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The Game (album)

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The Game
Studio album by
Queen
Released30 June 1980
RecordedJune–July 1979
February–May 1980
StudioMusicland (Munich, Germany)
Genre
Length35:42
Label
Producer
Queen chronology
Live Killers
(1979)		 The Game
(1980)		 Flash Gordon
(1980)
Singles from The Game
  1. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
    Released: 12 October 1979 (UK)[5]
  2. "Save Me"
    Released: 25 January 1980
  3. "Play the Game"
    Released: 30 May 1980 (UK)
  4. "Another One Bites the Dust"
    Released: 22 August 1980 (UK)
  5. "Need Your Loving Tonight"
    Released: 3 November 1980 (US)[6]

The Game is the eighth studio album by British rock band Queen. It was released on 30 June 1980. EMI Records and Elektra Records distributed the album in the UK and US, respectively. The Game was a departure from the hard rock of Queen's previous albums. It has more of a contemporary pop sound. The album is the band's first to use a synthesiser[7] (an Oberheim OB-X[8]).

The Game was a critical and commercial success. It became the only Queen album to reach number 1 in the US. It also became their best-selling studio album in the US. Four million copies are sold to date. This is tied with sales for News of the World. Notable songs on the album include the bass-driven "Another One Bites the Dust" and the rock and roll "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." Both songs reached No. 1 in the US. It was reissued in May 2003. This was on DVD-Audio with Dolby 5.1 surround sound and DTS 5.1. The 5.1 mix of "Coming Soon" features an alternate backing track. The final master tapes could not be found when mixing the album to 5.1.

Track listing

[change | change source]

All lead vocals by Freddie Mercury unless noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Play the Game"Freddie Mercury3:30
2."Dragon Attack"Brian May4:18
3."Another One Bites the Dust"John Deacon3:35
4."Need Your Loving Tonight"Deacon2:50
5."Crazy Little Thing Called Love"Mercury2:42
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Rock It (Prime Jive)"Roger TaylorRoger Taylor with Mercury4:33
7."Don't Try Suicide"Mercury 3:52
8."Sail Away Sweet Sister"MayBrian May with Mercury3:33
9."Coming Soon"TaylorMercury with Taylor2:51
10."Save Me"May 3:48
Total length:35:42
Bonus track (1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue)
No.TitleLength
11."Dragon Attack" (1991 bonus remix by R.A.K. and Jack Benson)4:19
Total length:40:01
Disc 2: Bonus EP (2011 Universal Music CD reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Save Me" (Live at the Montreal Forum, November 1981) 4:18
2."A Human Body" (B-side to "Play The Game")Taylor[9]3:44
3."Sail Away Sweet Sister" (Take 1 with guide vocal, February 1980) 2:34
4."It's a Beautiful Day" (Original spontaneous idea, April 1980)Mercury[10]1:31
5."Dragon Attack" (Live at the Milton Keynes Bowl, June 1982) 5:15
Total length:17:22
Bonus videos (2011 iTunes deluxe edition)
No.TitleLength
6."Vocal Improv/Dragon Attack" (Live at Morumbi Stadium, São Paulo, March 1981[11][12])5:02
7."Save Me" (Live at Seibu Lions Stadium, Tokyo, November 1982[13])3:56
8."Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Saturday Night Live, September 1982[14])3:58
Total length:29:38

Personnel

[change | change source]

Queen

  • Freddie Mercury – lead vocals (1–5, 7, 9, 10), co-lead vocals (6, 8), backing vocals (all tracks), piano (1, 7, 8), synthesiser (1), acoustic guitar (5)
  • Brian May – electric guitar (all tracks), backing vocals (1, 2, 4–8, 10), acoustic guitar (7, 8, 10), synthesiser (8, 10), piano (10), lead vocals (8)
  • Roger Taylor – drums (all tracks), backing vocals (all but 3), electric guitar (9), synthesiser (6, 9), lead vocals (6, "A Human Body"), co-lead vocals (9), percussion
  • John Deacon – bass guitar (all tracks), electric guitar (3), acoustic guitar (4), piano (3)

Additional musician

  • Mack – synthesiser (6, 10)

Production[15]

  • Queen – production, sleeve concept
  • Mack – co-production, engineering, mastering
  • Allen Zentz – mastering
  • Brian Gardener – mastering
  • Cream – sleeve design
  • Peter Hince – photography
  • Christopher Hopper – photography

Charts

[change | change source]

