different musical themes and ideas, including instrumental passages and studio effects, resulting in the side-long piece. The music, credited to all the band, was mainly written by Richard Wright and David Gilmour, while Roger Waters' lyrics addressed themes of human communication and empathy, to which he returned in later work.

<i>Sheer Heart Attack</i> 1974 studio album by Queen

Sheer Heart Attack is the third studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 8 November 1974 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Digressing from the progressive themes featured on their first two albums, the album featured more pop-centric and conventional rock tracks and marked a step towards the "classic" Queen sound. It was produced by the band and Roy Thomas Baker, and launched Queen to mainstream popularity in the UK and throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Hartman</span> American musician (1950–1994)

Daniel Earl Hartman was an American pop rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including The Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wringer, Last Wing, and Orion. Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are the Young" and "Second Nature". "I Can Dream About You", his most successful US hit, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 in 1985. The James Brown song "Living in America", which Hartman co-wrote and produced, reached No. 4 on March 1, 1986.

<i>Made in Heaven</i> 1995 studio album by Queen

Made in Heaven is the fifteenth and final studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 6 November 1995 by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and by Hollywood Records in the United States. It was the band's first and only album released solely under the name "Queen" after the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1991. Following Mercury's death, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bass guitarist John Deacon worked with vocal and piano parts that Mercury recorded before his death, adding new instrumentation to the recordings. Both stages of recording, before and after Mercury's death, were completed at the band's studio in Montreux, Switzerland. The album debuted at number 1 in the UK, where it went quadruple platinum selling 1.2 million copies. 500,000 copies were shipped in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time (Pink Floyd song)</span> 1973 song by Pink Floyd

"Time" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. It is included as the fourth track on their eighth album The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and was released as a single in the United States. With lyrics written by bassist Roger Waters, guitarist David Gilmour shares lead vocals with keyboardist Richard Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keep Yourself Alive</span> 1973 single by Queen

"Keep Yourself Alive" is the debut single by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, it is the opening track on the band's self-titled debut album (1973). It was released as Queen's first single along with "Son and Daughter" as the B-side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Us and Them (song)</span> 1974 single by Pink Floyd

"Us and Them" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. The music was written by Richard Wright with lyrics by Roger Waters. It is sung by David Gilmour, with harmonies by Wright. The song is 7 minutes and 49 seconds, the longest on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5:15</span> Song by The Who

"5:15" is a song written by Pete Townshend of British rock band The Who. Part of the band's second rock opera, Quadrophenia (1973), the song was also released as a single and reached No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart, while the 1979 re-release reached No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Vision</span> 1985 single by Queen

"One Vision" is a song written and recorded by the British rock band Queen, first released as a single in November 1985 and then included on their 1986 album A Kind of Magic. It was conceived by the group's drummer Roger Taylor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Numb (U2 song)</span> 1993 song by U2

"Numb" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track from their eighth album, Zooropa (1993), and was released in June 1993 by Island Records and PolyGram as the album's first single. The song features a monotonous mantra of "don't" commands spoken by guitarist the Edge amidst a backdrop of various sound effects and samples. The noisy composition and lyrical concept for "Numb" were inspired by the theme of sensory overload, which had prominently been incorporated into the Zoo TV Tour. Lead singer Bono and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. provided backing vocals on the track.

"The Prophet's Song" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their guitarist Brian May, originally released on their fourth studio album A Night at the Opera in 1975. It is the longest song produced by the band.

<i>Dancehall Places</i> 2002 studio album by Mint Royale

Dancehall Places is the second studio album by English electronic dance music duo Mint Royale, which was released on 28 October 2002 on Faith & Hope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keep Talking (Pink Floyd song)</span> 1994 single by Pink Floyd

"Keep Talking" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1994 album, The Division Bell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Play the Game (song)</span> 1980 song by Queen

"Play the Game" is a song by British rock band Queen, written by Freddie Mercury. It is the first track on the first side of their 1980 album The Game. It also appears on their album Greatest Hits. The single was a hit in the UK, reaching No. 14 in the charts, and in the US, peaking at No. 42.

<i>The Works</i> (Queen album) 1984 studio album by Queen

The Works is the eleventh studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 27 February 1984 by EMI Records just shortly after recording for the album had been completed in the United Kingdom and it is the band's first studio album to be released by Capitol Records in the United States. After the synth-heavy Hot Space (1982), the album saw the re-emergence of Brian May and Roger Taylor's rock sound, while still incorporating the early 80s retro futuristic electronic music and New York funk scenes. Recorded at the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, California, and Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, from August 1983 to January 1984, the album's title comes from a comment Taylor made as recording began – "Let's give them the works!".

<i>Scott Pilgrim vs. the World</i> (soundtrack) 2010 soundtrack album by various artists

Two soundtrack albums were released for the motion picture Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: an original soundtrack and an original score. Co-writer, co-producer, and director Edgar Wright, co-producer Marc Platt, and music producer/composer Nigel Godrich, who also composed the original score, served as executive producers of both albums. The soundtrack includes music by Beck, Broken Social Scene, Metric, Black Lips, T. Rex, the Rolling Stones, Frank Black and Plumtree. They were released on August 10, 2010; the original score only on digital download. A 2021 re-release saw additional music by Brie Larson added to the soundtrack, and a physical version of the score.

<i>Baby Driver</i> 2017 film by Edgar Wright

Baby Driver is a 2017 action film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver seeking freedom from a life of crime with his girlfriend Debora. Eiza Gonzalez, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, and Kevin Spacey appear in supporting roles. Eric Fellner and his Working Title Films partner Tim Bevan produced Baby Driver in association with Big Talk Productions' Nira Park. Sony and TriStar Pictures handled commercial distribution of the film. Baby Driver was financed through tax subsidies from the Georgia state government and a co-production pact between TriStar and MRC.

<i>Baby Driver – Music from the Motion Picture</i> 2017 soundtrack album by various artists

Baby Driver – Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to the 2017 film of the same name. The soundtrack was released on June 23, 2017, on CD, vinyl and digital music via the Columbia Records imprint, 30th Century Records. The album features a combination of artists, from various decades, including Blur, Run the Jewels, Sky Ferreira, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Queen, The Beach Boys, The Commodores, The Steve Miller Band, Simon & Garfunkel, and Golden Earring.

References

  1. ↑ Moriarty, Frank (2003). Seventies Rock: The Decade of Creative Chaos . Taylor Trade Pub. p.  320. ISBN   978-1-58979-024-7.
  2. ↑ Deriso, Nick (29 June 2017). "The Long Journey Queen's 'Brighton Rock' Took to the 'Baby Driver' Soundtrack". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Lemieux, Patrick (11 August 2014). "The Black, White and Grey of Queen II". QueenOnline.com. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 Guarisco, Donald A. "Brighton Rock - Queen | Song Info". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "Brighton Rock". The Mod Generation. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Songs that Sampled Carnival Midway by Jac Holzman", WhoSampled , retrieved 10 January 2024
  7. ↑ "Jac Holzman – Authentic Sound Effects Volume 1", Discogs , retrieved 10 January 2024
  8. ↑ "100 Greatest Guitar Solos: No. 41 "Brighton Rock" (Brian May)". Guitar World . 28 October 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. ↑ Pardiwalla, Tanzim (16 April 2020). "Filmsplaining: How Edgar Wright's 'Baby Driver' Made Music the Ultimate Escape". Mashable India. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  10. ↑ Willman, Chris (29 June 2017). "The Soundtrack to 'Baby Driver' Is a Music Nerd's Dream — and Director Edgar Wright's". Variety . Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Wyse, Alex (14 April 2020). "Edgar Wright's 10 Most Impressive Action Sequences". Screen Rant . Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Tanatarova, Elmira (16 April 2020). "Car chases, heists and road trips: the best automotive films to watch during lockdown". The Telegraph . Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  13. ↑ Minsker, Evan (5 July 2017). "Behind the Music of Baby Driver, With Director Edgar Wright". Pitchfork . Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  14. ↑ Hart, Ron (6 July 2017). "Edgar Wright Explains How He Crafted the Perfect Soundtrack for Baby Driver". Esquire . Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "Olympics closing ceremony: playlist". The Telegraph . 12 August 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.