Certifications and sales

[change | change source]
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[16] 2× Platinum 120,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[40] Gold 25,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[41] Gold 130,000[42]
Canada (Music Canada)[43] 6× Platinum 600,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[44]
original release 		Silver 25,000[44]
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[45]
reissue 		Platinum 20,000double-dagger
Germany (BVMI)[46] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[47]
sales since 2009 		Gold 25,000double-dagger
Mexico (AMPROFON)[48] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[49] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[50] Gold 7,500^
Poland (ZPAV)[51]
2008 Agora SA album reissue 		Platinum 20,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[52] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[53] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[54] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

[change | change source]
  1. ↑ "Queen: Queen 40 Limited Edition Collector's Box Set Volumes 2 & 3". PopMatters. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Troy L. (10 November 2022). "Every No. 1 album of the 1980s ranked from worst to best". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 13 December 2024. The Game is the sound of Queen making a conventional pop album – a hybrid of disco and rock...
  3. ↑ Ingalls, Chris (26 August 2020). "Funk Rock and Synthesizers in Munich: Queen's 'The Game' at 40". PopMatters. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "20 of the Best New Wave Albums by Rock/Pop Artists". PopMatters. 19 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "Queen singles".
  6. ↑ "Queen singles".
  7. ↑ Baker, Theodore; Nicolas Slonimsky (1965). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians: Centennial Edition (5th ed.). Schirmer Books. ISBN 0028655257. The album yielded ... 'Play the Game,' which featured the group's first use of the synthesiser...
  8. ↑ Reed, Ryan (8 June 2020). "How Queen Embraced the Synthesizer on "Play the Game"". Ultimate Classic Rock. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  9. ↑ "Queen "The Game" album and song lyrics". Ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "Queen Demos of Released Tracks A-I Lyrics". Ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Queen "On Air": Live on Air album and song lyrics". Ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  12. ↑ "Queen "On Air": Live on Air album and song lyrics". Ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  13. ↑ "Queen "Live in Japan" video and song lyrics". Ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  14. ↑ "Queen Miscellaneous Live Song Lyrics". Ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  15. ↑ The Game (Album liner notes). Queen. 1980.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. 1 2 "Argentina" (PDF). Cash Box. 2 May 1981. p. 39. Retrieved 21 November 2019 – via American Radio History.
  17. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Queen – The Game" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0248a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Queen – The Game" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  21. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  22. ↑ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – Q". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Queen from the menu, then press OK.
  23. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  24. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 27 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Queen".
  25. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  26. ↑ "Charts.nz – Queen – The Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  27. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Queen – The Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  28. ↑ Aranegui, Fernando Salaverri (2015). "1980 [Albums]". Sólo Éxitos 1959-2012 (in Spanish). Fundación SGAE. pp. 245–248. ISBN 9788480488662.
  29. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Queen – The Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  30. ↑ "Queen | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  31. ↑ "Queen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  32. ↑ "Austriancharts.st – Jahreshitparade 1980". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  33. ↑ "Top 100 Albums". RPM. 20 December 1980. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  34. ↑ "日本で売れた洋楽アルバムトップ23" [Top-23 international albums on the Japanese Oricon Year-End Charts 1980]. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.
  35. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  36. ↑ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  37. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. 26 December 1981. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  38. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1981". billboard.biz. 1981-12-31. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  39. ↑ "Tónlistinn – Plötur – 2019" (in Icelandic). Plötutíóindi. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  40. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Queen – The Game" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  41. ↑ "International Dateline-Brazil" (PDF). Cash Box. May 5, 1984. p. 27. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  42. ↑ McGowan, Chris (January 26, 1985). "Industry struggles". Billboard. p. 52. Retrieved September 24, 2021 – via Google books.
  43. ↑ "Queen - Freddie Mercury's commemorative Canadian in-house sales award - 'Queen Rules Canada', 1992". 18 August 2023.
  44. 1 2 "The Game - Authentic Record Award - Presented to Queen". Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  45. ↑ "Danish album certifications – Queen – The Game". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  46. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Queen; 'The Game')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  47. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Queen – The Game" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2021" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "The Game" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  48. ↑ "Queen – Freddie Mercury's in-house Mexican sales awards | Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own | Crazy Little Things 2 | 2023". Sotheby's. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  49. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – Queen – The Game" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter The Game in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  50. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Queen – The Game". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  51. ↑ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2009 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. 8 July 2009.
  52. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979-1990. Iberautor Promociones Culturales. p. 914. ISBN 8480486392.
  53. ↑ "British album certifications – Queen – The Game". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  54. ↑ "American album certifications – Queen – The Game". Recording Industry Association of America.


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